Comments on: Does God Really Care? http://richavady.com/2009/11/27/does-god-really-care/ Ideas. Information. Insights. Inspiration Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:22:52 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: emactan http://richavady.com/2009/11/27/does-god-really-care/comment-page-1/#comment-399 emactan Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:41:52 +0000 http://richavady.com/?p=727#comment-399 "Tragedies that oftentimes claim hundreds or even thousands of lives of people always elicit questions from people—the hurting or those directly affected by it, the orphaned and the skeptics....But here’s the thing, God’s absence or silence in our trying times doesn’t mean He doesn’t care."<br><br>Now change "God" to U.N./president/senator/mayor/dad/mom/etc. What would you think of a leader/parent who was absent during such tragedies? What would you think of someone who had the power to either prevent the tragedy or save the hundreds who were swept away by the floods if s/he had been absent? Do you really think that leader/parent will be deemed caring and loving? And mind you this person is one who can do anything (all-powerful), knew that the calamity was going to happen eons ago and that it will kill hundreds/thousands (all-knowing) and therefore could have prevented it, and is perfectly loving that s/he would not let anything bad happen to people and certainly would not allow tragedy of such breadth and scale to occur, is so perfectly loving in fact that since s/he is the creator s/he would not have created a world such as this where horrific suffering has been the norm. <br><br>Hopefully you're going to see the logical contradictions. Over 2,000 years ago Epicurus had already stated this dilemma:<br><br>Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.<br>Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.<br>Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?<br>Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?<br><br>Moreover, hopefully you will see the moral double standards that you have just admitted to. You have given an omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent creator a free pass for letting people over thousands of years suffer and die when you would condemn humans who committed such a heinous crime had they had the power and attributes your deity possess. <br><br>Richard, I really suggest you do more critical thinking. Courses in logic and philosophy will really help. Read up on ethical theories as well. You may find the following online Harvard lecture series useful: <a href="http://justiceharvard.org/" rel="nofollow">http://justiceharvard.org/</a> “Tragedies that oftentimes claim hundreds or even thousands of lives of people always elicit questions from people—the hurting or those directly affected by it, the orphaned and the skeptics….But here’s the thing, God’s absence or silence in our trying times doesn’t mean He doesn’t care.”

Now change “God” to U.N./president/senator/mayor/dad/mom/etc. What would you think of a leader/parent who was absent during such tragedies? What would you think of someone who had the power to either prevent the tragedy or save the hundreds who were swept away by the floods if s/he had been absent? Do you really think that leader/parent will be deemed caring and loving? And mind you this person is one who can do anything (all-powerful), knew that the calamity was going to happen eons ago and that it will kill hundreds/thousands (all-knowing) and therefore could have prevented it, and is perfectly loving that s/he would not let anything bad happen to people and certainly would not allow tragedy of such breadth and scale to occur, is so perfectly loving in fact that since s/he is the creator s/he would not have created a world such as this where horrific suffering has been the norm.

Hopefully you're going to see the logical contradictions. Over 2,000 years ago Epicurus had already stated this dilemma:

Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?

Moreover, hopefully you will see the moral double standards that you have just admitted to. You have given an omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent creator a free pass for letting people over thousands of years suffer and die when you would condemn humans who committed such a heinous crime had they had the power and attributes your deity possess.

Richard, I really suggest you do more critical thinking. Courses in logic and philosophy will really help. Read up on ethical theories as well. You may find the following online Harvard lecture series useful: http://justiceharvard.org/

]]> By: emactan http://richavady.com/2009/11/27/does-god-really-care/comment-page-1/#comment-271 emactan Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:41:52 +0000 http://richavady.com/?p=727#comment-271 "Tragedies that oftentimes claim hundreds or even thousands of lives of people always elicit questions from people—the hurting or those directly affected by it, the orphaned and the skeptics....But here’s the thing, God’s absence or silence in our trying times doesn’t mean He doesn’t care."<br><br>Now change "God" to U.N./president/senator/mayor/dad/mom/etc. What would you think of a leader/parent who was absent during such tragedies? What would you think of someone who had the power to either prevent the tragedy or save the hundreds who were swept away by the floods if s/he had been absent? Do you really think that leader/parent will be deemed caring and loving? And mind you this person is one who can do anything (all-powerful), knew that the calamity was going to happen eons ago and that it will kill hundreds/thousands (all-knowing) and therefore could have prevented it, and is perfectly loving that s/he would not let anything bad happen to people and certainly would not allow tragedy of such breadth and scale to occur, is so perfectly loving in fact that since s/he is the creator s/he would not have created a world such as this where horrific suffering has been the norm. <br><br>Hopefully you're going to see the logical contradictions. Over 2,000 years ago Epicurus had already stated this dilemma:<br><br>Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.<br>Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.<br>Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?<br>Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?<br><br>Moreover, hopefully you will see the moral double standards that you have just admitted to. You have given an omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent creator a free pass for letting people over thousands of years suffer and die when you would condemn humans who committed such a heinous crime had they had the power and attributes your deity possess. <br><br>Richard, I really suggest you do more critical thinking. Courses in logic and philosophy will really help. Read up on ethical theories as well. You may find the following online Harvard lecture series useful: <a href="http://justiceharvard.org/" rel="nofollow">http://justiceharvard.org/</a> “Tragedies that oftentimes claim hundreds or even thousands of lives of people always elicit questions from people—the hurting or those directly affected by it, the orphaned and the skeptics….But here’s the thing, God’s absence or silence in our trying times doesn’t mean He doesn’t care.”

Now change “God” to U.N./president/senator/mayor/dad/mom/etc. What would you think of a leader/parent who was absent during such tragedies? What would you think of someone who had the power to either prevent the tragedy or save the hundreds who were swept away by the floods if s/he had been absent? Do you really think that leader/parent will be deemed caring and loving? And mind you this person is one who can do anything (all-powerful), knew that the calamity was going to happen eons ago and that it will kill hundreds/thousands (all-knowing) and therefore could have prevented it, and is perfectly loving that s/he would not let anything bad happen to people and certainly would not allow tragedy of such breadth and scale to occur, is so perfectly loving in fact that since s/he is the creator s/he would not have created a world such as this where horrific suffering has been the norm.

Hopefully you're going to see the logical contradictions. Over 2,000 years ago Epicurus had already stated this dilemma:

Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?

Moreover, hopefully you will see the moral double standards that you have just admitted to. You have given an omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent creator a free pass for letting people over thousands of years suffer and die when you would condemn humans who committed such a heinous crime had they had the power and attributes your deity possess.

Richard, I really suggest you do more critical thinking. Courses in logic and philosophy will really help. Read up on ethical theories as well. You may find the following online Harvard lecture series useful: http://justiceharvard.org/

]]> By: kcfitero http://richavady.com/2009/11/27/does-god-really-care/comment-page-1/#comment-267 kcfitero Sun, 29 Nov 2009 09:22:38 +0000 http://richavady.com/?p=727#comment-267 Yup, I really agree with what Pastor Richard was trying to say, that God's absence doesn't really mean He doesn't really care. He just have his own plans of why He did what he does for us, even if what happened was not pleasing for us. I remember one verse that says "no discipline seems to be pleasant, but it is beneficial for us at the end of the day. It was also a revelation for me when God said that He works for the good of those people who love Him. His definition of the word "good" maybe different for us, the "good" for us may not be good for God, that's why He would do what's needed to be done, though it may be hurting or painstaking, but at the end of the day, we will emerge as better people. :-) Yup, I really agree with what Pastor Richard was trying to say, that God's absence doesn't really mean He doesn't really care. He just have his own plans of why He did what he does for us, even if what happened was not pleasing for us. I remember one verse that says “no discipline seems to be pleasant, but it is beneficial for us at the end of the day. It was also a revelation for me when God said that He works for the good of those people who love Him. His definition of the word “good” maybe different for us, the “good” for us may not be good for God, that's why He would do what's needed to be done, though it may be hurting or painstaking, but at the end of the day, we will emerge as better people. :-)

]]>