Yeah Ben, but that still leaves the question why God needs to kill anyone or anything.
Hi paradoxdown,
May I ask, have you had some bad experiences with Christianity and/or Christians?
I was raised in church--my parents had me there the first Sunday they got me--and there have been many times I've wanted to walk (sometimes run) away because of various things I've seen or experienced within the church itself. And, I've been asking questions such as the ones you're asking all my life as well.
(I understand what you're saying about God killing people. In 2 Samuel 24, King David was the one who committed the sin, and yet he had to choose between 3 punishments God set out before him, resulting in God killing so many people that eventually, even He relented, and, finally chose to stop.) Why? Especially since even David himself said it was HIS fault, so why did so many others have to die?
One of the other things I'm sure you've accepted about life is that no matter what you choose to believe in or not, there are always going to be a lot of unanswered questions. We Christians have a hope that someday, when we come face-to-face with God, we might be able to ask Him ourselves (or maybe by then, it won't even matter.)
Many people in the Bible asked similar things as to what you're asking, but never received an answer, so the answer to your question, unfortunately, seems to be unanswerable--at least, in this current life.
Part of being alive is also accepting that life has questions we may never receive an answer to. If one chooses to believe in God, they accept this as part of believing in an Almighty God who, for whatever reason, keeps these things from us (I've heard it said that maybe we wouldn't understand even if He did tell us.)
Whether one chooses to believe in God or not, the fact remains, and always will, that some questions will never be answered, at least in this lifetime, and maybe not be, ever.
We just have different viewpoints as to why.
I understand what you're saying. You're asking something millions, if not billions, of others have asked.
And they haven't received an answer this side of heaven either, so unfortunately, you probably won't get a clear answer, either, whether from us, or from God directly.
Just out of curiosity, what's your story behind the anger, sadness, and/or disappointment that's making you ask in the first place? Your posts have an obvious bitter tone that's usually pervades questions like this, and there is always a story behind it as to why.