Post by Freedom From Atheistic Scientism.
QUESTION: The fact that six of my relatives were murdered in concentration camps informs my belief that God was not listening. Now, if he was listening ... well, wouldn't a kind and merciful being help his true believers? Of course he gets all the excuses made for him. Man's will and all that crap. If he can split oceans and turn folks to salt, he sure as heck can help those facing genocide.
ANSWER: Was God not listening during WWII? Better question: Why has man willfully refused to listen to God for thousands of years now, and separated himself from Him, and as a result brought about the kind of evil men that defy God and do things like concentration camps? That's the real question. Yes, like it or not, the free will that God gave us has a lot to do with it. God made us free-thinking creatures, not robots. Therefore, while we have the ability to freely do all kinds of good, we also at the same time have the freedom to do all kinds of evil -- if we choose to misuse the ability God has given us. We cannot have the one without the other. If God is directly responsible for all evil that happens (as some people say), then should Hitler's parents have been held responsible for the evil their son did, simply because they brought him into the world? Should ALL parents everywhere be held responsible every time their children do something evil, because they made that evil possible by bringing their children into the world? Should all people stop having babies in order to bring an end to evil in the world?
And yes, God does hear the prayers of His people for justice and accountability. Most of the people who ran the concentration camps have already answered to God for what they did. So does everyone who does evil. "The Lord will be no means leave the guilty unpunished" (Nahum 1:3), and "For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality" (Colossians 3:25). But in order to rightly and justly judge people for their actions, God has to allow those actions to play out. That is why there is evil in the world. Not because God wanted it, or because He isn't listening, but because He waits as long as He can to judge people because He doesn't like to condemn people. He wants to forgive them. But He cannot forgive them if they do not first choose to turn away from their evil and regret what they have done. "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). But pay attention: a day of judgment IS coming, where NO one who has done any kind of evil will escape.
People have a right to their opinions. But that doesn't make all their opinions right. Or in alignment with reality. Just because God gave us the ability to think doesn't mean that everything we think is right. Those who hate God for not immediately and supernaturally stopping all the evil in the world (and there are many today) simply don't understand who He is, or what He is trying to do. What is the point of giving people free will and making them independent, thinking personalities, if at the same time God must constantly swoop in to undo the consequences or results of every wrong, stupid, or evil thing that they might choose to do? God cannot contradict Himself. But humans often do. That is the way things are. The entire Bible is about how God judges evil -- and how one day (on a day of His choosing) He will do away with it permanently.
QUESTION: The fact that six of my relatives were murdered in concentration camps informs my belief that God was not listening. Now, if he was listening ... well, wouldn't a kind and merciful being help his true believers? Of course he gets all the excuses made for him. Man's will and all that crap. If he can split oceans and turn folks to salt, he sure as heck can help those facing genocide.
ANSWER: Was God not listening during WWII? Better question: Why has man willfully refused to listen to God for thousands of years now, and separated himself from Him, and as a result brought about the kind of evil men that defy God and do things like concentration camps? That's the real question. Yes, like it or not, the free will that God gave us has a lot to do with it. God made us free-thinking creatures, not robots. Therefore, while we have the ability to freely do all kinds of good, we also at the same time have the freedom to do all kinds of evil -- if we choose to misuse the ability God has given us. We cannot have the one without the other. If God is directly responsible for all evil that happens (as some people say), then should Hitler's parents have been held responsible for the evil their son did, simply because they brought him into the world? Should ALL parents everywhere be held responsible every time their children do something evil, because they made that evil possible by bringing their children into the world? Should all people stop having babies in order to bring an end to evil in the world?
And yes, God does hear the prayers of His people for justice and accountability. Most of the people who ran the concentration camps have already answered to God for what they did. So does everyone who does evil. "The Lord will be no means leave the guilty unpunished" (Nahum 1:3), and "For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality" (Colossians 3:25). But in order to rightly and justly judge people for their actions, God has to allow those actions to play out. That is why there is evil in the world. Not because God wanted it, or because He isn't listening, but because He waits as long as He can to judge people because He doesn't like to condemn people. He wants to forgive them. But He cannot forgive them if they do not first choose to turn away from their evil and regret what they have done. "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). But pay attention: a day of judgment IS coming, where NO one who has done any kind of evil will escape.
People have a right to their opinions. But that doesn't make all their opinions right. Or in alignment with reality. Just because God gave us the ability to think doesn't mean that everything we think is right. Those who hate God for not immediately and supernaturally stopping all the evil in the world (and there are many today) simply don't understand who He is, or what He is trying to do. What is the point of giving people free will and making them independent, thinking personalities, if at the same time God must constantly swoop in to undo the consequences or results of every wrong, stupid, or evil thing that they might choose to do? God cannot contradict Himself. But humans often do. That is the way things are. The entire Bible is about how God judges evil -- and how one day (on a day of His choosing) He will do away with it permanently.
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