Afghanistan earthquakes - if you believe in a kind god why do you think this happens?

[Westfacing]

How much more can the people of that country take - what did they do to deserve such a terrible deal in life?

Wars, Taliban, corruption, politics, whatever are man-made, literally, but how can a god, who people from all religions worship, visit such a catastrophe on innocent people.

How do believers believe?

I feel exactly the same about the little girls killed at Christian camp in Texas by a flash flood in July. Still think a kind loving god exists?

Yes. I believe that those girls will be with Christ now and will no longer be frightened or suffering. Yes, it's agonisingly painful for their parents and friends and it's horrible to think about on an existential level, I understand the pain that results from such a terrible event. If you frame this outside of a belief in God then it's anger inducing and unacceptable, but if placed within a religious context, it can be understood and lived with, even if the pain and grief persists.

Rubbish. That's the kids book version. If you actually believe, then it doesn't need explaining. If you don't then no explanation is possible because you don't believe in the first place.

I have always struggled with why bad things happen to good people. No one has ever given me a convincing answer why Afghan children have to suffer so much.

Read the old testament. God isn't a fluffy lovely benevolent figure in that. He was an absolute bastard, smiting left and right.

Now that hippy son of his, HE was all peace and love. Didn't do him much good though

Plenty of people who believe in god believe that prayer can make people better. What’s the difference?

I thought it was all a test? Even God giving Adam he's choice was a test. So the idea that God is controlling things still stands.

But then I'm an atheist.

I do wonder how the ultra religious Taliban explain this away. They are basically brutalising their people in the name of God so how do they explain why, if they are doing His will, these terrible things are happening? I wonder if they have pause for thought and wonder if their God is punishing them and they are actually wrong? Not that I think that's what God is doing but they clearly believe they are doing Gods work ( It's quite probable that they don't and they are actually just a shitty death cult who is using religion to persecute women just for the sake of it)

God promises salvation for your soul not freedom from pain on earth.

Bible Belt America does

I was taught that God is in the response, not the delivery

But regardless, it is a horrible waste of life that benefited no one and caused a fuck ton of pain so why would some living omnivores present super being do that? For shits and giggles? Because it was a dull day?

no they dont

Your post is very ignorant. I don't believe you have any interest in getting answers, you just want to ridicule people.

See my previous posts regarding pain and suffering.

Setting aside the fact that you are being deliberately insulting, I am fairly certain you have no insight into the eating habits of God.

It may amuse you to deliberately insult people for "shits and giggles" but all it does is point out that you are far from a decent person. Nobody says you have to believe, but you do not have to go out of your way to ridicule and insult people who do. Pretty lousy excuse for a human being, who does that.

God washed his hands of Afghanistan a looooong time ago.

To be honest, I wonder if some people do think something alone those lines. When I told my neighbour that my DC had got a first in their degree, her reply was "thank you Jesus!". I pointed out that the first was all down to DC's hard work and she disagreed. Very puzzling!

Is that an intellectual answer. I think not!!

I'm not clear if people are questioning your own faith here or other people's?

If you are just coming here to say "Gotcha - there is no God" - it's kind of petty and point scoring to use a terrible tragedy to prove you are intellectually superior to other people. Particularly to the deeply religious Muslims whose lives have been devastated by the Afghanistan earthquake. Nothing anyone says will make you change your mind, so you are just here to put other people down.

If you are a believer and it makes you question your faith, that's very different. There is obviously a way to believe in God as an all powerful being controlling every thing that happens to every individual. That exists, but is not very common in Western adults. Far more believers think that God is the force for good inside us all, and that prayer can strengthen that force for good and put us in touch with our higher power/higher self.

Many believers feel deep pain about both man made and natural disasters and pray to their concept of God for the strength to cope, that nations will do the right thing, for healing and peace. Who knows whether any of that has any effect on outcomes in the real world. But it may well have an effect on the person that prays.

In incidents like this, are precisely why there has to be likely conclusion that there is no God.

Live how you want. But you cannot expect others to believe that tripe. Ones who live with disabilities, ones who have lost people, including young children to vile diseases?

If someone tried to comfort me saying my pain is all part of some gods plan then I'd have to walk away

Reading the bible, if one is interested in Christ, instead of just being angry about how one thinks things should work, often helps.

It's like learning math so we understand why 1+1 is 2. This helps avoid the disappointment and confusion of 'trust me bro' when things from other sources and our feels dont add up.

this is a stupid theory. Just because you create something doesn’t mean you have full control over its existence. I have 4 children does that mean I am in control of all their behaviours for the rest of their lives?

Christians believe that God is omnipotent. And answers prayers.