Why Doesn't God Prohibit War?

 

Why Doesn't God Prohibit War?

For those who are interested in pursuing a life beyond the mortal, it will be necessary to come to terms with God. This means knowing Him with a conviction beyond a set of vague beliefs, which often contain a veiled suspicion of retribution for failure to meet His high standards. We would like to be free of this fear of God, which stands as a roadblock on our path to Him. An early step that we can take to eliminate this fear is to answer this question that is so often asked by those who tend to tend to react through emotion rather than through reason: “If God is both all-powerful and all-loving, why does He allow such atrocities as those committed during warfare?”.

The short answer is, “You would not want God to be any other way”. Of course you would like for those acts not to be committed, but you would not want them prevented by God's intervention. Why? Simply because that would take away man's free will. That free will can't be preempted, because it was a necessary part of our creation. God created us as companions, to love Him and to beloved by Him. In order for that love to have any meaning, it must be freely given. True love can't be imposed. Therefore, we have to have the free will to make the decisions that will bring us willingly, eagerly, into the our natural relationship with our Creator. That free will is unlimited, and so includes our freedom to hate our brothers, and to hate God. He can handle it. If we can accept this line of reasoning, it will be one small step back to Him.

There remain many unanswered questions. But for most of us, this quest is gradual, and can proceed only as quickly as the mind can open to unexpected truths.

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