Why does God allow suffering? Is it because there is no good God?

This is the one question which is asked in any discussion about God and I have one answer...

I don't know.

This is to do with the question of suffering which cannot be adequately answered by any human being. This is to do with why God, should he be good, chooses to allow some things to happen. Put it this way - neither Einstein nor any of the greatest philosophers or theologians have been able to answer this question, so why do you think some random blog from some obscure writer will? This also means that you don't know either.

I'm not sure it is possible to prepare for physical or mental suffering beyond making sure there is access to pain relief. It is also hard to alleviate suffering with words alone.

God can defend himself on this one. It 'appears' as if God has made a choice not to heal, or not to answer certain prayers for now. This does not mean it will be the case for eternity. It has to be enough to recognise that the pain and suffering is not caused by God, but only allowed by him for now. There is literally little other choice for those suffering. But the question is still valid and legitimate.

Because there is still a choice there made by God, even in the allowing. I believe that he holds the responsibility and accountability for this decision. That means that neither you nor I need to defend his honour on this question.

Neither the Book of Job nor the rest of the Bible answers this question and Job deals with it explicitly. The answer to Job is that he should look to nature and the awesomeness of God's creation and God's greater might above all that. However, Job (and the reader) is not actually given an answer. The only answer Job gets is a future compensation for all the suffering he has experienced. And pain relief of a kind, in the form of God's presence.

The best that could be said is that Christ suffered too and so lived his life under that same tyranny of suffering, and the shadow of death. If you think about it, it would be very hard for a God who never suffered to hold any kind of authority or credibility on this question if he had not lived as a human being.

So you and I can make what feels like a great response to the question of suffering - one which maybe defends God's honour and which seems to answer the question... or one which does not. There should be no value judgement in that. Even if that answer is: 'There is no rhyme or reason to it and it happens because he doesn't exist. There is no good God'. But this is also an answer which is similarly unsatisfying for many.

The next time you and I are suffering (which will happen, even if it is not happening now), all these answers (maybe even this one) will be blown away like chaff - because when you suffer, you don't necessarily want an answer, you want the pain to go away and you want coping strategies if you have to endure (which is usually the case).

The individual who suffers may say some outrageous things and that's okay, because suffering and pressure does not cause a person's true colours to come out. True colours only come out when a person is in relative ease and luxury. And since when was saying something seemingly odd or outrageous indicative of a person's value as a human being? True colours only come out when you are pain-free and in a season of happiness.

So, why, if God is good, does he allow suffering?
I do not know the answer to this question. 

The human condition is such that we are largely compelled to ask it and live without adequate answers.

Get the pain relief in and make it accessible to all.

Think happy thoughts.

Goodbye Queen Elizabeth

 

Many people have been affected by the death of Queen Elizabeth.

The newspapers and websites are filled with material which has long been prepared. There is something comforting about that - in the idea that there has been some kind of plan in place for years. That Operation London Bridge is there to smoothly keep the cogs and wheels of Britain and the Commonwealth running. Goodness knows if there are any other plans in operation. 

The BBC will stop all comedy for some reason – because when you grieve, laughter is not acceptable to some. We live on a strange island.

There were many worse monarchs than Queen Elizabeth. Of course, when a monarch dies, everyone is a royalist to some extent. Freedom of expression has its limits after all, for both republicans and royalists. She surely won the award for being the most popular monarch.

They say that as soon as the Queen died, Charles became King. They say this because they rightly fear that the time between the death of a monarch and the coronation of the new one is a time of social instability. Certain forces, the kind of forces that Queen Elizabeth hinted at during her long reign, will become opportunists. People fear terrorism. Instability. Journalists and writers are called on to keep the peace. We are to write words of comfort and words which keep the wheels and cogs of the system oiled.

People will miss her. She received a lot of prayer and was among the world's most well-known Christians. We got used to her.

Perhaps she could have been more proactive. But in the history of kings and queens she was reasonably benevolent. Episodes of The Crown probably did more for her public image than all the PR of the palace.

We are in new territory. So where do we go from here? What can we say to comfort each other? Millions of words will be written from here on. All kinds of words, and those of us who were raised on Spitting Image, with its caricature of Queen Elizabeth, will wonder at some of them.

And all the plans of Government and the other forces, and the long ago written newspaper material and the plans of church and state... and agitators... will swing into motion like a machine.

You want my advice at this time? Do what you have always done. Survive. But don’t carry on as if nothing has happened. Don’t just keep calm and carry on. It's not business as usual. Even in war, the advice was to keep calm and carry on as much as possible. There was some acknowledgment that there would be some significant ripples felt by people. Sometimes you just can’t carry on as normal. 

So survive. Look around. Read the blogs, watch the changes. Think a little about it all. See the royalists, watch how they act and what they say. See the republicans and listen to their complaints about the constraints on free expression. Watch the news, listen to the journalists. Try not to read too much David Icke.

Take it easy Britain, somebody loves you.

Think happy thoughts.

You are invited...

 Free short story coming on this blog: October 31st...

Upcoming Halloween Story 2022

 

Criticism of the Government

The cost of living crisis is really only going to affect the poor isn't it?

I live in a Conservative voter majority area, under a Conservative MP. I am always irritated, in discussions, when defenders of Her Majesty's Government say things like, 'You shouldn't judge our PM, he is doing the best he can and you are no better. He is trying his best in difficult circumstances and we should move on from Partygate because there are more pressing issues'.

It isn't a judgement so much as a simple fact that the Government have a lot more responsibility and are in a position of power. Even the Bible says that those who are in leadership should be held to greater account. But the defence of the PM is that he made a few mistakes (weirdly the breaking of arbitrary house of commons rules about lying, considered to be a greater scandal than the fact that he behaved hypocritically).

'But some citizens also broke the rules during the pandemic, so they have no right to judge.'

It's a non sequitor, it doesn't follow that those in power should be held to less accountability than every other citizen. 

'But he has and he has apologised and now we must move on.'

Except the whole of law and ethics is that people are held to account when they have done something wrong, mostly so that they do not do it again. And Boris Johnson saying, 'Let's move on' (as Tony Blair always did) does not mean that he will not do it again. Specifically, to behave hypocritically in any decision he makes in the future.

'But we all sometimes behave hypocritically'.

Sure we do, but we are not all in a position of power.

Who is to say that as Boris Johnson tackles the cost of living crisis, the train strikes (and why will they not even talk with the unions?) or the war in Ukraine, or the coming crises, that he will not do the same thing again - i.e. not practice what he preaches. Well, at least the Government are being consistent in their hypocrisy. They are saying that they want peace in Ukraine and at the same time supplying arms to the Ukrainians, for political reasons, rather than actually caring. They are also not talking with the unions in the train strikes and saying that the train staff are just being selfish. Some of us don't even have the luxury of unions and the Government will make it very certain that you feel that the inconvenience is making things worse. At least the Government isn't greedy for anything huh?

It is said (in the Bible) that people shouldn't say, 'Why were things better in the old days?' It is never explained why. 'Because it isn't wise', writes the leader of that country.

Except that just sometimes things were better in the past. Just sometimes Governments have been held to account and the level of scandal that is occuring in the present would be seen as nightmarish if it had happened before now. 

I always think that the Tories always allow the worst things to happen. They let things happen which other parties would not let happen. They have allowed all of our demons to reign free. This country was my home. I know people who are suffering so much from the negligence of the Government. But it is a delegated neglect. You won't be neglected should you put a foot wrong. But you won't be helped. This current regime has come back ten times as nasty as before. Specifically in the treatment of the poor, the disabled and patients. No wonder the NHS is in crisis - they are under so much pressure from the Government that doctors and nurses barely have time to think.

'Stop doing down the country, we are a great nation and we may be allowed to host Eurovision.'

Except great nations have ethics. They don't NEED ethics advisers to act as their consciences. They should have consciences. Who knew that they had delegated that role to anyone anyway?

'Quit your whining, are you going to offer up any positive solutions?'

Sure, survive. There is no political hope anymore. All we have is this nasty regime which does not care for the poor and disabled. There is simply no compassion. And that attitude permeates all of society now thanks to our leaders. 

So my advice is to survive the best you can under this oppressive Government. If you are so sure that the PM is genuinely sorry for appearing to lie to parliament (surely not?), or worse from behaving hypocritically, then why should you worry that he will do it again? 

If you even dare to criticise them, they point the finger at the opposition. But the opposition are not in power. The Labour leader may have broken the rules too, but the difference is that he is not in Government. 

And they will not even acknowledge that part of the problem is Brexit. Because to do so would be to admit responsibility and that is something which the Government perhaps do need an ethics adviser to understand. We are not free yet.

Because their consciences have been seared with a hot iron, and that's why they need to delegate ethics.

Survive.

The Dead Shall Rise

 

Since I moved here there had always been this fight. It was a kind of conscious resistance which the villagers had with a man, a rich property developer. The facts of the matter are this – some years ago a man ‘donated’ a piece of land for the council to use as a cemetery. The cemetery was built, with some lovely wooden carving and graves, graves, graves added month by month, year by year. The slight trouble was that the cemetery land flooded. It was not good land. It was a marsh. But the council liked it. It served a purpose.

For many years the villagers had consciously resisted the developer. We had resisted plan upon plan to build on the land behind our houses. If I say that the developer ‘gifted’ the cemetery land during his applications for building would that be seen as more than a fact? In the end, after a number of failed attempts to build on this greenbelt land, the developer sold the land on to a company who had a lot more power. The same fight continues up and down the country.

Well, despite the supposed nimbyism, they won. Despite the many objections. Because it has been a long fight. A fight which has involved petitions, council planning comments (hundreds) and a whole lot of angst among the village. Some villagers were against it because they knew that it would be greenbelt land and, despite the new Tory policy of building on greenbelt land, they intuitively knew that it would cause massive disruption to traffic, services, noise pollution and all kinds of trouble. I resisted it too. But more for the sake of the wildlife. There were mineshafts under the land. Chasms that could take a lot of living bodies. And newts and bats and all kinds of flora and fauna. I suggested to the council that the mineshafts might fall in as if in some kind of Poltergeist (you will understand if you have seen the film) scene. I used every argument I knew. I used the last of my authority. Our MP Gavin Williamson supported us. We give him credit for that even though he was part of a regime that decided that developers could build on greenbelt land in the first place. He was swiftly promoted after his announcement that his constituents problem had passed. He even made it to the Tracy Ullman show as a character. For a while he was a rising star.

Meanwhile the graves in the cemetery continued to rise. And maybe the mineshafts in the land to be built on began to sink a little. We were all haunted one way or another.

This is Tory-ground and most voters are Tory, but the locals are human beings, they are friendly enough.

I did pray sometimes. We are commanded to love our enemies and the developers seemed to have fit the bill like the rich man Dives may have done to Lazarus. I shot prayers their way. Resistance prayers. Just occasionally. Prayers to make things better for all of us. But they didn't work and I'm sorry about that.

Enjoy the cemetery, council, enjoy the policy of building on greenbelt land. Bury your dead there. Maybe they are already dead? After all, that’s what people say.

When I die (and goodness knows it may be sooner rather than later), do not let them bury me in the council’s cemetery. I do not want to rise before my time. Let them sprinkle my ashes in the River Trent, to be carried downstream and out to the sea (or else get caught in some branch or blown back in a beautiful face by the wind).

It sounds so pathetic. ‘We tried’. But we did try. For years. But our prayers were unanswered in any meaningful way.

And this kind of tiny battle goes on up and down the country while the Tories continue with their policy of building unaffordable housing on greenbelt land. The nasty party.

Yet still, the dead shall rise. One way or the other.

Ten more reasons this is not the end of the world...

Things have changed. The pandemic is on the wane. But one thing that has not changed is that certain circles still believe we are in the last of the last days. It is disturbing. It means that hope for your children (should you have them), is no longer there. Who could believe our luck? Not only do we have to cope with energy prices skyrocketing and the strange effects of Brexit just happening to raise the prices of milk, bread and pizza, but we now have to cope with the four horsemen. No! Go away horsemen. You are not wanted.

First plague and now war (and I can guarantee that some people already want you to think that Putin is the antichrist).

So, as I do not like it when people are misled, here are ten more reasons why this is not the end of ages.

I’m going to have to think about all this. I’ve already gone into the main ten reasons here (of which I am 99% certain) and now I have to think ten more up…

 

1.     1.  Believers say that God always keeps his promises. Eventually. So here is the thing – if God has promised specific things to specific people because they’ve asked him to answer their prayers then he can’t wind up the whole of history without answering those prayers. For example, an individual may say ‘God, I really, really want a Blackberry KeyTwo’ (even though it is almost impossible because Blackberry have now faded). And so, if God says “Okay” then that person has the promise of a new phone with that dinky little keyboard. Conceivably they could get one in heaven, but what if they are asking for a specific job? Or a partner? Or some kind of healing? God has made specific promises to lots of people and they can’t all be answered outside of time.

2.      2. What did the thunders say in the Book of Revelation? Maybe they said ‘Ignore all this really bad stuff, there’s going to be good stuff too’.

3.      3. The Two Witnesses. According to our favourite book, which we all read all the time I’m sure, there have to be Two Witnesses. Now this is the reason I’m never going to Israel. For someone like me, with mental health problems, apparently it is a thing that Christians who go to Israel get really worked up and start believing they are one of the prophesied two witnesses. Apparently, it happens all the time and even has a syndrome name amongst doctors there. But, if we are in the start of the tribulation then where are these protagonists? You could say they are symbolic and not literal, but I still don’t see how they are around now. And for us literalists, take some comfort in the fact that the Church fathers actually thought that a literal reading of the gospels and revelation (not the rest) showed spiritual maturity rather than the opposite. No two witnesses. Not here yet.

4.     4.  Us Christians can be an argumentative bunch. You may have noticed that we are not as loving as we are supposed to be and that we sin all the time. So here is number 4. ‘The worldwide church has been prayed for by Jesus to be in unity. But have you seen the state of us? We can’t agree on the very slightest thing most of the time. I’ve seen unity in political parties at moments (such as in Labour at the start of Blair’s takeover), but I don’t think you can call what is going on now unity, even if you redefine the word. No unity.

5.      5. If the main forces who want us to think that this is the end of the world happen to be the devil and his demons, then can someone tell me how they know that when even Christ claimed to have hidden it from himself? Do they have secret knowledge of some brooding antichrist figure? The spiritual forces are bullies and as far as I am concerned have no rights. They certainly have no knowledge concerning the actual end of the world. They simply want to freak people out.

6.      6.6.6. According to the Muslim meta-narrative there will be a wind which will take out all of the believers. It’s windy here but I haven’t seen that happen. I may have got my faiths mixed up momentarily but bear with me…

7.      7. Earthquakes. There was one here in Blighty just recently. I slept through it. You tell me just how it so happens that earthquakes and great plumes of smoke ‘just so happen’ to have been more reported recently? Oh yes, that would be because of the digital revolution. Now we all hear if there has been an earthquake in Dudley or wherever. It’s also possibly down to fraking or something. I bet they are still doing that.

8.      8. The harlot riding the beast! So where is she then? And no, it isn’t the Catholic church. Anyone saying that is kind of proving my point that we are not in unity. The harlot represents such and such but according to the Bible, Babylon effectively implodes through fighting factions (you could say ‘oh, what is the point of fighting it then?’ and maybe you would have a point). Revived Roman empire. Good grief.

9.      9. So much for receiving the latter-rain in terms of revival. Oh, and some of us thought that was promised as a mercy in the midst of plague and war. God was supposed to be pleased with Brexit. Where has that reward gone then? Now we are facing an economic nightmare.

10.   10. The rapture! Well, this is the main argument against any of my sign-seeking. The idea is that the rapture could happen at any moment, meaning that none of these prophecies needs to be fulfilled (although you would think church unity would, but hey?). Could happen any moment. Take your lover close and all that. But no, is church unity to happen in heaven alone? What is the point of the prayer of Jesus then? And no orthodox Christian ever thought that a rapture would save us from the tribulation when it comes. And surely someone during that time will be writing a list of 20 reasons it is not the end of the world? According to the Bible, the Church is right there side by side with people in that time. Those of us still alive are still here and haven’t been swept up into the air. Yes, we are going through all this bad news with you. It could happen, but I’m 99% sure that the other prophecies have to happen first. Christians can argue about the pre-trib rapture all day long and it kind of proves my point that we are not in unity on this or on most other issues. The rapture hasn’t happened yet. It could happen, but God, as a storyteller is probably most likely to do it at the very last moment when all seems more hopeless than ever. No rapture yet.

And no Season 4 of Stranger Things.

Think happy thoughts.