Monday, June 7, 2010
WHERE WAS GOD WHEN THE TORNADO HIT?
First of all let me say I sincerely do not want to step on any toes or to make light of anyones religious beliefs with the following entry. I am the first to say that each individual has the right and the freedom to believe anything they want to when it comes to the subjuect of God or religion or spirituality. Myself I have spent most of my adult life trying to make sense of it all as I tread down the path i alone have chosen to take.And I admit that my path has often changed or veered as new information came my way. And Im not about to claim that my beliefs are the true beliefs for everybody. Again each person is capable of choosing their own personal path and that is the way it should always be.As a young child Iwas raised up in a religious family and was made to go to church every time those doors were open.My parents were well meaning folks who thought they were teaching me the "right" way to live so I never have blamed them for any beliefs I have had to overcome to find my true enlightenment.But as I look back at some of the beliefs I was taught as a child it sends shivers down my spine. For you see I was taught at an early age to be afraid of God becasue if I didnt live up to His standards(which were the church's standards)I would eventually die and my soul would be doomed to a hell where the fire burned my soul eternally.And you know what--that belief sure did scare the hell(excuse the pun) out of me. I had no reason to doubt those beliefs even thought to me it seemed a little overboard to punish someone forever.So as the years went by I started to feel discontent with what the church was teaching. And even tho I had to attend the church sessons I was only counting the days til I was old enough that I could make my own decisions as to my spirituality. So as soon as I got out of school and on my own I immediately quit the church cause the teachings by this time seemed really outdated and much too closed minded for my taste. However at the same time there was those deeply ingrained beliefs I had accepted as an innocent child and they kept nagging at me. I suppose I was still afraid that Iwas doomed to an eternal life of hell fire becasue I had abandoned the church. My next step was to unlearn some of the teachings taht had been fed to me as a child. And believe me it has taken a very long time to rid myself of some of these beliefs and I dont kid myself and I know that maybe somewhere deep in my subconsciousness there my still be a thing or two I have hidden from myself. God I hope not but I may never be quite satisified that I have gotten all of them out. Now thats not to say that he church didnt teach me some good qualities because they did. I kept the beliefs that were of a positive nature and most importantly I have tried to live my life by the Golden Rule which the church taught. Today after many years of studying, research, questioning,soul searching, and reading any material of a spiritual nature I have arrived at a good place in my own m ind. Again I remind you this is only MY beliefa nd Im not trying to convert anyone to my way of thinking.But one thing I have found is that I cannot and will not accept any teaching about God or Spirit that teaches to be fearful of God.I see all of us as individual entities of this God or Spirit, and I cannot see any figure that resides in the ethereal world watching us and waiting to judge us one day to see if we got to Heaven or go to Hell.As a matter of fact I really dont see how anyone can accept a loving God or Creator that would allow such things to happen to His creation over the years.I know the beliefs that some say God lets us make our own choices and thts why bad things happen at times. Maybe so but how could a loving and kind Father figure who knows all and sees all allow say nature to ruin the lives of good people for no reason?I just saw where a tornado hit in Indiana and killed several peo[ple. Now where was God when this happened?If He was sitting off somewhere knowing this was about to happen why didnt He stop it. One may say He could but he allows bad things to happen to teach us lessons.I dont know about you but that sure doesnt sound like a loving kind father to me. Look at the innocent children who are borninot this world say deformed or braindamaged. Does God allow this to happen a nd if so Why? It just doesnt make any sense to me thats all Im saying and forgive me but if that is the God you worship then count me out as a believer.I wish I did have the answers but at least now I know I can make my own decisions based on different paths and different spiritual works and I dont have to "belong" to any church. And its also a great freedom to me in my world at least i dont have to be worrying about a Devil going around causing me grief.But that shall be another post about the old Satan. Until I see you again my wish is that you and yours have a most wonderful week ahead. Be safe and enjoy every moment cause you nev er know when this experience is up! "HUGS" to you all.
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12 comments:
Re-training is immeasurably more difficult than training. You are doing a great job keeping your heart open. That's good training.
Hugs.
No matter what god one ascribes to, one is faced with the challenge of answering your question, "Where was God?" You asked how could a loving and kind Father figure who knows all and sees all allow say nature to ruin the lives of good people for no reason? An athiest will say that. If that's the case, all things would be random without reason. One who believes in a higher power of any kind is still challenged by the question, and I ask, isn't any real god able to intervene for good or bad? The answer is yes, or he/she/it is not a real god at all, but just something we made up to feel good about.
For consideration, I submit this thought. God the Creator, the Supreme being, wanted a personal and intimate relationship with his creation and gave them free will, and a mind to think with. His authority was challenged by the guy we call the devil. God could have stamped him and rebellion out with his superior creative powers. That's what I likely would have done - don't make trouble in my house or pay the penalty. But God is wise and I'm not. He knew that if he stopped the rebellion that he would always be regarded as a tyrant in the eyes of those he created, and that free will did not really mean much after all. So he chose a better way.
He has given the one we call Satan or Devil an alloted period of time to make his case that man can live successful lives without God. We live in that time zone today. Satan is trying hard, but failing all the time. Presently, he is busy on the world stage trying to form a global government that does not honor God, but honors man. I expect he will go a long way, but ultimately fail to the harm of many,
At the time of God's choosing, God will destroy the works of Satan, and all of creation will have learned the difference between God's way and other ways to include Satan and men. All the earth will know that God is loving and kind, patient, and tolerant and full of saving grace. This way is much better than my way of killing Satan right off the bat. God will be justified to wipe out any future rebellions when he can point to the many failures and harms that Satan's way inflicted upon humanity.
To answer your question precisely = Evil exists at God's permit so that we can learn the difference between good and evil. If evil did not exist, we could not know good, and we would not realize how much we need Him. God permits Satan to try his best at governing with his own ideas. The many calamities and wars we experience, I believe, are traced to Satan's failure, not God's punishment. The world wars was an effort to create a global government apart from God, and it can happen again.
it seems unfair that innocent people must suffer, but it is Satan's fault, not Gods. Realizing that we need help in this life, God did not leave us as orphans. He made a safe way for us through one person of his choice, Jesus. We find peace through him in the midst of Satan's rants and failures. If the world only followed the teachings of Jesus without a personal relationship, it would still be a much better place to live. Jesus is usually rejected because he represents God's authority, and we don't like being submitted to God. We like to make our own rules and gods to live with so we can feel in control. So, we suffer by our own hand.
The Bible says that pure religion is to care for widows and orphans in their distress. The religious word, including Christianity, has been invaded by frauds and creeps who don't know God at all. They look good, but their theology and deeds stink like hell. But one shouldn't throw safe provision out the window because of the frauds.
I hope you will consider this in your continued search for truth and enlightment. I can tell you are a decent, good man who wants best for everyone. I want that for you, too.
L.M.
Life is short and full of troubles. Consider what Bible teaches. I am cautious about what many churches teach. And those are places where people are. People--humans who disillusion and are disillusioned. God is here, right here all the time.
Summerwind
Thank you Sarah for stopping by and leaving the kind words. You are an angel!
Hi Summerwind, great to hear fromyou again. I do agree that God is right here right now at all times. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts with me
Hi L. M. Thanks for the visit and for sharing your beliefs with us. I read your words more than once and I can easily see why you think the way you do. And for you I have to say it is the "right" belief for you, at least at this time in your human life.But I must admit I still am not able to accept a God that would allow such suffering to happen to innocent people when He had the ability to put astop to it all.I do not consider myself an athiest but I do not ascribe to a God who is somewhere other than in my own soul as well as all souls of human beings and all living things.And I cannot believe that evil is an inherent entity that is here within us just to teach us the difference between right and wrong.I believe on can truly enjoy the good things of life and know they ae good without having had to first experienced "bad" things.I do honor your beliefs though my friend and I wish for you the very best of everything. I do hope you will visit me again and I will look forward to listening to any belief you wish to discuss. God bless you and yours
Thank you for the invitation to post again. This is your blog and I respect that. I do not want to come across as aggressive or cause you to regret the invitation, so i hope you understand that what I'm saying is genuine...not attacking your beliefs and trying to stir up trouble on your site...but I am confused and hope you can clarify because I really do want to know what you think. This is not an affront to you personally...I just don't understand you yet.
An atheist is his own god and makes his own rules...he answers to himself and nobody else. He is powerless to intervene and prevent natural disasters like the tornado you wrote about and asked Where was God? Humans aren't divine and limited in their ability. So..an atheist isnt able to save anyone, so is it true that an atheist is not a higher power god at all? In his case, your question Where was God is completely irrelevant.
You say you do not consider yourself an atheist and you do subscribe to a higher power outside of yourself. This is what confuses me. If you believe in a higher power, is that power able to intervene in human affairs and natural disasters? If not, then the higher power you ascribe to is not a real higher power god at all, and no better than the atheist god.
If you decide that the higher power can intervene in human affairs, then you have to accept that God does allow evil to happen...maybe for reasons we don't realize...but evil is real and there has to be a source of it, whether called satan or whatever. If your god is a real God, he/she/whatever has to allow it or is not a god of power at all, and I could never put my trust in a powerless god. There's plenty of them around to chose from and they never save anybody.
I imagine that a real God sees things differently than we do cause he can see the whole picture and we can't. A real God, being divine, thinks and reasons on a higher plane of knowledge than we have access to. I think he allows things to happen out of a greater wisdom than we possess.
If a god is powerless to intervene, its not real. What good is he? if he is real, then he must allow evil or there wouldn't be any. Does this make sense to you? I guess my question to you is this, Is your higher power a god that can intervene, or is it on the same plane as the atheist philosophy? If it can intervene, does it allow evil?
The day is here so gotta go meet it. Thanks again for the invite to post again. I'll be checking back when I can. Have a good day.
LM
Hi L.M. I sure dont consider your words an "attack" on my beliefs. I encourage anyone to write with their beliefs or questions. You and I may disagree on things but AI truly do respect yur opinion and I would never try to dissuade you from your belief system.You are always welcome to write on my blog--I appreciate your interest-- As to what kind of God I believe in--I believe all life is infused with a spiritual current that enables everything to be here.Therefore that would make all life God as I perceive it. And yes we can act to intervene on whats happening in this world so therefore it would be God acting thru us. Simplely put I believe this statement--God in man(woman,animal,plant,all life forms)as man, is man.And thing about it we as God have very little if any control over human nature which in itself is God also. God is EVERYTHING.So to try and answer your question I do belive there is a Higher Power other than just this human form I am in at the moment but I ma always connected to this higher power and therefore I am God as well as all life.I am free to choose to do good things evil things or whatever label I choose to use.And while I may make "bad" or "evil" choiches at times this in no way detracts from the fact that I am still part of God.Thanks again for stopping by my friend
Capron, I understand now..you practice a mixture of Hindu, native Earth, Scientology, and a mixture of new age teachings. They are actually very old, not new. You believe that god is just a force that we all tap into and use for good or bad, and we evolve into the collective god. End result is same as atheism. You aren’t accountable to a higher power and make your own rules. That’s scary. The bible says that Satan wanted to be like God, too. This is not a vicious attack, just the facts as you presented them.
I see a paradox. Your god is in everything so therefore responsible for everything. If the collective god is unable to prevent disaster, it is a weak god and not real at all….or your god allows evil to exist…which answers your initial question. Since you don’t believe in satan, your god is guilty of crimes, or at best ineffective and can’t make a difference. I think you would prevent evil if you could, but you can’t. The Bible says that evil will get worse, and it is. That what I said before about satan…evil is the result of his failures. It’s a short leap from your god to satan. I’m worried about this.
WE all sin and if you are god, then you are a weak god that needs redemption. I respect your right to chose faith, but if I care anything about you as a human being, I must caution you to reconsider, not just God’s role, but who is God? New age teachings entice us with just enough of the truth, then traps us, leads us away from the basic truth that we are fallen human beings in need of a Savior. it’s the only way satan can harm God…by hurting the people God loves and stealing their hearts. Ill close with next post. LM
Capron, I understand now..you practice a mixture of Hindu, native Earth, Scientology, and a mixture of new age teachings. They are actually very old, not new. You believe that god is just a force that we all tap into and use for good or bad, and we evolve into the collective god. End result is same as atheism. You aren’t accountable to a higher power and make your own rules. That’s scary. The bible says that Satan wanted to be like God, too. This is not a vicious attack, just the facts as you presented them.
I see a paradox. Your god is in everything so therefore responsible for everything. If the collective god is unable to prevent disaster, it is a weak god and not real at all….or your god allows evil to exist…which answers your initial question. Since you don’t believe in satan, your god is guilty of crimes, or at best ineffective and can’t make a difference. I think you would prevent evil if you could, but you can’t. The Bible says that evil will get worse, and it is. That what I said before about satan…evil is the result of his failures. It’s a short leap from your god to satan. I’m worried about this.
WE all sin and if you are god, then you are a weak god that needs redemption. I respect your right to chose faith, but if I care anything about you as a human being, I must caution you to reconsider, not just God’s role, but who is God? New age teachings entice us with just enough of the truth, then traps us, leads us away from the basic truth that we are fallen human beings in need of a Savior. it’s the only way satan can harm God…by hurting the people God loves and stealing their hearts. Ill close with next post. LM
Conclusion - I know the Cross is an affront to those who don't believe, but it is the greatest love story of all time. God has to punish sin and since life is in the blood, he decreed that blood had to be shed to pay the penalty. That's why the early believers made animal sacrificies to appease the wrath of God. It started out as fear of God, but he didn't leave us in that state of fear. He sent Jesus to make a permanent and final payment with his own blood to atone for all of us who will accept God's provision. It was a horrific and painful ordeal, but Jesus humbled himself and obeyed. He did not consider equality with God more important. Because of his obedience, he has been lifted up as the Great High Priest of all the earth. It is a beautiful love story - Gods love for us, Jesus love for his father, and Jesus love for us. It's not about our love for God. We are recipients of his love only and we cannot repay him except to strive to love him, honor him, and follow his rules to best of our ability.
capron, a weak god is not a real god just one that provides a false sense of security. i still respect your right to chose faith, but i disagree with your chosen path and I hope you will reexamine with a sincere heart. You can't find God, he has to come to you, so i suggest you challenge God about the truth. If you're right that you are a god yourself, you won't be disappointed. If i"m right, you'll be much better off when God shows you who He really is. A simple humble challenge in the spirt of honesty and truth is all that you need. The truth will come to you eventually if you mean it. I sincerely hope you come to a knowledge of truth. Best wishes to you on this journey. LM
thanks again for your input LM I accept that you are adament inyour beliefs and that is right where you shuld be.Becaus if ones belief is not a passion then it will ultimately fail. In answeer to your post Yes my beliefs are quite different frm yours but they are my belief and it is the onjefor me. I have already tried the concept of God in the way you describe Him and it just didnt fulfill my thirst for knowledge. I would question as to how you came to believe the way you do now. Was it always that way or have you even tried to see if there might be another belief. Ive seen a lot of god people go thru their entire life believing what they were taught a s children and never once questioning if the "facts" taught them was revelant or not. Again I do thank you for your input and for sharing your beliefs with e and our other readers.One thing I maight add is that my belief brings me much satisifactiona nd much joy and peace of mind and I dont fear so called death and sure dontbelieve my soul will be destroyed because I didnt worship God in the way you describe.I truly hope your belief is one that fills you with peace and hope for something better and that there is no fear residing in your belief system. Take casr my friend I wish the very best for you and yours now and always
capron = I hear you about peace and satisfaction. I have that. In the end, that is not what its about. This is not about individual solace. It is about knowing and honoring God as He has prescribed, not our own way of describing God. Two things - 1. I came to faith as I have explained after years of searching. I was not raised to believe. I studied some of the same things you have studied. I did not believe the bible stuff either, until I had an encounter with a real supernatural being, not just an earth bound mischievous one, but the one called the HOLY GHost. He directed me to Jesus as the source of eternal life, and I had to let go of my past beliefs and deep secrets. Knowledge was not enough for me. It took a real encounter, and it wasn't easy.
2. You did not answer my question if you can - if god is everything and you are god, too, aren't you and god responsible for tragedies? god must have been in that tornado according to your faith. I/m not trying to be a smart aleck, I just want to know how you reason that out. The logic appears flawed to me. Can you answer me direct about that? Then I'll be on my way. Thanks. LM
Mother Nature is responsibile for the tragic happenings like tornados earthquakes hurricanes etc I myself am not responsibile.And no i had nothing to do with the way nature does us at times. And just suppose for a moment that everything we "see" here is only an illusion and that everything is in reality only mind. Kinda like a dream that we will one day wake up from?Im only saying that is one possibility.And yes God was in the tornado just as He was in those people who rushed to help those out who had suffered. Again I say ALL is God and that includes me you and every life form that has ever existed or will exist.Im sure i cannot explain to you in mere words the answers to your questions. But I do at least leave my mind open to ALL possibilities.And that is one of my pet peeves about most religions--they are just a little too adamant in saying they have found the ONLY way to God and one must conform to their belief system to find God.I refuse to close my mind to ANY possibility about life about God and about my beliefs.Namastie my friend.
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