I really don't understand religion a lot of the time. Not because I believe that suffering in the world precludes the possibility of a loving God but because of the incomprehensible way many religious people combine those two factors in their personal belief system. So much of what I see of Christianity especially has to do with God being a personal guardian and caretaker of sorts. I am constantly seeing the attitude of "if God closes a door He opens a window" or "It will be okay in the end, if it's not okay it's not the end" or constant references to trusting that what appears to be pain and suffering is really just part of a plan where you will be happy in the end.
However, it seems impossible to deny that this is not the case for many many people. There are undeniably devout people who suffer miserable circumstances all of their lives, people who never lost faith in God who die alone and in misery. There are so many cases where there is clearly no window for the door that closed and the end came when things were clearly not okay.
There are two different reactions to this from the faithful. One is that it is all part of God's plan. The second option is that those injustices are due to the failure of human beings and that God could not prevent such things without robbing us of free will. Both can be rational explanations and do not defy logic in and of themselves, but the behavior of those that believe in those explanations confuses me to no end.
If you are a follower of the first explanation (that unspeakable, permanent suffering can be part of God's plan) then I do not understand the quotes and sayings about trusting that your life will get better. Perhaps God's plan will involve you becoming happy in the end, but perhaps not. There seems to be a thick level of denial that God's plan could ever be bad for you personally. But if God loves everyone equally and if many faithful have never received happiness on earth then that may very well be your fate too. This explanation strips faith of almost all comfort and sense of safety. God is not a caretaker, but a force trying to bring the universe to some divine end, sometimes at the expense of all earthly happiness for some of His children. Given the possibility of heavenly comfort and reward and the greater good assumed to be accomplished by that earthly suffering I can accept that this could be compatible with a loving and just God. I just don't understand His follower's attitude and behavior if that is indeed the case. I could understand this explanation if adherents did not seem to equate absolute faith if God with absolute faith that their life will turn out for the better. With this type of belief, absolute faith in God would mean the very real possibility that your life will turn out terribly no matter how you live your life or how much you believe. It will be for a greater purpose you don't understand, but it may still be horrible. Believers are behaving in a very contradictory way every time they assure someone that a situation will end well if they have faith and let God work in their lives.
The other explanation for extreme suffering is that it is not part of God's plan, but is rather caused by human failings. Here again, faith is stripped of it's comfort and safety because if God could not prevent others from suffering due to human created conditions, you are no different. There may be ways God can help but there may not be. Again, the saying that God will open a window or that it will turn out okay in the end if you just have faith is rendered a truth only true for some. Again, this does not preclude the possibility of a loving God, but it again makes the behavior of many believers nonsensical. You cannot just "let go and let God" and trust in him as they advocate. You certainly can maintain faith of God and in His love for you, but much of the outcome becomes the responsibility of human beings and of yourself. Also, if the unspeakable suffering of others is not God's plan then the lack of attention to fighting such conditions in the world is inexcusable. If God's children are suffering and dying in ways he never intended, how man one prioritize anything over the pursuit of social justice in the world?
What I see is the subconscious belief that we are special. That those that suffer are somehow different than yourself and those you are close to. God's plans are different for those types of people or that the human caused suffering they endure just isn't that bad somehow. It's out of your control but not God's fault either.
I can understand believing in God, but I simply do not understand most religions and most of their followers. There are some within those religions who show the sobered attitude and sense of urgency one would expect given the world view they adhere to, but they seem so rare and there seem to be just as many non-Christian or non-religious people with their dedication to the world.
I don't think religion is a bad thing and I don't think a belief in God is irrational. But when I hear someone say that everything will be okay or that I need to keep faith and in God's plan for my life, I simply cannot take them seriously, not even by measuring their advice against their own beliefs rather than my own.
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