Why Doesn’t God Do Something?
We just had a Bible study at church that led to a common conversation: There is so much suffering in the world, so why doesn’t God do something? This is a frequent criticism of Christianity. It is fine to ask this question, but I would like to take it to the next step: What would you like God to do? For example, there are millions of people starving. Why doesn’t God do something? Like what? Should God have created a world with enough resources and food to feed everyone? Already done, been around a long time. So what should God do? Should God hijack our brains, use mind control and force us to be more generous than we want to? Is that what we want God to do? Or should we shift it to: Why don’t we do something?
It is also very common to hear comments about the Holocaust. Why didn’t God do something about the holocaust? Like what? What exactly would we have wanted God to do? Kill Hitler before it happened? Perhaps, but do we really think that the anti-Semitism stopped with Hitler? Was the holocaust really about one anti-Jewish dictator and everyone else just going along with him? Should God have killed a number of hundred or thousand Germans or others who would have stepped up to take Hitler’s place? Should God have used mind control to erase any belief system that goes against what he wants? Would you like God to do that to you? Do you want God to force values, beliefs, faith and love on you, whether you like it or not?
What about crime? We all hear about heartbreaking violent crimes. Why doesn’t God do something? Again, what do we want God to do? Do we want God to take over worldwide police enforcement, striking down every criminal with a thunderbolt? Do we want God to take over our minds so that we cannot do any bad things? What value will the good things we do have if God takes away any possibility for the bad.
It is easy to point fingers at God and ask why he does not do something. But what do we want God to do? If we look close enough, we are likely to see that God is doing something, it is just not as instant and comprehensive as we would like. Something to think about.
Stephen,
Nice thoughts. C. S. Lewis one said said: “When I was an atheist…my argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A person does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line…Atheism turns out to be too simple. If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning.”
That we even know objectively what is right and what is wrong is evidence for God. And how do we know God *isn’t* intervening in countless people’s lives?
Good thoughts. Thanks for sharing.