questioning faith

#1
kunsanvol

kunsanvol

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#1
I am not here to start any bashing of believers vs non-believers. I have some things on my mind and want the opinions of others who are believers.

I am a believer. I always have been and I always will be. But honestly, I'm not sure what I believe and what I don't because some things just don't add up with me.

Does prayer actually work? I've always been taught that God controls all, and knows what will happen to each of us. Our birth, our lives, our death..everything. So, with that being said, if a young person get cancer, and it is God's will that he will die from it, what purpose does prayer serve? If enough people pray, does God change his mind? If not enough people pray, does God decide to let the person die?

If God is all powerful and all good, how can childhood cancer be explained? Why would He allow His people to suffer? I'm told God loves us more than we can understand...even more than we love our own children. I know that I had the ability to stop my child from suffering, I sure would. So if God supposedly loves him more than I do, why allow him to suffer?

Things just don't add up sometimes to me
 
#2
#2
kunsanvol said:
I am not here to start any bashing of believers vs non-believers. I have some things on my mind and want the opinions of others who are believers.

I am a believer. I always have been and I always will be. But honestly, I'm not sure what I believe and what I don't because some things just don't add up with me.

Does prayer actually work? I've always been taught that God controls all, and knows what will happen to each of us. Our birth, our lives, our death..everything. So, with that being said, if a young person get cancer, and it is God's will that he will die from it, what purpose does prayer serve? If enough people pray, does God change his mind? If not enough people pray, does God decide to let the person die?

If God is all powerful and all good, how can childhood cancer be explained? Why would He allow His people to suffer? I'm told God loves us more than we can understand...even more than we love our own children. I know that I had the ability to stop my child from suffering, I sure would. So if God supposedly loves him more than I do, why allow him to suffer?

Things just don't add up sometimes to me
Click to expand...

I pray for God's grace, love and comfort in times of need. Not miracles. I pray for His blessing. Also, a cancer stricken child teaches those around them and is rewarded Heaven, similar to the story of Job. Our reward is Heaven, not our life on earth.

Also, since humans wrote the Bible, I believe the overall message to be true, but I find it fallible. Humans, as always, screwed some specifics up.
 
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#3
#3
So he doesn't care what happens to us on Earth? How is allowing a child to endure extreme suffering a good lesson to others?
 
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#5
#5
Maybe so. When i see a young child in a casket, and his parents going through the worst pain imaginable, I lose A LOT of hope.
 
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#6
#6
God wanted that child to die young. He wanted his parents to suffer. And that's supposed to increase my faith in Him? I can't wrap my head around that.
 
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#7
#7
kunsanvol said:
God wanted that child to die young. He wanted his parents to suffer. And that's supposed to increase my faith in Him? I can't wrap my head around that.
Click to expand...

You're not listening huh? Got it. You don't want other thoughts, you just want to express yours. Good for ya.
 
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#8
#8
volfanbill said:
You're not listening huh? Got it. You don't want other thoughts, you just want to express yours. Good for ya.
Click to expand...

No. Im looking for answers. And with most Christians, when I ask tough questions, I get shunned. Which pushes me away further. Sorry for bugging you.
 
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#9
#9
kunsanvol said:
I am not here to start any bashing of believers vs non-believers. I have some things on my mind and want the opinions of others who are believers.

I am a believer. I always have been and I always will be. But honestly, I'm not sure what I believe and what I don't because some things just don't add up with me.

Does prayer actually work? I've always been taught that God controls all, and knows what will happen to each of us. Our birth, our lives, our death..everything. So, with that being said, if a young person get cancer, and it is God's will that he will die from it, what purpose does prayer serve? If enough people pray, does God change his mind? If not enough people pray, does God decide to let the person die?

If God is all powerful and all good, how can childhood cancer be explained? Why would He allow His people to suffer? I'm told God loves us more than we can understand...even more than we love our own children. I know that I had the ability to stop my child from suffering, I sure would. So if God supposedly loves him more than I do, why allow him to suffer?

Things just don't add up sometimes to me
Click to expand...

To paraphrase Nietzsche:

Be careful. You are looking into an abyss. Do that for too long, and that abyss will look into you.
 
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#10
#10
kunsanvol said:
No. Im looking for answers. And with most Christians, when I ask tough questions, I get shunned. Which pushes me away further. Sorry for bugging you.
Click to expand...

You're not bugging me. But you're doing the shunning. Quit looking at the moment, look at the big picture. The moment sucks, but most take away way more in those hard times than that initial heartbreak.
 
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#13
#13
Tough questions. Keep the faith and keep asking Qs.

As a Christian your Qs are best asked of God through prayer.
 
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#14
#14
I'm not much of a Christian, but I can tell this. Life sucks at times. You just have to move on, accept what happens and live your own life.
 
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#15
#15
kunsanvol said:
I am not here to start any bashing of believers vs non-believers. I have some things on my mind and want the opinions of others who are believers.

I am a believer. I always have been and I always will be. But honestly, I'm not sure what I believe and what I don't because some things just don't add up with me.

Does prayer actually work? I've always been taught that God controls all, and knows what will happen to each of us. Our birth, our lives, our death..everything. So, with that being said, if a young person get cancer, and it is God's will that he will die from it, what purpose does prayer serve? If enough people pray, does God change his mind? If not enough people pray, does God decide to let the person die?

If God is all powerful and all good, how can childhood cancer be explained? Why would He allow His people to suffer? I'm told God loves us more than we can understand...even more than we love our own children. I know that I had the ability to stop my child from suffering, I sure would. So if God supposedly loves him more than I do, why allow him to suffer?

Things just don't add up sometimes to me
Click to expand...

he loves us enough to give us free will. Free will comes with consequences. I don't see how one can expect God to give us free will and yet remove all the bad? Look at the helicopter parents and participation trophies galore, is that really making the kid any better? while it is doesn't perfectly explain things away I would say every bit of evil in this world is brought forth by mankind itself. and I would say the vast majority of it comes from when we go against his will. I have a hard time blaming God when my sins come back to haunt me, or even worse someone else. Childhood cancer is difficult to deal with, but there is still an opportunity for goodness there. It gets parents and family to appreciate things, brings together communities. It will never replace a life time of love; but without death we would not appreciate life.

I believe prayer works, in the Bible there are plenty of stories of God changing his mind based on human intervention. Him not destroying the town if there was 100, 10, 1 good people there. Jesus's miracles, the power of ones faith saving people. why? because God loves us, even being all powerful doesn't mean he can't change. Don't fall into logical fallacies. ie: If God is all powerful can he make a rock that is too big for him to move? Neither answer provides an outcome that actually addresses the issue. Humans will never fully understand God or why stuff happens. Blaming God for our lack of understanding is short sighted. I have found prayer much more effective when instead of asking for God to remove a hardship I instead ask for the strength to overcome it.

and not saying anything about you in particular OP, but how many people just pray AT God? How many stop to listen, or pray for what he may want? "Thy will be done." People want to wield prayer as a magical wand instead of listening.

Prayer and good deeds are their own reward. even if they don't accomplish what we want, so what? When did mankind become the center of the universe? What makes us more important than God. Where in the bible does it say that if you pray hard enough all of your struggles disappear? When you were a child and asked something of your parent and they said "no" you couldn't understand the why of it usually. but as an adult you can see the why of it. I doubt any of us come to the point where we understand the why of God.

faith is never supposed to be a fixed thing, where suddenly everything makes sense or you have all the answers. It is a growing relationship. Like marriage. "Do you love your wife now after 30 years of marriage as much as you did as when you first married?""No, I love her more" Our lives are an instant to God, he knows us more fully than we will ever know ourselves, but in our brief time we can never understand all that is God. And if we don't talk with God, again not just AT God, how can we understand him better?

just my thoughts.
 
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#16
#16
kunsanvol said:
Maybe so. When i see a young child in a casket, and his parents going through the worst pain imaginable, I lose A LOT of hope.
Click to expand...

does life stop in that moment? Do the parents forget their other children? Or not have other children? Or stop loving each other? God is the possibility of good. The fact that any good exists in this world throughout the evil shows me that God is there.

Two of my professors in college had difficulty having children. One died still born, the other died shortly after birth. But once they had a child, it was incredible to see them together as a family. Through loss they found love. Instead of just looking at the death and trying to find God there, look at the good and instead find God there.
 
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#17
#17
There's actually a pretty cool app for this sort of thing with biblical answers.

It's called the "got questions" app.

Lots of apologetic stuff too if you're interested in that.
 
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#19
#19
kunsanvol said:
I am not here to start any bashing of believers vs non-believers. I have some things on my mind and want the opinions of others who are believers.

I am a believer. I always have been and I always will be. But honestly, I'm not sure what I believe and what I don't because some things just don't add up with me.

Does prayer actually work? I've always been taught that God controls all, and knows what will happen to each of us. Our birth, our lives, our death..everything. So, with that being said, if a young person get cancer, and it is God's will that he will die from it, what purpose does prayer serve? If enough people pray, does God change his mind? If not enough people pray, does God decide to let the person die?

If God is all powerful and all good, how can childhood cancer be explained? Why would He allow His people to suffer? I'm told God loves us more than we can understand...even more than we love our own children. I know that I had the ability to stop my child from suffering, I sure would. So if God supposedly loves him more than I do, why allow him to suffer?

Things just don't add up sometimes to me
Click to expand...
God is sovereign. The Bible says Satan is the god of this world. God has a determined will and a permissive will.
Why he permits evil and suffering is the most asked question about Christianity. It is also one of the most detailed in terms of discussion and answer.

If you want a thorough study on the matter I would recommend two books, The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis and Where is God When it Hurts?, by Philip Yancey.
 
#20
#20
kunsanvol said:
I am not here to start any bashing of believers vs non-believers. I have some things on my mind and want the opinions of others who are believers.

I am a believer. I always have been and I always will be. But honestly, I'm not sure what I believe and what I don't because some things just don't add up with me.

Does prayer actually work? I've always been taught that God controls all, and knows what will happen to each of us. Our birth, our lives, our death..everything. So, with that being said, if a young person get cancer, and it is God's will that he will die from it, what purpose does prayer serve? If enough people pray, does God change his mind? If not enough people pray, does God decide to let the person die?

If God is all powerful and all good, how can childhood cancer be explained? Why would He allow His people to suffer? I'm told God loves us more than we can understand...even more than we love our own children. I know that I had the ability to stop my child from suffering, I sure would. So if God supposedly loves him more than I do, why allow him to suffer?

Things just don't add up sometimes to me
Click to expand...

I don't think prayer does anything other than make some feel good. You know, like they really did something. Just my opinion on that, though.
 
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#21
#21
kunsanvol said:
God wanted that child to die young. He wanted his parents to suffer. And that's supposed to increase my faith in Him? I can't wrap my head around that.
Click to expand...

I'll say this. As a pediatric nurse, I've witnessed the death of children, and have watched them overcome cancer. I've questioned my own faith but have seen miracles happen. Couple years ago I watched a dr in the NICU try and rescutiate a baby for 15 mins and couldn't. He stopped the code to tell the parent's and all of a sudden that baby came back. 2.5 years later he's a helathy child. (Sometimes there's a higher authority in control). The way people come together when a child is sick is something that can't be explained. I've watched different races, straights and gays, men and women, all come together to help a family out. Sometimes there are bigger things going on that we can't explain. I've heard stories that people have become nurses because of having something wrong as a child or to their child. The care they received made them feel like they needed in that field of work to help others. There's always a bigger picture that we can't grasp at times.
 
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#22
#22
There are indeed moments in life that cause one to question "how could a loving God". I get that throwed at me a lot, but on the flip side, I've received his mercy more than I deserve. After losing basically everything Job said this, "man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble". Jesus while on the cross uttered the words, "my God my God, why hast thou forsaken me". Like mentioned earlier, this world is not meant to be our trouble free, peaceful ever after. Of course it's hard to watch a situation you can't understand, and not wonder "why God?" I have a sick wife who I've watched suffer to the point I've cried like a baby before. I do not understand it, I've had moments I've been angry about it, questioned God why, asked what's the point. I will tell you what I've seen dealing with our situation, I've seen my wife stick with Romans 8:28: where the Bible says "we know all things work together for the good". I've see people around here come to my wife who we're dealing with health issues, and tell her they need her help because they know she's suffered a lot, but held on to her faith. I've seen people reach out to her on Facebook asking to talk, because they know what all she's went through, and she's been an inspiration to them. Of course satan will get in your head during times you don't understand and encourage you to doubt, and people who don't believe will choose those times to bring up "why would God ", I just try to simply trust him over what I feel, or others may say. Simply put, faith.
 
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#23
#23
I have nothing but cynicism to offer about the logic of how God supposedly has a hand in everything yet simultaneously gives us free will to chart our own course.

If you are truly a believer and wish to continue I recommend speaking with your pastor.
 
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#24
#24
kunsanvol said:
I am not here to start any bashing of believers vs non-believers. I have some things on my mind and want the opinions of others who are believers.

I am a believer. I always have been and I always will be. But honestly, I'm not sure what I believe and what I don't because some things just don't add up with me.

Does prayer actually work? I've always been taught that God controls all, and knows what will happen to each of us. Our birth, our lives, our death..everything. So, with that being said, if a young person get cancer, and it is God's will that he will die from it, what purpose does prayer serve? If enough people pray, does God change his mind? If not enough people pray, does God decide to let the person die?

If God is all powerful and all good, how can childhood cancer be explained? Why would He allow His people to suffer? I'm told God loves us more than we can understand...even more than we love our own children. I know that I had the ability to stop my child from suffering, I sure would. So if God supposedly loves him more than I do, why allow him to suffer?

Things just don't add up sometimes to me
Click to expand...

Years ago in college in a religious studies class, I wrote a paper about this very thing. It was the toughest assignment I have ever done. As a life long Christian I thought it would be simple to answer but it wasn't. I found myself leaving school and driving home to meet with my pastor to try and gain more of an answer. I would suggest that you do the same and please pray about it and listen.
Some things that happen we aren't supposed to know or even understand. There are several things that I would like to ask when I get to heaven. My brother lost his second child. He was blessed with another child several years later. We lost our father early this year to Alzheimers. I don't understand why he suffered and lost in his mind for 12 years before passing away. He finally was healed and got his mind back the moment he died.
Satan creates diseases and all the temptations in this world. God is the hope and the path to guide us through it. Our hope isn't in a football team, or a statue, or anything else, its only in the WORD and LOVE of GOD. He doesn't promise not let anything from happening to you, he does promise to walk with you. Verse 4 of the 23 Psalm: " Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me."
Again, I encourage you to speak to your pastor, or a pastor. I don't know how to give you a thorough answer, but I promise that I will pray for you.
 
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#25
#25
Some great answers here. I thank each of you. I really do. I am a believer. I am. I just have questions I guess I'll never really know the answer to. I guess all i can try to do is be a good person and help people the best I can. Except Gator fans. They can kiss my butt.
 
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