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originally posted by: Lucid Lunacy
a reply to: Itisnowagain
So I agree. Yet, that sounds secular to me.
It is that simple.
1Jo 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
Jonh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
originally posted by: dfnj2015
Here's a line from the movie Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice:
"if God is all powerful,
he cannot be all good.
And if he's all good
then he cannot be all powerful."
I'm not sure on the second statement because again what we consider to be good and evil is constantly changing. I think God could be good and all powerful as long as we accept the idea God works in mysterious ways in terms of achieving good.
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Why does God allow suffering? If Jehovah God is all-powerful, loving, wise, and just, why is the world so full of hatred and injustice? Have you ever wondered about these things yourself?
3, 4. (a) What shows that it is not wrong to ask why God allows suffering? (b) How does Jehovah feel about wickedness and suffering?
3 Is it wrong to ask why God allows suffering? Some worry that asking such a question means that they do not have enough faith or that they are showing disrespect for God. When reading the Bible, however, you will find that faithful, God-fearing people had similar questions. For example, the prophet Habakkuk asked Jehovah: “Why do you make me witness wrongdoing? And why do you tolerate oppression? Why are destruction and violence before me? And why do quarreling and conflict abound?”—Habakkuk 1:3.
4 Did Jehovah scold the faithful prophet Habakkuk for asking such questions? No. Instead, God included Habakkuk’s sincere words in the inspired Bible record. God also helped him to get a clearer understanding of matters and to gain greater faith. Jehovah wants to do the same for you. Remember, the Bible teaches that “he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7) God hates wickedness and the suffering it causes far more than any human does. (Isaiah 55:8, 9) Why, then, is there so much suffering in the world?
WHY SO MUCH SUFFERING?
5. What reasons are sometimes offered to explain human suffering, but what does the Bible teach?
5 People of various religions have gone to their religious leaders and teachers to ask why there is so much suffering. Often, the response is that suffering is God’s will and that he long ago determined everything that would ever happen, including tragic events. Many are told that God’s ways are mysterious or that he brings death upon people—even children—so that he can have them in heaven with him. As you have learned, though [whereislogic: from the previous chapters], Jehovah God never causes what is bad. The Bible says: “It is unthinkable for the true God to act wickedly, for the Almighty to do wrong!”—Job 34:10.
6. Why do many people make the mistake of blaming God for the suffering in the world?
6 Do you know why people make the mistake of blaming God for all the suffering in the world? In many cases, they blame Almighty God because they think that he is the real ruler of this world. They do not know a simple but important truth that the Bible teaches. You learned that truth in Chapter 3 of this book. The real ruler of this world is Satan the Devil.
7, 8. (a) How does the world reflect the personality of its ruler? (b) How have human imperfection and “time and unexpected events” contributed to suffering?
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9. Why can we be sure that Jehovah has a good reason for allowing suffering to continue?
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A VITAL ISSUE IS RAISED
10. What did Satan call into question, and how?
...
11. Why did Jehovah not just destroy the rebels in Eden?
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12 Let us consider an illustration. Imagine that a teacher is telling his students how to solve a difficult problem. A clever but rebellious student claims that the teacher’s way of solving the problem is wrong. Implying that the teacher is not capable, this rebel insists that he knows a much better way to solve the problem. Some students think that he is right, and they also become rebellious. What should the teacher do? If he throws the rebels out of the class, what will be the effect on the other students? Will they not believe that their fellow student and those who joined him are right? All the other students in the class might lose respect for the teacher, thinking that he is afraid of being proved wrong. But suppose that the teacher allows the rebel to show the class how he would solve the problem.
13 Jehovah has done something similar to what the teacher does. Remember that the rebels in Eden were not the only ones involved. Millions of angels were watching. (Job 38:7; Daniel 7:10) How Jehovah handled the rebellion would greatly affect all those angels and eventually all intelligent creation. So, what has Jehovah done? He has allowed Satan to show how he would rule mankind. God has also allowed humans to govern themselves under Satan’s guidance.
14. What benefit will come from Jehovah’s decision to allow humans to govern themselves?
14 The teacher in our illustration knows that the rebel and the students on his side are wrong. But he also knows that allowing them the opportunity to try to prove their point will benefit the whole class. When the rebels fail, all honest students will see that the teacher is the only one qualified to lead the class. They will understand why the teacher thereafter removes any rebels from the class. Similarly, Jehovah knows that all honesthearted humans and angels will benefit from seeing that Satan and his fellow rebels have failed and that humans cannot govern themselves. Like Jeremiah of old, they will learn this vital truth: “I well know, O Jehovah, that man’s way does not belong to him. It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step.”—Jeremiah 10:23.
WHY SO LONG?
15, 16. (a) Why has Jehovah allowed suffering to continue for so long? (b) Why has Jehovah not prevented such things as horrible crimes?
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17, 18. What will Jehovah do about all the harm that has resulted from the rule of humans and the influence of Satan?
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18 Some might wonder, ‘Could all this suffering have been prevented if God had created Adam and Eve in such a way that they could not rebel?’ To answer that question, you need to remember a precious gift that Jehovah has given you.
HOW WILL YOU USE THE GIFT FROM GOD?
19. What precious gift has Jehovah given us, and why should we value it?
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20, 21. How may we use the gift of free will in the best possible way, and why should we want to do so?
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WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES
God does not cause the bad conditions in the world.—Job 34:10.
By calling God a liar and saying that He withholds good from His subjects, Satan questioned Jehovah’s right to rule.—Genesis 3:2-5.
Jehovah will use his Son, the Ruler of the Messianic Kingdom, to end all human suffering and to undo its effects.—1 John 3:8.
You're absolutely right. Look at their lives and all that hatred spewing. Their religion never worked in the first place. They aren't saved at all. Not yet anyway. I don't think this is what Jesus had in mind.
originally posted by: Zimnydran
When people want a better world, with a God or without one. You will see the changes but right now no one is really interested, just paying lip service.
When people buy their kids paint brushes not baseballs. Guitars not boxing gloves. When dads are more impressed by a picture his kid drew and not how hard he tackled and hurt some other kid's school football teams player. Then we will know people are on a path to a better world......... Right now people will pay hundreds of dollars to watch people hurt each other and pay them handsomely to do it.... The games may have changed since the gladiator days but the same psychology is alive and well..... mentally we havent evolved much in the last few thousand years, sure we have learned a bunch of stuff, but as evolution goes it is starting to look like we reached our pinnacle...
I find it humorous how many people will look you in the eyes and swear they believe in the bible and that God is real and there belief in God is unshakable.... and then commence to spend their day doing things the Bible says not to...day in and day out. If you REALLY believed you would be so scared to piss God off that you might never leave the house..... priest or pauper, when it comes down to it.... nobody has ever honestly believed. Humanity has been sinning nonstop all over the world forever and only tosses out the God card when it suits them.
Actually, the Adam and Eve narrative was referring to experimental knowledge, they already knew good from evil in the context of simple awareness.
originally posted by: Itisnowagain
originally posted by: Lucid Lunacy
a reply to: Itisnowagain
The story goes, that Adam and Eve were cast out of paradise when they believed in good and bad.
originally posted by: Lucid Lunacy
a reply to: lostgirl
Why do people assume scripture represents the truth of god's nature I have no idea.
Not all of those believers assume that scripture represents the truth of his nature, some know that it does, it's up to the receiver of that knowledge to seek rather it's true or not, by demanding proof they are trying to achieve spiritual knowledge by means of mental ascension and not spiritual ascension.
originally posted by: whereislogic
a reply to: Slakecontagia
You have a wrong view of what polytheism is. It's the worship of multiple gods, not merely acknowledging the existence of multiple gods, something the bible does quite regularly (both in the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Greek Scriptures).
He's all powerful and all good, having the ability to do what is defined as evil does not make absence of all good....and much of what is evil or "sinful" is what we're subject to not the potter....it's like saying, since it's against the law for me to own nuclear warheads then it should be the same for the government according to my feelings.
originally posted by: lostgirl
Maybe He is all good but not all powerful...