God vs. Humans

Below is an "essay" I wrote for my philosophy class back as a freshman in college (I am a senior now!) I've kept is all these years because I liked some of the points I made, so I wanted to finally share it. I did change a few things, since I have obviously changed a bit since I first wrote this, but I tried to keep it original as possible. This is a piece on some statements my professor said for us to write about, including evil in the world and suffering disproving the existence of God. These are just my opinions, so please respect that. I would love to hear what you think in the comments about anything I mentioned below!

I absolutely disagree with the statement that "the fact that there is evil in the world and that religions are often guilty of evil themselves, rule out the existence of a loving God". God and humans are totally different. God doesn't commit evil, humans do. God doesn't make mistakes, humans do. God is just and fair, humans are not always just and fair. Using humans to define something like religion or even God is not right. Similarly, some people think marriage is a bad idea because it can lead to divorce, abuse, etc. Marriage as a system shouldn't be blamed, rather the people involved. Humans are the ones who make a system like marriage or government good or bad in practice.

Yes, many people do proclaim faith in God or religion, but their actions alone shouldn't be used to judged the religion and definitely not God. There have always been people doing bad deeds, so they are the ones to blame, not God. If somebody sincerely wants to learn about a religion or God in a specific religion, the individual should learn from authentic sources the religion provides, whether a holy book or traditional texts, not on the people who to "claim" to practice/ follow it.

With regards to the evil in this world, just because there is a God that doesn't mean the world will always be in peace (or else Heaven would lose its value :). God sent messengers to humankind to live according to His rules and be an example to later generations so everyone can benefit. For example, people shouldn't steal what is not theirs. If they do, they (should) get punished. It is only fair. Likewise, if people choose not to live according to God's rules, they (should) get punished too. God created us and everything in the universe, provides, protects, and sustains us. Therefore, God can punish people if they do something they shouldn't have and went against His commands. That is God's right! People go about fighting for their rights not  thinking that the One who created them has rights over them too (like recognizing His existences and worshipping Him alone without partners)!

Some people make up excuses as to why they did something they shouldn't have. They even go as far as to say "it was meant to happen". First of all, we can all justify everything, good or bad, that we do. It's not always right, but we do it anyways because to us, we think it is okay. Secondly, God didn't force a person to do bad. Freedom of choice was given to humans and some abuse and take advantage of this by doing things they know they shouldn't. We all like to think we are free (even though freedom isn't really free), yet we don't want to take responsibility, especially when something bad happens as a result of our actions. This leads to suffering.

Of all the excuses people make trying to disprove the existence of God is the one of "innocent" people suffering. Unfortunately, many people do suffer through harsh conditions like natural disasters and war, but that is life. The saying that life isn't easy is true! God puts people through tests to see who amongst them is patient and remembers Him in times of hardship, seeking His mercy and forgiveness. Life was never meant to be easy, so people shouldn't expect absolute good at all times. And anyways, how much intervention from God do people want? If a person is about to fall off a ladder, is God supposed to send down a mattress to prevent them from getting hurt? Besides the innocent people suffering, many times people think they don't deserve to suffer even a little bit, but usually they do deserve it. I know it is hard to hear and even admit, but I think it is true. Humans don't want to recognize their faults/ sins, so they are quick to blame others, including God!

Public Library Book Sale Haul!!!

I went to my very first "official" library book sale this past Friday! I was really impressed with the deals and the amount of books there. I tried to control myself and not buy every book that looked good. I was looking for books that I read before and liked to add it to my personal library at home. I also got the idea recently to start collecting books for my future classroom iA or just to keep at home for little children who come over ;) Either way, I found some good books in my opinion and wanted to share them. Looking forward to more book sales! (Click the images to enlarge.)

One of the deals was 5 hardcover books for $3.00, so I chose...

Iron House by John Hart. I saw this in the bargain section several times on Barnes and Noble's site , but never bought it. Read about it here.

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini. I have Kite Runner by him and couldn't finish it, but I wanted to give his other books a try. Read about this book here.

The Ugly Duckling Goes to Work: Wisdom for the workplace from the classic tales of Hans Christian Andersen. I love fairy tales and this sounded interesting. Read about it here.

The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. I heard good things about this from someone (on YouTube) plus I am into self-help books. Read about it here.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I never read this completely, but heard a lot of good things about it. I am into "African American" literature and wanted to read this classic. This is the only book not in great condition, but if I like it a lot, I could get a better copy later on. Read about this here.

The best part for me was the children's books I found! These were 5 big books for $1.00!!! I got a 101 Dalmatians book, but gave that away to 2 little kids, so I have 4 to share from this haul.

(PS. You'll probably notice I was on a Disney/movie roll :P)

 

The Nursery Rhymes of Winnie the Pooh. This looked cute and had a ton of familiar rhymes. Read about it here.

Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure: A read aloud story book. I love all the Tinker Bell movies and thought, since I don't plan on collecting all the DVDs, I could still get the books!

The Lion King. Again, I plan on collecting Disney books based on movies I like, so I got this one too.

Step into Narnia: A journey through The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by EJ Kirk. I thought this book would make a good introduction into the series for children. Look inside here.

That's all folks :p