5 Reasons God Allows Tragedies Like the Sandy Hook Massacre To Occur

As a Christian, it can be difficult to reconcile all the evil that happens in the world with an all knowing, all powerful loving God who could stop it if He wants, but chooses not to do so. If our hearts break for the innocent children who were senselessly murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary, how can a God who loves us not feel the same way? If any of us had known what Adam Lanza was going to do, we would have done anything in our power to stop him, so why didn't God? All too often we tend to quote some arcane scripture, chalk it up to God "moving in mysterious ways" and shrug our shoulders. While none of us have the authority to speak for God, there are plausible explanations for why God would choose not to intervene to prevent a tragedy.

1) He gives us free will: God didn't make robots who were designed to execute His will. Instead He gave us the freedom to make our own decisions. He lets us choose between being right and wrong, good and evil or wise and foolish. We can follow Him or scorn Him. We can obey Him or ignore Him. We can take His advice or go our own way. It's our choice...and sometimes choices have terrible consequences. But, of course, how could it be otherwise and still be a choice?

2) It's a necessity for faith: "If God wanted to remove all doubt about his existence, He could do so — but, He doesn’t because the cornerstone of Christianity is faith. Imagine what would happen if bad things DIDN’T happen to good people. What if when an airline crashes, only the non-Christians die while all the believers walk away unscathed? What if the moment someone becomes an atheist, he is immediately struck by lightning and killed? What if every rape, murder, robbery, and painful illness only happens to non-believers? If that were the case, then no faith would be required to be a Christian."

3) He has a different perspective: Our God gave "His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Imagine being in his place as Jesus was jeered, whipped and had to suffer and die in agony on the cross. What would run through your mind as your Son was crucified and uttered the words, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" when you had the power to free Him, heal His wounds and strike down His tormentors at will. Our God made that sacrifice for each and every one of us so that we could be saved. That's how much He cares for us. Yet and still, God has known the hopes, hurts, loves and secret dreams of all of us who've come into this world, lived our lives and passed on. After watching billions of people He cares for die and shouldering responsibilities we can't even begin to fathom, God doesn't see the world through the same eyes as we do.

4) We often turn to God in times of tragedy: One of the sad truths of human nature is that when we're happy, healthy, loved, secure and our pockets are full, most of us think we already have all the answers and don't turn to God. As C.S. Lewis wrote, "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world." It's not that God wants us to ache, causes it, or wishes for it to happen, but He realizes that's often what spurs us in His direction. A long pleasant existence full of leisure, contentment and pleasure that ends with a trip to Hell because there was never a need to reach for God is a failed life.

5) Ultimately it's about Heaven, not earth: What we do with our lives is no small matter. We should try to make the most of our talents, do what we can for others and make the most of what we have. But, it's worth remembering that Billy Graham was right when he said, "My home is in Heaven. I'm just traveling through this world." Our lives seem long and crucially important because it's all we can see, hear, and touch, but God knows there's an eternity that stretches beyond our time here. It can be incredibly painful when our time here ends with those we care about, but God gets to see the reunions in the next lifetime.

This article is boring and predictable in its non-answers.

1) He gives us free will: Yeah this argument is overstated. We are like pinballs in God’s pinball machine and have every little “free will” to exercise. Some of us were born black, to our horror, some of us were born to stupid and abusive “parents”, some of us were born disabled, etc.

2) . What if when an airline crashes, only the non-Christians die while all the believers walk away unscathed? What if the moment someone becomes an atheist, he is immediately struck by lightning and killed? What if every rape, murder, robbery, and painful illness only happens to non-believers? If that were the case, then no faith would be required to be a Christian.—this is stupid and yes, if God were to do what He said, the Christians would walk away and the evil would die. This is how things should be and how the Bible paints the law of reaping and sowing. However, in the real world Christians are more likely to suffer. How does that fact help God’s cause if His real purpose is to win souls?

3) He has a different perspective: Our God gave “His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” As a parent, if I had the power to swoop down and smite Herod, Pontias Pilate and the others, save Joan of Arc, Bonhoeffer etc. I definitely would. I wouldn’t sit there and watch my Son be tortured and not help Him.

4) We often turn to God in times of tragedy: One of the sad truths of human nature is that when we’re happy, healthy, loved, secure and our pockets are full, most of us think we already have all the answers and don’t turn to God. As C.S. Lewis wrote, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains:—wrong wrong wrong. There are people begging God to turn up the volume as they are tortured by satan, but God is absent or inaudible.

5) Ultimately it’s about Heaven, not earth: And why the evil prosper and get to have fun, and those oblivious to God get to have full lives while those cognizant of God are tortured is beyond me. Why those families in Newtown were specially selected for the torture of murder of their little child, why Lanza’s mom was specially selected to be murdered by her own son, abandoned by her husband, and to have to raise an evil child on her own, while liars prosper who can say.

God has given man the choice to do good or evil and he will be the the judge.

When people ask, "Why would a loving God allow this to happen?" they don't think it through. If God does not allow this terrible evil, why would he allow something less evil, such as speeding, drunk driving, stealing, cheating, lying, etc.?

If God allowed NO evil, we would be an ant colony with each assigned a task and no choice in the matter. No choice to do good or evil. Have you ever watched ants and envied their perfect world? They just exist so other ants will exist in the future. They do not strive to improve their lot and make things even better for themselves and future ants. Can you picture ants taking a two-day weekend?

Humans, however, are given the ability to create new things, to improve their world, to be able to take time off to sit back and enjoy the world around them.

If tragedy cannot be offset in peoples' minds by creativity, freedom, beauty, and relaxation, then we should sign up for the Left's perfect world, at its pinnacle in North Korea.

“So often we find ourselves defining who God is, what His job is, and how he’s doing at it, and fail to see the absurdity of our arrogance. In essence, we appoint ourselves to the position of firing God.”

Profound.

And a perfect description of the majority of what is called Christianity today.

Man is at his best when he humbly prostrates himself before his God, stating that “we see through a glass darkly..” (KJV), and, “when you have done ALL that is commanded you, say, “I am an unprofitable servant (an unworthy slave).” And when we pray daily John the Baptist’s prayer, “Lord - may I decrease, and may You increase....”

And not be surprised when He begins to answer that prayer in putting us in circumstances where we find ourselves decreasing. The same John, once imprisoned and facing imminent death - having his whole ministry brought to an abrupt end - in answer to his previous prayer - asked, “Lord - are you the One?.......”

“Blessed is he who is not offended in Me...” ..... when I begin to diminish you - for My own glory to increase......

STUDENT’S FATHER 12 YEARS LATER !! Guess our national leaders didn’t expect this. On Thursday, Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton , Colorado , was invited to address the House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee. What he said to our national leaders during this special session of Congress was painfully truthful.

They were not prepared for what he was to say, nor was it received well. It needs to be heard by every parent, every teacher, every politician, every sociologist, every psychologist, and every so-called expert! These courageous words spoken by Darrell Scott are powerful, penetrating, and deeply personal. There is no doubt that God sent this man as a voice crying in the wilderness.. The following is a portion of the transcript:

“Since the dawn of creation there has been both good & evil in the hearts of men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other eleven children who died must not be in vain. Their blood cries out for answers.

“The first recorded act of violence was when Cain slew his brother Abel out in the field. The villain was not the club he used.. Neither was it the NCA, the National Club Association. The true killer was Cain, and the reason for the murder could only be found in Cain’s heart.

“In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the NRA. I am not a member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I am not here to represent or defend the NRA - because I don’t believe that they are responsible for my daughter’s death. Therefore I do not believe that they need to be defended. If I believed they had anything to do with Rachel’s murder I would be their strongest opponent

I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy — it was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies! Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves. I wrote a poem just four nights ago that expresses my feelings best.

Your laws ignore our deepest needs,
Your words are empty air.
You’ve stripped away our heritage,
You’ve outlawed simple prayer.
Now gunshots fill our classrooms,
And precious children die.
You seek for answers everywhere,
And ask the question “Why?”
You regulate restrictive laws,
Through legislative creed.
And yet you fail to understand,
That God is what we need!

“Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, mind, and spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and wreak havoc. Spiritual presences were present within our educational systems for most of our nation’s history. Many of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historical fact. What has happened to us as a nation? We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine’s tragedy occurs — politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to erode away our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws. Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts.

“As my son Craig lay under that table in the school library and saw his two friends murdered before his very eyes, he did not hesitate to pray in school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right! I challenge every young person in America , and around the world, to realize that on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School prayer was brought back to our schools. Do not let the many prayers offered by those students be in vain. Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred disregard for legislation that violates your God-given right to communicate with Him. To those of you who would point your finger at the NRA — I give to you a sincere challenge.. Dare to examine your own heart before casting the first stone!
My daughter’s death will not be in vain! The young people of this country will not allow that to happen!”
- Darrell Scott

Do what the media did not - - let the nation hear this man’s speech. Please send this out to everyone.
God Bless

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.