Jesus does not do this. Satan does it. Satan will do ANYTHING to get people to turn away from God. I have often thought about this same thing. And, to tell the truth, I wish God had not given us free will sometimes. I wish He would have just made it to where we all went to Heaven without ever having to think about it. But, somewhere, at some time, some one would have been upset that they did not have the choice of what kind of life they could lead, or where they spent eternity. So God gave us the choice of how we wanted to live. And because Satan didn't want to serve God, he challenged God to let him have a shot at people, to see how many he could turn away from God. Unfortunately, Satan is very good at his job. I, personally, believe God probably sometimes wishes He hadn't given us free will. I believe He sheds many tears at losing so many souls to the great deceiver.

My answer is that all deities, such as Jesus Christ, do not exist. Therefore, we cannot blame a god for things that happen in a godless environment. This explains the real reason behind the "free will" argument that many religionists use to hide from questions like these. The basic concept of my question works for any god or goddess that anyone has worshiped at any time. The dichotomy of the question is what is most effective: #1 - The believers make excuses for the deity in question for moral failings that they would not extend to other people. #2 - They have to admit that they are worshiping an immoral deity. I have used this question on many occasions and the dichotom is always the same. The only time it will not work is for those who think that raping and killing innocent children should not be considered immoral. I have yet to come across one person who admits this openly, though what their true thoughts may be we may only guess why they continue worshiping this obviously immoral deity.

Do I understand you right? What is your real issue here? Would not believing in God solve all your problems? Is this it? Children would not get raped, there would be no murders, and the people would speak only the truth, even if it costs them their lives, no wars, no quarrels, just perfect utopia, all living together in harmony. Is this it? And all this, with no GOD – right?… If you say yes, you are a biggest hypocrite or biggest fool there is on the face of this earth, because you want the “gifts” but you don’t want to acknowledge the giver. These “good” things you would like to experience are introduced by God; the bad ones are introduced by Man in act of disobedience to God, consciously or sub-consciously. You are pretty bold in expressing your view on the subject you seemingly don’t have a clue.

I believe the name you were thinking of is the devil.

I'm *part* Christian, and I'm rating you up. Remember, there is a difference between Christians, and people who just claim to be Christian. I take from Christianity the overall message, not the details. I don't think God is micromanaging our lives. I believe we are all tied together, people, animals, everything - and that this is largely what God is.

A friend of mine has this saying hanging in her house: "on the street I saw a little girl, cold and shivering in a thin dress, with little hope of a decent meal. I became angry and said to God: Why did you permit this? Why don't you do something about it?" For awhile God said nothing. That night he replied quite suddenly: I certainly did something about it. I made you. In other words God will help us when we are willing to help ourselves AND each other.

This question is unanswerable as it consist of imaginary combination of possibly real objects and real objects. You could only play a game "what if". The christian doctrine is a system with too many holes and too much nonsense.

It's difficult to convey what I believe - it is partly rooted in Christianity, but in so many other philosophies. I guess I didn't too a good job of communicating, but I do understand your frustration (and share it, sometimes). We are kind of brainwashed with the idea that God is there to save us, or damn us. I don't believe those things. I wasn't aware that Jesus demanded the deaths of those who did not believe in him or that he said demons could be thrown into pigs. But again, I don't give a rip about a lot of the details. The overall message I got was to treat other people like you would want to be treated. I respect your outlook, though. I have often wondered why an all powerful God could let bad things happen. The best I can come up with is that God is not a perfect, separate being who wields this kind of power. God, to me, is the sum of all of us. This is a fun discourse, I appreciate your courtesy.

I find the best way to deal with AB questions like this is to just let them fade into oblivion as the Poster really doesn't want any kind of answer. Whatever you say will not be good enough to satify someone like this. The purpose of the question is to provoke and shock you into an argument. I suggest you let it die. If they have found that not believeing in God works for them, wish them well and move on. There's no point in feeding the fire.

He doesn't we do. It is our responsibility to take care of each other. We have a free will and a mind of our own. If we rape, murder, and kill it is our fault not God's.

Well, maybe Jesus Christ was only a man who lived 2000 years ago. Maybe he was executed, was buried, and that was the end of his life on this world. Maybe his followers created a small cult that evolved into a big Religion when a Roman Emperor declared that Religion as the official and only one of the Roman Empire. You had a choice...believe in him as God, or be tortured and killed....Maybe that's the real story....but...who am I to be sure of that?

I think that God doesn't have anything to do with what happens to you. Either fate, or a lack there of resulting in everything being random, are completely seperate things. So if all that's already decided that those things are supposed to happen to those people, not even God can do much to change that. I think fate can be maniupulated, but...rarely and probably by accident. So by those ideas, it's not Jesus' fault. *shrug* I also uprated you. This is a good question.

I believe your argument thus far is correct. If there is a god, he is a nasty deity that doesn't deserve worship.

I agree. Let it die. He wants no answers just a fight.

It's not His fault...it's the humans' fault.

This almost doesn't seem worthy of giving a response after reading my of your answers reverendjeremiah. You write as though you already have ALL the answers. Essentially, any Christian is wrong. This is the thing about when bad things happen...Life is not fair. No where in the Bible does it say that life and all of it's events is or will be fair, easy or full of goodness. If it were fair - it would be called fair not Life. You knock down the "free will" arguement, but it is what it is. There are very sick and dangerous people out there - period. I don't know if it is the devil at work or just bad DNA. The reality is this - if you had a birds eye view of the earth and you are gently guiding the people to strive to be better - with free will mixed in - not everyone is going to understand why things happen the way it does because they don't have that "Master" plan. This is where faith comes in. I honest don't care how you look at this...it is always good to believe in something bigger than you. I choose Jesus.

because "jesus" is a BS man made myth?

Jesus does exactly what Yahweh wrote that he was supposed to do in the Divine Plan™. Free Will is an illusion. The Bible, and you really should know this, is deterministic. It does not allow for individual decisions. You feel like you're making your own decisions and having your own thoughts, but everything that you'll ever do is all part of the plot. People are born already consigned to Hell. Need scriptural evidence? Sure! http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/says_about/determinism.html What the Bible says about Free Will God determines who is going to heaven ... "And as many as were ordained to eternal life believed." -- Acts 13:48 "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate.... Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified." -- Romans 8:29-30 "Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." -- 2 Timothy 1:9 "He hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will." -- Ephesians 1:4-5 "God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation." -- 2 Thessalonians 2:13 and who is going to hell. "God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned." -- 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 "For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation." -- Jude 4 There's nothing you can do about it. "For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth. .... For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction." -- Romans 9:11-22 It's really just common sense, though. Omniscience cancels out Free Will. Duh! If you know everything that will ever happen, that means that everything has already happened. This also means you also know all your own actions! How boring is that?! Yahweh and friends, and indeed every living being, if Christian mythology be true, are just robots slaving away exactly as we're supposed to.

God and his half-breed bastard love child, Jesus, are evil. Here are two Bible passages to show the validity of this claim: Isaiah 45: 6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else. 7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. Matthew 10: 34Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. If Yahweh is responsible for all evil and Jesus never came for peace, what does Satan do, again? Ah, that's right! He's Yahweh's little blame puppet! Seriously, can't you guys see this? It's so simple!

Here is the TRUE answer to your question: Because Jesus was a FRAUD, a Phony. He was Mentally Disturbed and Delusional for thinking (at least telling everybody) he was the SON of a Nonexistent Imaginary Fake God. GODS are not REAL. Gods are Imaginary concepts. They are all a product of mans very fertile Imagination. Jesus had no powers other than being a very good BULLSHIT ARTIST. Jesus was/is no different than all the other Frauds who claim to be a Messiah/Profit. David Koresh (Waco) Jim Jones (Guiana) Marshall Applewhite (Heavens Gate) Joseph Smith (Moron Mormon’s), Charles Taze Russell (The JW’s) Mohamed (Islam) or even Adolph Hitler. Jesus is DEAD. He was put to death for his false prophecies just like John the Baptist, Peter and Paul, and many other Lunatic Fundamentalist Fanatics spreading their delusions like a virus. Infecting the minds of naïve and gullible fools.. Jesus was very Self Absorbed and VAIN just like all the other so called Profits. The Truth is plain to see if you are Honest and open your eyes to REALITY and except it for what it is. Jesus was a LUNATIC LOSER. Anyone believing in Gods or that Jesus was the son of a GOD is an IDIOT and Shamefully Stupid. That’s how I sum it up. Have a Great Day to all. Keep it REAL RealistMark

Well, his illegitimate Daddy is the author of all evil (Isaiah 45:6-7). Just look at the universe. You don't need a Bible to see all the billions of examples of Malevolent Design! How many diseases do we suffer with? How many parasites attack us and live inside us? How many natural disasters kill us by the thousands, and even millions? Do you realize that our loacl star, a nuclear furnace, causes 1 million new cases of skin cancer per year? And that's just in the US! There are asteroids and comets ready to reign down death on our planet at any moment. Our galaxy is heading toward Andromeda and will collide with it destroying everything! If there be a god, then he loves seeing us suffer! He enjoys our torture. The priests doing the molesting aren't *allowed* to anally rape little boys, they are *made* to. It's all part of the Divine Plan™! But you Christians already knew that, right?

Cause his dad Jehovah is not against it see: Deuteronomy 21:10-14 "When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies, and the Lord thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them captive, And seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife; Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails; And she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thine house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife. And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not make merchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her." Deuteronomy 20:14 "But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself Also if you look at the story of virgin mary she was a "virgin" when she married Joseph. So marrying virgins was oviously ok. Don't tell me Joseph didn't have sex with her either. Also wives were usually sold to people so if they didn't want to be a wife or have sex too bad they are sold. God if he exists don't intervene in peoples lives it's obvious. Like the deist watchmake story: God made the watch, winded it then left it. It's a harsh world sometimes and sorry folks but no God is watching and protecting you. Winch begs the question :well if God isn't gonna do anything for you then why bother with him at all? It's really something to ponder....

Life on earth is a time of trial for a very short time.

Sorry... meant to post a comment.

Back peddle - no way! As I said, no where in the Bible does it say that life is fair, easy or full of goodness. You sound like someone who's had something horrific happen in their life and is in great need of blaming someone/something. It is very easy to blame someone you can't see. I am a social worker and I have heard all kinds of terrible stories. The people who coped the best have some kind of faith system - whatever it may be. You sound rather intelligent, but the reality is that atleast 70% of the population believe in a higher power. If that makes the world a little kinder and safer then, I'm all for that. Jesus has empowered US to take care of our world. Shame on those people who hurt others and we need to do what we can to put a stop to it. I am sorry that you can't grasp that thought. But, please respect those of us who do believe and have faith. If I sound naive - well isn't it a sweet sound! (You're probably chuckling now aren't you?) Frankly, I am a happy, hopeful person and I put the credit to Jesus.

Ever since sin creped in the world, we are the ones that compartmentalize it. To lie is worst that to cheat, adultery is worst then pre-marital sex, Divorce is worst then homosexuality, rape worst than selling drugs to teenagers, rape of children worst of them all, right? So which ones should Jesus get involved in? Do you have a preference list? You asked me to answer you question, so I will. Although it would help to know how to talk to you, which language should I use? To explain, to address a blind man, I could use words, although I would be understood by hearing, my emotion, expressions and mimic would not be understood. To address a deaf and a mute, I would need a sign language because my words would not be of any value. But how does a believer address an unbeliever? I think that this is utterly impossible simply because our Intellect is on the way. A believer can not express him/her self truly because he/she is not using spiritual dimension, unbeliever can not express him/her self because a lack of required cognisance to continue non-obtrusively is not there. For a believer to address another believer, one element is required to be in both persons that are communicating, that element is called faith. Even though there may be differences, there are also similarities and dialogue is possible through goodwill and good intentions. The faith bearing witness in their respective hearts and intellect to what is being spoken is synchronized and forwarding. Don’t misunderstand me, I am not minimizing the horror of young kids being raped, (don’t think for one minute that I think that this dastardly deed is done by non believers only,) but I get emotional just the same when I hear 16 year old snatching a purse from 90 year old lady pushing her down the subway stairs. To answer your question I will speak to you as to a believer, since I have a sense that you are mad at God for all these horrible events that are happening out here. And if not, then your question does not make any sense. For the time space and sanity reasons I will concentrate ONLY on your question. Let’s forget the history where we burnt the witches, crusades and all this good stuff in comparisons of children being raped. I will just deal with “why” does Jesus sit’s on His hands, doing nothing while the Children are being raped. He is sitting on the right hand of the Father, interceding for those that raped children. And YES, He is allowing you to rape children, in the sense that to exercise the possibility of the ultimate good, (love one another) the ultimate evil has to also be permitted. If scripture states that (John 15:13 (NIV) “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” If then “Loving” is the “greatest” thing, (as per 1 Corinthians 13) then that means that the ultimate opposite of it is to take a life. It is through our action that we speak our faith, not through words only. Words are cheap. If Christ is to interfere and prevent this, this spiritual growth of His entire church would be flawed. Is this to simple of an answer? Not if you consider the scripture: Condemnation: 1 Corinthians 6:8-10 (NIV) “8 Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers. 9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” Remedy: Romans 8:34 (KJV) “Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” He (Jesus) is not interceding for those that never sinned, but for those that are washed in His blood, and through this act are made righteous. Boy, it would be very easy to blame everything that goes bad in this world, to unbelievers. Only if was true... But did unbelievers bomb the towers? Are unbelievers blowing up synagogues? Did unbelievers declare war on all “Infidels”? No – unbelievers are on the short end of the stick as far as “religious evil” deeds are concerned. The worst atrocities thru history are done by different faith (or lack of it) factions and religious groups. (notwithstanding massacres that were done to exterminate religions, likes Nero, Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Mao etc…) So it seams like your anger and disappointment is not against someone you do not believe in, (Jesus Christ) but your anger is against your unbelieving kind (atheists) that is unable to put an end to this religious nonsense and put a man on a pedestal. By your angry expectations you are actually venting your frustration back in your breeding nostrils, almost choking, yet unwilling to believe. God has dealt with sin, (atonement of Christ) which encompasses the entire horrible deeds above plus myriad of other that includes raping the children. As far as harming children, scripture has a very specific warning. 1. Matthew 18:6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Matthew 18:5-7 (in Context) Matthew 18 (Whole Chapter) 2. Mark 9:42 And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea. Mark 9:41-43 (in Context) Mark 9 (Whole Chapter) 3. Luke 17:2 It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Luke 17:1-3 (in Context) Luke 17 (Whole Chapter) Although I can not imagine the suffering one child has to endure while being raped, I am sure that God will as promised wipe all the tears as per Revelation 21:4 (KJV) Revelation 21:4 “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” Revelation 21:3-5 (in Context) Revelation 21 (Whole Chapter) But I am afraid to think what that sort of sin does to one that commits it. If this person dies without the knowledge of Christ and His redeeming grace through repentance, it is destined for Hell. If it means anything, this scripture may shed some light as why my hope is in Christ. Promise: Isaiah 25:8 he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken. Isaiah 25:7-9 (in Context) Isaiah 25 (Whole Chapter) Fact: Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: Romans 5:11-13 (in Context) Romans 5 (Whole Chapter) Redemption: John 3:16 (NIV) “16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

thanks guys. it boils down to this jesus is a myth satan is a myth noone has ever SEEN jesus or satan. it's just written in a book. A BOOK. i could write a book about Joe and Schmoe the good god and the evil demon. it still would not make it REAL. it's just a book and it's just fiction. there's not a shred of proof of the so called "claims" of christianity. there's no proof of hell. so christians come along and try to hammer you over the head with their delusional beliefs in a magical sky daddy. they only believe this because mommy and daddy poured this rubbish onto their brains already from birth. they are taught to go against reason and beleive in virgin births, talking snakes, a god who sent himself to be nailed to a stick, supposedly for our sins that we do from BIRTH already. a steaming pile of BS yet believed by many just because their folks believed it. the bible provides all the answers in it - to it's own debunking. there's even verses in there about making bread OUT OF DUNG. so that's why a mythical "jesus" would sit on his all powerful hands because there is no jesus and no powerful hands connected to the non existant "Savior"

Many people get angry at God for suffering, death, and other bad things in this world. Really though, God is not to blame, sin is. There are things that we don't understand, but God does, and He cares. I don't believe that there is a tear we have ever shed, or a bit of sorrow or pain we have ever felt that He hasn't already felt and experienced for us. He took it all for us at Calvary. God is good. In the kingdom of heaven, God will wipe away all tears. Pain will be gone there and everybody will be happy. The Lord has a plan for everything that happens. It is a cold world of pain, evil, and death because of sin, but Jesus is the Light of the World and He is our hope. He is long-suffering towards us. The truth is, we don't deserve to go to heaven, we, myself included, deserve to go to hell and be seperated from God for all of eternity. But God, in His love and mercy and grace, sent His Son Jesus to die for our sins so that we could go to heaven and live with Him for ever. God will judge murderers and rapists on the day of judgement. He even judges sin now with plagues, famines, pestilences, heartache, and other bad things. God is a God of vengence and justice. He will not be mocked. You reap what you sow. People have been blaming God for their sin and its consequences since the Garden of Eden when God asked Adam if he ate of the forbidden fruit, Adam said: "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat." In a sense, he was blaming God and the woman both. Telling God that it was His fault for giving him the woman who tempted him. God had mercy on them though, and spared their lives as well as ours. God has been good to us, so we should be grateful to Him and praise Him. Maybe He has given us the responsiblity to help each other and go out and stop those rapists and murderers. In any case, God is good and God is merciful. I hope that this is helpful. Praise ye the LORD. -In the Master's service. Thank you and God bless you!

God is wicked for making people he knew would be wicked. I'm so tired of typing this over and over your never gonna see it. Christians are blind to anything against their silly ideas. God MADE people, he knows all things past present future. Why blame the monsters? Christians? Why not blame the one who made them?

God is evil. Humm... Let me get this straight Bad things happen to good people. So, if there is a God you believe that God should srike anyone down immediately for their wrong doing. That would be cool. Poof... the bad person is gone. (If I take one too many cookies - my hand is gone. I will behave!) There can't be any master plan because the world isn't perfect. There's no heaven or hell, so there must be no here after. I don't need to worry about behaving perfectly, because there's NO chance at having a perfect afterlife, i.e. heaven. Anything goes right? I don't see that being an athiest is better than being a Christian, Jew, Muslim...Those faiths give hope. There's a nice website called beliefnet.com You can look at several different belief systems out there. It's very interesting. (My vote is still for Jesus.)

Because like all gods and goddesses before him, he is nothing more then a charactor in a story. What happens in reality has nothing to do with mythological charactors.

This is a little something I came up with to explain all the strange people who have all kinds of horrible things happen to them (like being raped by a priest, Dad, teacher, etc...) and yet still, somehow, believe in a loving god. I propose they have... Battered Believer's Syndrome Just like the spousal syndrome it's named after, this disorder is characterized by the inability to see anything but love in the actions of the abuser. Every hit is the victim's fault as this is the only rationalization to keep the image of someone who is loving alive. And so it is with the believer. No matter what terrible event happens in their life they can't see their god as anything but a loving father. He never gets any of the blame. It's either a lack of faith, too much sin or perhaps not enough praise that day. Suppose a believer's child was murdered. Can she conceptualize her god idly watching as the event took place, doing absolutely nothing? Yes, but it was for a reason. Her god still loves her, of course -- that's what she been programmed to believe. She'll probably come up with the standard answer designed to preserve the love like "god works in mysterious ways," "it was for the greater good," or "god wanted him in heaven." All these answers skirt the real issue, though. To see how one need only exchange the deity in the equation with a person. What if a police officer sat and watched silently as a child was murdered even though he had the power to stop it? Oh, the rules are different now, aren't they? Why, though? Different programming, basically. People are programmed to see police officers as people who have to help and should even risk their lives saving people. If one of them doesn't help, they're not doing their job and they become just as bad as a criminal. They are neglecting their duties to the people. Gods and goddesses, on the other hand, whose "actions" are based on the hit and miss randomness of chance events, are expected to not do anything in many situations. These beings are also endowed by their creators, us, with great magical powers and control our destiny in the afterlives we made up. Add to this equation the endless stream of loving propaganda that is shot into the believer's brain and the resulting mix of expectation of inaction, fear and love combine to make a powerful formula able to transform an abuser into an angel. Atheism frees a person from this madness. Instead of wondering why some invisible cloud father would allow or cause something to happen, we take it as it is: reality. Why did it happen? We look to real causes. Why was her son murdered? Look at the the murderer himself. Look at the events in his life that led up to the event. Where were the police? Could a stronger police presence have thwarted this? Look at the safety precautions the mother in this story could have taken in order to prevent this tragedy. Look at what the boy himself could have done to avoid such a situation in the first place. By thinking critically, instead of superstitiously, we affect the real world in a positive way. We can come up with real solutions instead of asking for divine intervention that never arrives. It is only us who can save ourselves.

ReverandJeremiah...you are right! Shame on the people who use the name of Jesus to justify their wrong doing. They put a very bad name to Christianity as do the extremists. But, I won't necessarily say they aren't true Christians. I don't know if you've ever heard of this idea, but going to Church & Christianity is like being apart of a 12 step program. We are all recovering heathens. We screw up, make mistakes and then try to do better - learn from our mistakes.

ReverandJeremiah...you are right! Shame on the people who use the name of Jesus to justify their wrong doing. They put a very bad name to Christianity as do the extremists. But, I won't necessarily say they aren't true Christians. I don't know if you've ever heard of this idea, but going to Church & Christianity is like being apart of a 12 step program. We are all recovering heathens. We screw up, make mistakes and then try to do better - learn from our mistakes.

ReverandJeremiah...you are right! Shame on the people who use the name of Jesus to justify their wrong doing. They put a very bad name to Christianity as do the extremists. But, I won't necessarily say they aren't true Christians. I don't know if you've ever heard of this idea, but going to Church & Christianity is like being apart of a 12 step program. We are all recovering heathens. We screw up, make mistakes and then try to do better - learn from our mistakes.

because jesus is but an idea we cling onto. i personally cannot believe in such an almighty powerful deity when i look around myself and see such misery and pain. as a woman i constantly fear for my safety, when i had a gun pulled out in front of me pointed to my head.. i was scared, scared that i didn't have any money but more scared that he might not want my money. i think your question brings up a good point its a bit harsh the way you put it but at the same time the world is pretty damn harsh.

Many people have asked the questions like: Why does God allow wars? Why was this person born blind? Why is this person crippled? Why can't this couple have children? These are some of the mysteries about which humans have been asking God for answers since the beginning of time. Even Job, a just man, asked God why were so many bad things happening to him. I am not wise enough to answer this question but Pope John Paul II wrote a beautiful letter called Salvifici Doloris, On the Christian Meaning of Human Suffering: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_11021984_salvifici-doloris_en.html With love in Christ.

Because God gave us the gift of Free Will - with boundaries. We disregarded the boundaries and were affected by Evil. We are now sick with sin. The world you are looking for cannot be found on Earth, which is Satan's wandering place - until the Lord comes again to wipe away hurt, pain, tears and fear. That is the promise - with boundaries - we have to walk with Jesus to the door of the Lord. The question is - will we disregard the boundaries yet again, and further our degradation? Or will we believe, and trust - and finally be free of the Will of the wicked?

cuz he's not god and has no power over it - at least that's how i see it

because Jesus was a man, nothing more. As for god sitting on his fat, luxurious ass(should he exist), he has this infinite power, and does nothing to help his "children". god seems to me like the abusive parent on COPS, hurts his kids, and goes on a bender when someone speak out against his treacherous ways.

Man has free will so that God is justified in sending people to hell.

this is a complicated world i no longer understand

Because goodness cannot exist without it's opposite.

Because JC is a myth-like legend. Just like the Egyptian gods and the Greek ones. In reality, there is a good reason to believe that a man by the name of Jesus of Nazareth existed, but he was just a wise-man, like countless other people in the region, clergymen or not, and was not the "all-powerful, all-knowing...." "GOD" that the Roman Catholic Church has made him out to be. In fact, there were wise-men that were similar to Jesus. The whole disciple thing and such and such. With all due respect to Christians, the story of Jesus is a good one, with many good morals, but that's all it is. It's a story written years ago. It's right there with the Little Red Riding Hood. Christianity was spread through imperialism (starting out with the Roman Empire ironically), ignorance, and delusion. Turn on your brains and analyze the source of all this. I believe that everything has a karmatic effect and everything is connected, that's why some innocent children get raped and killed (maybe they did something bad in their past, or even in their past "lives" if re-birth like the kind in Buddhism exists, or maybe they are paying for something that they are about to do in the future {the ones that don't get killed}, the rapist might get a s**t storm comin' in the future for the s**t he/she did to the kid(s)). Or then again, it could be nothing more than random-ass events. That's my theory. But if you believe in Christianity for faith alone, then me, nor ReverendJeremiah, can't touch you.

Short answer: I don't know. Slightly longer answer: Yeah, he could run round 'putting out fires' all day, and still no-one would give him credit. They'd just describe it as some kind of natural law. Happy hunting!

Wow. SO MUCH hate and vitriol here. But on the off chance that this is an honest question, there are two answers. First, God is VERY serious about our free will. We have it for an important reason. Whatever we do with it, we WILL answer for our actions here and now. Second, this life is only a small moment compared to what He has in mind for us. It's a test. Any innocent children inconvenienced by the testing will be compensated richly. You don't need to worry about them. You'd be better served to worry about your OWN relationship with Him.

We're not PUPPETS, we have free will including rapists and murderers. People have to take responsibility for their own actions and not blame God or Satan.

..Because he doesnt exist? It needs to be considered.

Each of us are responsible for our actions, be they good or bad. No one else is going to be responsible for them, not even Jesus or God. We are here to learn for a very important reason. If I were to choose to murder a child, the ramifications are such that I would set myself back an eternity for my actions. I would pay dearly. You hear a lot about free will, and we are free to do good or bad. God tells us that even the least worthy among us can experience God's love. We are to focus on ourselves and do our best. Judgement belongs to Him. I'm not saying it's okay to do bad. I'm just explaining what I know :)

Wouldn't you think that mankind, after walking this earth for thousands of years, forming governments, writing laws, rules, and regulations, then hiring people to enforce these laws, would do a better job of protecting innocent children from being raped and killed? Our governments keep passing laws but sit on their all-knowing hands and don't enforce the ones that we already have. If a person doesn't believe in Jesus Christ or God, why bother to blame them? How about if mankind get's off their rear end and actually does something to try and curb the violence on our streets? I'm an ex cop so I know what it's like to go out and put my life on the line and to try and protect the innocent. It's also very frustrating to arrest someone only to see them back out on the street before the paper work is done. If you have a gripe about violence, go to the authorities and stop blaming Jesus Christ. Stop whining and moaning and get out there and actually lend a hand to help those in need.

Simply because Jesus is not real.

I don't know....is that what YOU are doing?

All things have a reason!

maybe you need to ask god that question

He is impotent to help them, he is coldly uncaring, he enjoys seeing them suffer

you need to ask god that question

If he did exist and allowed all that, he'd be powerless to do anything, uncaring about it or sadistically enjoy it. The alternative that makes more sense is that he doesn't exist.

cause the people that do it have free will,

That's the same standard answer to all questions of God and Christianity that are contradictory, or make no sense (as you suggest), "God works in mysterious ways". That, of course, justifies whatever Christians want to say without feeling the need to defend anything, no matter how ridiculous. That, in turn, sends people who rely on logic and critical thinking to Atheism.

God threw Lucifer to Earth and made him the god of this world. Jesus said we are not of this world. You're placing blame where it doesn't belong.

Satan is responsible for all of the atrocities the we see and experience today. 2 Peter 3:9 tells us that God is not slow concerning his promise, he is patient because he wants all to attain repentance. Therefore, since we are awaiting his promise to be filled, we should take this time to draw closer to our God (2 Peter 3:14). As for those who are suffering and have died at the hands of injustice, they will be resurrected (Acts 24:15).

Psalms 82: 3- 4 Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

Probably for the same reason Africans keep having kids thinking I want to support them or supply their medical care when I can't get a damn thing where I'm viewing this question.

it's hard for angels and deities to be everywhere at once to help everyone people are supposed to help people also

This is an excellent question... Satan is the ruler of this world as 1John 5:19 reveals, the whole world is in the power of the wicked one. He challenged Jehovah’s right to rule in the Garden of Eden. Jesus is patiently waiting to come and rid the earth him. For more information on this subject please visit jworg.

"Because it is God's Will."

Satan is the god of this world and people keep following him 😈 and don't know they are because he has blinded them of the truth of God.

To understand why innocent children are being raped and killed: it is not difficult to see who roams the Earth like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8) Satan rules the world and the people in it who practice wickedness. 3 John 11 "Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but [imitate] what is good. The one who practices good [exhibiting godly character, moral courage and personal integrity] is of God; the one who practices [or permits or tolerates] evil has not seen God [he has no personal experience with Him and does not know Him at all]."

I believe that God doesn't control that stuff I think he is there so we can have someone to rely on when these bad things happen and we don't feel as alone

How else are you supposed to know they were child rapists and killers, if they did not commit the crime and get caught? Your foolishness is forgetting that you could have prevented it. But only if you spent less time on crocodile tears online and more time in law school or cadet school signing up to catch such people.

The Bible gives us the answer to that question the Israelites said to the prophet Samuel give us a king like the rest of the nation's have and Samuel said no because if you do that God will no longer miraculously protect you from sicknesses and your enemies and from death. There will be no more miraculous provisions from God. But the people said we demand a king like the rest of the Nations have give us a king and let our own blood be upon our heads and upon the heads of our children. Still the prophet Samuel refused and said no. But the word of God said to Samuel do as they ask because they have not rejected you they have rejected me. So Samuel appointed a king to Israel like the rest of the Nations have and since that very day we have no longer had the miraculous help that God used to provide. That's why there isn't a great abundance nowadays A miraculous intervention from God because it was man himself that told God to go away

-People make God and Jesus out to be evil they permit human suffering and allows bad things to go on here on the earth. But does that mean God himself is evil? -Deuteronomy 32:4 states that perfect is all of God’s activities. And at James 1:13-15 it says that God does not bring trial on anyone, but we bring problems on ourselves with our sinful tendencies. -The Bible details what God’s will is for the earth. At Genesis 1:24-31 and 2:15, it details all of God’s creation, including man, that he was to have in subjection all the creatures and vegetation of the earth, and to cultivate the earth, and spread Paradise earth wide. -Thus it was God’s purpose that humans live forever on earth in paradise conditions and always continue learning new things that make our lives interesting and fascinating. Thus, it was never God’s purpose for humans to get sick or suffer and die, or for children to get raped and killed. So humankind had a perfect start. -Genesis 3:1-6 Satan the Devil (Revelation 12:9) seduced Adam and Eve to sin by eating the forbidden fruit. Satan was trying to imply that God was withholding something good from Adam and Eve by forbidding them to eat from one tree. Thus the Devil was questioning God’s universal sovereignty, saying humans are better off ruling themselves. -As children of Adam and Eve, we all inherit sin and death from their parents, as confirmed at Romans 5:12. -God has allowed time to pass for Satan the Devil to prove his point that humans are better off independent of God’s guidance. The reason for this is for everyone in the Universe to see the consequences of trying to be independent of God. The majority of mankind has sided with Satan on this issue, wanting to do things their way instead of God’s way. -We are seeing these disastrous consequences in abundance of human rule independent of God. Human rule has brought about crime, corruption, disease, poverty, natural disasters, and all sorts of injustices. -In truth it was foretold that in this time period we’re living called the last days, conditions were going to get worse (Matthew 24:3,6,7,12; Luke 21:8-11,26; 2 Timothy 3:1-5). -So we conclude that all the events happening today are the result of Satan the Devil and his manipulation of human society. It says the whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one (1 John 5:19). -However, the events happening in these last days signify that this is getting near the time for God to act and to remove this present wicked world and all of its faulty leaders (1 John 2:17; Daniel 2:44) and to usher in a new world of righteousness (2 Peter 3:7,13). -After Armageddon, God and Jesus will eliminate all of our problems and transform the earth back to the paradise it was intended to be (Isaiah 11:6-9 and 65:21-23; Revelation 11:18) with no more death, sickness, hunger, crime, war (Rev 21:4; Isaiah 25:8; 35:1 and 33:24; Micah 4:3,4; Isaiah 2:4) and eternal life in happiness for all righteous hearted people (Ps 37:11,29). -Also, those who have died over the years will have a chance to be resurrected to enjoy the earthly paradise (John 5:28,29; Acts 24:15). -So we can conclude from the scriptures that God is good and righteous. It’s Satan and his manipulated society that are evil, but we see that God has a plan to fix all the ills of the earth very soon. -For more information on these wonderful future promises, speak with Jehovah’s Witnesses or visit jw.org.