Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?

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why do bad things happen to good people? why did god let hitler live so long, but allow babies and the good people of this world die before their time? the reason is quite simple: because man has free will, and that’s it…

bad people hurt good people because we are a civilization of humans with free will to act on our conscience… we are free to stop the pain, the illness and the bad people of this world by taking steps to curtail their activities… it has nothing to do with god… god doesn’t “allow” anything to happen, nor does he prevent it from happening… it isn’t his way to involve himself in our affairs, not recently anyway… if you want to believe differently, thats fine… if you prefer to believe nothing, thats okay… im just posting an opinion on why i believe things are the way they are…

the reason things are the way they are is because we have had free will since adam and eve bit the apple… what we do is up to us… god isnt going to run interference for us when we are in a fix… he isnt superman who flies in at the last minute to fix the bridge or smash the meteor before it hits earth… we are free individuals to determine what we want to be, who we wish to help and who to respect, or not…

of course, god sent his son to intervene and offer hope to those who keep faith with him, and he sent the flood to wash away the bad people, and he turned lot’s wife into salt… okay, he did those things… and one day, he will return to claim all those who have proven their faith in him, and who will ascend with him into heaven… but, on a day-to-day basis, god is not placing himself into the equation where he shields us from tragedy or rewards us with material benefits… god is not sending us the winning lottery numbers, nor is he standing by while children are abused or starving… he is letting us run our game as we see fit, for better or worse… we can serve each other or we can serve ourselves, it’s up to us… the point is, the concept is so simple because it has to be, so that it can’t be misunderstood by anyone, no matter their level of understanding, heritage or location… the message is, man has free will to whatever he sees fit… it would be nice if everyone would serve others, not themselves, but this is a decision each will make on their own… everyone sets their own agenda and everyone decides on their own when to act or back away… why has god set it up this way?

because he want us to use our free will to serve him freely… he wants us to make our own choice to embrace him… he could have made us to love him devoutly from birth, and he could have made us to care for each other by putting it in our dna, and what would that prove? that he could create a world of robots to love him forever? he wants us to choose him because we want to, not because he made us that way… he made us to decide for ourselves what is important… if we place material wealth, or a sexy girlfriend or control of other people’s lives above him, that’s our choice, and we will live with those decisions on earth and in the hereafter… god will not take offense over the decisions we make, at least not in this physical plane, not in this environment… god is infinitely patient, he built this ballpark, he wrote the rules… he put the game in motion, and he will permit it to run until the last inning…

because god created the universe, he knows what our decision will be… does that make sense? he knows who will be faithful to him and who won’t… what’s the point, if he already knows what’s going to happen? the point is, WE don’t know what is going to happen… we dont know how the game is going to end, we must play to the end to find out who wins and who loses… yes, god knows how the game ends… he knows who is going to heaven… he knew it from the moment he created the unvierse… but WE dont know how the game ends and we must figure out how best to play the game every moment of our lives…

but. i could be wrong!
 
Someplace Peter Kreeft offered two explanations:
  1. There are no good people -
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 3:23
  1. There are no bad things, at least for those who love God -
We know that in everything God works for good * with those who love him, * who are called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28
 
“…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…”

yeah, well, i am speaking of “good” in the temporal plane… “good” down here refers to those people we cherish either thru their good deeds, their demeanor, their altruistic motivations, their support to others, when they themselves have no support… when you get right down to it, sure, we’re all damned, all unworthy, all flawed, all born of sin (except mary), and we are all condemned to an eternity without the love of god, unless we change our ways… so what?

quoting from the bible offers 2 completely true, yet unique views of who put us here and what he wants from us… the old testament is about “condemnation”: you will not see god and heaven unless you change your ways… the new testament is about “salvation”: god loves you and wants you be with him in heaven, if you would but ask him for his guidance and offer him your soul… what you believe depends on what you have learned and what you propose to others as the unwavering truth from god-- what do you propose is the single most important message from the bible? is it “you are damned unless you pray for god’s intervention to lift you up and cherish you to his breast”? or is it “god loves you, knows you are tempted by evil and wants to help you avoid temptations by placing yourself in his hands”?
 
“…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…”

yeah, well, i am speaking of “good” in the temporal plane… “good” down here refers to those people we cherish either thru their good deeds, their demeanor, their altruistic motivations, their support to others, when they themselves have no support… when you get right down to it, sure, we’re all damned, all unworthy, all flawed, all born of sin (except mary), and we are all condemned to an eternity without the love of god, unless we change our ways… so what?

quoting from the bible offers 2 completely true, yet unique views of who put us here and what he wants from us… the old testament is about “condemnation”: you will not see god and heaven unless you change your ways… the new testament is about “salvation”: god loves you and wants you be with him in heaven, if you would but ask him for his guidance and offer him your soul… what you believe depends on what you have learned and what you propose to others as the unwavering truth from god-- what do you propose is the single most important message from the bible? is it “you are damned unless you pray for god’s intervention to lift you up and cherish you to his breast”? or is it “god loves you, knows you are tempted by evil and wants to help you avoid temptations by placing yourself in his hands”?
The Old Testament prepares us for the New Testament. The issue is Salvation History.
The New Testament presents Jesus to us. The message, very simply:
“If you would come after Me, you must take up your cross and follow Me.”
Suffering is instrinsic to the mystery of salvation, to carrying the cross, to life with Christ.
 
God allows evil to bring good to the world.

For example, Christ dying on the Cross. Even though it was evil that Christ was condemned to death, without his death on the cross, we would not have Eternal Life.

Trust in Jesus, let Him be your refuge.
Trust in His Mercy.

Remember, let God be the judge.

May God bless you.
 
I think Father John Corrapi answered this question quite well in one of his talks. Question: Why does God allow evil to happen? Answer: So he can bring about a greater good. If you do not believe this ask a simple** question. **What is the greatest evil ever perpetrated by man.? Answer the Crucifixion. Question: What is the greatest good ever accomplished for man. Answer: Our salvation purchased for us by Jesus on the Cross. It is because of him we are redeemed and are able to be saved.
Prayers & blessings
Deacon Ed B
 
I think that Deacon Ed’s quote from Fr. Corrapi was great.
But sometimes, I can’t help wondering why myself.
God is watching and sees us trying to do things right - BUT…this one doesn’t fall under the comparison / category of the Crucifixion, which Our Lord knew was God the Father’s Plan.

Why - when we strive so hard to do something right - do we mess up? I know that evil is always lurking to trip us up - but why do we become “brain dead” on the most obvious - even when well-prepared and knowledgable - until it’s too late? I’ve been there and can’t stop asking these questions.😦
 
I think that Deacon Ed’s quote from Fr. Corrapi was great.
But sometimes, I can’t help wondering why myself.
God is watching and sees us trying to do things right - BUT…this one doesn’t fall under the comparison / category of the Crucifixion, which Our Lord knew was God the Father’s Plan.

Why - when we strive so hard to do something right - do we mess up? I know that evil is always lurking to trip us up - but why do we become “brain dead” on the most obvious - even when well-prepared and knowledgable - until it’s too late? I’ve been there and can’t stop asking these questions.😦
I think Saint Paul had the same problem - See Romans 7:15-25
I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. 17 So then it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me. 21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22* For I delight in the law of God, in my inmost self, 23* but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members. 24* Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I of myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
 
my mother in law recently asked this question, ‘why do bad things happen to good people?’ three weeks ago her husband died, her daughter had a miscarriage a few days after the funeral, and her brother in law drank poison last week and died. all this occurred in the space of 3weeks. Yesterday, the neighbour jokingly told her ‘maybe you should change your religion - become Catholic’ and my mother in law replied, ‘its because we have a Catholic in our family God punishing us. i dont know when allana will change’
I told her its because i am Catholic that no such misfortune fell upon me, and for all the horrible things you and your family said about my faith and especially Mother Mary, God maybe trying to show you the error of your ways.’
Maybe i went overboard, but i didnt care, she belongs to an evangalistic healing ministry and was born again from hinduism, i recently found out that their pastor used to take illegal drugs but has now been ‘healed’ although my misfortune is that i have to hear hurtful comments about Catholicism from my MIL i believe that God placed me into this family to help Him call this lost family back to His Church and thats the good that came out from it.
 
why do bad things happen to good people? why did god let hitler live so long, but allow babies and the good people of this world die before their time? the reason is quite simple: because man has free will, and that’s it…

bad people hurt good people because we are a civilization of humans with free will to act on our conscience… we are free to stop the pain, the illness and the bad people of this world by taking steps to curtail their activities… it has nothing to do with god… god doesn’t “allow” anything to happen, nor does he prevent it from happening… it isn’t his way to involve himself in our affairs, not recently anyway… if you want to believe differently, thats fine… if you prefer to believe nothing, thats okay… im just posting an opinion on why i believe things are the way they are…

the reason things are the way they are is because we have had free will since adam and eve bit the apple… what we do is up to us… god isnt going to run interference for us when we are in a fix… he isnt superman who flies in at the last minute to fix the bridge or smash the meteor before it hits earth… we are free individuals to determine what we want to be, who we wish to help and who to respect, or not…

of course, god sent his son to intervene and offer hope to those who keep faith with him, and he sent the flood to wash away the bad people, and he turned lot’s wife into salt… okay, he did those things… and one day, he will return to claim all those who have proven their faith in him, and who will ascend with him into heaven… but, on a day-to-day basis, god is not placing himself into the equation where he shields us from tragedy or rewards us with material benefits… god is not sending us the winning lottery numbers, nor is he standing by while children are abused or starving… he is letting us run our game as we see fit, for better or worse… we can serve each other or we can serve ourselves, it’s up to us… the point is, the concept is so simple because it has to be, so that it can’t be misunderstood by anyone, no matter their level of understanding, heritage or location… the message is, man has free will to whatever he sees fit… it would be nice if everyone would serve others, not themselves, but this is a decision each will make on their own… everyone sets their own agenda and everyone decides on their own when to act or back away… why has god set it up this way?

because he want us to use our free will to serve him freely… he wants us to make our own choice to embrace him… he could have made us to love him devoutly from birth, and he could have made us to care for each other by putting it in our dna, and what would that prove? that he could create a world of robots to love him forever? he wants us to choose him because we want to, not because he made us that way… he made us to decide for ourselves what is important… if we place material wealth, or a sexy girlfriend or control of other people’s lives above him, that’s our choice, and we will live with those decisions on earth and in the hereafter… god will not take offense over the decisions we make, at least not in this physical plane, not in this environment… god is infinitely patient, he built this ballpark, he wrote the rules… he put the game in motion, and he will permit it to run until the last inning…

because god created the universe, he knows what our decision will be… does that make sense? he knows who will be faithful to him and who won’t… what’s the point, if he already knows what’s going to happen? the point is, WE don’t know what is going to happen… we dont know how the game is going to end, we must play to the end to find out who wins and who loses… yes, god knows how the game ends… he knows who is going to heaven… he knew it from the moment he created the unvierse… but WE dont know how the game ends and we must figure out how best to play the game every moment of our lives…

but. i could be wrong!
God allowed us out of PERFECT GOODNESS to have free will. sin and suffering came because of free will}

God allows sin and suffering because of free will} because He Is Perfectly Good.

Suffering[and HOW we suffer} brings about greater good{ because of free will}

His Own Son, Who is All Good, suffered horribly for us [because of free will–{His and ours]. If He can suffer to offer glory to God, so can {should???} we.
 
I think Father John Corrapi answered this question quite well in one of his talks. Question: Why does God allow evil to happen? Answer: So he can bring about a greater good. If you do not believe this ask a simple** question. **What is the greatest evil ever perpetrated by man.? Answer the Crucifixion. Question: What is the greatest good ever accomplished for man. Answer: Our salvation purchased for us by Jesus on the Cross. It is because of him we are redeemed and are able to be saved.
Prayers & blessings
Deacon Ed B
Thank you Decon Ed… Very well put!!!

Mike
 
Someplace Peter Kreeft offered two explanations:
  1. There are no good people - Romans 3:23
  2. There are no bad things, at least for those who love God - Romans 8:28
That is by default caaling all things bad, then all things good. Having it both ways.
 
God allows evil to bring good to the world.

For example, Christ dying on the Cross. Even though it was evil that Christ was condemned to death, without his death on the cross, we would not have Eternal Life.

Trust in Jesus, let Him be your refuge.
Trust in His Mercy.

Remember, let God be the judge.

May God bless you.
Perfect example 👍
 
This issue drives more people from the faith than any other. I am currently trying to defend this position against a hostile disgruntled group.

Can anyone add better language for apologetics?
 
There was a quotation on my Columban calendar a few years ago which has stayed with me; I think it is apposite to this discussion:

“Christ came into the world neither to prevent suffering, nor to take it away; but to fill it with His presence”.

I have never been able to remember the author of these words, but they have stood me in good stead many times over the years since I first read them.
 
It is very simple…Jesus teaches us that the rain falls on the just and unjust alike; and the sun shines on all similarly.

There is no virtue in suffering. That is a contradiction in terms.
 
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