You said that I'm misunderstanding, but your argument requires that one ignores scripture, which seems odd since you're Christian, and the "God" of the OP is certainly the Christian deity. I'm fairly certain this "God as pure love" stuff has no scriptural basis...which, again, seems odd since you are a Christian.
Unless I'm mistaken, and you're Jewish, but that would make your claims about God's "pure goodness" even more confusing.
You don't accept the biblical stories you have cited, and for no particular reason assume that the OP and I believe these stories. Why would you do that?
Because I've seen you profess your faith on this forum before, and even quote scripture; you do so again below. If you don't believe the stories of the bible, how can you cite it as evidence of God's nature?
What I think the OP means is that God is pure goodness.
What would ever make him think that?
For whatever reason, He has removed us from His presence.
How can you say God is purely good when you don't know his motives?
Now, trying to address your concerns, pure goodness and light punishes no one. By not adhering to goodness we have made our own bed and have had to sleep in it, so to speak. War and disaster and whatever are the natural consequences of sin. Think of it as karmic law, if that helps. God wisely allows us to make mistakes in order that we may learn.
Setting aside for a moment the hugely ridiculous assertion that wars and natural disasters are a consequence of sin (let me guess: it's the gays, isn't it?) you need to be reminded, apparently, that as the creator of existence, God set the "karmic" parameters, and necessarily devised the negative outcomes. There is no way to avoid God being responsible for suffering, as he created suffering itself. If he did not want people to suffer, then why did he necessitate suffering for those who did not follow the path he laid out for them?
Ah, see, here's where you say we can't possibly hope to understand him, but let me save you the trouble and repeat: if we can't understand his motives, how so we know he's pure goodness?
I think it is very ignorant when people say things like so and so got cancer as a punishment from God for his sins. What nonsense! It's like saying 'pure goodness caused his cancer'.
No. You seem to assume he is pure goodness first, then use that as an excuse to dismiss aspects of his nature you don't like. People who attribute their illness or misfortune to God are simply assuming that, as creator and maintainer of the whole of existence, God has a say in everything that happens. It's really not any different from you saying war and natural disasters are a product of sin, which is how God designed it to happen. They're less kooky, though, since those same people who believe God had a hand things tend to accept, perhaps paradoxically, their own role, if any, in how things played out.
How can such a thing be? Poor diet, life in a capitalistically run, polluted environment, genetic inheritance may cause cancer, but it's a pretty complicated soup, is it not? No human being knows the why and how of our existence.
You recognize the nature of illness, but don't understand hurricanes?
I have had a cold this past week that I got from being caught in the rain a short time. My resistance to disease was lowered because I became cold and wet, and perhaps I haven't been eating right. Cold virus germs , which need to make a living too, saw an opportunity... I don't like it,, but there you go. While, I have surely sinned recently, as well as not so recently, I don't think my cold is a punishment from God. The universe is more complex than that.
Much of the trouble in the world is man made. There is hunger because those who have enough don't share with those who do not. There is poverty because the ruling class prefers to keep commercial profits to themselves. There is war because people with too many resources paradoxically then want more (among other reasons) - all of them amount to not striving toward goodness.
You're strawmanning. I'm not saying that God is responsible for all of man's ills. I'm an atheist, so that particular scapegoat isn't available to me. What I'm saying is that
per your own literature, , also known as the foundational documents of your religion, God punishes people. And does so mercilessly.
In the New Testament of this Bible you are so fond of referring to, it is said concerning random misfortune:
"Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them--do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish." (Luke 13:5-6)
Do you see? This is more a matter of saying, "Sorry Jesus, I won't do it again!" What the OP, and Jesus in the quoted passage, are talking about is a sincere striving toward betterment. Jesus didn't mean you will die in a building collapse if you don't love Him. He is saying that bad things happen, and the only way out is up
No, that's not what he's saying at all. In fact, quite the opposite. For one, he doesn't view the tower collapse as random, and neither do the people he's speaking to. He views it as the will of God, and so do they. He points out that they weren't all great sinners to drive home the point that all sin results in death, and repenting is the only way to avoid it. He's saying, "repent, or the same will happen to you."
