I also read the original post from Jeff of The Gay Black Jew and I must say that I think Jeff has issues. This is a guy who's neither gay, black or Jewish, but earned the nickname for always defending them from (I suppose) his friends.
Although I think he's a very sad, unhappy man who is hiding from some ugly truth inside himself, one portion of his comment did strike a chord with me:
If there truly is a god, he’s a total asshole for letting billions of people suffer throughout history due to conflicting beliefs. All-knowing and all-powerful…but for the last 2,006 years he’s been stuck in a Verizon commercial, i.e., “Can you hear me now?” Waiting for his only cellphone (Jesus) to fall from Heaven so that He has someone to talk to who can send all non-Christians to an eternity in hell fire while whisking believers up to a magical fairyland hidden in the sky. Nothing could be more violent, BTW.
Clearly, this line is idiotic, because as we all know, the greatest gift God gave to humankind is FREE WILL. Humankind is the source of the suffering. However, the reason this struck a chord with me is because it brought up a question that I have always wondered about. In the main, I'm at a loss to understand why God allows people to be born with debilitating illnesses. I understand the evil that humankind perpetrates upon one another which ends in physical death. I also understand the ravages of disease which can permeate a society and end in physical death. I even understand that a death resulting from an "accident" is due to God's greater plan. What I don't get is the debilitating illnesses such as MS, Parkinson's, etc, that people are usually born with and must suffer with throughout their lives. My faith tells me that it is part of the greater purpose, but I do struggle with that aspect.
I wish Beth a very Blessed Christmas and I pray that God may make his countenance to shine upon Jeff and lead him to the Light.
No comments:
Post a Comment