As a humanist, I've always used the Holocaust as proof, to me, that God doesn't exist. In my mind, if there was a God, he would have stopped the attrocities before 6 million people were killed.\nI have never actually asked anyone with faith what their position on it is. So - where was God during the Holocaust?\nI'd like answers from different faiths, if possible.\nThanks!
211075
This is one of the greatest theological questions of our time, especially for Jews.  \nMany people say that you can't blame G-d for the evil that men do.  \nSome say that the Holocaust was so evil that trying to find reason in it is just too much and we shouldn't try.\nI can't answer your question, but if you're actually interested in a variety of answers I strongly recommend that instead of yahoo answers you read the following book:\n Good and Evil After Auschwitz: Ethical Implications for Today, edited by Jack Bemporad, John T Pawlikowski, Joseph Sievers\nWhen bad things happen to good people by Harold Kushner is a down-to-earth book that tackles a difficult question.\nYou should also read Rav Soloveitchik (Joseph Dov Soloveitchik) and Eliezer Berkovits, as well as the Lubavitche Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson.\nI just googled this and got the following:\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocaust_theology\ntry that, too/
302237
Hell doesn't exist as most peole think of it.  \n\nHell is GOING to happen. It isn't happening now.  It can't be because God is just and fair.  Why would he burn Cain--for slugging his brother and killing him--for 6,000 years longer than Hitler--who tortured and killed millions of people?  God wouldn't do that.  He says he will come and in Thessalonians he says "the dead in Christ shall rise first, and then those which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with Him in the clouds and so shall we ever be with the Lord."  So there IS a resurrection. And He says "the judgement shall set..." so the judgement will happen at the end of time. "Then shall the wicked be BURNED UP like stubble."  \nAlso, if people were going to burn forever it wouldn't say they go to everlasting 'punishment' (as in the RESULT of their being punished is forever), it would say they go to everlasting 'punishing.' And it doesn't. And the Bible wouldn't say, "From dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return." \nSin cannot exist in God's presence and will be zapped by the brightness of His coming--at the resurrection. So hell is for the people who love sin and hold on to it. People who must hold on to sin will get zapped, too: Natural result. But Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments." So those who love Him won't be holding onto sin and won't get zapped.\n\nAlso if people were burning in Hell forever, people would live forever, and the Bible says, "The soul that sinneth. It shall die."  You can't be dead and alive (in hell or anywhere else) at the same time, can you?\n\nSo now that you've had a little enlightenment on what hell is and isn't:  I'd run it just like that. Cuz God never makes mistakes.
645584
Good question. Personally, I don't think God exists at all. Or if He does, it's all just aliens messing with our heads. Think about it. All these supposed "alien abductions" has a bright, white light taking them up to a space ship above. Remember the painting of Jesus resurrecting 3 days after he was crucified? Bright, white light taking him up again. No offense to anyone; just food for thought.
547900
Reminds me of that bit in Catch 22.\n\nAnyway, I don't believe in a God of History; one whose supposed exploits are charted in writings from the past. There is no way I can face a divinity who sits from the distant yesterday and claims that enough has been done, or who has dangled false hopes over our future. Life is not that simple. The God that I would believe in would exist in the here and now, and would be defined through such an existence rather than through the broken remains of our ancestors.
597350
Well, because Jesus isn't God himself.  Though that certainly is a very hard question, one that many have pondered over.  This was awful, why weren't more saved?  And it wasn't just Jews that died in the concentration camps, it was also people who were disabled or coloured, or basically not liked that weren't "aryan".  The Jews are the "chosen ones" and Jesus himself was a Jew.  So the only thing I can say would be there must have been some awfully huge cosmic lesson needed to mankind for God to not intervene sooner.  Or maybe he did, but just in smaller ways.
540156
Yeah, it's interesting, if you think about it. God can find a lover for some random lady in Oklahoma but he can't (or won't, whatever) prevent or stop disasters. Some crazy lady came on here earlier and tried to say that God DELIBERATELY didn't do anything about the Holocaust, because the Jews were wrong about Christ. Seriously, that kind of logic makes me shudder.
426825
I'm an atheist. I believe that if there truly was a God, there would be no war, no terrorism, no poverty, no natural disasters, no ideological bellicosity, no Bush, no Kim Jong-Il, no Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, no nukes in general, no racism, no sexism, no homophobia, no whores, no pimps, no environmental destruction, and definitely no peanut butter. (I hate peanut butter.) If this God of yours is so great, why is all of this stuff still around?
644284
At last! An excellent point in my opinion. If God created humans, then he made us capable of questioning everything around us. Otherwise, we'd never have developed technology, learnt how to advance as a society and form our own opinions. So if he created us that way, why wouldn't we question the Bible and all it states?\nMaybe it's right, maybe it isn't. Surely the challenge is for us to discover that for ourselves, not effectively be told "think like us or go to hell!" If there is a God, we have to hope he's proud that we think for ourselves.
67058
NO ONE can answer this question except God!\n\nI believe:\nThe word God would not have been there if God didn't create humans, He created humans becoz this is what a God would do.
585510
I am agnostic.  If there is a God, I think (s)he has moral people around them, of all faiths.\n\nTo address your specific questions:  I doubt Jews are Gods chosen people (a quick review of history).  I do not believe JC was return.  I do see the Arabic-Israeli was as a religious war.  At least it started that way, over time thou I think people forget why they started fighting.  After such a prolonged conflict, you must know someone who was directly affected by the war, and they become your enemy regardless.  America was founded on freedom of religion.  To many it is a good thing that there is a place where Jews can practice their religion.  The views of Americans are as diverse as the middle east, we just have a much shorter history of war.
120180
There just wasn't.  God is God, he doesn't have to operate on human understanding.  Remember, He was there before even the world was created.
249228
Woo hoo, a comment clearly designed to start a big argument on here, which I don't agree with, everyone has their own opinions!\n\nHowever, I sense that the basis of your point is that there is no real hard evidence to sustain the existence of any god, which is not the same as saying he doesn't exist, but is a definite statement to say that wehave no way of knowing. \n\nSo why everyone doesn't just live their life based upon earthly things, eg looking after and revering the earth around us, rather than pinning our hopes on some concept of a higher being, I don't know. \n\n(by the way, there IS actually hard evidence to suggest that the whole idea of a god stems from a part of the human brain, which operates only to convince us of a higher power, so we feel more significant than we actually are..)
411939
I'd really like to answer your question but I can't quite read the postmark on the last letter Einsteing sent me .......\n\nWhat are you going on about? If that was the case, everyone who ever discovered anything, reasoned anything out, invented anything, or learned anything, would be sent to hell, and if that were true, it would be a pretty interesting place to be! But it seems obvious that God wouldn't give man the capacity to learn, to invent, to understand, and send him to hell for using that God-given capacity. And how, pray tell, can you prevent knowledge from being used for evil purposes? Weapons were originally used to gather food, a peaceful purpose, but when disputes arose, they were used for war. Books were invented as a means of preserving and sharing knowledge. But that invention has been perverted to include printing porn. Does that mean ALL books should be destroyed, along with the processes of making them? \nI think you've just got nothing better to do and are making up things to generate discussions. At least, I hope that's the case, because if you really believe what you said, I feel sorry for your. And your God, because he must be a vindictive and vengeful God to behave in that manner.
455269
You've opened up the box of mirrors. If you ask, "Who created humanity?", then state it must be God, the only logical follow-up question becomes, "Who created God?" Then who created that creator, and that creator, and that creator, ad nauseum. It's the "God of the Gaps" argument. If there is something we don't understand, it must be God. Well, in fact, there is no compelling reason to believe it "must be God."\n\nI don't believe in God, and I've thought this out fairly carefully.\n\nFirst, you have to define the term "God." The problem with most theists is that this term is a moving target.\n\nIn addition, because there is no evidence either for or against the existence of God, you cannot use deductive logic (a+b=c; therefore c-b=a). You can only reach a conclusion by inductive reasoning using the balance of evidence (90% of A is also B; C is B, so the chances are 90% that C is also A). \n\nSo everything stated hereafter is based on inductive reasoning. I believe it to be true, but it is not certain. However, it is even certain to assert that God exists, based on my statements below.\n\nI will assert (and others may shoot this down) that the only RELEVANT definition of God states that he intervenes to circumvent natural laws.\n\nIf God circumvents natural laws, then it is impossible to understand natural laws. All scientific findings would have to include the stipulation, "it is also possible that these results are an act of God, a miracle, thereby making our research meaningless."\n\nHowever, since we have been able to expand our knowledge of natural laws (evidenced by every appliance in your kitchen), the scientific method works in this discovery. And the likely conclusion is that God, at least the intervening kind, does not exist.\n\nAdditionally, if God is defined as all loving, all powerful, and all knowing, then it is impossible to explain suffering. Either God is not all loving (he acts sadistically), not all powerful (he cannot prevent suffering), or not all knowing (he created suffering by mistake because he didn't know the consequences of his actions).\n\nIf God is less than these and/or does not intervene in our existence, then he is either non-existent or irrelevant. The classic argument is that I cannot prove that a china teapot is or is not orbiting the sun directly across from the earth's orbit. But while I cannot prove this is not true, the evidence against it is compelling.\n\nThe evidence against God is equally compelling, and while it is not possible to prove beyond any doubt, it makes more sense to live your life with an assumption that there is no God.\n\nIt is more compelling to me that humans have invented God to reflect the thoughts of the ruling powers in a particular time. Events happened, and in a pre-scientific age, people hadn't a clue regarding the causes. No one could explain disease, floods, earthquakes, or lunar eclipses. Because humans are always looking for reasons, when none are found, it was the natural inclination to declare the cause to be "God" (or gods). As the faith grew, miracles and laws have been ascribed to this Divinity, and an orthodoxy grows up around it.\n\nSuccessful religions over the long run also are accompanied by some level of economic well-being to the populace. Unsuccessful ones are seen as false because they don't lead to improved lives.\n\nNow it seems unhelpful to believe in such superstition. The only matters that aid in our ongoing well being are work, location, health, sustenance, and pure, blind luck.\n\nSo, that's why I find God unbelievable. And you know what? It's okay if you do believe God does exists.
271500
Hmmm. Hi. Perhaps my perception on things hasn't been explained clearly enough. I apologize for that. Here is, in short, what I do and don't believe:\n\nThere is no such thing as a god. To me, the concept of the existence of a deity (besides being unproved and absurd) is just that- a concept. And a misleading one, at that. To me, it's a lie.\n\nI do not worship the christian devil. Hell, I do not even believe in it! To me, Satan is a reflection of humanity. You are your own god, and are free to accept it or not. Satan is not an entity, it's a force, it's in us. It's our vital force.\n\nHave fun, and be tolerant.\n\nBy the way, when I say Satan's spawn, it doesn't mean I believe I am the child of your devil, it means I am the Satan, as it is in me. It's sometimes also meant to shock. Depends.\n\nHappy, now?
80489
I totally know what you mean. I used to think about that all the time, but I would just exhaust myself. I think the only sure thing we know is that we know nothing. I am a bit of an agnostic, but certainly don't think that everything just happened by chance. Was there ever nothing? If so how did we ever get something? If scientist say there is an end to the universe, what is it like a wall? Plexi Glass that you just bounce of of? Or is it like Pacman where you just pop out on the other side? There is so much that is just unexplainable in t his world. I am just glad to be a part of it. I have pretty much given up on trying to figure it all out. While I am in no hurry to die, I am somewhat excited at the possibilty of everything being answered once I go. Good luck in your search for answers. We need the Teacher's Edition of the bible, one with all the answers in the margins( I wonder how much that would go for on eBay?)
180252
Guess what, there's alot of things that don't add up. If you believe in God, heaven and all, then close your rational mind, cause it just don't add up.  Don't forget to wonder how 6 million Jews were put to death during WW II, if God was omnipotent and benevolent, do you think that could've happened?