Why Does a Good and Powerful God Allow Terrible Calamities?

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Theologians say that God is omniscient (all-knowing), omnipotent (all-powerful), and omnipresent (present everywhere simultaneously). With these unequaled superlative qualities, there is absolutely no reason why we humans should ever suffer even a single accident, death, or calamity!

But when we look into our present world and consider the history of humanity, we find a litany of events well beyond human control such as earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, lightning strikes, hurricanes, tornadoes, typhoons — and even massive meteor strikes (believed to have caused the sudden annihilation of all plant and animal life before the creation of Adam and Eve).

Where is that good, loving, and powerful God in all these? Where is that God described by the theologians? Clearly, the preponderance of evidence clearly shows, to our dismay, that such type of God seems not to have manifested Himself thus far. All we see is a very disturbing and ironic contradiction.

So, what is the true and biblical answer to this sadly failed expectation?

Adding insult to injury

Some humans not only deny the existence of a good, loving, and powerful God, but when a great calamity strikes, they attribute it to an “act of God”!

An “act of God” is usually defined as a legal term for events outside human control, such as sudden floods or other natural disasters, for which no one can be held responsible. In the law of contracts, an act of God may be interpreted as an implied defense (against liabilities) under the rule of impossibility or impracticability, being unforeseen and unavoidable.

Important logical questions:

If God is loving, why is there a lack of love and much hate and crime?
If God is merciful, why is there cruelty and little mercy on this earth?
If God is just, why is there injustice and very little fairness and equity?
If God is kind, why is there unkindness, bitterness and murders?
If God is good, why is there so much evil in this world?
If God is all-knowing, why does He not see calamities in advance?
If God is everywhere, why is He somehow absent during calamities?
If God is all-powerful, why can He not stop or change evil to good?

Bold articulation of some freethinkers

Considering the dogmatic statements of popular Christianity versus the evidences and reality of facts to the contrary, some philosophers have distanced themselves from popular dogmatic religions and declared themselves as “freethinkers.”

Among the noted ones and their writings were:

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970, British philosopher)
- “Why I Am Not a Christian”
- “Has Religion Made Useful Contributions to Civilization?”
- “Can Religion Cure Our Troubles?
Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899, American lawyer)
- “Some Reasons Why I Am a Freethinker”
- “The Gods”
D. M. Bennett (1818-1882, American publisher of “Truth Seeker”)
- “An Open Letter to Jesus Christ”

Among them are many other individuals who are agnostics and atheists.

Some fundamental questions:

Why do humans blame the Creator God for such calamities and disasters?
Are these calamities and tragedies really caused by the true Creator God?
If there is a good, loving, and powerful God, why is there so much evil?

Who is the real present “God” of this world?

Most will be surprised to know that all this confusion and seemingly unanswerable questions lies on the simple fact of “mistaken identity.”

The Bible reveals that Satan is the “god” of this world!

We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway [or control (NIV, NLT) or power (ESV, NAU)] of the wicked one.
~1 John 5:19

[NOTE: That “wicked one” referred to here is Satan. The Bible says he controls this whole world.]

Notice also this next biblical passage.

When Christ was here on earth, prior to the start of His ministry, Satan tempted Him and offered Him the whole world in the third and last of his three attempts.

The very fact that Christ did not refute Satan’s claim to ownership clearly showed that Satan really has been given full control of this world.

The only condition Satan asked of Jesus Christ was for Him to bow down before him. Of course, Christ refused and rebuked and drove off Satan instead.

Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”
~Matthew 4:8-9 (see also Luke 4:5-7)

[NOTE: These verses show that all the kingdoms of this world belong to Satan, and that he has the power to give it to whom he wants. Please read Luke 4:6.]

Notice also Christ’s surprising statement to Pilate:

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”
~John 18:36

[NOTE: Even when Jesus Christ (the very Son of God) was on this earth, He still said: “My kingdom is not of this world.”]

The Bible reveals that Satan deceives and controls this world

So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels [the demons] were cast out with him.
~Revelation 12:9

[NOTE: Satan is the great deceiver of this whole world.]

In whom the god of this world [or “age” (NKJ)] hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
~2 Corinthians 4:4, KJV

[NOTE: Satan is indeed the present god of this world who spiritually blinds people from understanding the true gospel message.]

… Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.
~Revelation 12:12

[NOTE: Satan intensifies his evil activities against humanity as we come closer to the end time.]

Notice that Satan also has power and control of the air

… in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.
~Ephesians 2:2

Satan can also control wind turbulence: hurricanes, tornadoes, typhoons. The next verse shows Satan exercising that same power in the Book of Job.

On that eventful day, one of Job’s servants who escaped death in one of the calamities came to him and said:

…Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead…
~Job 1:18-19

[NOTE: This is one biblical proof that Satan has power to produce and control wind power to destroy and kill.]

On 2 occasions, when Christ was on earth, He showed He had greater power over Satan’s control of the wind and sea

Since Christ had greater power and authority than Satan, He was able to command both wind and waves to be still, and Satan obeyed (Mark 4:39-41).

[NOTE: While some would argue that weather is purely the interplay of scientific variables such as temperature, moisture, wind velocity, and barometric pressure, there is also a hidden spiritual dimension in certain specific cases.]

A second incident is when Christ walked on water, despite the howling wind and big waves. When Peter asked to do likewise, Christ encouraged him. When Christ and Peter got into the boat, the wind ceased and the sea became still (Matthew 14:22-33)!

The contrast between Christ and Satan

[Christ said:] “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.”
~John 10:10-11

[NOTE: Satan’s objectives as the thief are to steal, kill, and destroy.]

Satan’s rule on Earth started when Adam and Eve obeyed him

Most humans don’t know what happened at the start of human civilization.
This is the story of Adam and Eve’s encounter with Satan (Genesis 3:1-6).
The symbolic meaning of the “Tree of Life” means obedience to God alone.
The symbolic meaning of the “Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil” means mankind has taken upon themselves the prerogative to decide what is “good and evil” for them.

Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
~Genesis 3:1-6

The biblical description of Satan’s rule on this earth

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age [of Satan’s rule], according to the will of our God and Father…
~Galatians 1:3-4

We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway [power and control] of the wicked one [Satan].
~1 John 5:19

You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.
~John 8:44

The SOLUTION to the PROBLEMS of this world

Replacing Satan as ruler of this present world
Removing the spiritual blindness Satan has cast upon humanity worldwide

Satan will be replaced as the present ruler of this world

… and that He [the Father] may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.
~Acts 3:20-21

Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”
~Revelation 11:15

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished…
~Revelation 20:1-3

Man’s spiritual blindness caused by Satan will be removed

And He [God] will destroy on this mountain [government] the surface of the covering [spiritual blindness] cast over all people, and the veil [deception] that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces; the rebuke [curse] of His people He will take away from all the earth; for the LORD has spoken.
~Isaiah 25:7-8

Calamities and sufferings of mankind will come to an end!

Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle [dwelling place] of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
~Revelation 21:1-4

[NOTE: There shall be no more tragedies nor calamities.]

Summary and conclusion

The present “god of this world” is Satan himself!
The calamities and destruction in this world are actually caused by Satan!
Such calamities and destruction are not the “acts of [the true] God.”
Attributing Satan’s evil deeds to the true God is another satanic deception!
Satan will eventually be bound, and will have no more access to humans.

The spiritual blindness foisted by Satan upon all humanity will be removed. Christ will be sent back by God the Father to intervene and rule over all mankind. Then, all calamities, tragedies, and sufferings will come to an end!

May God speed that day!