I made a recent foray into the forums earlier, and let’s just say an encounter with an apologist inspired me to write this short excerpt.
I have always wondered about the mindset of religious apologists who claim that when a calamity strikes, it’s some sort of lesson we can learn from. That despite all the death, pain, and suffering, there is some sort of greater plan God has for us, and that eventually it will all make sense.
I battled with this notion for a while, and asked myself: What kind of a being, one that is supposedly eternally good and omniscient, would intentionally let suffering and death befall their children, just to teach them a life lesson?
It just didn’t make any sense at all. Every metaphor of God I have heard from – as a shepherd, a parent, a loyal guardian, or a company president – would never intentionally hurt their kin (unless they were mentally ill) unless under the most extreme circumstances.
And then, after some quiet reflection, it hit me. I was wrong about God. I was wrong about the imagery I had drawn up of this greater entity, and that was exactly why I had such a misunderstood notion of a God.
To follow the tradition of Mother Teresa and the Apostle Paul, I have had to completely revamp my understand of a God that allows human suffering as part of a greater life plan, and this is the image I have been led to.
Behold, and be in awe!
Hallelujah! I feel more enlightened already. The (puzzle) pieces are finally falling in place.
Just a little something I was cooking up as Holy Weeks starts up – you know the boredom really getting to me now. Send help.
Enjoy the vacation time, peeps!
