In Reply to: I wonder posted by lydia on August 11, 2003 at 06:47:18:
Lydia, one thing I respect about you is I know you will always stand by your absolute belief and I doubt much could sway you.
No, I don't think it would have been better to never have been born. I am glad for the chance to live, and in many ways I hope that reincarnation is real so I can have another chance to do life over and perhaps do it over better.
I am also glad for the world, it holds a lot of beauty and good in it. What makes me upset though is the hold of religion over the masses. It seems that religion dictates a lot, and while I agree that religion is necessary in many ways to give people morals and direction in their lives, without it there would probably be a lot more lawlessness, I sometimes wonder if religion wasn't also a great joke played on humanity, while delivering some good, it has also delivered a lot of hurt, pain and destruction.
I disagree with your viewpoint about God and evil and evil without God. Which would cause you the greater emotional hurt, your husband doing something to betray you, or someone you never met doing something to betray you. While the act may be the same, chances are that you would feel a lot more hurt and angry if it was your husband or someone you loved and trusted vs. someone you didn't know and had no emotional connection to.
If, for example, one of my friends whom I trust and enjoy the company of, did something to hurt one of my children I would of course be very angry and upset, but added to that would be the hurt of betrayal that my friend had caused. If some complete stranger did something to hurt one of my kids, I would be very angry and mad, but the emotional element towards that person would not be present as there is no link of trust between us.
When you devote your entire life, thoughts, love, heart, innocence to God, and are betrayed, used, manipulated in His name, it causes a deep hurt, not only towards the perpetrators of the deeds, but towards God as well for not interfering.
Yes, the court case could be looked at as an act of God interfering with the group, but has it stopped the group? Yes, steps were taken to remove the elements of physical and sexual abuse of minors, but what about the 25 years up to that point? What about my generation that suffered through it, what importance did we have to God, or were we simply tools in His hands, used as victims in order to convict the guilty? Would you have allowed this to happen to your children?
Which is why it is much easier for me to deal with the whole thing by removing the idea of God from the picture, due to the emotional link and trust I had in that being.
If I want to blame the parents, then how do I rationalise the verse 'When my parents forsake me then the Lord shall take me up.' I don't know, if the Bible is meant to be taken at face value, if 'when we call upon Him He will answer' then why didn't it happen?
And since it has happened throughout history as you mentioned, then where has God been? Why has He not stopped innocent people and children from being hurt?
In many ways it's easier to believe in karma and that a child suffering today may be punishment for the sins in a past life, this would at least rationalise the present pain of an innocent person.