Quote:
Originally Posted by Cats_Go_Meow
The most common answer I get is, "God loves me." So I ask, "If God loves everyone so much, why is there war, terror, etc?"
They usually have no answer for that question. Most people have called me ignorant for questioning God's love.
Why is it you ask some people a question that they cannot answer, you are being ignorant?
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Satan the Devil, who caused the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, to rebel against God, stands in opposition to God’s righteous standard and is appropriately termed “the wicked one.” (Mt 6:13; 13:19, 38; 1Jo 2:13, 14; 5:19) The rebellion initiated by Satan called into question the rightfulness and righteousness of God’s sovereignty, that is, whether God’s rulership over his creatures is exercised righteously and in their best interests. The fact that Adam and Eve rebelled also raised another issue: Would all other intelligent creatures prove unfaithful and disloyal to God when obedience appeared to bring no material benefits? Satan’s claim respecting faithful Job implied that they would do so. Satan said: “Skin in behalf of skin, and everything that a man has he will give in behalf of his soul. For a change, thrust out your hand, please, and touch as far as his bone and his flesh and see whether he will not curse you to your very face.”—Job 2:4, 5;
Time was required to settle the issues that had been raised. Hence, [YHWH] God, by permitting wicked persons to continue living, made it possible for others to share in proving Satan’s claim false by serving God faithfully under unfavorable and trialsome circumstances. God’s permission of wickedness has also provided an opportunity for individuals to abandon a wrong course and to subject themselves willingly to God’s righteous laws. (Isa 55:7; Eze 33:11) So God’s holding back for a time from destroying the wicked serves to spare the righteously disposed ones by allowing time for them to prove their love and devotion to [YHWH] God.—Ro 9:17-26.
Additionally, God makes use of circumstances in such a way that the wicked themselves unwittingly serve his purpose. Though they oppose God, he can restrain them to the extent necessary for the preserving of his servants in their integrity, and can cause the actions even of such persons to bring his righteousness to the fore. (Ro 3:3-5, 23-26; 8:35-39; Ps 76:10) This thought is expressed at Proverbs 16:4: “Everything Yahweh has made for his purpose, yes, even the wicked one for the evil day.”
A case in point is the Pharaoh on whom God, through Moses and Aaron, served notice for the release of the enslaved Israelites. God did not make this Egyptian ruler wicked, but he did allow him to continue living and also brought about circumstances that caused Pharaoh to manifest himself as being wicked and deserving of death. God’s purpose in doing this is revealed at Exodus 9:16: “For this cause I have kept you in existence, for the sake of showing you my power and in order to have my name declared in all the earth.”
The Ten Plagues visited upon Egypt, climaxed by the destruction of Pharaoh and his military forces in the Red Sea, were an impressive demonstration of God's power. (Ex 7:14–12:30; Ps 78:43-51; 136:15) For years afterward the nations round about were still talking about it, and God’s name was thus being declared throughout the earth. (Jos 2:10, 11; 1Sa 4:8) Had [YHWH] God killed Pharaoh immediately, this grand display of God’s power to His glory and for the deliverance of His people would not have been possible.
The Scriptures give assurance that the time will come when wickedness will no longer exist, as all those who stand in opposition to the Creator will be destroyed when his permission of wickedness will have served its purpose.—2Pe 3:9-13; Re 18:20-24; 19:11–20:3, 7-10.