Orthodox Outlet for Dogmatic Enquiries

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Why doesn't God intervene in the world?

"Why does He allow injustice and malice?" 
Answers to unbelievers' excuses
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By
: NM

 

 

 

Unbelievers resort to a logical argument, which we constantly hear from them during every major disaster where innocent people die - mainly children. “Why doesn’t God intervene, if He really exists? Why does He allow so many children to die helpless every day?” And with this argument, they think they have found the perfect alibi for their irrational disbelief.

Ill Will

Atheists who pose such questions are not unbelievers on account of these questions; it is an option born of their personal ill will. They use these questions as an alibi, in order to justify the bad and absurd choice that they made, of regarding God as non-existent!

How can one possibly accuse a god, whom they assert does NOT exist?  If they were truly well-meaning, they would be seeking answers, given that answers do exist!  But they never had any interest in seeking them.  Their questions on “God’s non-intervention” are not formulated as an actual grievance - or at least as a query - but instead, as an ARGUMENT intended to cloak their disbelief! Thus, without any actual interest in the answers, they have opined decisively that God does not exist, using His “non-intervention” in the world as proof of this.  Even after hearing the answer, they will nevertheless reject it as a mere excuse, because they are truly NOT interested. They prefer anything that is negative and slanderous against God, rather than the simple, pure truth.

The first questions that we should pose to those who complain that God “does not intervene to save the world” are:

Are you aware what an “intervention by God” entails for each one of us? Do you yourself actually WANT His intervention? And what did YOU do, in order for God to intervene in the world?”

However, let’s begin by analyzing the question: “Why doesn’t God intervene in the world and innocent people and children die?”

The broad range of misfortune

So, WHY is God being accused?  Did God perhaps vote for Bush to bomb Baghdad?  Did God instruct terrorists to kill civilians? Who actually did those things? Was it God, or was it us?  Are we honestly blaming God for our own carryings-on?  Why? Are we naive infants who are unable to live appropriately on our planet and as such, always need a “nanny” to spank our hand every time it is stretched out with intent to commit a sin that will harm our fellow-man?

The entire world is not riddled by one sole calamity; nor is a sole territory, or a brief span in history.  Nor is it only children who die. Misfortune in the world has a broad range, and it has manifested itself from the very beginnings of History.  Thus, when someone asks: “why doesn’t God intervene for THOSE children?” they pose an absurd question.  Because, if God were to intervene for “THOSE” children that the atheist has in mind, why shouldn’t He intervene for the other ones that were killed or are being killed EVERYWHERE ELSE in the world?  And not intervene ONLY for the children, but for EVERY misfortune, every death, (violent or “natural”), for EVERY sickness, for EVERY psychological torture…   In brief:  for God’s intervention to be meaningful, it should not be ONLY for one specific occasion or ONLY for the children of a specific territory, but FOR ALL THE WORLD.  There should be a cessation of EVERY malice and injustice, and the end of pain and sorrow, even of death!

So if we really want to ask a meaningful question this is the right wording: “Why doesn’t God put an end to human history so as to bring perpetual bliss and life?

Reasons for God’s interventions

God Himself revealed to Christians that He had made two SIGNIFICANT interventions in human history, for the salvation of the world. The first one was over 7.500 years ago, when God decided that the spiritual father of mankind was to be Adam, the first-fashioned human, whom He introduced into existence so that he could be the commencement of an endless period of peace and bliss.  Adam however chose INDEPENDENCE, away from his Maker.  Thus, regardless how God desired things, man himself chose to deny God, preferring to lead “his own way of life”.  God thereafter allowed man to live THE WAY HE HAD CHOSEN TO, unhindered, and away from Him… which has been the cause of man’s misfortunes!

But God never let man lead the life he had chosen for himself.  God was constantly ‘in his hair’, sending him famines, floods, punishments on his path…” we were told by an atheist who was talking about God’s non-intervention.  And this is where contradiction manifested itself.  The one moment, he was complaining why God WASN’T intervening and the next moment he was complaining why God WOULDN’T LET MAN LIVE THE LIFE HE CHOSE!  For that atheist, the blessings that God provides are not evidence of His existence; apparently only the floods and the catastrophes that the atheist UNJUSTLY ASCRIBES to God are proof that God DOES exist, and furthermore, that He is actually unjust!

We replied to the atheist as follows:

After his exile from Eden, Adam continued to live - on the path that he had chosen – away from interventions by God.  He eventually repented, and sought God once again.  Except that Adam was thereafter in anticipation of Christ, in order for that plan to be fulfilled.  Likewise unhindered lived all the people who had chosen the path that led away from God… to the degree that their chosen path did not destroy nature.

Noah’s Deluge had not targeted unbelievers.  It had targeted mankind of Adam’s descent, who had a made a covenant with God and were supposed to work towards bringing Christ to earth.  And the Deluge which did in fact take place (like every catastrophe), was because GOD WITHDREW HIS PROTECTION from those who abandoned Him.  Even so, God had warned them in advance of the impending Flood.  Creation punishes the irreverent, not God. That is how the world functions; God always gives prior warnings and therefore cannot be blamed on account of those who do not heed His warnings.

It is because God respects man’s free will that He doesn’t intervene in the world. That is the reason why so many tribulations exist in the world: it is because we don’t want Him to “interfere”.  And instead of calling out to Him, we fight Him, by becoming paganists and atheists and enemies of His.  WE are the ones who regard Him as an enemy – not the other way round. He came and He died for our sake, and yet we still don’t accept Him.  But to those who do accept Him and who adjust their lives according to His instructions He becomes their helper, their guide and their Father, and He guides them towards deification and incorruptibility, thus conquering death, until the day that EVERYONE will seek Him and Christ eventually comes to them. Otherwise, if we don’t invite Him, He will not come, out of respect for our freedom of choice.

That was to be God’s second, major intervention in the world:  Christ’s advent - an advent that was being prepared straight after Adam’s fall!  God never abandoned His world, even though the world had abandoned Him. God had fashioned man for a purpose: to live a life of bliss and love, together with Him, and it is only man’s volition that hinders God’s intervention. 

But then why didn’t God leave disobedient man to his own, doomed destiny? Why does He get in man’s way, by asking him to believe in Him?” was the question posed by that atheist; and with that amazing query, he again displayed the same contradiction, inasmuch as he had only just previously complained that God  had abandoned man, and now he was complaining about God continuing to concern Himself with us!  Judging by his comments, it was perfectly clear that the atheist’s problem was God’s existence, and not His “non-intervention”!

When God fashioned man “He looked at all that He had made, and it was very good” as the Holy Bible says.  Everything was as it as it was supposed to be. Man was free, created in accordance with God’s image, and he had the POTENTIAL to be saved and corrected, even in the event of his fall.  Adam is now with God, repented and resurrected through the Holy Spirit after Christ descended into Hades and had taken away the dead with Him.  Obviously God’s plan for salvation has never ceased; it is an opus in progress and it continues, until every tribulation in the world is ended.

The world belongs to God, not to mankind. And in this world, there are not only those poor souls who hate Him; there are also the righteous, who beseech Him to also save their beloved fellow-men, along with themselves.  And of course this is what God Himself wants, which is why He DISCREETLY gives them all they need in order to believe in Him, without ever extorting their faith.  He never appears imposingly in the sky, demanding that they all believe in Him, as that would be a violation of their free will.  Instead, to those who love Him He does appear, and becomes their friend.  To others, He always makes allowance for an outlet to reject His existence, if that is what their ill will prefers.  As Christ had said, “Whosoever wishes to follow Me…” He does not force anyone. But on the other hand, He doesn’t deprive anyone of the ability to display their intentions - be they good or bad.

After all, the world was made for the faithful and not the faithless.  The world likewise has a destination: perfection and incorruptibility. Its destination will sooner or later be reached and everything will be fulfilled, whether the irreverent want it or not. And they too will be there, always free to deny Him, even then - except that the world will be different then, and they will no longer be able to abuse it. That will be their “hell”, and their “gnashing of teeth”, on account of their unquenched hatred for their benefactor and their unsatisfied desire for injustice.

God has no needs whatsoever. We the faithful need Him and we call for Him; and when He does intervene in Creation, He does so as an answer to the prayers of the Church’s faithful.

The obscureness of the promises

The faithful person, who seemingly undergoes whatever the faithless does, WILL NOT PERISH. Only the body will perish. The soul will remain alive, united with the Holy Spirit, provided that during this lifetime it had taken the necessary steps to attain that union, which Adam had failed to preserve originally.

4 And God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor weeping. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” 5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”  (Rev. 21:3-5)

That is when Creation will be completed: when, from ‘very good’ it becomes ‘perfect.’

All these things pertain to another life, and no one can prove to us that it exists, beyond the narrations of people who belong to that conspiracy”, as the atheist in our discussion insists on asserting .

But this doesn’t mean that no one can prove its existence, given that there are witnesses who can verify it. It merely means that the ill-willed insist on seeing this arbitrarily as a “conspiracy,” in spite of the testimonies.  The reason this happens is because God leaves them to their delusion, since they have chosen to live without Him “meddling in their lives.”  But, they too will inevitably see Him – except it will be IN THE END. Only then, will they realize their mistake. But by then they will have already revealed the ill will in their hearts, and they will have lived in ways that had perpetuated injustice in the world, without ever asking for help from God, or giving Him the opportunity to put an end to misfortune on earth. God will have merely respected the choice they made.  However, He is ALWAYS with His own people; they see Him and they know Him and love Him. He Himself said:

“19 Go forth and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  (Matt.28:19-20)

Christ was victorious for His own people, who, after a brief life on this earth, will savour Paradise near Him. The others, who do not want Him, will stew in their own juice, both in this life and the next. The choice will have been theirs; He respects their desire, and He does not get in their way, seeing they don’t want Him. Therefore THEY ALONE ARE RESPONSIBLE for the prolongation of injustice and wars and of Satan's continued authority on earth - not God, whom they didn’t want “meddling in their business”. After all, they are the ones who dreamt of “a godless society”, as the atheists put it.

Indeed, nothing has changed for those who don’t want Him, because they will not be partakers of the salvation brought by Him. They will experience only sorrow; they will never, however, experience the beneficial consequences of the “recipe” that He gave us, because they not only won’t follow it, they won’t even want to acquaint themselves with it.  Many have however followed this recipe; the centuries are full of Saints, who had lived “in Christ” and have become examples for all.  Perhaps they are relatively few, but they are definitely existent. If they were many, Christ would have already come again; but, while the majority of the planet doesn’t want Him, He won’t come. (Democracy, not theocracy).

Throughout the ages, there are saints and devils, even among self-professed Christians. In a garden, there are flowers as well as manure, and, just as there are flies, there are bees also.  Flies will inevitably notice the manure, and that is where they will prefer to remain, whereas bees notice only the flowers and head straight for them, not the manure.  Thus it is with people also: there are those who have the bee’s disposition and thus can see holy Saints, but there are also those who are like the flies, who see only manure and flowers to them are nonexistent.

Those responsible for misfortune

Christ is the unique God Who revealed Himself to both the righteous and the unjust. He healed, nourished, taught, resurrected... Those who didn’t want Him “meddling with their lives” CRUCIFIED Him.

People have always wanted (and still want) to live as they please, without a God “in their way” according to our atheist’s words mentioned earlier on. They don't want ANYONE TO CHECK THEIR ACTIONS.  God leaves them alone, to become the cause of their own misfortune.  The fact is, most people desire the same thing, so He simply doesn’t impose His will on them; only those faithful to Him are the ones who will partake of His Kingdom.

It is certain that none of those who complain about God's “non-intervention” would enjoy having Him constantly watching over them like a policeman; they would definitely not like being hindered from coveting a fellow-man’s wife, or getting their hand slapped by Him when they move to steal, or getting their cigarettes extinguished when they destroy their bodies, or blinding them when they watch obscene things, or taking away their alcohol and drugs when they become addicted, or being humiliated by Him when they become arrogant.  Because, if God had full control of the world, ONLY then would they (the ones who complain) be unable to plunge the world into a bloodbath and sink it into even more desolation.

24 Which is the reason God gave them up to the desires of their hearts towards the uncleanness of dishonoring their bodies among themselves; 25 they who changed the truth of God within a lie, and revered and worshiped creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. (Rom.1:24-25)

Time goes by, but people continue to suffer and children continue to die unjustly, because THOSE VERY DENIERS OF GOD, WHO MOCKINGLY ASK “WHERE IS GOD?” ARE THE ONES WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SORRY STATE OF THE WORLD, simply because they refuse to allow Him to guide their lives.

8 But in this do not be mistaken my beloved, that one day to the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand tardiness; instead, He is very tolerant with us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt as they are being burned; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned entirely. (2 Peter 3:8-10).

Yes, this period of humanity’s sorrow and suffering is long by our standards; but not for God, because He is beyond Time.  And He knows that His own people, as well as all those who are suffering here, will inherit Paradise, after which their suffering becomes laughter and joy. Only His deniers will remain dark and forever complaining at the end of Time, because only they will not be enjoying any benefactions from Him, whom they didn’t want “meddling” in their lives. The children who died and are dying will smile again and they will be happy again during the resurrection.  But the others will never see God’s countenance, BECAUSE THEY HAD PERSONALLY CHOSEN NOT TO.

The Church traverses the centuries and invites people to become members of Christ and establish Christ’s authority over all of mankind, so that sorrow and death cease to be.  However, She always encounters OBSTACLES in Her opus – i.e., those same enemies of Christ, who are the reason that misfortune and sorrow are perpetuated. 

Video:  Atheist Regime Destroying Orthodox Christian Churches in Russia

We do not know how much longer they will be holding back the salvation of the world. We do not know how much longer they will be steeping humanity in blood with their faithlessness. But the Church will continue through the centuries and will continue to preach. She will invite people and will integrate them in the holy Body of Christ. And She will call out to the Lord and Master of the world IN AN INCREASINGLY LOUDER VOICE for help and Salvation, until one day, all of mankind will UNDERSTAND AND BELIEVE, and together we will all unite our voices in a majestic prayer, which will be heard to the ends of the world.  

THAT IS WHEN CHRIST WILL COME AND WILL SAVE US!

17And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires let him take the water of life freely. (Revelation 22: 17).

Yes! Come, Lord Jesus!

Article published in English on: 19-12-2017.

Last update: 19-12-2017.

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