Blitzer tells atheist tornado survivor:"You gotta thank the Lord"
I didn't neg you, but if you think people dying due to a massive tornado plowing into their homes is equivalent to "patting someone's butt" or "tough love," then I truly feel sorry for you :jpshakehead:.
Really this is what you recieved from that post? Where in the post did I say that this tragedy where people died was because of "tough love" or "patting someones butt". The terminology I used was literally to explain this theological theory to as many people as possible. In no way do I not mourn for those people and think about their suffering. If you want to make assumptions based off of me on cherry picking a sentence, than I forgive you.
Just so there are no more mistaken connection I will clarrify my opinions. People thinking that a tornado is evil are mistaken. It is a natural occurance one that happens periodically. Even atheists can agree to this, which is why the Irenaean theodicy is a great point.
What is Evil that people assume?
A.) The awful things people do. B.) The awful things that occur like natural events etc.
We already know A.) is defined by free will which leaves us with B.)
B.) can be explained by using John Hick's theological principle. So I am not mistaken I will just quote it from the wikipedia site so people don't assume I am Hitler.
"A simplification of this view states that suffering exists as a means of spiritual development. In other words, God allows suffering so that human souls might grow or develop towards maturation. For Hick, God is ultimately responsible for pain and suffering, but such things are not truly bad. Perhaps with a greater degree of perception, one can see that the "evil" we experience through suffering is not ultimately evil but good, as such is used to "make our souls" better"