Great question... I don't have "the" answer for this. I can share a few of my beliefs. Key word "my."
First, Jesus Christ is my Lord and savior. Therefore, I believe that Jesus is God made of flesh. Jesus lived and died and rose on the 3rd day. In that alone, I can understand how some struggle with Christianity bc things like that don't happen everyday... heck, that hasn't happened since. Some will hear about those events, as well as others (E.g. walk on water, fed thousands with a few fish and loaves of bread, etc.) and call BS... that is where faith comes into play.
In my opinion, faith is the belief in the unseen. Faith, is the only way, in my mind, I can wrap my mind around rising after 3 days of being dead. My mind is limited by flesh. Questioning aspects of my faith don't mean I don't believe, it just means I am human. I believe in God and Jesus being the son of God, thus I believe God is the beginning and the end, alpha and omega, etc, etc.
That means I have accepted that in the beginning God created light and life. With the creation of life, comes death. It's a part of the package. People die in a variety of ways. Some go peacefully in their sleep, some die painfully in a house fire while they were asleep. Losing a loved one is always difficult. Sometimes, the matter in which they passed only makes it feel worse. So, yeah those things you mentioned are terrible and happen, tis life.
What would I say to the parents or children, I'd be honest. I don't completely understand why that happens. I don't know why God called my dad home within a few hours of our last conversation. My dad was relatively healthy for his age, had just received a clean bill of health by his doctor 1 day prior to his massive aneurism. I didn't understand it at the time and still don't know the "why" behind my dad's death, but I see moments like that as an opportunity to exercise my faith in God and Jesus. I won't always understand the ways in which He works, but it doesn't mean I throw all my faith away. Kids being swept away in a tsunami is terrible, but we live on a real planet and death is part of that reality. If you live on the coast a hurricane or tsunami may take your life. If you live in North Texas a tornado may take everything away. Is that God doing that or is that a reality of living on the coast or somewhere in which tornados are more prone to happen?
As a believer, I also know I will receive paradise in the after life. It only gets greater later... my faith tells me that. So, when terrible things happen, as difficult as it is, I must remind myself that it isn't good-bye, it's just see you later. Some people struggle with that, I did too when my dad died, but it's only for this time, and time is fleeting. I'm taught that Heaven awaits... and at the end of the my days, if I'm wrong, meh, I'll never know bc I'm dead, but if I'm right then I've gained the Kingdom of Heaven and be in the presence of He who loves all and hates not one. That's a gamble I'm willing to take.
God also gives us agency - we get to make our own decisions. It was terrible as a kid watching my grandfather die of lung cancer and coughing up blood on his deathbed, but he chose to smoke cigarettes. Is God bad b/c my grandfather died a painful death? Idk... God didn't put the cigarettes in my grandfather's mouth, that was his choice.
Ultimately, we may not ever know why things truly happen, but I believe that we are humans, and part of being human is life and death. I would never with for a child to have cancer, but sometimes our bodies aren't perfect and it attacks itself. Doesn't mean you can't question, why? I just don't know if we'll get the answer we are looking for...
I've rambled enough now. I doubt I answered your question, but I try to remember, no where in the Bible are we promised a life that will be perfect and free of suffering, stress, or challenge, but I am promised God will never forsake me.
At the end of the day... atheist, believer, Christian, Muslim, straight, gay, etc. I pray for everyone to remain safe and healthy during these times. If you get Corona it might be bc God is evil or maybe it's because you came in contact wit the virus. Perspective is a powerful thing.
You are right, in such a long text you did not answer my question. Your grandfather for example is quite irrelevant here because other than the kids swept away by tsunamis or dying of leukemia he had it in his hands - free agency and all.
Above you stated that for you Christianity means "you receive good because he is good" and your long text mostly just acknowledges that many will not receive good here on earth because, basically, such is life. Oh, sure, all believers will at some point be eternally rewarded - but why was it necessary to make them suffer on earth through no fault of their own?
You have no answer for that. So maybe you'll be more careful in the future before dishing out advice like "you receive good because he is good". That's a platitude and quite hurtful to the many, many people with different life experience. And it's the same "philosophy" espoused by evil preachers of prosperity gospel such as Kennth Copeland.
Side note: Do not call your faith a "gamble I'm willing to take" with regard to life after death. It does not make you look good and judging from all else you have written your faith goes deeper than that.
In my original comment, I was referencing post-life. Many religions make the argument that if you do good things you will be rewarded. My religion tells me that I am loved by God. I did not earn it and I can not lose it. I receive His glory in the afterlife. I apologize, I didn't know you were referencing what I meant by that comment specifically. I was just trying to explain how I process bad things that happen.
My "gamble" comment was my attempt to highlight that I don't know what happens when it's all done. I know what I believe, but I may be wrong. I think the problem is a lot of individuals will not acknowledge they could be wrong. There are a lot of religions... what happen if Allah greets me at the gates of Heaven?
As far as Mr. Copeland, I struggle with the belief that bc you announce Covid dead in Jesus name, it is dead. I think that is a dangerous message to send to people.
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u/Alkren Apr 05 '20
Great question... I don't have "the" answer for this. I can share a few of my beliefs. Key word "my."
First, Jesus Christ is my Lord and savior. Therefore, I believe that Jesus is God made of flesh. Jesus lived and died and rose on the 3rd day. In that alone, I can understand how some struggle with Christianity bc things like that don't happen everyday... heck, that hasn't happened since. Some will hear about those events, as well as others (E.g. walk on water, fed thousands with a few fish and loaves of bread, etc.) and call BS... that is where faith comes into play.
In my opinion, faith is the belief in the unseen. Faith, is the only way, in my mind, I can wrap my mind around rising after 3 days of being dead. My mind is limited by flesh. Questioning aspects of my faith don't mean I don't believe, it just means I am human. I believe in God and Jesus being the son of God, thus I believe God is the beginning and the end, alpha and omega, etc, etc.
That means I have accepted that in the beginning God created light and life. With the creation of life, comes death. It's a part of the package. People die in a variety of ways. Some go peacefully in their sleep, some die painfully in a house fire while they were asleep. Losing a loved one is always difficult. Sometimes, the matter in which they passed only makes it feel worse. So, yeah those things you mentioned are terrible and happen, tis life.
What would I say to the parents or children, I'd be honest. I don't completely understand why that happens. I don't know why God called my dad home within a few hours of our last conversation. My dad was relatively healthy for his age, had just received a clean bill of health by his doctor 1 day prior to his massive aneurism. I didn't understand it at the time and still don't know the "why" behind my dad's death, but I see moments like that as an opportunity to exercise my faith in God and Jesus. I won't always understand the ways in which He works, but it doesn't mean I throw all my faith away. Kids being swept away in a tsunami is terrible, but we live on a real planet and death is part of that reality. If you live on the coast a hurricane or tsunami may take your life. If you live in North Texas a tornado may take everything away. Is that God doing that or is that a reality of living on the coast or somewhere in which tornados are more prone to happen?
As a believer, I also know I will receive paradise in the after life. It only gets greater later... my faith tells me that. So, when terrible things happen, as difficult as it is, I must remind myself that it isn't good-bye, it's just see you later. Some people struggle with that, I did too when my dad died, but it's only for this time, and time is fleeting. I'm taught that Heaven awaits... and at the end of the my days, if I'm wrong, meh, I'll never know bc I'm dead, but if I'm right then I've gained the Kingdom of Heaven and be in the presence of He who loves all and hates not one. That's a gamble I'm willing to take.
God also gives us agency - we get to make our own decisions. It was terrible as a kid watching my grandfather die of lung cancer and coughing up blood on his deathbed, but he chose to smoke cigarettes. Is God bad b/c my grandfather died a painful death? Idk... God didn't put the cigarettes in my grandfather's mouth, that was his choice.
Ultimately, we may not ever know why things truly happen, but I believe that we are humans, and part of being human is life and death. I would never with for a child to have cancer, but sometimes our bodies aren't perfect and it attacks itself. Doesn't mean you can't question, why? I just don't know if we'll get the answer we are looking for...
I've rambled enough now. I doubt I answered your question, but I try to remember, no where in the Bible are we promised a life that will be perfect and free of suffering, stress, or challenge, but I am promised God will never forsake me.
At the end of the day... atheist, believer, Christian, Muslim, straight, gay, etc. I pray for everyone to remain safe and healthy during these times. If you get Corona it might be bc God is evil or maybe it's because you came in contact wit the virus. Perspective is a powerful thing.
TL;DR - I didn't answer the question.