'God' doesn't even care

[Nanotwerp]

I don’t believe in a God who intervenes just because someone is having difficulties. And we pray to God, but sometimes He says “no” or “not now” or “that’s gonna be bad for you.” We all came about through co-mingling of men and women. Sometimes the DNA or the genetics is wonky. It creates new human beings who have challenges. I know a woman who has lived the last 24 years in a hospital bed because she can’t walk at all, and hasn’t since she was a kid. And yet she gets dressed up in sequins and feathers and someone pushes her out into the world in a wheelchair and she enjoys herself!

It’s not just the working parts that make us whole. It’s in all the parts that we find ourselves and decide or not decide to live and be productive and happy.

You are free to believe in any God you choose, or in no God at all. If you believe in God, quit blaming. We’re responsible for ourselves. If you don’t believe, don’t lay the responsibility where it does not belong. If you’re unhappy, change your mind.

If you can’t do that, you may want to be evaluated for depression.

I don’t need to be evaluated for something I already know I have. Sometimes, things just don’t make sense. Omniscience and free will don’t go together. My theory is a common Jewish one that is slightly edited. A part of God’s covenant with us humans starting with Adam and Eve was to limit his omniscience to knowing the choices we can make, but not the ones we will choose. I think this really makes sense, but of course I’m not a Jew, but thinking about it.

 

[littlestsouls2]

Omniscience and free will don’t go together.

Does God have free will?

 

[808Catholic]

On the news, I saw someone who was born without the ability to walk, and had to get an amputation on her leg. Things like this happen all the time. Why, you ask? Because God ‘has a plan’. So, basically, he knew and made this happen the whole time, and we really don’t have free will. He doesn’t answer prayers. He just lets things happen. I’m inclined to believe that God just might not be real.

My recommendation: don’t give in to despair. It’s a trick of the devil’s. Believe, truly believe, that God loves each and every one of us whether we believe in Him or not. He loves all. Why would He allow some of His children to face these challenges? We don’t know; we trust Him and know that He wants the best for us.

Though a cliche, would God have let Jesus die on the cross for no reason? Christ died and rose from the dead to provide us Salvation yet God knows not all of us will be saved. This is not a good reason to deny His existence. God gave us free will and He gave us unique gifts; how we use them for His Glory will be the tale of our lives.

I was born with a vision challenge that just grew over a long period of my life. I was told that one day, if not corrected, I may even lose most of my sight. It’s easy to despair over losing one’s vision but God also gave gifts to others and a medical procedure was “invented” and perfected so my condition was corrected. It would have been easy for me to look inward and lament “why me God?” but, as God has shown me time and time again, He has a plan and everything I need (not want) is provided by Him. Trust in God. Pray that you are granted more wisdom so you can share a piece of God’s vision for the world.

Have a Blessed Day.

 

[808Catholic]

There can’t simply be ‘free will’ if there is a God who knows everything that will happen, and already has a ‘plan’. Sure, we’re doing the things, but God (if real) set it all up, so if we even have free will, it is limited. I can’t just ‘ask’ for God to, say prove he exists, because he does whatever he wants to do and, as I said ‘Has a plan’. Even the possibility of there being a ‘future’ as is described with God would mean we don’t truly have free will. God already knows what we’ll do for all eternity.

You still have free will. God does know everything you’ll choose and He lets you choose anyhow. If you knew all the outcomes of a single decision, would you have the wisdom to choose the one that gives you the maximum benefit or the one that creates the least amount of grief to everyone affected by your decision? Would you be able to make a decision that also produces the best possible outcomes for everyone else as well? God can. We are truly insignificant when it comes to God and yet He loves us so. Trust in God.

 

[the_phoenix]

Well Nano, I’ve seen some absolutely horrible and devastating things happen to people that just blow my mind, but what really throws my whole universe into a churning vortex is seeing those same people rise like a phoenix from the flames to become better and even **happier **than they were before the ginormous tragedy that struck them down. Fluke of nature?? I say: no. It’s a miracle of God’s Grace.
-Isaiah

My name is the phoenix. I survived a car fire in 1989. What are the odds of that? Well, according to the cops who drove me to the police station so my relatives could pick me up, 90% of people who are involved in a car fire like the one I was either die, or are burned so badly that they wish they were dead.

And in fact, this was an answer to my grandmother’s prayer. Because right before the car fire, I had been visiting my grandparents and telling them about my plans to just hop in the car and visit Arizona all by myself. (I had just graduated college.) As I was leaving my grandparents’ house to drive home, my grandmother screamed after me, “I’m PRAYING that you NEVER MAKE IT to Arizona!!!”

And guess what? I never made it to Arizona.

~~ the phoenix

 

[Rolltide]

Sometimes, things just don’t make sense. Omniscience and free will don’t go together. My theory is a common Jewish one that is slightly edited. A part of God’s covenant with us humans starting with Adam and Eve was to limit his omniscience to knowing the choices we can make, but not the ones we will choose. I think this really makes sense, but of course I’m not a Jew, but thinking about it.

God’s omnipotence works something like this, and I realize that this is an odd analogy:

Think of God as an NFL official who is also a football commentator for ESPN. It is the end of the season, and the Super Bowl is over. God is giving a report on the season in review.

Since all the games have been played, God knows every score, every play, and the outcome of every down. He knows who caught the ball, and who failed to make a tackle. He can analyze every aspect, or watch it in slow motion. God has knowledge of everything that happened that season.

As an NFL official, God also constructed the rules of the game. He picked the people who would officiate, and used the “instant replay” when necessary to overturn a few bad decisions, in order to make sure that the rules that he set came out the way they were intended.

Now, that said, God did not actually interfere in any of the plays, nor did he play the game for the people. Each coach, and player could have made any decision they chose. In a given situation, a quarterback could have opted to run the ball, make a pass, take a knee, or, heaven forbid, even throw the game. God did not make any of these decisions. He granted the players free will to play however they desired. This, however, does not in any way impact the fact that God still knows what happened, since it’s the end of the season, nor does it change the fact that God provided the rules to the game.

Eternity is a difficult concept, and it works a bit like that. Imagine God sitting at the end of time looking back at everything that has happened and knowing the outcome. He was able to construct rules… a plan… but still give us free will. It is a daunting concept to wrap one’s mind around.

 

[Prodigirl]

I don’t need to be evaluated for something I already know I have. Sometimes, things just don’t make sense. Omniscience and free will don’t go together. My theory is a common Jewish one that is slightly edited. A part of God’s covenant with us humans starting with Adam and Eve was to limit his omniscience to knowing the choices we can make, but not the ones we will choose. I think this really makes sense, but of course I’m not a Jew, but thinking about it.

Are you in therapy? Are you on medication for depression? Have you consulted with any medical professional about your depression, or are you just white-knuckling it through every day?

Not everything has to make sense. The world is a complex place. If you’re truly perplexed by a religious, dogmatic, metaphysical, theoretical idea, you go down the rabbit hole after it. You go to the library and research it. You study it. You take the time to discuss it, not just with Jews, but with rabbis; not just with Christians, but with priests; not just with journalists, but with apologists and polemicists. You travel to the places where the secrets are held, to try to glean some recognition of your subject. Even so, when you’ve done all you can do, some things will still not make sense. That’s where you find your understanding to be enough.

Even if you believe your own free will is limited, I think you have more than you realize and depression prohibits you from exercising it. If you start at the absolute source of this problem and tackle it from the inside out, you may find you have more options and that life is bigger and grander than you allow. Free will requires an acceptance of personal responsibility. As a depressive, I can tell you I find this a daunting thought. But it’s not keeping me from doing. Get out there and do.