Answer me this, Believers!?

a good -freshman level - rant

puerile, vapid, inane, trite, and all those other words that mean ..

this question if nothing new

at least 2500, but probably more like 3500 years old

Read, learn ,open your mind to a variety of realities...

Start with the Greek philosophers...[they influenced all Western religions]...then move on the the Buddhist, Taoist, Hindu texts

and then read some more

Remember the words of Kierkegaard

"you must make a leap into Faith"

Faith is NOT a logical, rational, reasonable belief system

Don't despair

at least you are starting to think about some kind of Faith

Good luck with the search for a Faith that you CAN believe in

I don't think God (if there is one) isn't necessarily cruel as much as he is indifferent. The only acceptable view of God that I can believe is that he created things and simply lets them run thier course. I love the way that religious people try to come up with these idiotically simply answers to explain complex questions. "Why did such and such happen to me?" 'It's a test or it's God's will' HA! If God is benevolent and omnipotent it would stand to reason that he would know that something bad was going to happen and therefore he would prevent it from happening. It also follows that if God knew that some religous nuts were going to start burning people at the stake in his name he would prevent them from doing so. Can anyone really believe that God would allow a rapist to go unpunished and a child to be raped and that that would be a test or part of his plan, c'mon.

Luke 4:5,6 So he brought him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the inhabited earth in an instant of time; and the Devil said to him; "I will give you all this authority and the glory of them, because it has been delivered to me, and to whomever I wish I give it."

Matthew 13:37-42 The sower of the fine seed is the Son of man; the field is the world; as for the fine seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; but the weeds are the sons of the wicked on, and the enemy that sowed them is the Devil. The harvest is a conclusion of a system of things, and the reapers are angels.Therefore, just as the weeds are collected and burned with fire, so it will be in the conclusion of the system of things. The Son of Man will send forth his angels, and they will pitch them into the fiery furnace. There is where the weeping and the gnashing of their teeth will be.

Satan is the God of this system. He puts weeds in the "Christian" churches. Satan wrecked destruction on Jobs life to test him. Satan blinds the mind of people so the light of Jesus does not shine in. Adam and Eve chose to live under Satan's rule. This has resulted in horrors for their children. 2Cor.4:4, Job 1:1-22;42:12.Matthew 24:6-12.

The perfect God, Jehovah, has repurchased any of Adam and Eve's children who love HIM, and do not want to live in this sort of world. Revelation 21:1-4

Yes, Satan, the god of this system, is cruel and far from perfect.

All I can say is good for you, even though I'm a Christian, I think it's good to think that He's cruel because then you know how to learn faith when He takes away from your life. Things are going to get bad, but we all expect good things since we are Christians. How else are we to learn faith? God is perfect, though. He is just and righteous and everlasting love. How could any of those not be perfect? God allows things to happen to put us where we need to be for His purpose, not ours. Think of how many people you've affected by asking this simple question. I hope you get to know Jesus better and that this has help in some way. God bless.

Wow! I am in awe of all the thinking you have done on this. It's all good. God is in control. You say, NO, how could God allow this to happen. Remember Adam and Eve and His instructions to them were to not eat of the tree of knowledge. He gave them a choice. They were tempted and ate. God also gives us free choice, we can choose to follow Him or not. We can choose to have wars or not. We can choose to "commit atrocities" or not. We can choose to follow Him or, well, you know... God is not cruel, He is loving. God is Perfect, we are not...that's the difference. He is not choosing the atrocities, we are. It might do you good to get with someone in your own area to talk to about this, a Christian who follows Jesus. I liked your question and I'm sure others feel the same way as you do. God has enlightened me, He surely can open your eyes, too.

God could create a perfect world, but there would be no free will. It would be filled with robots. Why would you want such a world? The alternatives are choice both good and bad, or no thought/independence of any kind. Which one would you choose?

You teach people by letting them make mistakes. Do you think he might be teaching people that being full of hate is akin to murder?

Here are six things God hates, and one more that he loathes with a passion: eyes that are arrogant, a tongue that lies, hands that murder the innocent, a heart that hatches evil plots, feet that race down a wicked track, a mouth that lies under oath, a troublemaker in the family.

Proverbs 6:15-17

The way we know we've been transferred from death to life is that we love our brothers and sisters. Anyone who doesn't love is as good as dead. Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know very well that eternal life and murder don't go together.

1 John 3:13-15

This whole problem stems from the fact that no one beleives that theres a Devil. But there is. And one of his best attacks on god is to make people belive that god is the cause of all earth's problems. He has done a wonderful job taking all the heat off of himself and making God the guilty party.

But if you don't beleive Satan the Devil exsists, then I can see why you're confused.

You are bringing God down to your level. That is not done. You cannot claim to understand what

God does as you are a human being and your level of understanding is way below God's. His ways are mysterious. But we know this for sure. Read Romans 8:28 in the Bible and trust His word. God wants the best for us. Even though it might appear to be in the negative for the present, it is for the positive in the future.

Dude, you're listenning to the wrong people and havent really done your homework, but dont worry, wether you like it or not, you gonna have to deal with the truth about God. Try doing one thing, and that is to look for God using an open mind and allowing for your spirit to witness the truth...this may sound weird, but its more real than anything you'll ever encounter...you dont have to believe me, but soon you will...love you man.