Why Doesn’t God Stop Terrorists?
Posted: Sunday, November 22, 2009
by Jim Anderson
Weddings That Last
As the news continues on the heels of the events at Ft. Hood, Major Hasan is headed toward a trial, afforded the rights of an American citizen while there are questions as to whether he should be considered a terrorist. At the same time terrorists are getting ready to be tried in a criminal court near the site of the crime in New York, afforded the same Constitutional protections of American citizens. Terrorism still takes place in the Middle East, and continues to spread. We can't seem to find a way to discourage it. Why doesn't God stop it before it overtakes us all? Let's consider that God could set a deadline. He could warn all the evil in the world that He will be stepping in this weekend and stop all suffering caused by evil. He could use a taser gun. The police claim that using a taser gun will get the target to comply 95 percent of the time. When the weekend comes God could come down from heaven and start using the taser on everyone who sins. Tell a lie, get shocked. Rob a convenience store, get a stronger shock. Murder someone and you get the mother of all shocks that incapacitates you. God knows that our evil thoughts lead to evil acts, so He knows that He also needs to shock us when we have sinful thoughts. Even then, He isn't finished. It is also evil to fail to show mercy and kindness. So He will have to zap us for that sin of omission. What would be the result of all this? We'd probably have a world full of twitching people that would obey God like beaten down dogs.
Another consideration against God setting a deadline is that evil in the world forces us to live with the world we have created, with all our good and bad choices. When we are affected by evil and it creates pain and suffering in our lives, it forces us to think about the kind of world God wants for us. He wants us to have a world free of terrorism and all kinds of pain and suffering. We tend to be more willing to rely on Him when things get tough, so that is when God is speaking to us the most loudly. He allows evil to continue, not just terrorism, because it forces us to ask why and draws us closer to Him.
Evil can't be disposed of like garbage. It is what exists when things aren't the way they are supposed to be. This is sort of like when your car breaks down. It becomes dysfunctional. If it isn't operating the way it was meant to operate, that presupposes a designer. It is the same for the world. The world is becoming more dysfunctional as evil grows. Recognizing this also presupposes that there is a Designer for the world. This is an important step.
Everyone today recognizes the problem of poverty and injustice. When God is speaking the loudest, we begin to recognize that things aren't right. Whether you believe in God or not you have to admit, we have a problem. The next step is that this realization of all the pain and suffering in the world that we never paid attention to begins to haunt us, and we change. We start to find it difficult to continue to believe our purpose in life is to enjoy it as much as possible, when the images of third world countries with starving children dying of AIDS in our minds. There has to be more to life than having fun.
God has a plan to end all evil, but He has to do it by teaching us first to choose good over evil. When everyone has had ample opportunity to make their choice, then He can end evil. To do so before that would not work. The whole point is that God needs to produce willing consent to choose good over evil. When He has done that, He will stop the terrorists, as He will do with all evil.
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Top-level comments on this article: (5 total)Beautifully written - God wants us to respond with our hearts not our of fear AND someday when He rules and reigns we will see what a tryly wonderful government is like! MARANATHA! MarijoPlease log in to respond to this comment.Thanks Marijo!Please log in to respond to this comment.
Reader's Club and I still think this article is tops. Thanks for thinking it out and writing it down! MarijoPlease log in to respond to this comment.Thanks Marijo!Please log in to respond to this comment.
Jim,You have said it and you have done so beautifully. I happened to watch the movie, Oh, God this past week and I was left with one impression ( -- admittedly I was disappointed that it didn't push Christianity). God has given us the ability to choose to do good or evil. It is up to us to make the correct choice.Please log in to respond to this comment.Thanks for the comment. You are right. It is a good idea to identify the world views represented in movies. They can make great illustrations.Please log in to respond to this comment.
Hi Jim,Good article!I would just add a few things...I think we should go to the Bible to find the answers...Though Im South African, I think one of the biggest victims of terrorism at this point, would be the USA. But why? Couldnt God stop terrorism?Ofcourse He could: See Daniel 4:35:"All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and He does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and no one can hold back His hand, or say to him, What are You doing?"Add this verse along with passages like Psalm 135:6 and we see that everything that happens on this planet- no matter how bad- is because God is in control; and because He has good and just reasons for doing so.So what could be the reason for the Islamic terrorism on America?We could find the answer in Isaiah 10 (read this chapter when you have a few minutes-its quite precious, and quite shocking).God has called to America to forsake her lawlessness and repent; returning to Him. She refuses, and rebells. So what does God do to a nation which remains stubborn and hardhearted? He send another nation as His "rod of chastening", to punish the nation and bring them back to Him. He did this with Israel... time an time again.Isaiah 10 shows us how God raised up Assyria for this very purpose of practically destroying Israel- but because Assyria then prides itself in its victory over Israel- God then brings up ANOTHER nation to punish Assyria! This is magnificent! He truly is the All-wise King! He calls Assyria the "axe" in His hand. In the same way, the Muslim nation is merely a tool in God's hand!Evil is completely under the control of God, and He sends it upon His creatures for specific purposes (Isa45:7; Amos 3:6). This is amazing, and it not only humbles the heart, but it puts praise in the soul! God is awsome!So I cant really agree with your conclusion, Jim; where you said that God is trying to end all evil but He can only do so when we learn to choose the good- because the Bible says that without Him, that day will never come (Romans 8:7, Job14:4, Jn6:44). God could have prevented the Fall, just like He could prevent EVERY SINGLE OCCURANCE of evil or sin (Gen20:6 says God could keep Abimelech from sinning). But God continues to not only allow evil to exist, but He also uses it directly to achieve magnificent glory for Himself and excellent good for His creatures.God is capable of creating free creatures who would never want to choose to sin- how else will He keep us in heaven? So if He can do that, and He hasnt done that for us on earth- that means He has better purposes, that involve evil in this world. We truly do depend on Him- not only for every breath; but for every good thought and deed. Without His grace, we would do NO good.Don't you agree?Please log in to respond to this comment.Thanks for your thoughtful comment. Excellent point! You are correct that we do have a sinful nature now and never will choose good on our own. God could have prevented the Fall, but He would have a world of puppets if He did. I'm sure there are other reasons beyond our comprehension.His relationship with us has changed in the New Testament, so the way He dealt with sin in the Old Testament has changed. Now, we live under grace, and His plan to eliminate evil is not complete yet. He doesn't actively punish us for our sin anymore, He merely chooses to let us suffer the consequences during this time. In the end, if we choose His Son as our Lord and Savior, we will be judged spotless and He will perfect us. Only then will He separate us from sin. We are saved from the consequences of the Fall by our faith in His act of atonement for us. This applies to all people, not just the U.S.I appreciate your bringing in some scripture passages, however, my article is not necessarily targeted to those who believe the Bible. So using passages as proofs of my point is not appropriate. An honest study of what the Bible actually says is not quite as straightforward as that. We must approach it for what it actually says in its complete context, not what we believe it says. As it tells us, we only know in part now.God Bless,JimPlease log in to respond to this comment.
Jim,Thanks for replying. You're right that we are under an age of grace- and there is no condemnation toward those who are in Christ Jesus- when He saves a person, there is no punishment of sin for that person!- i didnt mean to say otherwise.But for those who are not in Him; Romans 1:18,24 says that "the wrath of God is being displayed" toward them. Jesus said the same thing many times.I also have nothing against the US- I just thought that was the most obvious place of terrorism at this time. The passages I cited apply to ALL nations- God gave us the Old Testament to show us what His character is like- its like an introduction: "introducing... YHWH, the One True God!!!". The fact that Jesus has died on the cross for us doesnt mean that everything in the OT is wiped away. God never changes- He only changes His disposition toward those who get saved. But He is the same today, yesterday, forever.This is just another point in your article; in a way- Jesus is king RIGHT NOW; and its not only a future event. He rules over the earth; and the passages I cited show that He rules over nations as well. Jesus is king NOW; even though in a sense, His kingdom is still being anticipated. But nevertheless, there are many passages that describe how God is in control of everything- thats why we can trust Him with our lives.When you say we must approach the bible in its complete context- I totally agree. When we want to know whats the truth about a certain topic; then we need to see what the WHOLE bible says about it- and from that we paint the picture, right? Those passages I cited werent taken out of context... they fit harmoniously with the rest of the bible. Unless im missing something- if so, please email me (AXLJACK - at - GMAIL - dot - COM). Im really passionate about truth- and I like to purge any error from my belief system.One more thing; "we only know in part now". Absolutely! We DO NOT, and CAN NOT know any truth outside of what God has revealed to us. Everything thats in the Bible is what He has revealed to us- so we CAN know what Hes told us. And though some of the things Hes told us might be difficult to accept when we want to believe otherwise- that doesnt change the fact that they are true; and that Hes revealed them to us. In fact, He expects us to seek the knowledge He has revealed- thats why Hes revealed it. The more we know about Him and His ways - the more our hearts will love Him! I can testify to this... We have absolutely nothing to fear from God (unless Hes your enemy!). Everything God does is Good, and Fair, and Wonderful!Grace be with you allPlease log in to respond to this comment.Great points. Yes, God never changes. I just said that our relationship changed with Christ's atonement. Quite a significant development after all those years of relationship strife before the final sacrifice. I wasn't saying you were in error, just confirming that application of your points needed to be taken in light of the current status of our relationship with God, that is all. I think we are on the same page. Thanks for your passion for the truth! I share it!.Please log in to respond to this comment.
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