Other than god not existing? God is malignant

The theological explanation from Catholic dogma would be along the lines of God doesn't really interfere with the day-to-day goings on of the world.

God isn’t catholic

This is the bad timeline, evil is rewarded

Also known as Kalyug.

"god works in mysterious ways"

"but that's all bullshit"

"god works in mysterious ways"

So, so many ways.

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/evil/ offers some good discussion.

Thanks, looks interesting!

But is he mormon or protestant?

The universe was depending on good people killing the bad people.

Or god likes the pope too and wants to hang with him but to do that he has to kill him.

Perhaps the war between Heaven and Hell wasn't fought on Earth. Hell won, and Satan is in charge now.

He is a scientologist. And his real name is Xenu.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kali_Yuga

Eru Iluvatar is not a scientologist. I have a number of books, not just one, that say as much, so it must be true.

LIES! He is spaghetti!

Enoch would beg to differ

His plan is ineffable, it can't be effed

• good omens (I think)

You're talking about the same god that let Satan torture Job to win a bet. Even in Christian doctrine, god doesn't give a fuck about people. He just wants obeisance.

Forking shirtballs, we're in the bad place!

You don't understand. It's all part of gOd'S pLaN. And God, being omnipotent, naturally develops plans that we couldn't possibly comprehend. So don't even try. Stop asking questions. Just let the Big Man handle things. It's all good. If you die an awful death you'll just go party in Heaven anyway. Who even cares what happens here?

Iron Maiden did a whole song about this phenomenon, as it happens.

That god does exist and is just a huge piece of shit.

Anyone whos actually read the bible knows the christian god is a violent genocidal sociopath. It only makes sense he would reward that behavior.

The best explanation I've heard, as an agnostic, is this is our misperception of this life vs an eternal (infinite) afterlife.

Sure, bad people might live really fun lives for maybe 100 years while good people might suffer for the same. But then, for millions and millions and gazillions of millennia after that, both are punished or rewarded for how they chose to live those 100 years.

My friend's baby had a bunch of vaccinations the other day. Horrible day for the kid, unfun and stabby. But in a dozen years, will she remember it? Nope. But that day, that's all she could comprehend. Similarly, for this brief go around, yeah, what we can see and experience is all we can really comprehend. But the promise of at least Christianity, but I think many other religions, is that the next life is infinite and all that matters.

He sent his own son to be tortured because he was too much of a coward to go himself, and that's supposed to be laudable!?

Obviously it's to make room for the first gay pope.

or he/she doesn't give a fuck

Yes, but also he is his own son so he did send himself. I will not be taking any further questions

Exactly. Specifically, the following p.o.s.:

Is prayer actively discouraged in Catholicism?

At least as long as you believe in the right god. Because if you bet wrong, and the ownership rights to heaven and hell are not the Christian God's, but someone else's, you're fucked.

Can be explained however you want. You can't prove a negative. God does not exist because that is what makes the most sense overall. Same reason santa does not exist and ghosts don't exist and superman does not exist.

I've got to know Professor Lucifer personally; He can be quite pesky with His Math and Physics tricks sometimes, but I promise you, He's not the manager... You may want to talk with "Yaldabaoth" instead.

As an atheist: you get the concept wrong. All religions treat this life as a test and the nice part is yet to come. Children dying early or the Pope is them getting to heaven faster

As an atheist. You create a straw man. You don't know what a god is looking for

The pope is God's favourite person, so obviously God wants him in heaven as soon as possible.

If God existed, I doubt he goes around with a magic cancer wand. That being said, Pope Leo isn't a good person, he just has a good media team.

A part of the problem is that you're misunderstanding fundamental parts of the religion you're referencing.

In this religion:

The God of Abraham does not answer your prayers because he made you to experience all the negatives so you can learn from them, it's part of "His Plan™". He made you as you are, to sin and fail and suffer. He then made a half human son, Jesus, who he allowed to be sacrificed in order to forgive you for the sins you have been made to commit. You simply need to give yourself to Jesus and accept him into your heart. According to the story.

The rest of the problem is all the logical failures that come as a part of this.

We're in the only place, unfortunately.

Pope Leo isn't a good person

Why do you say that?

Conclusion: its use to keep the miserable good people placid while the bad guys have all the fun

This always boils down to the Epicurean Paradox.

So, most religious mythology (including Christianity) defines its god as 3 absolutes:

• All good (not a shred of evil)

• All powerfull (its will is our reality, period)

• All knowing (it's fully conscious of literally everything that happens in its universe)

So how is it that evil can exist? Cuz we can see that clear as day, everywhere. God either...

• is aware of it, has the ability to stop it, and chooses not to, in which case it is not all good.

• is aware of it, wants to stop it, but doesn't have the ability to, in which case it isn't all powerful.

• Has the power and desire to stop it, but isn't aware it's happening, in which case it isn't all knowing.

Every single attempt to answer the Epicurean paradox does so by rugpulling one of the three pillars and presenting god as instead only being two of those absolutes. (and if anyone reading this takes that as a challenge, feel free to give it a go).

How can this be explained, other than God doesn’t exist?

Either Christianity and most other religions are being deliberately dishonest about the nature of their gods, or, as you said, god doesn't exist.

Original sin baybeee!

🤣🤣🤣

No, you can and should beg god for devine intervention that he probably doesnt do and thank for his gracefullness which he hasnt shown. Or at least whoreship him, because he is so great and benevolent while he is hearing the prayers and letting good people die nevertheless. Or maybe there werent enough prayers yet, for THE POPE.

It all makes a lot of sense you see.

"God works in mysterious ways" is the only "explanation" religious clowns have. It's 100% post-hoc justification. If they're bad, they deserve it. If they're good, then they must secretly be bad and deserve it. If they're really good and don't deserve it, then, "God works in mysterious ways". Always. Every time.

There is no questioning faith, only declaring heresy to such clowns. If things didn't work out for you, it's not a systemic problem here, it's because you deserved it!

With the way Christians and similar preach? Yea, God's a psychopath and so are they.

Though there are several theologically sound explanations, especially if you truly believe "God" is beyond or bigger than our universe.

Basic believer: "God works in mysterious ways". Sure, that Harlequin baby only ever had a miserable existence, but that's because their soul didn't need to experience a full life! Sure, your school teacher only ever did good works and then got ran over by a truck, but God thought it was her time!

More logical theology: God is bigger than the universe. He sees the whole thing. If something bad happens, then it is merely a wrinkle, or if you believe in divine guidance, it's a tragectory change to something better. Either way, God's not helping you, because what you want makes for a worse over-all universe. Or, if you want to be more literal about it, maybe God doesn't necessarily have the power to truly magic something. Maybe he cannot instantly change an exact, single detail about this universe, yet created it, could destroy it, and has enough control to drastically change things? Like a video game dev seeing how their Sims playthrough plays out.

Deeper theology: We're here to be tested/checked/validated/etc. God said he gave us the answers, not that he'll do the test for us. Besides, if we were instructed to take care of something (like Earth, or your personal life), why in the ever loving FUCK would you expect someone else to do the job you were told to do? Nobody is going to be happy to have to step in to fix something you fucked up, especially when they were the ones who put you on the job to take care of it in the first place.

Deeper science fiction: How would such a great being even begin to care about the individualities of creatures even lesser than ants to him as ants are to us? It's not hard to imagine someone caring deeply about their creation, but not really caring about exactly how the tiny details come out for every single detail. Like a single piece of glitter falling off your child's art piece, an individual life is meaningless so long as the whole picture remains.

Mix and match those views to your heart's content, and I've heard all of them and more growing up in a church. Bunch of intellectually weak clowns unwilling to admit religion is just Baby's First Philosophy...

May His Noodly Appendage Touch You

People who face challenges learn and grow as individuals. They become better people. The best people usually have had the most to overcome. Lung cancer is a hell of a life lesson and teacher.

The people you don't respect or you dislike usually haven't earned it. They've had it the easiest.

I believe we set/choose paths that put our own obstacles in our way. Not because we are wrong or stupid, but because we choose to learn or gain strength (spiritual or physical).

And saying God can't be the light in the sky, a flower in a valley, an antique carbureted engine, or a lung cancer diagnosis is to limit God's ability to make us better people... and I am not willing to do that.