Is this God's plan

I can never believe in a God that allows so much suffering, old people with terrifying dementia young children fighting against a cancer, all the abuse of children and animals as well as domestic abuse that’s going on now. I don’t accept your explanation Discodancer ...........there can be no God at least no loving God.....

To answer your question polomint, no I don’t think it is directly, but He will use it. People often ask why He allows suffering. The simple answer to that is, He’s told us that there will never be perfection in this life, only the next. This is a rehearsal, a template if you like for the next. He wants us to choose Him willingly. If He keeps putting things right, without us knowing, we will never know Him. He doesn’t want that, in the same way you wouldn’t for your children. He wants us to have independently made that choice.

Just a correction the second statue is not in Mexico it is in Brazil. That means that both statues are in Brazil, it is being funded by Friends of the church over there and is not finished yet. Everyone to there own choice but what an iconic statue to have in Brazil.
I do not think the churches have money to spare for our collections there is usually money collected for the homeless, those in the Holy Lands and those fleeing persecution in their own countries plus others.
I still think it would be fantastic many others would not agree.

I would hate any form of blatantly religious statue to be built nowadays. I admit to not having read my New Testament of late but I don't remember it saying anything about building huge, expensive religious symbols. I thought it was more about caring for the poor and needy. If the Churches or the state have money to spare then they should be using it to care for the homeless, the hungry, the vulnerable and others in need.

Mexico is such a poor country.

Should they have spent the money on a statue?

Some justification for it in the Gospels, I guess.

I think this pandemic has changed people to some extent mainly due to the restrictions of staying at home and lockdown.
Life whether we like it or not has been slower and more peaceful although many do not like it that way.
There are many people in the U.K. that have a faith and others not as I watched a news programme a few days ago I
was surprised to see a towering statue of Jesus being built in Mexico (think that is where it was) it will be 141 feet high quite amazing I thought. It will be higher than the highest
one in Rio de Janeiro which is 128ft high.

I quietly reflected on that for five to ten minutes and thought how amazing if we had something like that in the U.K. It would be an amazing sight .
The people in those other places are more faithful than us maybe we have lessons to be learnt.

Poor Lucifer. He's the human race's eternal whipping boy.

Whether you believe in God or you don’t, this pandemic has got absolutely nothing to do with God. Like Sarnia I think it very likely that this virus was inadvertently carried out of a lab in Wuhan.

Just thinking, if this is Gods plan to destroy the corrupt and rid the earth of greed and violence, it’s not a very good one, is it?

I mean, he’s tried it several times before and it hasn’t worked then.

What is it they say about doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result ?

I can’t say I have much faith in the WHO, or any UN related organisation, come to that. I’ve heard far too much from horses’ mouths - or from those very close to them - over the years, never mind that they’re all pretty much massive gravy trains, with employees so often paid way in excess of what they’d get in similar jobs elsewhere.

I think all the great religions used the wrath of their gods to attempt to explain the inexplicable, fire, flood, pestilence and famine, which were generally natural disasters with no apparent cause.
We have a far greater understanding now, but still frequently only with hindsight.
When causes and solutions are discovered and people resolutely refuse to accept them, (refusal to isolate, social distancing, acceptance of the vaccine) it has to be human judgement that is responsible.

Immorality!!

Violence, greed, drugs and immortality are still alive and well, sadly. The pandemic will have done nothing to stop that. In my opinion, the virus escaped from a lab in Wuhan. The wishy-washy investigation by the WHO was inconclusive as the Chinese made sure it would be. God has had nothing to do with it.

And no, as I said up thread, this pandemic has got absolutely nothing to do with God.

Elegran

The WHO have investigated and are pretty sure that it happened by accident.

I don’t believe the WHO. They didn’t do a proper and thorough investigation by all accounts. The Chinese didn’t want them to look too deeply into the possible theory of a lab leak, so they didn’t.

One more thing... I have seen an overwhelming lot of good will coming from this time of the pandemic. People singing to others, streets of people doing good for each other, technology has been so beautiful in keeping us communicating and people want to do this. We have found a new generation of care and love. This is the strong message from the pandemic: love one another, and we have found this to be so, the Lord is in it with us!

A lot of folk say this.. it God isn’t a benevolent Dad who put things right in the world, he has given free will and we live in a world with lots to negotiate. The good and the bad comes along, faith means that God is in it with us, suffering is part of living, but my faith means The Lord walks with me and helps me to engage in life with his strength and to be in it with others. We find how to have courage, how to share with others, how to pray and get close to others as we work through. Faith means being tested in adversity too.

The 1918-1920 influenza epidemic was much more widespread than just Europe nanna8. India alone lost nearly 17 million people in less than 2 years.

2.1% of the world's population died in the flu epidemic. So far, with Covid, 0.03% of the world's population have died, about 2 million people.

AIDS has killed 34 million people, and is still classed as an epidemic.

That reassures Elegran. It has been on my mind a lot lately.

We had this conversation last week DH and I. Hopefully we will try and live our lives better but some will still be as selfish as they have been. Surely this awful time will of counted for something?

Thank you Keepingquiet for your explanation.

The WHO have investigated and are pretty sure that it happened by accident.

This pandemic is certainly of biblical proportions and more. I can’t remember any pandemic like it. The polio pandemic was nothing compared with this though I think the influenza pandemic of 1918 was probably similar though not so widespread, more Europe. The question is whether or not it was started by natural means, by accident from a lab or, hopefully not, deliberately. We will never know. God knows though because He knows everything before it even happens.

It is part of their programme of Witnessing. Interesting they have taken to letter writing. They prey on the vulnerable and attempt to frighten people with their nonsense.

Just wondering if any other gransnetters have received postal communication from Jehovah Witnessers!!! I had a letter addressed to householder and my correct address advising me to read bible, and discover what’s happening to the world!! And it was from my friend Margaret?????? Handwritten and 2nd class stamp! And no senders address? They might have included a return address and I could have replied. What’s that all about! JWs always get short shift from me when they appear uninvited on my doorstep uninvited! Nothing better to do I guess now they can’t come to the house and get shouted at!!