It is the only way to wrap their heads around something when they believe god controls everything, especially when they keep telling you how loving he is. I am so very sorry for your loss and no There is no explanation for this type of thing. My daughter has been through 2 different cancer battles but is so lucky because she made it through. For her this experience was what made her an Atheist

They don't really believe that! They only use it as an excuse for inexplicable problems in life. That way...they still get to appear ''trusting in the lord.''

"Why do people think. . . "

Error.

Your question should be "Why do theists (a subset of people) think. . . " Those I respect are not theists and do not consider terrible outcomes a part of "god's plan"

The theist's "God's plan" apology when terrible things happen to good people is to classic example religious doublethink.

To support their faith (belief without evidence) based claim "a god exists", the Christian apologist by definition must employ a litany of such irrational justifications in an attempt to "support the unsupportable".

So the "God's plan" is just another outcome of faith. (belief without evidence often defended against testable facts that contradict the faith based claim).

my condolences. she must have been very young. 'god's plan' is a bunch of BULLSHIT!! also when ppl say that you can take comfort in knowing that it's in god's hands is BULLSHIT!! i take no comfort when bad things happen to good people. my mother died of cancer and my dad died a year later with an aneurysm (97' and 98'... that's about when i started to stop believing in bullshit. i do visit them in my dreams though. i know it's not really them but while i'm dreaming it's nice. i'm in the same work that my dad was in (he was and i am a land surveyor)... in my dreams i sometimes wonder why we aren't working together....then i wake up.

Do they follow up with that insipid corrollary, "that which doesn't kill us makes us stronger?"
Thanks, asshat but I was strong enough already.

Sorry for your loss. I agree. The same thought goes for pediatric cancer. How can it be part of a plan for children to die??? Or any terminal illness? I was sexually molested by two men when I was 10 years old. It infuriates me when I hear shit like it’s part of the plan or god allows things because people can handle it.

Because they want a reason for their suffering. I know I sure as hell wish my suffering was part of some bigger plan to make it worth it but noooo it's just bad luck

It's not even in the Bible. Jesus told everyone healed during his ministry that THEIR faith healed them.

In Mark 11:23 Jesus said that anyone and anyTHING (the Greek pronoun includes all declensions) that tells a mountain to throw itself into the sea and believes it (the Greek word includes both conscious and subconscious levels) that the mountain must obey them.

No mention of a mountain being thrown into the sea, and no doubt causing tsunamis, being something good, or even "god's will" - just the idea being emphasized that you are creating your own reality.

“Consciousness is fundamental and matter is derived from consciousness." – Max Planck, theoretical physicist who originated quantum theory, 1918 Nobel Prize in Physics

Because it's easier than having to actually think.

Ask them why babies are born addicted to crack. Ask them why young children are raped. Ask them why God planned for a man to throw acid in a woman’s face because she looked at a guy.

God’s Plan is a bullshit excuse to describe away horrible things that Christians can’t explain rationally. Also, if you want to throw them for a loop, ask them if they believe in luck. If they answer yes, that just furthers their hypocrisy. If they do, that’s saying that God doesn’t have a plan. Luck is a force that can alter the outcome of an event. If God has a plan, then everything is already predetermined. Free Will doesn’t really exist if God’s Plan does. Because no matter what we do or what happens, God planned for it to happen.

An ignorant inane, thoughtless response

It allows them to feel guilt free for not having done a damn thing to head it off...

Because they are sent right from "gawd" (he/she/it is a complete bastard)...and woe to you blasphemers who plead for him to rescind the sentence!

The pain that you feel, the outrage? The sorrow, despair, sadness, depression, anger...

Yeah a lot of people aren't strong enough to bear it alone. They need to beleive in a fairytale to make it all better. They didn't lose a loved one - they're with an all knowing, all loving Deity that just couldn't wait to hang out with them.

Fucking childish if you ask me. Reality is pain. Embrace it.

God has terrible plans. Is it his plan to starve millions of children worldwide? I sometimes tell christians that if there is a god he is a sadistic cruel entity.

There is no god and therefore no plan. When people say that is part of gods plan what they are really saying is I can not except reality and the fact that life is full of the good and the bad, the bliss and the pain! It is a weak mentality that usually leads to following blindly into christian cult activity.

I do believe it is a way to stay positive and not become devastated and become overwhelmed when bad things happen. It gives people a reason to move forward. My view is; bad stuff happens and it's a good time to reflect make changes when needed and move forward. As far as death and illness is concerned; it's a good time to remember the good times and forget the bad and treasure the memories of the ones you've lost and fill your life with others that will fill in until the pain of that loss subsides.

I think it is in keeping with religion's lack of ability to explain phenomena - blame or attribute it to their god... Of course, if someone were to make that type of insensitive comment to me I would be sorely tempted to stating my amazement that anyone could worship an entity so sadistic. What plan could possibly explain cancer and an early, painful death??

Such people have created a false construct, which they use to get through life - because they're mentally weak.

They view themselves as being exempt from all the bad things that can happen in life, because they are deluded.

They remind me of the people who like violent drama. The type who watch slasher films or who read crime fiction about serial killers. They enjoy it, but they never think that they could become a victim of violent crime themselves. They're special. Those things only happen to other people.

This could be extended to politics. Some working class people might vote for republicans or for a party that traditionally serves the rich. They are exempt.

I wonder if there's a narcissistic component.

This sort of schizophrenic pronouncement that god is good and merciful and kind and protective and fatherly, while at the same time having Mysterious Ways that involve baroque and tragic human suffering, is something you're never going to get them to explain because there IS no explanation for it.

Most people like to think someone is in charge. It gives them some sort of comfort and takes the responsibility for their lives off of themselves.

Because it's the easiest way for people to explain the world around them.

Because they cannot deal with the thought that the world isn't just and fair in some manner, and their inability to change that. If they think that there's an afterlife where someone that got a raw deal here will get ten times as many good deals gifted to them, then the world doesn't seem so bad and they can continue on with the least change to the way they normally do things.

Thoughts and prayers are so much easier than making a sizable donation to cancer research or to getting a medical degree and working on a cure.

Of course, it's also outside of their thought processes to consider what effect their "god's plan" comment will have on someone that doesn't read from the same book of fiction they do. Or perhaps they did think of that, and feel that it is deserved for not believing. Any god that tortures people with diseases like that certainly doesn't deserve respect (as in admiration, as opposed to how you'd respect a . 45 pointed at your head), much less worship.

For the same reason that, had she survived after extended medical treatment, new developments in cancer treatment brought about by decades of human research, they would have called it a miracle from God. Forget about the science, the dedicated scientists and the willpower of the ill person to persevere and their personal strength. Religious people kind of make me sick!

I really detest it when people say, it was gods will, or it must have been their time. What a crock. Talk about passing the buck