| Q: Why doesn't God intervene, answer our prayers, work a miracle? |
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One friend (a reverend) insists that God CAN'T intervene - because if He can watch some child die in front of the horrified family and do nothing, He's a bastard! It's a possible answer, but it's a bit difficult to square with an omnipotent Creator? And God certainly answers prayer on some occasions. We can see SOME of the reasons God doesn't always intervene. Let's consider some actual people. P, a medical student had difficulties in his personal life, got behind with his work, and prayed desperately that he would pass the final exams - he wouldn't be able to afford to stay an extra year to retake them. He failed. Why didn't God help him? E, a drug-addict had her baby removed to "a place of safety" for 6 months. When the period ended, the baby would either be returned to her or taken away for ever. She and her family prayed desperately - and she lost. She will never see that baby again. Why? How could God be so cruel? M, a faithful, upright Christian man, was accused of raping a 13-year-old girl decades ago on a church picnic. There was absolutely no evidence (except her testimony), her recollections didn't fit the facts, she was in treatment and he was healthy, and the whole church turned up in the courtroom and prayed desperately for him. He lost the case, was convicted, and got a long jail sentence. What was God thinking of? R was a hard-working, loving father and grandfather who developed cancer when he retired. Then he got terribly ill with complications and was taken to hospital. His family kept watch, prayed faithfully ... and he died! Was their faith 'not great enough'? S was a kind, sensitive, gay man who died painfully of AIDS. He was not religious, but his mother prayed repeatedly for him - in vain. Why would a loving God punish people so nastily? Why didn't God intervene and stop all this? Why didn't He answer the prayers?
Suppose God miraculously helps P pass his exams? He'll be a doctor, but without enough knowledge - perpetually making mistakes, harming his patients and regretting it. Is that REALLY what P wants? He's actually praying for the wrong thing! ... Sometimes God knows what's best for us. Suppose E got her baby back, while still using crack. Disastrous, eh? Maybe, just maybe, losing her baby will stop her in her tracks, and lead to a new life? (And probably, later, a new baby?) ... Sometimes we aren't ready to receive what we pray for - we have work to do first. M and his wife were devastated at the judge's verdict, and so were the church members. What was God doing? Looking back, we can now see God's amazing plan. M's lawyer appealed the case. The Appeal Court overthrew the verdict, AND changed the law in 2 particulars, making it almost impossible for innocent men to be convicted with no evidence (other than one accuser) and no supporting records. M never went to jail. Sure, he had a very alarming experience - but it has saved innocent men from injustice ever since. R may have had a joyful release? He may be with God, free from drip-tubes and chemotherapy, from pain and bedpans, and much better off? We always regard death as a terrible disaster - and it is for us! We won't see R any more, and will miss him. But maybe our prayers are sometimes a bit selfish? We don't believe that God deliberately punishes people like S (or their mothers). Innocent heterosexual people die of AIDS too. It's not a punishment. It can be a RESULT of sexual behaviour - but that's our doing, not God's. But let's be honest - there are other times when we can see no sense in the suffering. Why does God allow any of it? Probably this is beyond our human comprehension. Jesus's disciples once asked him "Teacher, who sinned that this man was born blind? Him or his parents?" (Misfortune was generally seen as punishment from God.) Jesus's answer is very different from our world-view: "So that I might come along and heal him, and display the power of God to you". Maybe if God ALWAYS prevented suffering, it would simply become "natural law", and we would not be able to see God work at all? The GodOrNot team.
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If you've prayed (the word means "asked") for things, you know that God sometimes gives you what you asked - but not always! Why? How can a loving God let his beloved children suffer, and just do nothing?
Comments
But the Bible tells us that we are made in His image - which means (from our point of view) that He has some human attributes! So if we think of Him as a human being, we are not too far off the truth.
Indeed, C.S.Lewis argues that "a person" is the CLOSEST we can get to imagining God. If we try to imagine him as an "infinite force" or a "First Cause", we are actually degrading our image of Him. He has more than the capacities of a human being, not less.
The Bible also tells us that our relationship to God is similar to the relation between a human father and his children. This means, for most of us, that calling Him "Father" is the nearest we can come to the truth. So expressions like "Father/Mother God" are not as accurate.
Children benefit from a mother and a father in different ways. According to the Bible, the way God looks after us is more like a father (discipline, long-term vision, preparation, training) than a mother (nourishment, comfort, sympathy, encouragement) ... although clearly He has some of those too!
But God is not dead. He still cares!
I wonder. Why do you refer to God as HE. How do you know that God is male?
I've always been wondering why people make this implicit assumption which, logically, should anger God. God is genderless.
Very best wishes,
Takis
Some evidence is provided at
http://www.pleaseconvinceme.com/index/Are_There_Early_Eyewitness_Accounts_of_Jesus
and suggests that the gospels were contemporary, so likely to be eye-witness accounts.
Luke does in fact claim to be an eye-witness account of Paul (not Jesus) - in Acts he says at times "... WE arrived at ..."
Tony
By the way, I applaud the moderator of this site for allowing free and open debate on this subject. Kudos.
Was the author an eyewitness of the events of Jesus life?
Tradition Modern
Matthew Yes No
Mark Yes Possible
Luke No No
John Yes Possible
Acts No No
Paul's Epistles (14) No No
James Yes Unlikely
1 Peter Yes Unlikely
2 Peter Yes No
1 John Yes Unlikely
2 John Yes No
3 John Yes No
Jude Yes No
Revelation Yes No
Total Yes 11 0
Total Questioned 0 5
Total No 16 22
Note: Gospels and Acts may draw second hand from unknown
eyewitness accounts in specific cases.
Source:
http://www.winternet.com/~swezeyt/bible/swezauth.htm
That aside, God is the Lord Of All Creation. He answers prayer. He can do anything. He is able to intervene in the lives of people. He can rearrange flesh, remove sickness and disease. So whether we agree or disagree that Satan has dominion in the earth, God can still act in a sovereign and miraculous way. He does it all the time!
Then there's this:
Quoting Jerry:
If they were asking 'her' they were asking the wrong god. I suspect they didn't ask Him.
I have heard it said that there is more evidence for the existence of Jesus than there is for Julius Caesar! I don't know whether Julius Caesar did in fact exist. I've never seen any actual evidence for his existence!
The Bible itself provides multiple eye witness accounts from men who have no ulterior motive and did not benefit in any way from telling people the truth about Jesus. The fact that these historical accounts were compiled into one book, the Bible, is not a reason to discount their accuracy, sincerity or truth. Open your eyes.
kampta
Guyana
Just check it out. Open your mind.
Point is, God created mankind. He gave authority to mankind to populate and subdue it - and mankind broke the covenant by disobeying God's Golden Rule... we wanted to be like God. Thus we passed Satan the authority to screw things up on Earth. But if we're in God's Kingdom (Christians) we have the authority to over-rule Satan.
Remember that Jesus didn't invite us to ask Him to move the mountain - He told us to order it. He gave back to us, the members of His Kingdom, the Authority which God gave Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Christians are now in that same old G of E relationship with God but we still live in a fallen world....
Richard Stubbs
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