Hi everyone, I felt a sense to post this post. I read an article about an MP called Kemi Badenoch in the UK that was about their faith. They said that they had lost their faith in Christianity because of a case in the media about a woman called Elizabeth Fritzl which proved to be the final catalyst for them leaving the faith to adopt Christian values. In the article Kemi argued that God didn’t intervene in a case for over 20 years. On reading this I felt that we will never know how God may have been involved and God may have intervened in this case. The Christian faith does work on giving messages to strangers to others to resolve cases of crime. In this case the mother didn’t know that their child was in captive. I will say here, we failed as a community in this case to help Elizabeth earlier. We do not know if God through their spirit however tried to give Elizabeth instincts to help them to escape earlier and they didn’t respond to them earlier. This is more information about the case.https://premierchristian.news/en/news/article/kemi-badenoch-reveals-how-she-lost-her-faith-in-god
The father exhibited evil behaviour whether he was mentally ill or just evil himself and this is not the fault of God, but of sin, man or evil. Original sin came into the world with Adam with creation. God calls us to be obedient and Christ is the only perfect one and we are to imitate him and we need to have our identity in Christ and do his will (2 Thessalonians 3:7-12). People have their own will and choices and may choose to behave in an abominable manner and paths of evil (1 Corinthians 6:9). God has a perfect will for us and evil leads to corruption and a rejection of God’s light. God can and does respond, in sometimes unknowing ways to us, he always listens and sometimes his response isn’t a worldly one.
Trauma too is complicated, it can have a paralysing effect on the body leading into inaction and this is when we need to step in and help. Elizabeth to may have had other conditions early in life that affected her thinking. Being lost and afraid and still in a youth’s mind as a adult, they are vulnerable. Autumn Miles spirit of God told her when being abused she wrote in her own testimony of her life to find a way out.
We do not know what happened inside or what was happening with Elizabeth. There is a law in Leviticus not to partake in incest (Leviticus 18:6-26). I must state although this was not Elizabeth’s fault and was her lived reality and God loved her to-it may have been a barrier for intervention from God along this timeline this possibility and this I do not know, but it is thought. This is a case of unequal domination over another which the Bible to does not support (Galatians 3:28). Also, was Elizabeth baptised to allow more communication from God's spirit..
I also did not see reports myself that Elizabeth was praying during this time every day as claimed in other article. I imagine that her soul was overwhelmed at many points during this time (Psalm 143). I have been unwell at times in my life and then I needed people to pray for me. We also need to stop an activity sometimes for God to manifest. God though cares for the afflicted and this is his promise to them and it is written in Psalm 72 "May he defend the afflicted among the people. For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy." God hates violence to as Psalm 11 tells us "The Lord trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. God is about justice and takes retribution himself for evil in the end. God's spirit will not striveth with man forever (Genesis 6:3).
The below is from Autumn Mile's extact-
In that moment, the Spirit of God said: “Do you remember me?” I knew it was the Lord. When the creator speaks to the created, their soul stands to attention. I knew he was referencing my childhood. I said: “Yes, I remember you, but if you’re so real, how could you let this happen to me?” Then I said: “If you’re actually real, you’ve got to speak now. You’ve got to show me.”
I saw a Bible in the corner of the room. I flipped it open on Psalm 91:16: “With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” Nobody knew I was contemplating suicide, but God did. Psalm 91 saved my life that night. It was my moment of conversion. I literally fell on the floor and asked Jesus to come into my heart and save me.
https://www.premierchristianity.com/testimonies/from-domestic-abuse-to-new-creation/14330.article
Being a Christian doesn’t mean that things will always be easy and we can be tested as the Bible says, but Jesus gives us his Holy Spirit the Comforter to make things easier which is his promise to us in John. God's intervention today largely happens through the Holy Spirit. God also doesn’t give people what overwhelms them and if this happens he will provide a way out and we have to be ready to hear it. This is truth and man will be at fault if this occurs and sin and not God. (1 Corinthians 10:13) promises that God will not allow believers to be tempted beyond their ability to endure, and will always provide a way to escape the temptation. We have to trust him and do not have to actually try and work out all his actions, but just trust as the Book of Proverbs say (Proverbs 3:5-6). Jesus said that the yoke that he gives us is light to carry, but if it is not-the Beatitudes are in line with that we will be glorified for the persecution and test if it is the will of God in the eternal life and justice will come.
Sometimes if people do not do the will of God, God may appear silent or he may leave that place until they respect his word. Sometimes his answers to may not provide the solution we are looking for but they may provide a better alternative and we need to keep going and leave our old ways behind until we learn to let go of our way of doing things.
Natural disasters are a part of the world and we know with the end times that will have affliction to, but we need to hold on as Christians for the promise of eternal life. We need to hold onto our faith and Holy Spirit to survive the afflictions. Some people think we are in the end times now.
There is something to called God’s perfect timing for a person and it is an individual thing for each person and we all have our own relationship with God, Moses was on probabtion for a full 40 years until he saw the light. Nelson Mandela the President of South Africa who was imprisoned for 27 years in Robbin Island he was a Christian and after came out strong still with a formidable spirit and character. Kemi rejected God and we all have our own walk in life. It is not a good idea to leave your faith over how you think God handled a case that we do not have full details of. This is about your eternal life to and the chance of it, but you may make this choice. Suffering and tests can help to shape us and give us discipline as well, whilst we have a loving just God. God can still show his hand after suffering has been endured and he can restor when things are broken down as the book of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 29:11-13).
This was an exceptional bad thing to happen. The community failed however though and we all need to learn from this. We have the attributes of God and need to use them as human beings. Check if someone is missing, is somebody appearing strange in the home, try and follow that hunch. This can be God inspired to. We need to keep the suffering of others in our prayers to. I hope that Elizabeth and her family are doing better today.
I think Christian values are better than no values and it can provide a framework for respecting others in society. There are remnants to in the very system itself like the NHS caring for others and the benefit system as well, caring for the poor when in need.
Sometimes in great cases of abuse, Christ I think may allow someone to end their mortal life and justice will be given. I have been mistreated at times in life and this is not God’s doing, but the sin of the other person and I have considered that they may not wish to repair some peoples body who have very badly been beaten apart by another person mentally or physically, but let them come to him. I have not experienced this, but some Saints clearly have such as Saint Agatha who had her breast severed and who was taken by Christ eventually. Catherine of Siena was beheaded to, who is now a Saint.
God in my experience too likes crimes to be reported and people to seek medical attention for mental or medical issues if present as well before action at times. God can also rescue people out of tragedy at times to and is often done by collective effort of the people using the attributes of God at times as well. This is just one case where God intervened in human tragedy and he intervened in mine to, with much less prayers needed as well. https://www.premierchristianity.com/real-life/god-rescued-my-son-from-a-coma-and-healed-him-of-brain-injuries/16114.article Bernadette Morieau a sister was to healed without asking God for a cure for her condition at Lourdes in France. God can welcome you back after some time away and always as St Theresa of Avila found to after suffering from illness, she returned to the church.
This blows me away to, but it is God at his best-"(Isaiah 44) Thus says the Lord, the Kind of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: I am the first and the last; besides me there is no God. "who is like me? Let them be proclaim it, let them declare and set it forth before me. Who has announced from old the things to come? You are my witnesses! Is there any god besides me? There is no other rock; I know not one.
This is an article on this case-
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/mar/19/josef-fritzl-austria
I wanted to post these views of Christians on their views below why evil and bad things can happen in the world, but God always prevails.
The collective thought of members of Christ are very important and helpful when considering topics on this question.
Poster 1-
God is always righteous.
Some of the bad events that happen in the world. It is not God who caused these things to happen. It is man and their own disobedience and sin who have caused many of these actions. Sometimes this action is down to a legacy of colonialism and corruption too as you well know. Natural disasters are a part of this world too and this world has been abused by humans. God asked us to be care takers of the world and we have failed at this. God made mem who else did. We have one creator anf he made the rain and animals to and I never forget this..
God instructs us to follow his law and seek salvation and the forgiveness of sins through his Son Jesus Christ. None of us are perfect, but we have to repent of our sins to have a relationship with Jesus Christ on our walk with him.
People need to pray to God for their family. This protection you cannot expect it to extend to those who do not worship him, although he is the creator of all.
Still, traumatic things can happen and God I think will give them grace and put them under his wing. They will never be left alone and taken care of. They will be so pure and will likely see God in my opinion.
Poster 2-
I believe that God loves his creation, and that each of those who die in disasters has now moved beyond our knowledge to whatever happens next.
I believe that God, through Jesus, understands the suffering of the bereaved, and that he will send them strength.
I believe that as a Christian I have the responsibility to act and to pray to help those who I can help.
I believe that it is not how we die that is important, but how we have lived our lives.
I believe that, in a world where 5 million people each year die of diarrhea, we must keep things in perspective. When natural disasters happen it is terrible and shocking, but terrible things happen all the time and we must not become complacent.
I believe that God is a spiritual force, who guides us and loves us on our journey through life. There are no guarantees with Christianity - bad things have happened to me, like they do to everyone, but my faith helps me make sense of the world.
I believe that anger can only be destructive, and bitterness will eat away at the soul.
I believe that Love will always triumph.
I was brought up in a churchgoing household, and as a child always accepted God's existence as a simple fact. When I got to my late teens I had a huge crisis of faith which took me about three or four years to work through. I found that in the end, I just had to 'feel' it rather than 'think' about it.
I remember looking up at the sky one starry night and thinking,"Well, there might not be a God - but I'm going to live my life as if there is one anyway, because that's what works for me".
And it still works for me. I still have times when I doubt and question, but I always come out of them a little bit wiser and knowing a little bit more, so i shall carry on with my journey as best I can.
I believe that the world works to certain rules which we all have to follow.
Faith is about trust, and you can't really make a logical, scientific defence of faith, so I can't give you a scientific, logical answer. All I can say is that I believe God is Love, and has all the dead and the grieving in his hands, and I trust him.
Poster 3-
God is .....
Creator of heaven and earth.
All-Loving, Ever-present, All-powerful.
But not a magician.
We simply do not have the language, or the all-knowingness, or the Holiness, to understand why bad things happen to good people (or why good things happen to bad people)
He created 'the Big Bang' and the laws of physics. He is the author of the process of evolution, He is ...
He became one of us ... Immanuel.
In Jesus, He shows us how much He loves us. Were it not for Jesus, I would know nothing about God. He loves me as if there were only me to love. He loves you in the same way.
The hardest question that a Christian will ever have to answer, or to ask him/herself, is 'Why suffering?'
I believe that the alternative - (why not continual pleasure?) - is pretty bleak.
God knows what He's doing. He's in control. Even though it doesn't look that way.
Poster 4-
But this is where you are missing the whole point about Christ coming to earth. He is the fulfillment of the Jewish belief in The Messiah, BUT, as has been argued incessantly (with notable fundamentalists disagreeing), God has let Man have a finite time when he will, having shown himself to be God made man, through Jesus, let man run this earth as human's feel fit. We've not made a great job of it have we?
If you're going to blame anyone, why not blame the Devil? Or is that too much to believe in, that the Devil exists.
You see, I believe just as much in the existence of the Devil as I do of Jesus. God says this is the time of the Gentiles. It's up to mankind how we govern and stewardship our world.
One day, he says, he will return and take complete dominion over all things. I only have to look around and see that man couldn't organise the proverbial in a brewery. As for me and mine, we'll put our trust in what God says
Poster 5-
Please don't buy into this whole "divine retribution" thing! Bad things happens, to "good" as well as "bad" people (I use both terms advisedly). If you're going to blame the bad stuff on God, will you also be grateful to him for all the good things that you have in your life?
Poster 6
When God created man and woman, He imbued them with a perfect will, not free, because nobody has free will, and is always constrained by their nature.
But when Adam and Eve decided to disobey God, this resulted in their will being corrupted by sin, and every man and woman born of an earthly father, being descended from Adam, is born with a sinful nature and thus a corrupted will, this is original sin in the world which led to moral immorality in the fabric of human life. God is sovereign over all things and is mysterious and the final authority on life in ( 2 Chronicles Chapter 18 verse 22).
(Micah 6:8) He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Poster 7-
My belief is that everything we ever go through in life, whatever sin, whatever experience, Christ has been tempted the same way, so he understands completely what we're going through. The difference is that while he was wholly man, (yet still God) he never gave in to sin.
The answer to why God allows suffering is one that far better theologians than I would ever hope to be, have wrestled with through the ages. The pure and simple answer is "I dont know". I haven't got a glib answer. I dont understand it, I just believe that Jesus was who he says he was.
Oh btw, I always thought that while Jesus was on the Cross, he knew that for the only time, he would be separated from God, as he died. This fact, that even though it was for a short time, gave him so much anguish, speaks volumes to me about what separation from God must be like.
