will somebody please help me? I'm sixteen and very confused about God. My parents decided when I was born that that I was to get christened only because of excessive pressure from my grandmother, but they never took me to church and left me to decide if I wanted to go on my own. I love what god stands for, eternal love, protection and forgiveness. He sacrificed his own son to save us all. Im not trying to offend anyone in any way but I just want to know why does God do bad things? If he loves us why does he sometimes punish the innocent? Is it without sorrow we can never know joy? Or something along those lines? I'm not sure. Also some random questions I thought I might throw out there. Because I was christened does that mean I have to be a christian? Do you have to belong to a certain church to go to a service?


I know that was a lot to take on but if nyone can answer my questions or help me in anyway I would really apprecciate it

thank you

God Bless
xXx

Keep searching for the truth. The Bible says seek and you will find.
Ask God to show you your heart and to help grow your spirit.
Don't try to be religious that is man reaching out to with his own limited knowledge that is evident in how they can't agree with each other on beliefs.
Look into your spirit and read the Bible and books about God and faith and ask for God's guidance. Even ask him to lead you to Christians and spiritual people that can help teach you but remember there are cults and occults that sound good but aren't.
Like wangdoodle said we live in a fallen world and we were given free will and everything has consequences and so forth.
And life is full of ying/yang, joy/sorrow, faith/doubt. I forget who said you can't have faith if you don't know doubt.

The reason I do not like religion is that they tend to each put God in their little box but God says his ways are higher than our ways and his thoughts are higher than his thoughts... meaning we can never really fully comprehend God.

It is easy to look at the world and say if God is good, then why do bad things happen? We live in a fallen world.” Bad things” will happen. When people sin it can cause pain and suffering. When these thoughts enter into my head, I will look at the Crucifix. Here is Jesus, totally innocent. Yet, He suffered and was put to death. On the surface this sounds unjust; however there was a greater purpose. Salvation. Here suffering brought about a greater good. We can offer our sufferings up and join it with Christ's sufferings. We do not know the mind of God, but we can have hope in what He has reviled to us.

Rom. 8:28 We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.

My suggestion is that you visit various churches and find out something about each one (there are books at your public library that summarize Catholic and Protestant beliefs) and see how comfortable you are in each situation. Do you like the minister, the members, do the teachings make sense to you, etc.

Xxconfusedxx I lived many years of my life confused, not believing in what type I was raised in and wishing I could believe. I never could, and stopped trying. I have also studied with many groups hoping to find a magic one. I have never done that. So I am content in believing or hoping that there is a God that is loving and respects me and the fact that I try to take care of the hurt, needy animals & people of this world that I come into to contact with. I also try to be a good inhabitant of this world by respecting all of its greatness & taking lessons from all of the not so greatness. I truly enjoying reading and learning about other faiths/religions here is some that you can viewhttp://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html#Islam. Also I have read some books by Gary Suvak and Neil Donald Walsh that are very enlightening. You may enjoy those as well. Btw I don't think God lets bad things happen I think he/she just lets the world be as it is without intervention. Good Luck in your search.

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God does not do bad things. He is holy.
God gave man free will, so that when we come to God, it is on our own, because we have chosen Him.
All of the wrong and bad things that happen in this world is done by man, not God. We choose what we do and how we do it.
God does not promise a life without sorry or pain, but He will be with us, give us strength and peace in dealing with those things.
Go to a church or join a bible study group. There is a wonderful one call BSF International. It is not affiliated with any denomination. It is strictly bible study. You can go on line and find where there is one where you live. They have classes all over the world and I think they have one for teens.

We are here with Gods guidance, But he leaves it up to us to do what we want. This is also true of all people, so if you drive a car off the road and get injured it was not God that injured you. Also if you had driven the car off the road and not injured yourself but you did run over someone and it caused them all sort of pain an misery. This was not
God's doing it was your doing. He lets up make up our mind what we want to do and so he also lets us suffer the wrong decision we make.
You being Christened does not mean that you have to go to any certain Church, if only means that you fulfilled one of the requirements that that Church requires you do to be a member there.
So study the Bible. Read books, go to someone that you respect and trust very much and listen to them, they might give you some insight on what you want to do.
In the end may God Bless You.

You are always free to choose or change what you believe in. I encourage you to look at all religions not just the christian ones. Also don't ignore your non-religious choices and look into agnostics or atheists.

You don't have to belong to a church. You can go to as many types as you like. They don't require membership

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why does God do bad things?

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God doesn't do bad things. If your meaning why He lets bad things happen to us: He is testing you. Or more acuratly he is testing your faith.

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Originally Posted by xXx_confused_eyes_xXx

will somebody please help me? im sixteen and very confused about God. My parents decided when i was born that that i was to get christened only because of excessive pressure from my grandmother, but they never took me to church and left me to decide if i wanted to go on my own. I love what god stands for, eternal love, protection and forgiveness. He sacrificed his own son to save us all. Im not trying to offend anyone in any way but i just want to know why does God do bad things? If he loves us why does he sometimes punish the innocent? is it without sorrow we can never know joy? or something along those lines? im not sure. also some random questions i thought i might throw out there. because i was christened does that mean i have to be a christian? do you have to belong to a certain church to go to a service?


i know that was a lot to take on but if nyone can answer my questions or help me in anyway i would realy apprecciate it

thank you

God Bless
xXx

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Bad things happen because this world is controlled by Satan. You can visit a church without being a member. Search for the LORD and for His strength while he may be found. What city and state do you live in?(to help find church)? I prayed for several months for God to show me where to go. I asked Him to send someone to tell me and He did. I would pray. He listens. Especially to one who is seeking Him and His Truth. Do you have a Bible? Start with the Book of John and then Romans. These tell of His love for us and our condition as sinners.

Why does God allow bad thlngs? Some good answers above. Also consider that Jesus said the thief comes to steal and destroy, speaking of Satan. God gets blamed for a lot of things that we do ourselves and things that Satan does to us. I strongly recommend that you ask God for guidance, check out various churhes within Christianity before deciding. Christianity makes the best promises for afterlife. Don't overlook those despised Pentecostals.