it is seldom that i write about my faith. my blog tends to be the place where i write about things i don't talk about; family, love, feeeelings.. but my faith is something i find myself ALWAYS discussing, and, sadly, often defending, so i don't need an outlet as much. over the past week, however, i have had the discussion with many friends of why God allows bad things to happen, and i feel like my thoughts have been scrambled every time this topic comes up and i just want to scream "BECAUSE THAT'S LIFE! HAVE FAITH!"... i'm calm now, so i'll write.

1. what we deem as "bad" is not the same as what God deems as "bad"

i am not referring to commandments. i believe in an absolute law (albeit, with different interpretations) I believe in right and wrong, and i believe that God's laws are eternal. When i say 'bad' i mean those things that if you were to say "this is the worst thing that could possibly happen to me", that is a simple-minded, very human perspective. Usually, when bad things happen and we want to blame God, it's really that we have a limited perspective.


2. I believe that there are 3 reasons why we are tested.

• First- to grow
• 2nd- because of our own decisions
• Third (and most painful)- because of the decisions of others.

if God were a god who did not allow us to be affected by the agency of others, he would in turn be taking away someone else's agency. this helps me begin to accept the perils of poverty, rape, abortion, war, etc. Satan asked for no one to be effected by any one elses decision, he asked for everyone to do the right thing always. he, in turn, asked for more control. in giving more control to our decisions, he shows his faith in us.

3. I have faith. I believe that when bad things happen, you have the choice to allow your god the opportunity to give you a purpose or understand beyond your minimal scope. i believe that people who daily suffer challenges that are beyond the scope of anything i could ever imagine to encounter, are choice souls who also find peace with their lot, and find peace that God loves them and will reward them a hundred fold for their endurance.

people who say it better than me:

War and Peace article

BeliefNet: Different Religious Perspectives

We Count Them Happy Which Endure