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I got into a discussion a few days ago with a religious person who had said, "everything happens for a reason." I then asked this person how they can explain the fact that hundreds of thousands of kids die from starvation every year in poor places in the world like Yemen and Somalia. I asked what the reason was that children die from famine if everything happens for a reason. They could not answer me. Living in different places in the world and seeing first hand how 'belief' causes apathy in people has really molded my thinking. What are your thoughts on the notion of 'everything happens for a reason?'

Ruetres 5 Dec 23
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77 comments (26 - 50)

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1

everything happens simply because it does,maybe we will know why,maybe not,but its a rule of life that shit happens,the tricky part for most folk,is dealing with it...

1

It is oure bull shit. That is the reason religious people give to justify allowing bad things to happen. They convince themselves these people deserve what happens to them because they are not Christians or they perceive them to be not good Christians. The religious always find a way to justify things like that.

1

It is all " according to legend bollocks", no fact or logic, miracles blah blah, religion rules only applies to middle east culture, another way of crowd control, in this ageing planet how real it l can be to try the explain everything with man orientated/sexist book, how come some females of this world can go along with this beyond my belief.
If anybody was able to transform water to wine would you realy kill him? No way.
We share this planet with some unbeliavable people and they believe earth is flat, they even have society for it.

1

I believe that everything has a "cause" or "reason" that can be explained by science or social science. People may be starving while others are wasting or tossing food, so it's maybe borders or political barriers. The world population explosion is not helping either, thanks to some narrow minded approaches to birth control.

0

I would not ask a believer any questions to open discussion about their magical beings and how they dictate their lack of reasoning, but reply that you like to see some things as cause and effect and give a small example., if you have the opportunity. Even if you find them having outrageous ides, be kind and if you have the mental energy, redirect their attention to small facts as an exchange of ideas and knowledge between you. No one needs to proven anything, unless they are standing in front of a judge, accused of a crime. Lighten up - be compassionate. Lead by example.

1

I agree with you especially on the horrors that go one daily throughout the world and right here at home. School shootings, cancer, deportation, rape, and the list goes on. What is the reason for that? It always sounds like a programmed social nicety like "have a nice day" when there is no thought to communication with others.

2

Of course everything happens for a reason, god just is never the reason.

3

Some things happen for a reason...like a person is a total dumbass.

2

Balderdash comes to mind.

2

It’s nonsense.

2

I see no reason to believe that.

2

Bullshit.

2

Everything does happen for a reason, but that is not what they mean. The reason children die from starvation are to do with geopolitics, not because it is some god's will, which is what people usually mean when they say that. When someone close to you dies, or you fail to get the job you want, those things also happens for various reasons, just not the reason that that platitude has in mind.

2

Some time ago I had a conversation which revealed that the church goer that I was talking to thought that Jews were Christians. He reasoned that,
"Jesus was a Jew wasn't he?"
I'm quite amazed at how little the religious seem to know about their own religions and so often can't answer simple challenges. Could it be that the stock answer of
"God moves in mysterious ways".
was starting to wear thin in the mind of your acquaintance. One hopes so.

1

I always tend to correct them and say, "You can find meaning in and give purpose to everything."

0

Shit happens and then you die. No reason in that, is there?

1

I have gotten the "Gawd has a better plan for them" in regards to the death of children. To which I counter if Gawds plan is to destroy families, then he is a sick, sorry, son of a bitch who doesn't deserve any worship!

1

Your interlocutor confuses intention with causality. everything has a cause. that's not the same as having a reason. if you do not believe in a supreme being, then you do not believe the causality is the result of intention, and you do not believe in the possibility of such an intention at any rate. and even if everything DID happen for a reason, how would that justify everything that happened? i am surprised she couldn't answer you, though. i would've thought she'd fall back on the tired old cop-out "god works in mysterious ways." the while universe works in ways that are still, to us, largely mysterious, and whether or not we ever understand it all, or even most of it, the universe will chug along. it doesn't demand our belief, our faith, our understanding, our deliberate ignorance or any other thing. it isn't as sentient entity and it doesn't need to be prayed too, nor does it demand acceptance, so if we can change bits of it for (what we consider to be) the better, we're not betraying some sacred "reason." ask that confused person: "if everything happens for a reason, then we have brains and hands and willpower for a reason. with these tools we can change things for the better. we have this ability for a reason. you are defying your god's will by lazily ignoring his gifts." (sometimes you have to address folks from within their chosen reality, regardless of how well you know it's fantasy.)

g

0

It's just a fall back on the puddle argument. Oh look, I'm a puddle of water, and this hole is the perfect size for me to be a puddle exactly like this....must have been designed. People survive and move on, or they die. Shit doesn't work out, at first but did later, it isn't b/c some imaginary friend deemed it, it's b/c you got off you ass and went to plan b, c, d, ....etc. It's all relative to your point of view on how you interpret events.

0

I have always considered that phrase ignorant just like "it was all part of god's plan". Sigh. If some god existed I am sure he would have shown himself by now instead of having humans do their bidding. No real god would let innocent children suffer.

1

It is the religious "true believer's way to trying to cope with the fact that he or she cannot explain what is happening within the context of his bogus religion. It makes him squirm, so he has to say, "only God knows."

2

The "reason" is that we live in a random universe and shit happens.

6

The reality is that the universe “allows” every wonderful and absolutely horrific thing you can imagine to take place. Humans for some reason allow horrible things to happen to themselves and perpetuate horrible things onto each other. It has nothing to do with a god or a devil and everything to do with a flaw in thinking and an insane way of living based on the idea of a separate “self’ To divide what is actually a whole system is what creates conflict . There simply is no separate you, there is only relationship. I recommend meditation for dissolving the silly notion of the grand self.

2

I do not know whether everything happens for a reason, but there is always a reason to everything that happens. Even shit happens body discard undigested food. We just need to find the reason.

0

I agree, it is an apathetic thing to say and really cold hearted to say to someone who just lost a loved one.Nothing is certain in this world. The entire universe is conducted by organized chaos. cause and effect. If there were a god who plans out everything, then that god is an evil force and should not be admired, followed, or worshiped.

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