Quote:
Originally Posted by Textcritic
He was invited out for coffee by another friend who gave him a sizable cheque that just happened to cover his most immediate and pressing expenses because "the Lord told him he needed it." No strings attached. No thanks neccessary. Just because it is what he was convinced was the right thing to do. How does one explain that as simply putting faith in his "fellow human"? Try telling that to either of these two men who sincerely believe that God cared enough about the situation to—dare I say it—intervene.
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For me, these are the kinds of things that push me away from a belief in God... not because of the act of kindness itself (I've witnessed and participated in such things before), but because of the other implications.
For the act of kindness itself, the whole giving a cheque to someone is almost a meme within the Christian community, I can't count the number of times I've heard it as an example from the pulpit of an example of charity or of God guiding someone. So it would make sense that someone would take that kind of action, it's programmed in. I don't see any requirement for God to be involved in this kind of action of kindness; to me it just shows the goodness inherent in people.
Where it becomes a problem for me is what this says about a potential God. If that God did in fact intervene, what does that say about God's choices about where he does intervene, and to what extent? A God that will provide for someone who lives in a wealthy country where there's a safety net for the most unfortunate so they don't miss some bills, but allows a child to die of starvation every five seconds... God may be inscrutable, but that kind of disparity in intervention really makes it difficult for me to believe in a God that actively intervenes in our reality.
I would rather say that the friend's belief in God inspired him to do an act of kindness to his friend, rather than God whispering in his ear to do it. That, in my mind, gives the act of kindness more value. When my son shares his toys by himself instead of me constantly reminding him, that shows maturity.
Theodicy is still something that is a problem for me.
EDIT: And I'm sure it's my prior view of God that helps drive this view.