The problem of suffering and natural disasters

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If God is all-good and all-loving and all-powerfull…then why do horrible things like earthquakes, mudslides, tsunamis, tornadoes and hurricanes happen/occur??? And have any of you read or heard of Bart Eherman? Btw I am Catholic but I feel like Im becomming an Agnostic because of this issue-suffering…any ideas or suggestions??? Thanks…
 
He puts forth the typical atheistic argument. Sadly, Mr. Ehrman has lost whatever faith he had. He fails to grasp the consequences of the fall from grace and the broken world in which we have lived ever since. The fall (Genesis 3) changed everything, but as educated as Mr. Ehrman is, he simply fails to grasp that.
 
Mudslides and the like happen in the earth for the same reason that head aneurysms, etc., occur in the human body, namely that both are physical systems subject to physical laws, including entropy.

As a result of “the fall,” we do not have the mastery of physical being that would enable our not getting hurt by such occurrences.

ICXC NIKA
 
Let’s re-frame the question: If there is no God, then who cares? We’re nothing special if God is not real; we’re just the blind, impersonal products of random chance.

If there’s no God, then to blazes with the victims of natural disasters; we should not mourn their loss any more than the loss of bugs or distant planets destroyed by black holes.

Most atheists and agnostics avoid Nietzsche and H.P. Lovecraft like the plague these days; probably because I’d get a resounding amen from them on what I said above.
 
Let’s re-frame the question: If there is no God, then who cares?
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We don’t seem to care, we allow twenty thousand children to die needlessly every day from grinding poverty, preventable disease and starvation. That is possibly around a hundred million preventable deaths since the turn of the millennium.

Only God can care, he can raise them to a greater good life after death. Jesus suffered and died for me and everyone else, so Jesus knows first hand about suffering.

If Jesus died for me, it must mean he loves me as much as he loves himself. That is a love beyond my understanding,
 
God has chosen to display the full range of His attributes. In saving someone from Hell, He shows His mercy and love; in the destruction of guilty sinners, He shows His wrath and holiness. He destroyed Ad and Thamud because of their sins and He glorified Himself in doing so, because most of Ad and Thamud rebelled against God. God is glorified in punishing sinners because that’s what evil deserves. Evil deserves to be punished, so when He punishes evil doers, He is glorified.

What is the alternative? that there is no purpose for natural disasters. That is a very depressing explanation because it assumes that God has no purpose for evil. So God allowed something to happen without having a purpose for it? that is a helpless God. None of the prophets believed that God is helpless.

Most of the world loves sin and hates God, so who are we to complain if a natural disaster happens?
 
Jaysdec said:
… Btw I am Catholic but I feel like Im becomming an Agnostic because of this issue-suffering…any ideas or suggestions??? Thanks…
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No major insights at the moment. Just a prayer. May the Holy Spirit strengthen your faith, free you from anxiety, give you hope, and show you God’s love in this imperfect world.
 
From a blogger named Charlie Johnston:

“People think the increase in natural disasters and catastrophic events is a punishment from God. Again, we understand nothing. Has it never occurred to you that the dynamic tension of the natural forces that sustain life are normally more volatile and violent than we recognize? In normal times, God is constantly staying the brunt of these things. Now we dismiss Him from the classroom, dismiss Him from assemblies, dismiss Him from the public square – and so He obliges. That means His hand is not there to stay the rougher edges of natural events. It is not He who chooses to subject us to these things, but we who have sullenly demanded out from under His thumb – and now we dare to complain of what happens when we expose ourselves?” ~~ Charlie Johnston

charliej373.wordpress.com/gods-plan/
 
I’ve yet to find a theodicy that satisfies philosophically, in my mind. Not unless one’s willing to give up something about the divine attributes.

I think when it comes to natural evil, faith is really all one can fall back on. I don’t think this is a bad answer, even if it’s not for me. If I had to take a crack at it, I’d say the answer is that the sufferings of this life are insignificant when compared to eternity? So even a life of pure torture on Earth wouldn’t be a strike against God’s omnibenevolance because it’s nothing when stretched out over eternity. I don’t think that’s right, but I can see how with some needling that line of reasoning might resonate with some.
 
Jaysdec said:
If God is all-good and all-loving and all-powerfull…then why do horrible things like earthquakes, mudslides, tsunamis, tornadoes and hurricanes happen/occur??? And have any of you read or heard of Bart Eherman? Btw I am Catholic but I feel like Im becomming an Agnostic because of this issue-suffering…any ideas or suggestions??? Thanks…
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I don’t think that God is omnibenevolant and I don’t think that suffering is bad. Things are almost neutral in creation so I would say that God is neutral. Suffering also gives you strength unless it surpasses your limit.
 
Well I listened to Trent Horn and Bishop Robert Barron…but I wasn’t moved or impressed by their apologetics on suffering or Trent Horn’s debates…So I think Im going to become an Agnostic and a freethinker and a secular humanist…p.s. Bart Eherman’s books and videos helped me in my deconversion…
 
Jaysdec said:
If God is all-good and all-loving and all-powerfull…then why do horrible things like earthquakes, mudslides, tsunamis, tornadoes and hurricanes happen/occur??? And have any of you read or heard of Bart Eherman? Btw I am Catholic but I feel like Im becomming an Agnostic because of this issue-suffering…any ideas or suggestions??? Thanks…
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The problem here is defining all good. We might think all good would be the absence of suffering. However, can you prove that God does not have morally sufficient reasons for allowing suffering? We know that good can come from suffering. God only allows the possibility of evil so that a greater good is possible. We don’t really know all the complexities of creating a physical universe. The real lasting evil is the turning away from God and the corruption of the soul. Everything else is secondary.

However, we can say that God does not cause these evils in our world. He is part of the solution. Just because he doesn’t wave a magic wand and make all our problems go away doesn’t mean he doesn’t care. He loves you and me as his beloved. He chose you before you were born and fashioned you in your mother’s womb and says that you are his child.

To focus solely on all the problems and evils is to miss all the good in the world. If you were going to doubt God because of evil should you not also believe in him because of all the good?

Dr. Peter Kreeft has an interesting answer to your question. If God is all powerful then he can stop suffering, if he is all good then he has the will to stop it, and if he is all knowing then he knows how to stop it, so why doesn’t he stop it? The answer is simple, but profound. We must need suffering. Suffering can ultimately be for our good. Let’s face it if we always got what we wanted we would be spoiled brats. Since God is more concerned about our eternal souls our suffering can be a great teacher for our souls.

Kreeft has a great video on suffering on YouTube you should check out. He goes into it in more detail.
 
Jaysdec said:
If God is all-good and all-loving and all-powerfull…then why do horrible things like earthquakes, mudslides, tsunamis, tornadoes and hurricanes happen/occur??? And have any of you read or heard of Bart Eherman? Btw I am Catholic but I feel like Im becomming an Agnostic because of this issue-suffering…any ideas or suggestions??? Thanks…
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Only the Creator is perfect in every respect and the limitations of His creatures inevitably lead to frustration and misery in some form or other - which is increased by the amount of power we are given. It is hardly surprising that beings made in the image and likeness of God are capable of creating hell on earth and destroying all life on this planet. We could have been given less insight and intelligence but then we would have been incapable of the perfect love Jesus demonstrated for us by the way He lived and died. We cannot have everything for nothing…

The more sensitive we are the more we can suffer but also the more we can appreciate the beauty and richness of life. Every advantage has a corresponding disadvantage. The vast majority of people and animals are not maimed or killed by natural disasters. The message of the Cross is that death and suffering are inevitable but not meaningless. Like Our Lord the victims are glorified in heaven because they paid the price for our enjoyment and happiness on earth. In a physical universe there are bound to be misfortunes but they do not outweigh the immense value of our existence.
 
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