A bit confusing.

tecoyah said:

I just watched a man, praise Jesus and give him credit for his strength to make it through a very traumatic ordeal...it was quite touching. I am simply confused how he can ignore the fact Jesus/God allowed it to happen in the first place.

"Nine of an 11-member family were found dead in the house fire that erupted in a Muhlenberg County home in the middle of the night, said Trooper Stuart Recke, Kentucky State Police public affairs officer.
Two parents and their nine children lived in the single-story home, Recke said.
On Thursday afternoon, Kentucky State Police identified the mother as Larae Watson, 35, and the eight children killed: Madison, 15; Kaitlyn, 14; Morgan, 13; Emily, 9; Samuel, 8; Raegan, 6; Mark, 4 and Nathaniel, 4.
The father and another child escaped the fire and were flown to a Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville about 120 miles away for treatment, Recke said.
Leslie Hill, a Vanderbilt Medical Center spokeswoman, said Chad Watson, 36, and Kylie Watson, 11, were both in critical but stable condition."
Nine dead, including 8 children, in Kentucky house fire - U.S. News

Do religious folk simply give the all powerful a pass for the bad stuff, and give it credit for all the good?

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They don't give enough credit for bad things that happen to Satan.

tecoyah said:

Yet.....a very many do so without it. I did, so I know it can be done.

And....I do not require something outside of myself....does this make me stronger?

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Of course not, it makes you you.

Why would you be stronger for enduring the same thing I may endure differently?

Your implications repeat the same message of the "self" centered, that they must be smarter because they have decided it is dumb to believe in something they can not understand or see, that they are stronger because only someone weak would need an "imaginary God" or what ever self aggrandizing message is hinted, suggested or made obvious.

Why is it not enough to seek to understand in real terms and in depth rather to assume some superior character, intellect or strength.

I will say again, atheism is perfectly logical conclusion to come to and I don't say that because I came to my Catholicism after many years of being an atheist, I say it because it is true.

However it is not the only logical or reasonable conclusion to draw when thinking about human life, suffering, joy, love, pain and existence. Trying to live as a Christian is as difficult and challenging as it is rewarding and joyful, just like life.

“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried,”

From my LDS influenced perspective this short mortal life in the eternal scheme of things is the second phase of a three phase growth plan for the development of the offspring of God. It is basically the kids going off to college and becoming adults. It is a time to get away from the direct presence of our eternal parents and see how we use our God given free agency. Because there must be opposition in all things for existence, if light/good/joy exist so does darkness/evil/misery. The only way to become like our Heavenly parents and be an eternal man or woman full of light/truth/righteousness, and an infinite fullness of joy as well as an infinite fullness of all worthy attributes a son or daughter of God can possess, we have to be tested in such a setting as this mortal life, and use our eternal inherent free agency to become like Christ if we choose or a devil like say a Hitler or something in between. There can be no perfect Godlike character without temptation and using free agency to choose good. Christ, our eldest brother, showed us the perfect path to follow if you desire to become like our Heavenly parents. The glory of those who do are compared to the sun, those who choose a lesser path may have glories compared to the moon and stars. Those who choose complete darkness will inherit eternal death. If all of us stayed in an innocent state, never knowing any pain or being able to make mistakes and sin and feel the effects of it, we would never know joy either. It is like if you have never tasted bitter you could not discern sweet. This life is a test of faith and a setting where peoples choices are allowed to play out, where both evil and good exists. It is like the saying if it was all sunshine it is a desert. Trials and overcoming and following the path of our Heavenly parents create Gods and the greatest capacity to enjoy eternal life. Without this second phase of the "real world" we would end up either innocent for eternity never knowing misery but also never knowing joy, or spoiled miserable brats that have never really lived. If God intervened in this short second estate on every little bad thing so nothing bad can happen, it would ruin the entire purpose of this short mortal life. Here is also a pretty good article:

Why Does God Let Bad Things Happen? | LDS Blogs

nota bene said:

I can appreciate now the depth of your real interest in a discussion.

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He can be particularly nasty when it comes to faith. I really think it is based in hatred and bigotry.

Best just not even dignify him with a response when he starts with these hollow insults. He is trying to bait you into a flame war. Best just take the high road. Pray for his soul.

Samuel 2:3

ludin said:

Only if you believe that God causes every single bad thing to happen. i find this a ridiculous argument of people who are ignorant of the bible.
bad things happen simply because they happen. There are times that good things happen simply because good things happen.

There have also been times when i know that i am being tested and put through a test. there are also times i know that i have prayed for something and something else occurred out of no where.

In my experience God and never let anything bad happen to me without there being a light at the end.
as paul wrote in the new testament the current suffering compares nothing to the coming glory.

random events happen and people get hurt or killed while other people survive. that doesn't mean God is behind every single event.

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These comments are that of someone who is hateful to those that believe in God.

He hates you because of God.

Matthew 10:22

Let no forked tongue lure you.

CLAX1911 said:

These comments are that of someone who is hateful to those that believe in God.

He hates you because of God.

Matthew 10:22

Let no forked tongue lure you.

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this has to do with the price of tea in china how?

there is no hate there. people assign blame to God when there is no blame to be assigned. Bad things happen due to the fact that we are flawed beings.
I would say in fact that we are cause of most of our misery.

If you can't handle simple truth's then well i wouldn't be quoting the bible or telling people that blaming God for all your problems is incorrect.

ludin said:

this has to do with the price of tea in china how?

there is no hate there. people assign blame to God when there is no blame to be assigned. Bad things happen due to the fact that we are flawed beings.
I would say in fact that we are cause of most of our misery.

If you can't handle simple truth's then well i wouldn't be quoting the bible or telling people that blaming God for all your problems is incorrect.

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yes there is absolutely hate.

What truth am I not handling?

At least my experience has been, when I go through a hardship, I learn a lesson about life that makes life after the hardship better, more peaceful, more appreciative, and generally all around happier. Of course during the hardship im all like **** **** ****!!

Obviously there are good lessons and bad lessons. Traumatic experiences are good lessons, but lately all the lessons have been good and have helped me get over a lot of stuff that I am not sure I could do on my own.

ymmv

I'm not going to judge God or his reasons, the Bible is full of God's judgements on man. I don't understand what motivates people I'm not even going to try to understand God's motivations.

CLAX1911 said:

yes there is absolutely hate.

What truth am I not handling?

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show me the hate? the fact that people blame God for something that he didn't do? how is that hateful?
that is the truth.

God doesn't cause every misery in your life. There is another side to the coin which is Satan that does like to cause misery and strife in your life and than laughs when you blame God.

God answer to you blaming him is I still love you and will help you through it.
Even when you mess up on your own his answer is still i love you and will help you through it.

so please tell me where the hate is.

ludin said:

show me the hate? the fact that people blame God for something that he didn't do? how is that hateful?
that is the truth.

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You didn't really get my message. I apologize.

Post #17 there is hatred there.

God doesn't cause every misery in your life. There is another side to the coin which is Satan that does like to cause misery and strife in your life and than laughs when you blame God.

God answer to you blaming him is I still love you and will help you through it.
Even when you mess up on your own his answer is still i love you and will help you through it.

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Amen.

so please tell me where the hate is.

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It's not necessarily hate it's contempt. And it it's on the op, and post #17 is the most glaring place that there is contempt for the religious people in the world.

I don't know, contempt for his followers translates into hatred of his message to me. Maybe I am just weird that way. :shrug:

tacomancer said:

At least my experience has been, when I go through a hardship, I learn a lesson about life that makes life after the hardship better, more peaceful, more appreciative, and generally all around happier. Of course during the hardship im all like **** **** ****!!

Obviously there are good lessons and bad lessons. Traumatic experiences are good lessons, but lately all the lessons have been good and have helped me get over a lot of stuff that I am not sure I could do on my own.

ymmv

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I meant traumatic experiences are bad lessons.

:doh