Tragic Events and God

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses that although God granted mankind free will, terrible atrocities still occur and poses the question, "How can God let this happen?" The paper contends that God doesn't let atrocities happen, but mankind does, and then goes on to explain why this is so.

Outline:
Introduction
The Answer to the Question

From the Paper:

"It is the evil that builds in the hearts of men and gives rise to atrocities like the World War II holocaust, ethnic cleansing in Bosnia-Herzgovina, genocide in Rwanda and, now, the ongoing genocide in the Darfur region of the Sudan. The Biblical and Q'uranic personage most commonly attributed with the level of evil associated with these kinds of atrocities is the Devil, Satan, the "adversary," of God; although the Christian and Muslim interpretations of "the adversary" are starkly different (Dictionary of Theology and Religious Studies, 2008, p.). Still, how is it otherwise explained when history or, more importantly, current times are revealed that shed light on such atrocities, or even acts of tragic natural disaster, such as a tsunami, other than to attribute it to the one entity that has the power to challenge God's grace, which is the devil? How is it that God, who is the all powerful force in the universe, can be out maneuvered or be challenged by the devil such that it results in the loss of human life on a massive scale? In other words: How can God let this happen?"

Sample of Sources Used:

• Dictionary of Theology and Religious Studies?
• Power, Samantha. "Bystanders to Genocide: Why the United States Let the Rwandan Tragedy Happen." The Atlantic Monthly Sept. 2001: 84-108. Questia. 26 Feb. 2008 <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5002381507>.
• Rickaby, Joseph. Free Will and Four English Philosophers: Hobbes, Locke, Hume and Mill. London: Burns and Oates, 1906. Questia. 26 Feb. 2008 <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5865370>.

More papers on Tragic Events and God:

• Analytical Essay # 67649 : "Faith, Reason and the Plague in Seventeenth-Century Tuscany"
• Analytical Essay # 9253 : "Antigone"
• Analytical Essay # 50168 : "Oedipus"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: