A Good Answer to "Where Was God When...?"

Tom Sheppard

10/13/2018

"Where was God when this horrible thing happened?"
"How could a loving God allow such a terrible thing to happen?"

I have often heard my atheist and agnostic friends ask the questions above.  They are good questions and they deserve a good answer.  I have pondered their questions for quite some time now and I believe I now have a good answer rather than some glib retort about not questioning the wisdom of God.

Before I give my answer, let's examine the questions a bit first.  Shall we?  I think such profound questions are worth both pondering and study.

Let's lay out the aspects of God that we know from the Holy Scriptures.

God is all-Seeing - Matthew 6:4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. Luke 12:2-3 For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.

God is all-Knowing - Isaiah 46:9-10: Remember the former things of old; for I am God and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient time the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.

God is all-Powerful - Isaiah 14:24,27: The Lord of hosts has sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand. For the Lord of hosts has purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?

God is Just - Psalms 89:14: Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne.

God is Merciful -  Psalms 89:15: Mercy and truth shall go before his face. Exodus 34:6: And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious. Nehemiah 9:17: But thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful.

God doesn't Lie -  Deuteronomy 32:4: He is the Rock, his work is perfect; for all his ways are judgment. A God of truth and without iniquity: just and right is he.

God is Loving - 1 John 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

God Allows Us To Choose - Joshua 24:15 ... Choose you this day whom ye will serve. Joel 3:14 Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.

"Where was God when this horrible thing happened?"  The question calls into question several fundamental aspects of the nature of God.  It questions if he was aware of what happened, which calls into question whether or not he is all-knowing.  It also assumes that if he knew about it, he displayed indifference, which calls into question his loving nature.

The second question is very explicit in its question of the nature of God.  It asks, how could a loving god allow bad things to happen to those he loves?

It is pretty hard to see what good comes out of the actions of a serial killer, a mass-murderer, or a child-molester.  It is also very hard to understand why God would stand idle while someone harms innocent people, such as small children.

We tend to look at such incidents and say, "why didn't God stop this person from doing that horrible thing?"  Let's consider the principles at play here.  Suppose God stepped in and stopped a child molester.  First, how does the molester get stopped?  Does s/he die on the spot?  Is it a divine version of chemical castration?  Regardless, this evil-doer gets forcibly prevented, by divine intervention, from acting.  "Good!" we all say.

But God says that he cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. (Alma 45:16).  So, if he is going to kill the child molester in the act, it is not logical that he would stop there.  Rather he would likewise kill the adulterer, the fornicator, the liar, the thief, etc.  In other words, pick your favorite sin, the one you enjoy the most, and imagine what would life be like if God killed you immediately when you committed that sin. 

A god who kills us the instant we disobey him wouldn't seem very merciful or loving.  

So, when we rail against God because he didn't stop someone from doing something bad, to someone good, we should think carefully about what we are really asking Him to do.  It looks an awful lot like we are asking him to play favorites and punish others, but not us.

The very folks who use these questions in an attempt to justify their disbelief or disregard for God would be among the first who would also rail against Him for forcibly preventing them from disobeying him, and would use just inflexible and utterly impartial behavior to justify their disregard for God, saying that He is not worthy of our adoration because He is so harsh.

This all brings me around to a simple conclusion.  Those who use arguments, or questions, which make God appear to be different than they think He should be tend to put forward arguments which if carried to their logical conclusion would also make the questioner discontent.  In short, those who want to find a reason to disregard God, will find a rationalization for their conduct regardless of what God does or says.

These same people will also demand proof of God's existence, and turn around and reject every proof.  They will not believe that Jesus of Nazareth resurrected even though The Bible contains the written testimony of several different people who associated with him both before and after his death.  Nor will they believe the account of people in the Americas who were visited by the resurrected Savior and felt the prints of the nails in his hands and feet, and the spear-wound in his side.

They will deprecate the ample, and growing, evidences of the innate order of the universe around them and attribute it to some unknowable cause such as chance, rather than admit that the presence and craftsmanship of a watch is evidence of the watchmaker.

The reality is that all of fall into one of several camps, when it comes to our dealings with God.

1. Those who believe in Him and want to obey. Alma 42:24 For behold, justice exerciseth all his demands, and also mercy claimeth all which is her own; and thus, none but the truly penitent are saved.
2. Those who believe in Him and don't want to obey.  James 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
3. Those who don't want to believe in Him because they don't want to obey.  Alma 10:5-6 ...I said I never had known much of these things; but behold, I mistake, for I have seen much of his mysteries and his marvelous power; yea, even in the preservation of the lives of this people.  Nevertheless, I did harden my heart, for I was called many times and I would not hear; therefore I knew concerning these things, yet I would not know; therefore I went on rebelling against God, in the wickedness of my heart
4. Those who have never properly considered the evidence that they see everyday.  Alma 30:44 Thou hast had signs enough; ... ye have the testimony of all these thy brethren, and also all the holy prophets? The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator.

I am reasonably certain that my post on these questions will not bring any unbeliever out of their unbelief, although I can hope.  I do actively hope that my words here will help to reveal the built-in hypocrisy of the questions many atheists use to justify their unbelief.  I also hope it will help those who do believe in God, but find themselves at a loss for a coherent response in the face of these questions.  Hopefully, by reading this, their faith in God will be strengthened and these fiery darts of the Adversary will be quenched, and bother them no more.

Tom Sheppard is a business consultant and coach to small business owners and individuals. He is a recognized author with dozens of titles in business and fiction to his credit. One of his endeavors is to help those who want to see their own book in print. He does this through his trademarked Book Whispering Process (TM). 

 The author is not an official spokesperson for any organization or person mentioned herein. 

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