God and the Devil

Did God cause the tsunami in Indonesia?

Or did the devil?

If it was the devil, can he somehow sneak by God’s all seeing eye?

Were the people killed being punished or rewarded by being in heaven?

Mysterious ways. That’s their fault for living near an ocean.

Nothing. Is. Ever. Gods. Fault.

Except for when your sports team wins a championship or you get a raise or you conquer a disease. Key word, “you”.

Anything bad though, it’s all your fault you sinful beast.

In the opinion of some people, yes he did. In the opinion of most people, no.

Or did the devil?

Some people may believe so.

If it was the devil, can he somehow sneak by God’s all seeing eye?

Depends on people’s definition of the Devil. or what they think a devil is. If the Devil is seen as God’s eternal adversary, then some people may believe that God allows the Devil to do stuff like this as a testing to man’s faith.

Were the people killed being punished or rewarded by being in heaven?

Some people may believe the former, and some the latter.I suppose it depends on if the people you’re asking are fundamentalists or not.

I remember, perhaps a year ago, when I’d made the comment about God killng innocent children, some poster whose screen name I don’t remember said, “How do you know they were innocent?”

Which brought up a question of predestination as opposed to free will that I don’t think ever got discussed.

Let’s start with God as Creator and that what was created has moving plates, volcanoes, large bodies of water that will, at times, result in tsunamis. Therefore, people can argue God “created” tsunamis, they are a part of nature. This differs from a belief that God ordered a tsunami to strike Indonesia, killing those He ordained, saving those whom He willed. I’ve mentioned before the belief in Islam that no one can so much as move their little finger without it being the will of God.

And, no, I do not believe Satan or any of his minions caused the tsunami.

Death is neither punishment nor reward, but like a tsunami, a natural occurrence. The heart and soul of the person will be judged upon their death. Dante’s Inferno aside, the Bible speaks of a cleansing fire, and it also speaks of our hatreds causing a burning similar to that which occurred in city dumps, to rage within us.

Are these fires an eternal hell, or are they a temporary purgatory preparing souls for heaven? Perhaps both?

My belief: This life in a physical world is a great gift, one where we do not enjoy the everlasting protection against danger, pain, and evil, all of which are part and parcel with the gift of physical life. The purpose of this life is to give all of us a chance to be part of our own creation, and we manage this by what we think and how we think. Our innermost thoughts build into words, actions, character, destiny.

Consciousness (the circle) precedes measurement (the square). That’s why at the core of your being, you’ve always been aware that you knew “Him” before you were in the womb.

Consciousness is a fundamental property of the universe, eternal. Our bodies merely affect it, rather than create it.

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I concur wholeheartedly.

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