This isn't really from what i read today but i felt like sharing a little about a conversation I had with a friend who presented me with several questions that sparked a good argument/discussion. It was kind of difficult to respond to the questions as there are many opinions that does make a point. Some of the questions/points were:
"if God is all powerful then, God would be able to abolish evil. If God is all-good, then God would not allow evil to be. Either God is not able to abolish evil, or God allows evil to be. Therefore, either God is not all-powerful, or God is not all-good.
God is all-good. An all good being would want to destroy all evil. God is all-powerful. An all-powerful being can destroy any evil. So, if God exists, there will be no evil. Evil exists. Therefore, God does not exist. instead of taking the hard path he chooses the easy path... for example the end of the world... there is too much evil... what does he do? oh i'll just wipe everything out, dont want to try to fix the evil individually so i'll just wipe out the existence of.
to me God seemed to have been developed by a mind who had their own little agenda with the idea... why is he called God? why couldn't he be Bob or Allah or Buddha.."
these are really good points but i believe that if there was no evil there would be no good, and in some cases, evil allows good to exist. It can bring the very qualities we should be projecting goodness and forgiveness towards people and justice too. And we have the free will to choose to do evil or not, and overall it is His decision on how he handles with things, it's not like he ignores the sufferings of the world... would you rather live in a world where it is perfect?
i'm not that familiar with the end of the world idea, but i think it goes along the lines of justice..that the evils of mankind will eventually lead itself to destruction, i know sounds really weird, cynical.. but it is the ultimate judgment just like how people go through trial. And also, it's ultimately our decision whether we sin, and it always has consequences...He doesn't cause it but allows it..probably so that we can learn from them. I don't really know how we came to call God "God" I felt like this conversation brought me a bit closer to understanding a little more about God and I came to realize that I can become really defensive when it comes to this subject. But then i realize I still have much more to learn, and that God is working through me by allowing my friend to bring this topic up, but with it brings many constant doubts that causes me to have some internal struggle on where my faith is. I suppose this is all part of the process of spiritually developing...
yeah.. sorry for this super long blog just my train of thought at the moment >.<
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yay anna!!! you finally posted something XD seriously i really like what you wrote here. You had a lot to say and honestly it took me a while to understand what you wrote. In the long hall,I think I understand. The thing that stood out to me the most was the concept of good being derived from bad. This has always been on my mind because I don't know wht...well, i think I know why, but I just don't want to explain just yet..... Hmm....well,yeh i can totally see how the existence of good relies on the existence of bad. For example, you can't forgive someone if they haven't done something unforgivable in the first place. Basically the way I see it is that the problem had to start in order for the solution to follow. hey this reminds me of math....bad is the x variable and y is the y variable. The x is independent. The y is dependent upon the x. yay =) sorry......just couldn't help myself. anyways, thanks anna for your thoughtful post
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your convo, Anna. I think God is moving you right now in a certain way. Otherwise, He would not have brought about that convo to you. He thinks you're ready to go there now...to think in that direction...so that's why it happened :)
ReplyDeleteI think you hit upon one of the key points of God's character and the Christian faith...that is, man has the freedom to choose...freewill. God could have forced us all to obey Him and do exactly as He wants...but He doesn't. I don't think He wants a bunch of mindless followers...but rather, He desires people who genuinely loves Him and would do things for Him out of thanksgiving and not out of guilt or obligation...think that's the one of the ultimate examples of love...to do things simply out of love/thanksgiving...and not because we HAVE to.
In terms of your friend's points, I'll take a crack at that :P Back in Genesis 7-9, that's when God called Noah to build the Ark so that he and his family can be saved from the great flood. Noah and his family were the only ones deemed "righteous" in God's eyes...so only they were spared from the flood. Everything else was wiped out...so God has demonstrated his power before...thus, one of God's characteristic is demonstrated...He's All-Powerful. At the end of Genesis 8 and going into 9, God shows another side of Himself to Noah and mankind. God showed that He has compassion and that He follows through on his promises. God said in Genesis 8:20 that He will not destroy man and all living creatures again...even though every inclination of man from his childhood is evil. So...that was a promise that God made to mankind (and I don't think another great flood has been recorded since where all mankind and living creatures were wiped out). Later on in Genesis 9: 8-17, God makes things official by making a covenant with all life on earth. The "rainbow" is to be a sign of the convenant by God that He will never use waters to flood and destroy all life.
Going back to your friend's points, God IS all powerful and IS able to abolish all evil any time He wants...but He choses to do so at a later time. God wants to give man a chance to be with Him in heaven...so God made it possible through the blood of Jesus Christ. God is not some heartless destroyer who is only interested in showing off His powers. There's that side of God that some don't see...compassion, love, grace. But God is also HOLY...so the sins of man WILL definitely be judged on Judgment Day too (that day could be coming sooner than we think too!). Anybody that has not believe in the saving power of the blood of Jesus would face the ultimate punishment for their sins. It's only through the pure blood of Jesus that any man can be spared from judgment. It's through Jesus that we are able to escape judgment...nothing else. Because God provided a way to eternal life through Jesus, that's another example of God's love for man.
If/when the opportunity comes up again with your friend, try to take the conversation down to a more "personal" level. Ask your friend if he/she would want an impersonal God to exist...one who would simply wipe your friend out because of sins committed. Wouldn't we want a God who would give second chances instead of one who zaps us into oblivion the moment we commit our first sin?
In terms of being defensive, that's a natural reaction when people challenge us on what we believe. Some people might sound like they really know what they believe...and make us feel like we don't. Is it better to think you really know what you believe but ultimately, what you believe in is false? Or is it of greater importance to believe in the truth...even though at times, we're still not sure totally why (part of that is what we call faith - Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see)? That's why it's important for each of us to search this thing out...to really find out what each one of us believe personally. The adult leaders can tell you everything we know...but until you search through the truths of the Bible, it wouldn't become real and personal for you. That's why again this focus on the Bible is so good...because the truth/answers ARE in the Bible.
Yay! Anna you posted I'm so happy lol, I like what you said, and those are good points it's like after reading Catcher in the Rye, I started thinking more about how "phony" the world is, and how "phony" some celebrities are and of course ourselves. And I also agree that good does come from evil somehow good is dependent on evil... I'm not sure how, haha like Michelle's math example lol.
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