Okay, I'll cut her a little slack because of her situation. And those are the kinds of words that people say without thinking much about them. But the implications of those words are still disturbing. Do we really want to think of ourselves as inhabitants of a universe created and ruled by a deity which operates in the way this young woman seems to think, a deity which, seemingly on a whim, allows over 100,000 people to perish in truly horrible ways, but protects others from harm because of prayer interventions and the like?
If I thought our universe worked this way, I'd be disappointed in its design.
God didn't kill those people, a tsunami did. I don't see how you can think that woman wasn't blessed. She's alive isn't she.
Personally I like the design. When I die, I get to live for eternity in heaven. If you've accepted and believe in that Designer you complain about, you've got nothing to worry about. If God were an evil god, he would have just left us to die without any hope. It's not his fault some people reject Him. He's done everything outside of take away our free will to convince us. Would you rather he made us robots with no choice but to believe in our creator. If you reject God all your life and then get killed in a tsunami, you have no one else to blame for your eternity but yourself.
Perhaps her saying she was blessed by God means something other than how you understand her words.
If I say I am Blessed by God, it is a way of giving gratitude that I can continue to enjoy the gift of life here on earth.
My son has died three times and come back in his life, he says life is a gift to be lived as vessels of Christ for as long as we can. Is he perfect no he is human and as much as he lives his life as that vessel the human he is sometimes overides that.
I know what he has shared with me about eternity so I don't bother to mope or question why anymore and live by faith treating others with the traits Christ has taught us. Yes I do have my cruddy days and it is harder to love as Christ has taught us, but I try regardless.
I have a new pup who can load up into his crate up in the van but the last week he refuses no matter what I try.
Yes he is stubborn but I was determined to not give in either to the point I lost my temper and fumed afterward. When I chilled I felt bad and thought maybe this pup has an orthopedic issue that I cannot see, so I will turn the crate around so the door is facing into the van and let him take the wheelchair lift up so he does not have to jump. I am human too.
The woman's comments about 'being blessed by God' are, as you say, often said by people -- without thinking about their implication. People who say them, don't mean to imply that others who were not as fortunate simply were not blessed by God ---- but that is what I always think it, innocently, implies.
"God was watching over me" means that those who suffered and died did not have "God watching over them'?? I don't think so.
In the paper, there was one account of one poor woman, who lost her family. She cried to God, asking why He did not take her. Asking him 'did he not love her enought not to take her also'?
A different way of looking on things.
1.---God doesn't act on 'whims'....
2.-Yes, there are intercessory prayers.
3.-Please read the book of Job, in the Old Testament.
Look, you or I didn't create this universe......God did..
You really need to get in touch with the living God.
Please consider reading through the whole Bible.....(there are helps in any Christian Bookstore on how to get started and how to pace yourself and how to understand what you're reading.)
It's something people say during things like this when there's no real explanation of why you're spared and others aren't. I suspect she will feel survivor guilt one day.