Listening to the discussion between two people, a question arose as to what exactly are the abilities that God possesses. The first individual made it clear that they did not believe in a higher power, such as a God. It was obvious that the second individual was a firm believer in a higher power, which they called God. The question that arose was simply this: if God is supposed to be all knowing, all powerful, and all good then why would they not be able to exercise all of those abilities? The non-believer stated that if an all-powerful God existed, then they should be able to prevent a tsunami from striking land and killing thousands of people. Wouldn’t God, who is all knowing, have already known that the tsunami was forming and about to hit land and then be powerful enough to prevent this from happening? This individual went on to question, or is God not as all good as we originally believed them to be? Because, it is presumed, that a God of all good would do whatever necessary to protect the people they’ve created from harm. This individual proposed, that a God could not be all three (all knowing, powerful, and good) in one and allow for such tragedies to occur all around the world at such regularity. Having these three types of abilities would allow God to predict, prevent, and alter events in favor of good.
A discussion ensued as to what is considered good. What we consider to be good may in fact vary from person to person, and from life to life. For example, people think that eating plants is good nutrition, but the plant (whose life was taken to feed the human) would disagree. The plant’s life was taken to feed another life, the human. Similarly, we would not feel good about our own life being taken for the sake of feeding a hungry lion. What is considered good is relative. It’s all based on perspective.
The second individual, who believes in God, attempted to explain that humans have a limited understanding of the dynamics that are occurring. Something that we consider to be a tragedy may be necessary for the greater good, which we are “blind” to. It may be beyond our understanding as to why certain things happen, but God knows why these events are necessary and therefore they are allowed to occur as they should. God works in mysterious ways. The mystery is there because we are unsavvy as to the logic, science, and purpose behind the why. Just as we humans sometimes do something that leaves others bewildered, until we explain what was done and why we did it, then clarity and understanding kick in and we are all aligned again. Similar to a magic trick. We may be left in dismay as we see a magician perform his magic act. However, if that magician were to reveal how they performed their magic trick to the audience, then people would come to understand the illusion. They would no longer be awed by it because they fully understand the tools/actions that led to the illusion.
Many could consider God to be a type of master conductor of the orchestra of all that is. People could as easily consider God to be a master scientist, and we are all part of the science experiment. Perhaps this would be a way to ease the science versus creation debate. God is a scientist and has allowed for all lifeforms to develop and evolve from the mixed media that was placed into the experimental space.
People choose to believe whether God exists. Some think that life is life and is not created nor orchestrated by any higher being/power. Others prefer to believe that we came from somewhere and are going somewhere. These individuals feel that a higher power/being is responsible for their existence and possibly their experiences in this life. The concept of God offers hope. Whether you believe in God or not is not really the topic at hand. Each individual should be free to choose the beliefs that work for them. They know what eases their mind in terms of their approach to life. There really is no need for debate. Live and let live is more the essence that is needed to progress in a peaceful fashion. Again, what we believe is all relative and based on our own perspective. This is not about having the right or wrong answer. It’s about living and experiencing the best life that we can before we die.