SUSAN began questioning God when she was seven years old. Alia, her nine-year-old classmate, was hospitalized and confined to an isolated bed as a result of Covid-19. Susan informed me about her experiences last year when I went to see her father.
"Why would God do such a thing to a small girl?" Alia asked her mother after visiting her in the hospital.
"The priest used to say that there must have been some reasons why God did this," her mother said, "but I don't know what those reasons are."
Susan's mother suggested that God may have led the scientist's research two weeks later, when the immunizations were made accessible.
"God should have helped the physicians with this sooner," Susan responded, "so Alia wouldn't have been hospitalized so frequently."
"When Alia died eight days later, I was now an atheist, and nothing could change my view," Susan said of the influence this childhood tragedy had on her.
Many people, like Susan, who have been through or witnessed a horrific occurrence, do not find sufficient answers to their questions about God. This is one of the reasons why some of them become atheists. Others, although not fully dismissing the possibility of God's existence, are doubtful.
Atheists and skeptics are not religiously illiterate. In fact, what individuals see or experience in religions is frequently the thing that causes them to abandon faith in God. Perhaps these folks believe the major religions are incapable of answering their life's questions. So, what are the questions? Surprisingly, many of these concerns are also shared by those who profess to believe in God. Let's take a look at a question that many people would like to ask God:
"WHY DO YOU PERMIT THE PAIN TO BE SUCCESSFUL?"
"If there was a loving God, he would have averted pain," many believe.
A person's habits and practices from a different culture may appear weird or even astonish us. We can readily misread such people's actions. For example, in one culture, making eye contact is regarded as a sign of sincerity, yet in another society, it is regarded as rude. However, it would be incorrect to suggest that people in these cultures think incorrectly in both circumstances. All we have to do now is learn more about them.
Can we think in the same way to gain a greater understanding of God? Many individuals feel that suffering proves the absence of God. Those who discover why God allows this pain, on the other hand, are certain that He exists.
God's ideas and actions are not the same as ours. So it may seem unusual to us when we first learn about his behavior and why he hasn't intervened in pain.
However, we do not have to accept sophisticated statements like "God's work is incomprehensible" at face value. The Bible invites us to seek out more information about God. We can learn the reasons for God's acts and when to act by studying this book. It is even possible to establish an intimate relationship with God.
"If God appreciated honesty, there wouldn't be so much hypocrisy among those who pretend to worship him," some may reason.
Let's imagine a son is estranged from his well-educated father and decides to lead a dishonest life. Despite the fact that his father disapproves of this behavior, he allows his son to make this decision. Would it be fair to assume that individuals who later encountered this youngster assumed he had a bad father or that he didn't have a father? Certainly not! Similarly, religious hypocrisy just demonstrates that God permits everyone to select their own path.
God despises hypocrisy in religion. It also permits individuals to exercise their freedom of choice. Many professing believers in God choose to follow their own moral standards and adopt human religious doctrines.
"Why do humans only live 80-90 years before dying?" others may ponder. "What is the point of our brief existence?"
Even those who do not believe in God acknowledge that the universe and the earth are complicated and orderly for a reason. They understand that our world, other planets, and the Moon are all positioned in such a way that life on Earth can continue. These folks understand that the rules of nature that govern the cosmos are so finely tuned that even the tiniest modification would render life on Earth impossible.
Many people believe that God does not exist since our lives are so brief. The universe and the world, on the other hand, provide numerous proofs that there is a Creator. The universe and the planet were created for a reason, and our reason for being is closely tied to that purpose. God created mankind with the intention of allowing them to live eternally on this planet, and he has not abandoned that goal.
Through the universe and the world, we may grasp God's existence and even some of his traits. However, He did not intend for us to discover His purpose in this manner. We must communicate with God in some way in order to comprehend God's purpose and why we exist.