Comments on: Arguing about why bad things happen to good people.

By: R. Casper

R. Casper — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 00:54:47 +0000

Wonderful analogy!

By: jennifer

jennifer — Wed, 19 May 2010 20:23:01 +0000

Well said, I couldn't agree more. And not that I'm always happy about why God allows what He allows sometimes, but like you said, I am always reminded that God is love and that He does in fact work all things together for our good. Thanks for this reminder.

By: Bad things, Good people | Tales of a Charmed Life

Bad things, Good people | Tales of a Charmed Life — Wed, 19 May 2010 02:28:06 +0000

[...] One of those themes is the age-old question of why God allows “bad” things to happen to “good” people. I got to thinking about it after I read a post over at Stuff Christians Like this morning, a post about why “bad” things happen to “good” people. [...]

By: Kena

Kena — Tue, 18 May 2010 21:11:53 +0000

Your not alone. I got rejected from UNC last month.

Thanks for the ‘encouragemint’ and insight.

By: Michael Reaves

Michael Reaves — Tue, 18 May 2010 19:04:20 +0000

As a pastor, I struggle with this issue. Certainly, God can do whatever God wants to do. But I don't think the question Jon raises is helpful to the hurting in many situations. Perhaps the best advice I ever received was when I was a chaplain intern at a hospital. One of the chaplains told us, "Don't try to defend God. God doesn't need you to defend him and the person hurting will not hear you. Listen to their pain and be present." It makes me uneasy and at times even angry when someone tries to comfort a grieving parent who has lost a young child to illness or some other tragic circumstance by saying, "It was part of God's plan" or "God must have needed him (or her) in heaven." Oh, really?! If Christians believe we are unable to understand God's ways completely, then why do we say such hurtful things to people when all they really need is someone to listen to them and be by their side. We don't know why these things happen. While I won't deny God's right to crack a vessel if breaking it is the fastest way to share what He poured into us, I believe that God is there to help us pick up those broken pieces. I do not want to believe that God would take a child or cause a tragedy just to prove a point. I may very well be wrong since I cannot begin to understand God's ways completely but that's how I approach my ministry with the many cracked vessels I encounter every week.

By: Charles Stafford

Charles Stafford — Tue, 18 May 2010 18:33:57 +0000

Ignoring the whole post except for the beginning about Testamints: I always thought scriptural fortune cookies would be a good idea. Who wouldn't want to crack open a delicious fortune cookie and receive something they can apply in daily life?

Think about it. Might be a good way to get your $4000 dollars back. Or lose $4000 more.

By: bluedaffodil

bluedaffodil — Tue, 18 May 2010 18:17:21 +0000

This might be my favorite (serious) post of all the ones you've written.

By: Bill

Bill — Tue, 18 May 2010 15:32:22 +0000

John, it's not Wednesday. Don't you know that you can't do things like this to us. There is a liturgy to be followed on this site!

Keep on, keepin' on.

By: Vijay Kumar

Vijay Kumar — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 13:57:36 +0000

Bad things happen in life as the whole cosmic system is governed by inscrutable laws of Karma… as we sow so shall we reap… nothing less or more! If they were only happiness in life… all would become monotonous… meaningless! Only when we suffer… we understood true value of happiness… never otherwise!

By: ByronD

ByronD — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 04:20:30 +0000

Jennifer, IMHO being the living embodiment of the future kingdom of God on earth is a good thing. I don't deserve it, and neither can I earn it or lose it (grace). It's free for the asking through Jesus Christ, so there's no need to deserve it. I am willing to believe that 'bad' things are a means to discover God's will for us, just like 'good' things are. The opportunity to help others when 'bad' things happen to us is just one concrete example of the blessings we can receive from God in such circumstances.