Ah, now I see where we're going! In a nutshell:

1. Good stuff:
Happens because God loves us. Because He is good.

2. Bad stuff that we can live with:
Happens because God is 'testing' us. This is a good thing. Because He is Good.

3. Bad stuff that we can't live with:
Happens because ... er, happens because ... happens, um ... look, how dare we presume to know the mind of God? Undoubtedly, He has his own reasons for doing this stuff. We don't need to question it. It must be a good thing. Because He is good.

Blazing insight on the one hand, blissful ignorance on the other - an undisputable winning position if ever I saw one.

Incidentally, if anyone is having trouble distinguishing between 2. and 3. above, I offer Victoria Wood's definition of a 'minor' ailment - a condition suffered by someone other than oneself. 

If nothing bad ever happened, who would need God? If nobody could steal from you, attack you, or hurt you in any way, wouldn't you be all set on your own? Yeah, sure! And you wouldn't be able to do anything to anyone else, either. But you have the free will to cause bad things to happen to other people, and so bad things can happen to you. What that has to do with tornados? Well, nothing. Tornados are an extension of that free will to Satan, who then causes bad things to happen to people. It's not really a 'test' so much as an opportunity for growth for those who survive. For those who die, well, everyone dies, so why not have it happen now? It won't change anything to let them live longer.

Bad stuff happens for usually three reasons.

1. Because God is in the sanctifying business and he does put us thru testing but only what he knows we can endure.

2. Satan likes to persecute us. He pushes our buttons and tries to interfere in our lives to stop our witness. If we fall for his schemes how effective are we in our witness to the world?

3. Our own circumstances. Sometimes we suffer because of our own stupidity. We make bad choices in life and then reap the consequences. Sometimes we like to blame God for this when in fact it's our own fault we're in this place.

Going back to #1 here. Scripture tells us, that as Christians, we are God's vessels. A vessel in scripture is likened to a clay pot used for a variety of things. From a distance you cannot see what is in that clay pot. So sometimes God breaks the pot by putting us thru trials. When our pot which is our very lives get broken, what is inside spills out for the world to see. It's during these times that others can see what a real Christian is made of. Many come to a saving faith in God by seeing what spills out in another's clay pot.

"But we have this treasure (gospel)in jars of clay to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side but not crushed, perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then death is at work in us, but life is at work in you." 2 Cor 4:7-12

Again, I plead free will principle. They decided that they were better than their master, and so rebelled.

 

But their thought processes were put there by god.  He programmed them to make those choices with their free will.  The free will that used the thoughts and ideas they were programed to have and the personality they were made to have.  The outcome was never in doubt after god made them to react in the way they did and exercise their free will in the way that god decided they would when he made them. 

Tell me at least one way this doesn't work.

See, it's been theorized that though time flows one dimensionally for us, God has multiple dimensions of time, allowing Him to see it and interact with it, but be seperate from it.

and I think this is simple. We examine our lives and determine which direction it's coming from. If I overeat and then have health problems because of either excess weight or eating the wrong foods, I can only point to my own self for my problems. It's not God or the devil who made me get sick.

If, as a Christian, I'm not living the life I profess, and get terribly sick as a result of food poisoning I would most likely know God is trying to get my attention. My spirit would be troubled.

If, as a Christian on task, I have an opportunity to do something for God like maybe give a bible study to a group of women and fall terribly sick by food poisoning, then I would most likely be led to believe Satan is putting an obstacle in my path to stop me. Peter wrote that if we are going to suffer, at least make sure you're suffering because of righteousness sake.



because I believe there is more than meets the eye. There is a whole segment you're forgetting. You're content to only look at the physical world. I know there is a spiritual component as well and am very aware of it. You are more than just a physical being. Your physical being is just your outside tent so to speak. It's just a covering. The real you is your inside, your spirit. Too often, many forget that and are content only living in the physical.



First of all, it doesn't upset me because we all have to find our way. Second of all it has nothing to do with me "preferring to believe this" I guess it's hard to explain, but I know this to be true. It's called living in the spirit. When you live in the spirit you do "see" differently. That's why Christ spent so much time talking about those who have eyes to "see." All thru the gospels this struggle was evident. Many just couldn't "see" and understand what he was talking about because they were so wrapped up in the physical world.

There's much more than meets the eye.