I am well aware that many religious people accept that God cannot intervene on wordly matters, so as to leave human beings “in charge” of our own destinies. But in the cases of people born physically deformed, or into an impoverished part of the world beset by famine, war or drought, how can this possibly be fair?
There are animals who, through natural design, are compelled to hunt, kill and eat whatever prey they can find. The Leopard Seal, for example, will eat penguins if available. Small penguins it can gobble whole, larger ones it has to physically slam against the water surface many times, until the penguin’s body is completely shattered and it slowly dies an agonizing death. Similar predation occurs when the crocodile drags prey beneath the water, slowly suffocating the unfortunate beast to a prolonged and painful death. The Indian wild dog, if hungry enough, will chase its prey for many miles, until, totally exhausted, the victim may be disembowelled while still living, and slowly skinned alive.
I want religious people to explain how their God, who supposedly “designed” all this, is worth worshipping, in the face of such barbarity. If your answer is that God is powerless to intervene, this surely renders Him unworthy of worship. Saying “He works in mysterious ways,” or “it is a mystery,” carries little water.
If you can recite the Lord’s Prayer or the Palms while watching a Youtube video of a rabbit being slowly swallowed alive by a snake, please explain how.
Thank you and God bless.
Wildlife Photography Resource
Wild Prism
September 28th, 2009 at 7:52 pm
How Can You Worship A God Who Has Designed Such A World As This?
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8:47 pm on September 28th, 2009 1
At the heart of the matter is sin. If you go back to the book of Genesis in the bible, it tells us that man only ate meat after he disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit. Animals began to hunt and eat each other after the great flood. This was never Gods original plan. Because God loved us he has to give us Choice. Adam and Eve choose to disobey God and there was consequence. You see, sin has ramifications in the spiritual realm and physical realm, theologically speaking. Spiritually, every human being is born in depravity(thats why we must learn to do whats right; the wrong comes quite naturally) becasue of Adams sin. Phyically we are prone to hardships, sickness and death all becasue of sin.
Now God does intervene in the world affairs. He sent Jesus to save us from the power, practice and penalty of sin. There are many things im sure God prevents from happening that we may not be aware of. but the day is coming when Jesus will return to this earth and set up his government only then will all suffering end!
8:52 pm on September 28th, 2009 2
it seems as though you have a problem with the food chain. Would you rather the snake starve to death? Or the Crocodile not eat at all Because theres no other way for these animals to survive unless they eat and God has made provisions for them just like he made provisions for you an I.
9:20 pm on September 28th, 2009 3
You don’t deny then that he also the creator of the beautiful things?
Then my answer is simple:
I love him because he created beautiful things
and
I hate him because he created ugly things.
How can I love him? I just answered. You think I can’t do both? Well then it is what I prefer more, ugly or beautiful things? I choose second. And I love him.
9:36 pm on September 28th, 2009 4
I agree that there is terrible tragedy in the world. But there is also unspeakable beauty and dazzling joy.
I don’t know why there is disease and pain and suffering. But I do know that God is infinitely wise and good, and that there is a lot about the universe that none of us understand yet.
10:20 pm on September 28th, 2009 5
There is no god, religion was made up by people trying to con a couple of idiots for their money and get worshipped also.
10:31 pm on September 28th, 2009 6
kind of contradictory to end the question with “God Bless”, but anyways,
because they want to…i mean, they Do have the right to worship whomever they want right??
10:56 pm on September 28th, 2009 7
How about the spider, that paralyzes it’s victim and sucks it dry. Gruesome, but efficient!
(I love answers like “I don’t know much, but I know that my beliefs are right.”)
11:06 pm on September 28th, 2009 8
people cause famine and war, and can help in a drought
i don’t see the significance of the animal ones
11:46 pm on September 28th, 2009 9
If you knew God, you wouldn’t go against Him. It’s that simple.
11:57 pm on September 28th, 2009 10
He put US in charge, and we fucked it up.
12:28 am on September 29th, 2009 11
What is your point? Get to the point.
12:39 am on September 29th, 2009 12
The answer is that God is working out His plan in dealing with humanity over a 7,000-year period. For the first 6,000 years, God is allowing humanity to experiment with various forms of religion, education, government and culture. Through spiritual emptiness and physical and emotional agony, humanity is now writing the lesson in human suffering that man’s ways always turn out to be wrong. Having learned this lesson, humanity will be far more ready to listen genuinely when God does open their minds and hearts to His Truth. In giving us freedom to choose, God has given us room to accept or reject His guidance, to choose rebellion or submission, to make foolish decisions or wise ones. In doing so He has given each of us an undetermined future.
Adam chose, by sinning, to turn away from God. The rest of mankind has taken the same path. “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, … death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).
Sometimes the best we can do is to accept it as explainable only by what the Bible calls “time and chance” (Ecclesiastes 9:11). Although God does not cause accidents, neither does He micromanage the lives of every human being to prevent them. Paul tells us that in this life we see through “a glass darkly” (1 Corinthians 13:12, KJV). We will never fully understand some things during this life, but we will in the world to come. One of the consequences of humanity’s decision to live contrary to God’s instruction is a world subject to the capriciousness and vagaries of “time and chance” and the actions of others. This pattern will prevail until Christ returns to establish God’s Kingdom on earth.
1:37 am on September 29th, 2009 13
So if He leaves the devastating and pernicious effects of sin you say that is wrong and if He were to remove them then you would deny your sin.
Is this not how the Lord rightly compares you, just like the churlish children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept.
Wisdom truly is justified of her children!
That none can live except by the death of another is supremely exemplified in the death of Christ.
That sin will result in eternal suffering is amply exemplified here by its effects before your very eyes.
There is none so blind as the proud who do not want to see. And though you see you deny what you see.
Though He be close to the humble yet truly He is far from the proud.
And you do not want to worship One Who gave His life for you and suffered the penalty of your sin in Himself that you might be spared?
Can there be any greater sin or effect of sin than that?
2:30 am on September 29th, 2009 14
God made it perfect.Till humans mucked it all up.So don’t blame God for the evil that man does.But since our eviction from Eden.He has been working to bring us back to perfection.From fertilizer of life comes roses.He couldn’t stand for us to pass into the dark.So he made it possible the free ticket to heaven through Jesus.Can’t be earned or sacrificed for,just free.But he loved us enough to take a chance that we might walk away.You spoke of youtube.Watch Butterfly Kisses.Then you will know how God feels when just one goes away.
3:01 am on September 29th, 2009 15
First, I could be kidnapped and forced to work in slave in Africa.
Does that make God’s fault?
Second, mankind design itself. They were the one that inherited evil regardless of religion or no religion. If you have an society with no remorse, unlimited things can be done like murdering, stealing, etc.
Thirdly, not all living things can live on vegetable and we can’t save all animal. We can’t seperate hostile animal from an animal alway.
3:12 am on September 29th, 2009 16
Man brought Death upon mankind because we eat from the The Tree of Knowledge, resulting in diease all stuff like that. Famine is due to Global Warming (manmade) War done by man. Drought is part of global warming man. and animals do that because thats the circle of life that just how things role man. Also If you are Christian god made everything for a purpose and he himself called it ‘Good’ and you gotta be sick watching an animal being swallowed.
3:57 am on September 29th, 2009 17
I am a Buddhist but I believe in God. I will not put a label on him and say he is Christian/ Muslim/ etc….but i believe in him. I I believe in the philosophy of how I should live my life from Buddhism.
I believe there is so much pain and violence in the world because it is to teach us. Look at what we’ve learned as individuals from wars, the holocaust, human rights, and murders. We’ve learned so much about life and the world. Horrible things happen so we can learn and grow deeply as human beings. I’ve been through many hardships in life but I’ve learned a lot and grown into a individual. My morals have grown and change as well. If the world was perfect what would we learn as human beings. We would all be the same.
4:12 am on September 29th, 2009 18
your argument carries no weight at all.
humans have free will
animals do not make moral choices and act on instinct.
They need to eat so they kill to eat other animals or humans if they get over their fear of man.
Animals are not human.
Deformity comes from the mothers womb
God does not create the physical body but the soul.
The physical body forms in the mothers womb.
Drought and famine happen by nature just as hurricanes and tornado’s and floods. God does not sit there and cause them.
wars happen because of evil men who wage war to kill and steal. Good men have to wage war to stop the evil men.
4:59 am on September 29th, 2009 19
Well my answer’s simple, I don’t, as I’m an agnostic but with no leanings towards any religious beliefs. However, how do you expect the world to work? Don’t you think that if something mysteriously fed all the animals every day, and they were all friends that it’d all be very artificial. Like that, living on this planet would be living in a zoo and quite meaningless. If you consider conservation of energy, the food that the life on this planet consumes has to come from somewhere, the biggest obtainable source being from other life forms. Even a vegan is a killer, plants have to die for them to live and they’re just as valid in their roles as lifeforms as animals. Besides, if there were no hardships in nature then evolution would stagnate, life has to adapt to survive and that makes it stronger.
5:29 am on September 29th, 2009 20
“And if there is such a loving and wonderful god, I hope to soon be embraced.”
God exists in the insane.
I, however, am now sane.
They find you weird to have imaginary friends. Ha! That’s just stupid!
Mine lives in the sky, and if you disobey, he will send you to a fiery place where you will be burned alive in agony and suffering for all eternity!
Doesn’t he sound wonderful?
Amen.
5:34 am on September 29th, 2009 21
its a food chain… everythig feeds or dies… god has nothing do with it.
you dont put fuel in your car it stops… humans are pretty much the same…
and the world is full to the brim of iniquities and abominations… get used to it..
the real world is a hard cold place, where sensinilities are battered into submission by neccessity.