I heard on the news that some preacher told his congregation today that "God is good" and that they should give thanks for being alive. Oh, puhleeease!!! If you blow up my house, should I give you thanks for not killing me and my family?

Why don't we ever hear sermons that rail against God for death and destruction? Why is it that we give God credit for all the good things that happen but we never give Him the blame for any of the bad?

When will people come to their senses and realize that "God" had nothing to do with any of this? That God probably doesn't exist? Everything that happened in Florida was the result of mindless nature and chance, plus the choice each individual made as to whether he should flee or stay put.

-- Disillusioned Catholic (skeptickk@yahoo.com), August 15, 2004

Answers

Why don't you be honest and call yourself "Disillusioned Atheist" (or perhaps you mean "Disillusioned EX-Catholic) because you are obviously not any kind of Catholic. Whether you believe in God or not, "God" is simply another name for the goodness in the universe. God is the source of everything that is good, and anything bad ipso facto cannot come from God. That is why we thank God for the good we are blessed with among the bad. And God can use even a bad thing like a hurricane to bring good (e.g. to make us more conscious of our mortality, grateful for our lives and determined to do something good with them, or less attached to material possessions which were destroyed.)

-- Steve (55555@aol.com), August 15, 2004.

Maybe I should change my handle. I don't want anyone to think that "Disillusioned Catholic" means that I'm going Protestant or Jewish, which I would never do. It's just that it's hard for me to break away from something that has always been a part of my life and my identity. It tears my heart out to face the fact that all religion is just superstition.

-- DC (skeptickk@yahoo.com), August 15, 2004.

DC, I'm very sorry to see that you have become athiest. One of the biggest problems I have with Atheism is this. On the one hand they will say God doesn't exist, and then on the other, they say that God is cruel, unjust, and unkind. What is it? Does God exist or not?

I imagine from your previous post that you did believe in the existence of God in the past, but to what extent? Do you close shop when things get difficult? The disciples cried out to the Lord Jesus on the boat when there was a storm.

The Lord Jesus rebuked them for having little faith. You see, we believers realise that bad things happen, and we don't trust in the seen and temporary, rather we trust all things to the infinite invisible God. And if we have the eternal life of God within us, even though we may die, we will live because of Him. Paul described our suffering as a lightness of affliction compared to the eternal weight of glory that awaits us.

-- Oliver Fischer (spicenut@excite.com), August 15, 2004.

Reliigon isnt superstituon, its a mean to help peiple find ficus and direction i their lives, as well as a mean to rebuild lives.

een if you do NOT beleiv ein Miracles, God, ect, you can at leats see the metaphoric vlaue and the vlaue of the Instetution that has prven to change mor elives han Psycoanaltsis.

The rituals, rites, and ideals can be grapsed even by atheists. Inded, their are athesit Christians... herir a Minority, but their there. ( No, im not one, but I know a few...)

-- ZAROVE (ZAROFF3@JUNO.COM), August 15, 2004.

If I discovered that something that has always been part of my life and my identity was just superstition, I'd break away from it immediately. The fact that you still cling to what is left of your faith demonstrates that you sense the reality and validity of it, even though the weeds of doubt have been sown among the wheat of truth. If you are sincerely interested in truth, God will reveal it to you. "Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." If you are not concerned about truth, then doubt and untruth will certainly overwhelm you and eventually destroy you. The choice is yours. God always responds, but He never forces Himself upon us.

-- Paul M. (PaulCyp@cox.net), August 15, 2004.

"It tears my heart out to face the fact that all religion is just superstition."

Fortunately for your heart, that "fact" you speak about isn't a fact at all.

You're just going through a little crisis of faith. I went through it once myself. When you're ready, God will lead you back to Himself, as He did me.

To get yourself ready faster, learn more about God. The fact that you've decided He doesn't exist probably means that you simply had a few wrong ideas about Him. Once you get all of that straightened out and have a better understanding of God and His nature, you will find that everything makes sense when God is included in the explanation.

-- JJ (nospam@nospam.com), August 15, 2004.

Hi DC,

There's nothing wrong with gratitude for being alive. Noticing the little things and the love that flows from others makes one realize that God must love us very much to give us life. All the more the love He gives to turn us from despair, hate, and sin so that we may live with Him forever.

I've seen too many friends, self-styled agnostics, whose lives have fallen apart because they can't seem to understand love. What a sad life believing you were never wanted in the first place. Don't veil your eyes to the light and don't others do it for you. Trust in faith, hope in love, and God will light your way.

Peace of Christ be with you always,

-- Vincent (love@noemail.net), August 16, 2004.