Critical Examination of Islam > What is the nature of God?
God's Care
Carlee:
Why is it that so many people talk about God being merciful, omnipotent and all that other crap but won't even allow righteous believers in him to have bearable lives? Why does he cause so many of them the kind of misery that makes them even go kill themselves to end their sadness, when they have the means to do it? This is also not some temporary hard time; it's more like a chronic depression, caused by none other than God's lack of care to make one's life even somewhat bearable.
Believing in such a god at this point defies all logic, plain and simple.
good logic:
We humans have chosen the freedom of choice. We make our own decision, Some make decisions that affects others. We cannot blame GOD! GOD is never unjust. This is what HIS scripture says:
23:62 ” We never burden anyone beyond their means, and We record the truth ( about each individual). No one will suffer injustice.”
( Does everyone know this? Should they?)
23:63 ” Because their minds are oblivious to this, they commit works that do not conform with justice; Their works are evil.”
23:64 ” Then when disaster stikes them, they complain.”
23:64 ” Do not complain now; ( you decided to go it alone, without GOD) You have given up all help from us now.”
Blaming GOD is unfair when the cause of suffering are the humans themselves.
Peace.
IAMOP:
Good logic, good logic!
Funny you say that, I used to feel sad that God is "silent". At some point I stopped questioning and just cultivated inner peace through things like meditation. I find that the more of God's commands you follow the easier and easier your life gets. It seems counter-intuitive at first. For example God says that true believers do not give their love to his and their enemies (60:1,2).
What transpired for me is that I had to realise how many of my 'friends' were actually not friends, by any means. And you can laugh and joke with these guys all day long and they seem normal on the outside but the rift in allegiance between God/satan alone is what truly nullifies those friendships. After a fair amount of pain and stress came the realisation that God's commands are always correct, no ifs, no buts. Nobody is a special case because X or Y.
Most things in life (wealth, partners, friends, foods, entertainment etc) are all illusory. They are only truly good and useful when they directly help you to serve God themselves. If you fail to grasp the illusory nature of all of these things, you are bound to have a miserable life. I felt the same kind of depression you did. After letting go of the illusions I feel so at peace, you would not believe. Life feels like a serene yet ecstatic warm steam bath. Believing in God because He makes life feel good or bad is not logical. Believe in God because God is the surest reality and then work from there, you will have a far easier time. Pain is temporary, glory is eternal.
justamuslim:
@IAMOP and good logic
So agree with you guys! I felt worse than depression. Threw the Koran in the garbage can literally speaking and in my emotional distress was going to end it all. I felt betrayed by God. And I turned away from God. Needless to say something happened. A total stranger saw me and stopped me from ending my life. I thought 'oh great, God just wants me to suffer more". It turned out to be a defining point in my life.
I came to realization that it was not God who betrayed me. I made choices, decisions, judgments in my professional and personal life that lead to so much pain. It was not God but people who I trusted that betrayed me. Bear in mind that satan is also listening to your prayers as you ask God's help in making decisions. My thoughts betrayed me. I realized how satan was affecting me through people, messing with my mind/thoughts, causing so much confusion, distress - it was an awful feeling. Out of darkness, I reached out to God. Like IAMOP, I feel a sense of peace - hard to describe feeling.
Carlee, I know where you are as I have been there myself before. I feel like I have broken free and through to the 'other' side where it is so serene. Time to time, yes I do feel tired, lonely but not plagued like before.
Carlee:
With regards to people suffering because of others, even though those bad people are the cause (who, were created by "God" in the first place), why does "God" just let saddening shit happen (things undeserved and not caused by the sufferer) if people claim he has more than enough power to prevent it? I always hear believers tell a smart person "it was God's idea, not yours that helped create that invention". Using the same logic (which would make sense to a degree if God existed) there's no reason or incentive for a person living an unbearable life for his/her lifetime to even consider "God" a friend, and makes no sense to believe in it if it claims to be something remotely close to merciful.
And what do you consider someone born with a bilateral cleft? Of course, blame the people who crea - oh wait.
God wouldn't be the surest reality for the same reason mentioned in the opening post, and one can ask me all day how then is the world around you created. There's a far better explanation than there being an "omnipotent, merciful and all-knowing god" being the reason, I can already guarantee.
justamuslim, it looks like you're saying the reason for your misfortunes is due to mostly you or you in general. I'm not talking of a case like this.
Some stuff are not caused by people at all, like certain birth defects not due to human behaviors like drinking or smoking, like the above mentioned defect, is known to happen randomly. Problem with things like this is it almost always causes a person to be miserable during their lifetime, however the point remains. If a person tries all that "God" suggests to attain happiness, though are still miserable to the point they can't stand their lives anymore, how can "God" exist? Better yet, what incentive would the person have to live eternally afterward with, or near the same thing that let their lives on Earth be Hell? Don't even attempt to rebut this with a "well, Quran promises it so you're just doing something wrong". Read even non-sectarian qurans (including the one here) several times. Followed it faithfully. Still get shit and here's the real problem: it's all about how it affects you, and that's uncontrollable. Someone's life can seem like a heaven to someone else, though is the complete opposite to who has it, and it has nothing to do with "how thankful they are; how patient they are; how righteous they are; etc.".
You think someone with a chronic depression, a depression that's perpetual beginning from more than a decade ago, and on a med. can see any incentive to believe in a god with those traits, and wish to be with it after their life is over? How can that god bring such a person to life? Wouldn't there be more good and less suffering on this planet if that person wasn't given birth?
The all-sect belief of someone killing themselves for this going to hell pushes it more, and raises more red flags about some alleged justice and mercy.
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