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Joined: May 2008
Posts: 4,707
Master Elite Member
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Why God Allows People To Do Evil...
The Bible reveals that God allows humans to have freedom of choice.
He didn't stop Adam and Eve from eating the forbidden fruit or Cain
from murdering his brother.. ( Genesis 3:6, 4:8 )
God did, however , stop an ancient world of gross evil ,
but only after centuries of violence among human beings and rampant inhumanity to each other..
( Genesis 6:11 -12 )
To do so , God had to destroy the majority of the human race
( Genesis 6:5-7)
God didn't prevent his own nation -- ancient Israel --- from sinning.
The people were exhorted to choose the way of love and life..
( Deuteronomy 30:19-20 )
But God didn't prevent them from opting for the way of evil ,
which they did.
The apostle Paul also wrote about humanity's free choice to do
good or evil.
Once again , it's plain that God wasen't in the business of forcing people
who do bad things to become good.
He simply gave such people over to " the sinfull desires of their hearts ".
( Romans 1:24, new international version ),
They engaged in greed, depravity , slander , murder , ruthlessness
( Verses 26-31 )
This hurt innocent people terribly.
God was infuriated by what they did , and pronounced their penalty--
death ( verse 32 )
But he didn't stop them from being abusive to others.
Why not ? Why didn't he-- Why doesn't he ?
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Joined: May 2008
Posts: 4,707
Master Elite Member
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If humans are to be truely free to decide their own fate,
behavior choices have to be left in human hands...
The world , then , must operate according to the rules
that make human freedom possible...
Suppose God did change the rules of life and prevent people
from doing hurtfull things to others ?
Would he halt all evil or just some of it ?
How bad would the evil have to be for God to stop it ?
Genocide ? Murder ? Torture ? Wife beating ?
A slap in the face ? A nasty word ?
Would God stop people from writing bad checks,
cheating on school tests , stealing office supplies ?
How far would God have to intrude in human life
to stop human evil ?
If God were to prevent evil , he would have to intervene
in everyone's life virtually nonstop , would he not ?
That is , if he were to be fair and consistent about it.
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Joined: May 2008
Posts: 4,707
Master Elite Member
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God would then be infringing on our freedom.
We would no longer be free moral agents.
We would be automatons , with God regulating every
behavior of each person alive.
We couldn't make any moral choices because..
God would be makeing them for us.
There's no way around it. To be responsible moral beings-
as God wants us to be-- we must have the freedom to
choose whats right for our own sake.
We cannot have our choices made for us or have them forced
upon us. This world , so full of evil , operates according to these
ground rules..
Of course , God is not powerless to stop evil , as some think.
The Bible tells a different story...
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Joined: May 2008
Posts: 4,707
Master Elite Member
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God is as outraged about man's inhumanity to man as we are.
( Ezekiel 22:13 )
But to perserve human freedom ,
he chooses not to stop every incident of evil...
We may not like this moral order of things.
We can hate it , in fact , because God does.
Yet that is how God , for his purpose , has chosen
to run the world...
Would anyone of us want to live in a world without
individual choice ?
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Joined: May 2008
Posts: 4,707
Master Elite Member
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But God is not causeing others to suffer.
People are the culprits , human society is..
That makes anything from a Holocaust
to the shooting of a loved one , a product of life--
of man's mind...
It's not something God does or wishes.
The Bible , Gods word to man, attests over and over
that unjust suffering exists.
It will only be ended when God's way is in it's
fullest manifestation on this earth..
Then Christ will rule the world in righteouness
( Isaiah 11:1-9 )
God will operate in human minds through the
Holy Spirit ( Jeremiah 31: 31-34 )
Perhaps with this hope in mind we may find it easier
to deal with an unfair world of suffering...
The Plain Truth August 1992
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Joined: May 2008
Posts: 4,707
Master Elite Member
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Why Must Christians Suffer ?
Many Christians hold an unspoken belief that a dedicated
follower of Christ should be immune to misfortune, " wrote
Dwight L. Carlson in When Life Isn't Fair.
Tragically , the promulgators of the health , wealth and
prosperity gospel misunderstand the Christian life..
Faith in Jesus does not guarantee a life free of suffering..
Do not be surprised at the painfull trail you are suffering,
as though something strange was happening to you, "
Wrote Peter ( 1 Peter 4:12 ) , New International version
Or Literal Bible Translation of ( 1 Peter 4:12 )
Beloved, do not be astonished at the fiery trail
happening to you for ( your ) testing , as ( If ) a surprise
( were ) occuring to you ...
A comfort- zone interpertation of the Bible garbles the truth..
True , Jesus promised that God would help the faithfull
attain their needs ( Matthew 6:25 -33 )
Paul points out that " in all good things God works for the good
of thoses who love him ( Romans 8: 28 )
But theses are not ironclad promises that once people
become children of God they will no longer have troubles in life..
The Bible has never promised Christians an easy time...
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Joined: May 2008
Posts: 4,707
Master Elite Member
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Jesus told his disciples they would be hated and persecuted
for their beliefs ( Matthew 10:17-31 )
Disciples could expect physical blessings , but with trails..
( Mark 10: 29-30 )
The apostles echoed Jesus' teaching. James wrote of Christians
who were facing " trials of many kinds ". ( James 1:2 )
Peter wrote to the Church , saying : " In this you greatly rejoice,
though now for alittle while you may have had to suffer grief in all
kinds of trials " ( 1 peter 1:6 )
Or literal Bible translation .. in which you exult, yet a little ( while ),
if need be , grieving in manifold trails.. so that the proveing
of your faith , much more precious then perishing gold ,
but haveing been proved thru fire ,
may be found to praise and honor and glory at
( The) revelation of Jesus Christ...
Of course , it's not the trail itself that brings joy...
Joy comes in knowing trails provide opportunities for
spiritual enrichment...
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Joined: May 2008
Posts: 4,707
Master Elite Member
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Trails and suffering can develop spiritual perseverance... ( James 1: 2-4 ) Peter says that through trails godly faith also' may be proved genuine " ( 1 Peter 1-7 ) God learns if we truely love him through our human suffering. ( Genesis 22 : 1-12 ) Suffering teaches us to look beyond this life -- to our true purpose -- to Gods gift of eternal life ( 11 Corinthians : 1: 8-9 ) We learn to distinguish between this imperfect , temporary existence and eternal life. For this reason, Paul said " our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us " ( Romans 8:16 ) Those who have faith in Jesus pierce through their suffering to the above-- to God... Their faith is strengthened precisely because it has been pounded by suffering.. The Plain Truth Magazine..... August 1992 A Church Without Walls........ http://www.ptm.org/cwr/info/interviewCWR.htmDon't believe me BELIEVE YOUR BIBLE BELIEVE GOD! Herbert W. Armstrong, Plain Truth magazine, Sept. 1963, Personal pg.1 There are people we serve who can't find a healthy, well-balanced church close to their home. There are people who can't, for health reasons, leave their home. There are people who find it difficult to find or pay for transportation to get to the church they would like to attend. I've been an ordained minister for over 30 years -- why not reach those who cannot or will not attend church in a building? From the Plain Truth... Note.. I do not belong to this Church.... But what they write about regarding disabled people or people who are ill... Even for thoses who have severe or bad hyperacusis who cannot be around noise.. It is so true with understanding....
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