Author Topic: Status changes view of deity? (Read 8417 times)

ehbowen · « **Reply #45 on:** December 26, 2018, 04:30:49 pm »

Quote from: arete on December 25, 2018, 02:48:56 pm

In my opinion, it's difficult to believe in a benevolent God, when you suffer. Why God permits cruelty? Is it sadistic or what? A starving kid in Africa, or men beating their wives.

Christian theology holds that this world is currently at war. Believe me, I do understand your frustration...but I'm not going to blame General Eisenhower for suffering whose proximate cause is Adolf Hitler.

Hariti · « **Reply #46 on:** December 26, 2018, 04:43:25 pm »

Quote from: ehbowen on December 26, 2018, 04:30:49 pm

I'm not going to blame General Eisenhower for suffering whose proximate cause is Adolf Hitler.

I'm going to use that analogy next time I have to explain the problem of evil! It really jives with my understanding of the universe as a Hindu, and the cosmic warfare that I believe to be a major cause of suffering in our world.

arete · « **Reply #47 on:** December 27, 2018, 11:05:11 am »

Quote from: ehbowen on December 26, 2018, 04:30:49 pm

Christian theology holds that this world is currently at war. Believe me, I do understand your frustration...but I'm not going to blame General Eisenhower for suffering whose proximate cause is Adolf Hitler.

At war? It explains a lot.

EmberHearth · « **Reply #48 on:** December 31, 2018, 08:10:32 pm »

Quote from: rous54 on December 22, 2018, 02:59:47 am

I feel that people who are well off will immediately praise God for their success, while I am not sure if the poor person would do the same.

You might take a look at Liberation Theology. I'm most familiar with it in the Christian context. In part, it uses scriptural lessons to point to God's favoring the poor and the underdog.

EmberHearth · « **Reply #49 on:** December 31, 2018, 08:22:57 pm »

Quote from: rous54 on December 22, 2018, 08:56:17 pm

That's the crux of the matter, who is responsible then??

Sent from my SM-A310F using Tapatalk

From the Northern / Teutonic perspective, Wyrd has three parts:

- that which was
- that which is now
- what is becoming

Feeding into these three parts are not only:
- your own life, history, family, genetics, etc.
- the history and movements at play in the community where one lives
- the choices one makes in navigating these conditions
- the confluence of random and decisional behaviors that lead to a given situation.

So, bad things happening are often some combination of the above:
- choices I made (for example, if I smoked. Or, counterexample: excellence as a habit)
- situations I inherited, both genetic predispositions and community politics
- choices those around me make (being New Year's Eve where I am, a lot of friends are reminding each other not to drive drunk.)
- random or environmental conditions.