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Philosophy/religion

Join our Philosophy forum to discuss religion and spirituality.

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Original poster

things such as have happened to GGG's dd really make me wonder ...

34 replies

wannaBeWhateverIWannaBe · 05/01/2007 17:11

... how people can believe there is a God.

I really don't want to offend, but I really do wonder, when such tragic events happen, how anyone can believe that there is a God out there who is good and does good things etc.

I'm not religious, but things like this just confirm to me why.

OP posts:

lulumama · 05/01/2007 17:14

wannabe

i have a faith of sorts, i like to believe there is a higher power, god, bigger than all of us...and pray from time to time...

things like this do , really do, make me question my belief system,..

i understand why you are asking, it is hard to reconcile such a tragic and devastating loss, taht is so against the nautral order of things, with the existence of a benevolent god...

i guess that is true faith,.,believing in the face of every reason not too....

SmileysPeople · 05/01/2007 17:25

Actually having a faith at difficult times helps lots of people Wannabe.
If you have faith you accept some things are beyond our understanding, and we do not have the full picture.
It does make the grief any easier, just gives it a differnet perspective.

blossomhill · 05/01/2007 17:30

No offence but to me this really isn't appropriate right now.

SmileysPeople · 05/01/2007 17:36

I meant DOESN'T make the grief any easier.

I certainly didn't imagine this would give offense.

funkimummy · 05/01/2007 17:41

Hi everyone,

I think it's OK to question things when something sad happens.

I would imagine there is barely a mnetter out there who hasn't left a message for ggg.

Everyone here feels sad, and it's OK to question things. After all, we're just a bunch of lonely Mum's who sit at a computer looking for answers and friendship from other Mum's, aren't we?

How people deal with these situations, either by asking questions, or staying quiet, is neither right, nor wrong. It's just a way of coping.

seasonscheatings · 05/01/2007 19:45

When i heard the sad news the first thing i thought was 'how would i cope if this happened to me.' I would have to turn to my faith in order to go on. i'd have to tell myself it was their time, they were needed somewhere else and one day we'd meet again. I don't believe we just stop at death and to that end i believe we meet our loved ones again.

Tortington · 05/01/2007 19:49

for those of us who do believe in god - we certainly do not believe that he controls things. That would negate our free will. Christ died so i could have it.

if you think about your proposition.

god should only allow good things to happen.

then think about your life. the bad things, what you have learned - the decisions you have made, the person it has shaped.

if god only allowed good things to happen - you would not have the ability to chose between good and bad things. you effectively give up being human

DumbledoresGirl · 05/01/2007 19:51

I hope this won't turn into a thread I regret contributing to.

My thoughts on the subject (because, let's face it, which of us is not thinking about ggglimpopo at the moment?) were that faith would be a comfort at this time. If you believe in God, you believe in the afterlife and the thought of seeing your loved one again in the afterlife must be a comfort that non-believers do not have.

I do not quite understand why when something terrible happens, people ask how can people believe in God in the light of this tragedy? That suggests that God allows nothing terrible to happen. Why should that be the case? A believer does not presume to understand everything God allows to happen. No-one can see the whole picture.

BTW, I speak as an ex-believer. I no longer know what to believe.

buktus · 05/01/2007 19:53

in a strange way i kind of agree a lot of my friends have never experienced losing anyone and they do seem a complacement about the world and what matters, when you have been dealt shit through your life you tend to appreciate what is a happy time more if that makes sense and sometimes i think you have to go through bad things to be a stronger person - that what i keep telling myself anyway, instead of WHY ME !

PeachyClair · 05/01/2007 19:58

I used to be very much Christian, involved in my local Church etc- 2 things happened which amde me stop believing, one was irrelevant here but the other was the tsuname, after that I just culdn't believe any more . I still believe very much in a style of living that equates to my understanding of Jesus Christ, however I can't do the God thing any more. I'd like to I suppose, its just not there any more.

Yorkiegirl · 05/01/2007 19:58

Message withdrawn

buktus · 05/01/2007 20:00

may be we should live by god only takes the best yorkie (((hugs))) - you are now a braver person i am sure

SmileysPeople · 05/01/2007 20:00

I think clinging to your faith and rejecting it are two common and understandable reactions to tragedy.

Yorkiegirl · 05/01/2007 20:42

Message withdrawn

tassis · 05/01/2007 20:45

YG, if it's not too painful could you explain why the "he's gone to a better place" comment grates for you please?

Yorkiegirl · 05/01/2007 20:47

Message withdrawn

tassis · 05/01/2007 20:50

ok, I'm with you YG, thanks for replying. i can see that nowhere could seem better and more right than being with his 3 girls.

i took the comment to mean heaven is a better place than this horrible world where there's sickness and war and pain.

hope i've not made you sad. i know we've not talked before but i prayed for your family on christmas day...

Yorkiegirl · 05/01/2007 21:05

Message withdrawn

melsy · 05/01/2007 21:06

I know why you may feel its inapporiate Blossom , everyone grieves in their own way & sometimes questions and discussions can seem wrong.That only sympathy should be paramount , but its the only way we some can reconcile whats happening around them. Everyone will react to ths terrible news a different way. I have a death fear at the moment(linked to PTSD). Im terrified to read GGG's thread right now, as I keep having premonitions and visions regarding my own lo's. Does that mean I dont care , not at all. I feel and empathise in such an overwhelming way I just cant read it right now. I feel her loss her pain her utter devastation.

I also dont feel that GOD creates the good or the bad , as has been said we live with free will , free choice to behave , do & create in any way. Although natural disasters I cant seem to fit into this equation, and any thoughts I do have regarding why these things happen may seem controversial , (& dont want to go right off topic),and Im still not sure thats even right either.

SmileysPeople · 05/01/2007 21:11

My DS asked what heaven was like. All I could think was the 'feeling' of heaven, a euphoria, a bliss, a peace, 'being' with Jesus.
I can't imagine a physical heaven, where we have bodies and chat with Jesus.
But I accept many things are beyond my imagination.
If it is a 'feeling' the feeling of them with us is just as real.

melsy · 05/01/2007 21:13

apologies Yorkie for throwing my post in amongst your open and heartfelt ones.

I also think a lot about that comment ,"gone to a better place" and think that may be this other realm is full of love and a completeness as such , were we find out about all things , find peace and serenity, join our previous passed loved ones. Im also not sure how to reconcile the leaving of beloved ones on an earthly plane. What was it I read somewere , that GOD needs them as they have done their work ??? Of course I dont know really, its some of the things I think to help with my death thoughts.

Sorry for rambling, its quite a significant subject for me.

Vev · 05/01/2007 21:58

It's easy to blame God when something horrible happens but without the bad we wouldn't value the good. It's a horrible thing to lose a child, I don't think there can be anything worse. A close friend lost her DD at age 7 (died in her sleep) and it was awful to see the raw pain my friend suffered. She's now taken great comfort in the spiritual side of things - she has to believe her DD is somewhere else and her short life here wasn't for nothing.

Jalexandra · 05/01/2007 22:03

Hi, I lost my dd in 2002, she was stillborn - the umbillical cord got caught around her neck twice. I was furious with God, but strangely never doubted his existance just his reasons.
Now i know i will never think what happened was ok, there will never be a good enough reason for it, and it was too high a price to pay for any 'greater good'. I still pray and beleive in God.
I don't think bad things happen because of God, it is because we live with free will and must take the bad with the good.
I look forward to seeing my dd again,and that is a comfort.

SmileysPeople · 05/01/2007 22:11

I'm glad you some find comfort somehow jalexandra
She's not far away I'm sure.

Soapbox · 05/01/2007 22:14

I think there is also in a lot of religions a belief that life on earth is a 'test' of faith.

The reward for 'passing the test' (for want of a better phrase, is eternal life in the afterlife of one's belief.

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