YART: Does God really bless or curse people?

[Arkitech]

This thread is kinda based on this one and also based on a conversation I had with my best friend this weekend. Basically one of my best friends (we've been hanging out since age 8 and we're both 31 now) went for a long bike ride on Saturday and we got into a discussion about religion, he's still a very devout Jehovah's Witness while I'm not sure if I'm even a christian anymore these days. Anyway we covered a lot of topics in regards to religion but one thing I notice whenever I speak to someone about God is that they never really can find a solid answer about God and whether or not he blesses or curses people.

For example when bad things (death, sickness, injuries) happen to people, the typical response is to say its not God's fault that certain events take place. But yet if something good happens (raise or job promotion, healthy child birth, etc.) then God is praised as being responsible for the occurence. Also you have cases of people who pray to God to help their sick child or provide them with assistance during a crisis, when that help does'nt come its never attributed that God turned their back on them but if something positive does happen then of course it had to be from God. So the question is how do people really know what God is doing? Why would God choose to grant tremedous financial success and good health to a rapper promoting violence and sex and the only thing said rapper ever did was wear a 800,000.00 dollar diamond encrusted cross while on the other hand a poor devout preacher's incessant prayers go ignored and he has to watch his only son die from kidney failure?

You can't have it both ways, either God is ignoring ALL prayers or he's showing favor to some of the scummiest people on the planet.

 

[Pocatello]

There is no God IMO

 

[tallest1]

My parents told me that God doesn't curse. He gives blessings or doesn't. Some people can get by without his blessing, some can't. I'm not religious but I see every hardship as a test toward making one a better, stronger person. But I repeat, I am not religious so attacking me or throwing quotes back at me will do no good.

 

[Schadenfroh]

yes, he has the power to both bless and curse people. read the bible and find out more

 

[skace]

Well, I will give you 2 answers:

My understood catholic answer: God does not get involved with the world at all. Except for his son / mortal form - Jesus. Which, for some odd reason, was an exception to the rule (I think because he didn't really control Jesus or some such reason).

My own answer is simply that life is like poker. It takes skill but it also relies on luck. Even a good player can get dealt a sh!tty hand. You can only make the most of what you are given.

To believe that god blesses or curses people is to believe in a truly odd world. Unless you believe in some sort of destiny that god plays out via blessing / cursing specific people. Such a world would lack free will though. So... take your pick. If you really believe god blesses people / etc, you would try things like sacraficing a cow or whatnot.

 

[Skyclad1uhm1]

Originally posted by: tallest1
My parents told me that God doesn't curse. He gives blessings or doesn't. Some people can get by without his blessing, some can't. I'm not religious but I see every hardship as a test toward making one a better, stronger person. But I repeat, I am not religious so attacking me or throwing quotes back at me will do no good.

If you are not religious, who or what do you see as the being testing us?

 

[ClueLis]

Originally posted by: Skyclad1uhm1

Originally posted by: tallest1
My parents told me that God doesn't curse. He gives blessings or doesn't. Some people can get by without his blessing, some can't. I'm not religious but I see every hardship as a test toward making one a better, stronger person. But I repeat, I am not religious so attacking me or throwing quotes back at me will do no good.

If you are not religious, who or what do you see as the being testing us?

He's trying to say that he doesn't interpret the Bible strictly enough to get into a debate over Bible syntax.

 

[Cerb]

Originally posted by: Arkitech
This thread is kinda based on this one and also based on a conversation I had with my best friend this weekend. Basically one of my best friends (we've been hanging out since age 8 and we're both 31 now) went for a long bike ride on Saturday and we got into a discussion about religion, he's still a very devout Jehovah's Witness while I'm not sure if I'm even a christian anymore these days. Anyway we covered a lot of topics in regards to religion but one thing I notice whenever I speak to someone about God is that they never really can find a solid answer about God and whether or not he blesses or curses people.

That's largely due to the fact that if God is up there doing it, he is causing it through nature and through other humans acting in His will.

For example when bad things (death, sickness, injuries) happen to people, the typical response is to say its not God's fault that certain events take place. But yet if something good happens (raise or job promotion, healthy child birth, etc.) then God is praised as being responsible for the occurence. Also you have cases of people who pray to God to help their sick child or provide them with assistance during a crisis, when that help does'nt come its never attributed that God turned their back on them but if something positive does happen then of course it had to be from God.

That's the wishful thinking bit.

So the question is how do people really know what God is doing? Why would God choose to grant tremedous financial success and good health to a rapper promoting violence and sex and the only thing said rapper ever did was wear a 800,000.00 dollar diamond encrusted cross while on the other hand a poor devout preacher's incessant prayers go ignored and he has to watch his only son die from kidney failure?

That's a difficult question to answer. Randomness? Plan? If you can make it, there is always extra inner strength from overcoming pain. One thing we all do in life is learn. Maybe we are here to learn specific things, but if we actually knew what they were, the lesson would be lost. This could go on for thousands of pages, I think .

You can't have it both ways, either God is ignoring ALL prayers or he's showing favor to some of the scummiest people on the planet.

...or it'll be like Cartman's theme park. Sure, he's way up there now, but it could come back to him. Not to mention, if there is an afterlife like Christians belief, it won't matter, as you'll get what you deserve in the end, regardless of what you got in life.

There is circumstancial(sp) evidence of the power of prayer.
However, there is no evidence of it belonging to any single faith.
So I'll keep believing that it is really us, and we've just been conditioned too much into believing that there are "supernatural" occurrences, rather than some scientists actually finding the science behind it.

 

[bubbasmith99]

god's greatest blessings are actually curses while God's greatest curses are actually blessings. all the things that happen to us in this life (both good AND bad) are tests which God uses to test us. He wants to see how we handle both success and adversity because no matter how rich/succesful somebody gets, adversity will always follow (i.e. Kobe Bryant) and no matter how poor/miserable someone may seem, there will always be joy in his/her life. (i.e. some of the happiest people in the world are those from poor third world nations that don't seem to have much in the way of material goods but have infinitely more than we do in simplicity and joy in their daily lives).

 

[bubbasmith99]

i hate being a thread killer

 

[Cerb]

Originally posted by: bubbasmith99
i hate being a thread killer

...then why have such well thought out, well worded responses?