Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!wuarchive!usc!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: ldh@bessel.eedsp.gatech.edu (Lonnie D Harvel) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: An atheist's question Message-ID: Date: 28 Oct 90 08:30:40 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology Lines: 54 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article , duncant@mbunix.mitre.org (Thomson) writes: |>I don't know if you'll want to discuss this on your group, but I am really |>interested in how Christians will answer this question, so here goes... |> |> Horrible act omitted... |> |>My question is this: How can events such as these be reconciled with |>the christian notion of a god who is both omnipotent and benevolent? |> |>It seems to me impossible to accept that an all-powerful god could allow |>a child to be murdered in such a brutal way. If any person had the power |>to prevent such an atrocity, and failed to act, in my opinion such a person |>would be completely dispicable. |> |>Is there an answer? ("The Lord Works in Mysterious Ways" does not hack it |>with me.) |> "The Lord Works in Mysterious Ways" , doesn't hack it for me either. Free will does, however. God gave man dominion over the earth and all that is within it. If we blow it to hades and back, I do not believe he will intervene directly. I have always felt that God interacts through his followers, and the Holy Spirit. It seems that the great miracles of the bible have been performed by people enacting the will of God. Even to the point that God became Man himself, in order to provide a living sacrifice for our sins. Some would say that this proves that it is men and not God who are great, but these people have been filled with the power of God and/or the Holy Spirit, and they claim that it is God and not them, I believe them. There are still miracles, God still interacts, man is just sophisticated enough not to be impressed. As for the atrocity of which you spoke, it was commited by men, men who do not follow God in my opinion, regardless of what they claim. God asks that we follow him, asks that we accept his Grace, asks that we accept his power, he does not force. God has granted men the right to choose, He is witholding judgement until the end. These are my opinions and I ask forgiveness for oversimplification. Yours in Christ Lonnie ---------------------------------------------------------------- The comments and spelling herein are mine and nobody else lays claim to them. ================================================================ Lonnie D. Harvel | ldh@bessel.eedsp.gatech.edu School of Electrical Engineering | Georgia Institue of Technology | "quisque suis patimur manis" Atlanta, GA 30332-0250 | Virgil