2005-1-5 13:53:00
Has anyone ever stopped to ask if God is all-powerful in the manner which is attributed to him? Could he really snap his fingers and have stopped the tsunami or even all human suffering?
Larry writes:
There seems to be one possibility that you did not consider. Instead of "idly sitting back", perhaps God, or the powers of good - whatever they may be - did not sit back idly and let it happen, but instead acted to cause this destruction for the overall possible good that would result (e.g., people removing their focus from the war in Iraq and placing it on helping their fellow man)? Is it not true that overall suffering and disaster often work to the ultimate good in much the same way that personal disasters and disease work to the ultimate good of the individual?
Every cloud has a silver lining whether that cloud was created by accident or design. Every situation can turn the tide for good or evil depending on how we respond to it. If humanity responds well to this tragedy then it will work for the good of the whole. If we do not respond well then it could go the other way.
All the reflections of God are governed by time when they are in time and space they are always subject to the law of cause and effect.
Even God cannot just snap his fingers and instantly make just anything happen because snapping fingers is not the appropriate cause to produce a major effect. God and his reflections have power as they gain knowledge for knowledge gives one power to manipulate cause to produce the desired effect.
John C:
I liked Larry's explanation. It might have been part of the plan. There are probably some parts of the plan that we don't like because they don't fit neatly into the way we think things should be, but if we could step back and look at the whole design, we would be able to see a grand pattern emerge which we can't see by looking at day-to- day events.
There is a great plan, but even this is subject to cause and effect. There would be earth changes whether there is a plan or not just as there were earth changes long before man even appeared on this planet. There are changes taking place on other planets in our solar system not having humans on the physical surface such as Venus, Mars, and Jupiter etc.
Great earthquakes appear periodically through the cause and effect of the internal workings of the planet. The Planetary logos can speed up a major occurrence, such as the recent calamity, or slow it down, but he cannot stop the living planet from circulating its own energies.
Some catastrophes are timed for a lesson while others just occur at times that all lives on the planet have to deal with.
John C:
I'm not so sure God sees natural disasters as a problem that needs to be "fixed" or "prevented".
In most cases the Logos would agree and lets events play out as the will.
John C:
John: According to the Bible, God created the heavens and the earth. So, I suppose people figured if he created it, he could control it.
The end goal is to gain all power with the help of his reflections, but between the beginning and the end God is limited by time, space and imperfections therein.
Perhaps the best way to understand is to put yourself in the place of the One Great Life.
You have just finished taking a great rest from working with your last creation. You awaken, stretch your arms and say to yourself.
What new challenge can I make for myself? I do not want to create a universe exactly as I did last time for I solved all the equations within it. This would be no fun. This time I will create a universe with tougher rules, greater problems and more challenges than I (and my reflections) have ever faced before. This new universe will challenge my mind and spirit to the maximum but I have faith that I shall prevail and attain even more joy than I did with my last overcoming with the universe past.
I will again be limited by time and space in the lower worlds, but in the end time and space will provide the seeds to their own mastery and all power and joy will come in the end, but first will come limitation, pain and tribulation.
Shall I shrink from pain and sorrow just so I can sleep again or shall I take the leap into matter so I can have a fascinating experience?
I choose the fascinating experience.
You and I said "Amen" and chose the experience also.
Copyright 2005 by J J Dewey