God.

i am not one to provide my input on anything political or religious;
my beliefs are my own.
i try very hard to live my testimony rather than ramming it down people's throats.
but sometimes
something flickers
that stirs in me
and stirs
and stirs
and boils
and turns
to a point that i feel i need to just get it out.
this was one such thing.
this article came across my facebook news feed today and it troubled me.
it troubled me because it is so very important to me
that my children know God.
and i know that the relationship they formulate with Him
is dependent upon my example
my actions
my answers.

i would offer a counter perspective to the said article:

God is a bad parent and role model. 

If God is our father, then he is not a good parent. Good parents don’t allow their children to inflict harm on others. Good people don’t stand by and watch horrible acts committed against innocent men, women and children. They don’t condone violence and abuse. “He has given us free will,” you say? Our children have free will, but we still step in and guide them.

I highly doubt that the parents of Eric Harris, Dylan Klebold or Adam Lanza were what we as a society would call "bad" parents. I have a hard time believing that any parent desires their child to commit horrible acts of violence or abuse.  As a teacher, I don't know how many times I have conferenced with parents who are at wits' end with their children and no longer know what to do or how to help.  I believe that God does step in and attempts to guide us in ways we may not even realize; however, that doesn't mean we always obey, listen or follow the guidebook given to us.

God is not logical. 

How many times have you heard, “Why did God allow this to happen?” And this: “It’s not for us to understand.” Translate: We don’t understand, so we will not think about it or deal with the issue. Take for example the senseless tragedy in Newtown. Rather than address the problem of guns in America, we defer responsibility to God. He had a reason. He wanted more angels. Only he knows why. We write poems saying that we told God to leave our schools. Now he’s making us pay the price. If there is a good, all-knowing, all-powerful God who loves his children, does it make sense that he would allow murders, child abuse, wars, brutal beatings, torture and millions of heinous acts to be committed throughout the history of mankind? Doesn’t this go against everything Christ taught us in the New Testament?

The question we should be asking is this: “Why did we allow this to happen?” How can we fix this? No imaginary person is going to give us the answers or tell us why. Only we have the ability to be logical and to problem solve, and we should not abdicate these responsibilities to “God” just because a topic is tough or uncomfortable to address.

 This is actually the one piece of the article I agree with.  The author is absolutely dead on and I think even God would agree; why did WE allow these things to happen?  How can we fix this?  God has blessed us with brains in our head and the logic falls to us.  

 God is not fair. 

 If God is fair, then why does he answer the silly prayers of some while allowing other, serious requests, to go unanswered? I have known people who pray that they can find money to buy new furniture. (Answered.) I have known people who pray to God to help them win a soccer match. (Answered.) Why are the prayers of parents with dying children not answered?    

 If God is fair, then why are some babies born with heart defects, autism, missing limbs or conjoined to another baby? Clearly, all men are not created equally. Why is a good man beaten senseless on the street while an evil man finds great wealth taking advantage of others? This is not fair. A game maker who allows luck to rule mankind’s existence has not created a fair game.

I don't know where to start with this argument.  Really?  God is not fair?  My 4-year old makes that same claim about me every day.  

 The author goes on to argue that God does not protect the innocent, is not present, does not teach children to be good and finally, teaches narcissism.  As I read it, and re-read it and re-read it again, it sounded less and less like a legitimate stance on her beliefs and more and more like the rant of a pissed off kid. 

 I would pause here to point this out: if you don't believe in God, then why is it, how is it that you can argue God does or does not do anything at all?

i do not agree with [the majority] of this article.
i'm not going to 'flag' it as inappropriate because i am a firm believer in free speech
freedom to believe (or not believe) in what or whomever you choose
and the freedom to teach your children those beliefs.

i could go on and on with arguments for each of the points made in the piece
but at the risk of rambling and not making coherent arguments
i am going to stop here.

but let me take this opportunity
before i close
in my own little corner of the wires
to say this.

i do believe in God.
i see Him in the faces of my children every day
and it is my hope
my prayer
that my girls find Him
in the bloom of a flower
the flutter of a butterfly's wings
the words of a poet
the reflections of a puddle
the waves of the ocean
the peaks of a mountain
and the very beating of their own hearts.


go well.