Certain religious groups (some Christians and some Islamic movements see the war in Iran and Middle East conflicts connected to end-time prophecies. Some rhetoric around the Iran conflict has referenced Armageddon and biblical prophecy. It is often that different religious groups interpret the Bible’s prophecies in different ways. The honest answer to the question asked in the title of this Post is that no one can definitively say we are living in the Biblical “end times.” It depends on your interpretation. How we answer this question matters. War decisions are made based on beliefs which lead to many lives lost.

Why is it likely prophecy doesn’t predict the future?

There are two basic views of prophecy in the Bible. That prophecy foretells future events that will happen or that prophecies are conditional. Whether they come true depends on the actions of nations. Prophecies may only be warning about future possibilities. Prophecies that aren’t conditional, on how people respond to God, imply God doesn’t respect the freedom to change. To be free, creatures must choose among possible options, having a say-so in choices. Even the Bible speaks often as if God doesn’t know the future. God hopes Israel would accept God’s guidance, but Israel often turned against God (i.e., Jer. 3:19-20). We don’t have to play mental gymnastics by assuming God is only pretending to not know future decisions.

Believing the world is coming to an end and somehow God is going to rescue you in the sky by a rapture can lead to passivity. We mustn’t wait on God to “fix” things by coming again. We must do all we can for the next generation!

A God who doesn’t knows the future is more relatable

It is natural to think an all-knowing, powerful God has special insights into future outcomes to avoid problems. But God can’t tell you if the person you want to marry won’t end up betraying you or the job you take won’t end up being phased out. A loving human or spiritual parent would warn their child if they knew ahead of time of heartbreaks. God isn’t hiding a “known” future for important decisions. God joins us in an open future.

When the Bible says God grieves with us in our suffering (Psalm 56:8), we can know God agonizes with us each step of the way and deters any suffering possible without violating freedoms or acting controlling. God joins us in our joys and sorrows in real time.

Biblical evidence of the end-times

Many make decisions believing they can usher in the end times. But there are two interpretations. There is some biblical evidence that the end times mentioned refer to what happened in the first century, thus having been fulfilled:

If the Bible teaches God is coming again to destroy the world in the future, why did Jesus tell his audience that supposed predictions about the world ending (maybe not a physical ending) would happen in their lifetime: “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened” (Mt. 24:34)?” Jesus said to his audience when asked about the last days: “watch out that no one deceives you….you will hear of wars and rumors of war (Mt. 24:4-6). Why would Jesus use such language if the world was going to end 2000 years and counting?

Jesus also gave an important warning: “No one knows the day or the hour.” (Matthew 24:36)

Our future 

Shouldn’t believers focus more and more on living faithfully than on trying to predict dates? We must not make war and the loss of lives based on an interpretation of ancient literature. No one can claim their interpretation is correct.

Mike Edwards was added as a writer and has been a great addition to the site. Mike provides many interesting views and various ways of looking at things. He is not afraid to ask questions and he keeps an open mind as to teachings of the institutional church. Mike also has his own site where he writes at What God May Really Be Like

by Michael Donahoe

In today’s world, it seems everyone has the I am number one attitude. We are all interested in what is best for us, what makes us happy, how to be more comfortable and satisfied in our lives. Seems like we will do anything we can to get ahead in life, to get all the comforts and things to make it easier for us.

Yet, in the Bible it says do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.

These verses state that as followers of Jesus we should be doing just the opposite of looking out for number one. Our thoughts and attitudes should be how we can show the love of God to others, what we can do to help those in need, how can we use the money God has blessed us with to help the less fortunate.

God says that the fulfillment of the Law is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind and to love others as yourself. While the good things we have been given and blessed with by God are not wrong, we need to keep in mind that they are not the important part of our lives. We are to be thinking of others and their need for love, acceptance, respect and help. Our way of thought should be how can we encourage and build up someone else, how can we help meet a need in their life.

There is nothing wrong with taking thought of our wants, needs and interests as the verse states do not merely look out for your own interests. Unfortunately, many times our own interests are all that concern us. May we daily ask for God to help us think of others and be ready to care for them in any way possible with God’s leading.

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Michael Donahoe was added as a writer for Done with Religion as his views fit perfectly with those that are shared on this site. He and his wife have been outside the walls of religion for fifteen years. He enjoys writing about his experiences and thoughts, and he wants to encourage others who are going through the religious deconstruction process. He also writes on Substack at https://deconstructiontrail.substack.com/ and https://personalmeanderings.substack.com/

I have always struggled with the bible verse: Ephesians 5:20 explicitly commands believers to give thanks “always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This verse emphasizes that gratitude should be a constant practice, acknowledging God’s goodness in all aspects of life. See other passages reinforcing this instruction:

• 1 Thessalonians 5:18 states, “Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
• 1 Timothy 4:4-5 notes that everything God created is good and nothing is to be rejected if received with thanksgiving.
• Colossians 3:17 instructs that whatever is done in word or deed should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

I have always rejected these verses because  I ain’t thanking God for tragedies such as my brain cancer. I don’t have to assume God is in control of good and EVIL in this life. See  Why did God Allow This Tumor In My Brain – Update Of My Brain Cancer Journey I don’t believe for a second God allowed my brain cancer and not telling me the lesson I am supposed to learn from it. Or others about rape, abuse, murder of a love one, etc.

So, I’ve never got in habit in thanking God for everything as if God controls all events in our life, including the bad, as if God is supposedly in total control despite free will. See God Is Not All-Powerful Or In Total Control!

I have changed 

I have started mentally saying “thank you God” for the good stuff, even though I know God isn’t in total control. Even silly stuff. As you get older, you don’t want to fall. So, now when I trip but don’t splash, I thank God for that. Working in the yard, I forget something from getting up from the ground the porch deck is above my head, but I miss putting a huge knot on my head. I miss a near car crash, though I know God didn’t stop it. I have a lot of good fortunes in my life, but I will spare you. 

End results 

It’s not like God and I have drawn closer than already, but I do enjoy the communication and realizing I can be thankful to God for the good stuff, though God isn’t necessarily in control for either good or bad fortunate. So, I will keep thanking God all the good fortunate, and not thinking God causes or allows my misfortunes. My parents didn’t necessarily cause or intend all the blessings I gained from them, but I can still be thankful to my God and earthly parents.

Mike Edwards was added as a writer and has been a great addition to the site. Mike provides many interesting views and various ways of looking at things. He is not afraid to ask questions and he keeps an open mind as to teachings of the institutional church. Mike also has his own site where he writes at What God May Really Be Like

A 10-year period, or decade, is a major milestone signifying a complete cycle of change, reflecting substantial personal growth, maturity, and long-term commitment.

On this weekend ten years ago, I began sharing my life of faith and what eventually became the unraveling of many things I had been taught or practiced from my earliest memories as a child to that point in my life. I tried to put into words how I could simply no longer accept ideas and practices that had just been handed down to me I had previously willingly not only believed, but also taught, preached, and promoted to indoctrinate and lead others along that path. From 2016 to 2020, I shared my questions and doubts, my fears and remorse, and what became my anger towards a system I could just no longer have faith and believe in. In 2020, and due to that anger, my eyes were opened to the realization I had become just as fanatical and dogmatic against the world I had once been in as I had been for it while a part of it. At that time, oddly enough on the very same weekend which I began in 2016 and which I now sit and share today, I shared what would be my final post until sitting here today. So, what has changed in the last six years? Quite simply . . . life.

Since 2020, I’ve hit the half-century mark, there’s been two high school graduations for our household, one college graduation, we’ve said goodbye to four of the five parents who raised us, I left a job of eight and half of years to return to work with a man I always wanted to work beside once again (however, that was short-lived), and am now in a position I swore I would never be in again managing and leading people. During this time period, I’ve allowed myself to explore many things I once considered taboo or off-limits, and not only have they made me a better husband, father, and man, they’ve allowed me to step deeper into many of the beliefs I was trying to walk away from without having the entanglements of other people’s judgments and forced practices attached to them.

The first change is meditation. Something I was once afraid of as I had always associated it with a sort of spiritual trance and opening oneself up to the spirit world has become a daily practice. I’ve learned that to meditate is simply to stop and breathe and to observe your thoughts without judging them as good or bad, holy or evil. It’s a time to simply allow yourself to just be without the hurried pace of always having to do or rush. It’s calmed my mind and taught me to live in the moment.

The second influence in my life has become mainstream rock music. As shared in previous posts, the churchboy world was one that did not allow secular music and listened only to Christian music. In that world, I always had a bent towards the edgier, aggressive side, but I would always have to be sure the lyrics were uplifting or holy or mentioned God or cited scripture. I’ve since left all those beliefs behind and have found much more freedom and blatant honesty as bands sing about their monsters being real, symptoms of being human, having a reason to fight, and how sometimes darkness can show the light. These are all ideas as a churchboy I would have never openly admitted but when I heard them being sung about, they resonated with what’s inside of me.

The third and final influencing factor in my life since 2020, has become the study of philosophy, specifically Stoicism. At the end of 2022, I entered a bookstore searching for a book I could read on a daily basis that would inspire, motivate, and challenge me but would not be based on scripture or any religious teaching. I stumbled upon The Daily Stoic from Ryan Holiday and since that time have read nearly a dozen additional books on the topic. What I found in Stoicism is that its four core virtues are no different than the life I am seeking to live and, much like the themes I found in rock music, resonated with what I felt internally. These virtues are: Courage, Discipline, Justice, and Wisdom. What better principles could a life be built upon?

So, after not writing for six years, why would I take the time to do so now? I simply wanted to share one definitive final post with the intention of it being the final post. When I put the blog aside previously, I really did not think I would be completely done, but I can honestly say I am now. The past ten years have been quite a journey, and I would not change a thing that has happened during that time, or, I can finally say now, during the life I lived prior as a churchboy. Every event in my life has led me and shaped me to where I am now. The year 2022 was a transformative year in my life. It was the year I said goodbye to mom, the year I left my long-time job to return working with a former employer, the year I left that employer in a shorter time than I anticipated, the year I discovered Stoicism, the year I buried the churchboy as evidenced by the ink I bear on my arm, and the year I discovered a rock band which had been around for nearly twenty years at that point which put into words many of the struggles and thoughts I had myself, Shinedown. It was one of their latest singles, Searchlight, that prompted me to finally sit down and put these final thoughts down.

From the end of the first verse:

No one taught me how to let go, been hangin’ by a thread on a tightrope

And you can’t speak what you don’t know, that’s for sure

To the end of the second verse:

No one taught me how to let go, been hangin’ by a thread on a tightrope

But you can still learn what you don’t know, that’s for sure

Ultimately, to the final lines of the hook:

I know you had a plan, but that’s not who I am

I don’t know where I’ll land, but I don’t need your searchlight to see anymore

I have not abandoned my faith. It’s gotten stronger and the things I believe I can now call mine. I still read The Daily Stoic on a daily basis, along with daily readings from Henri Nouwen, Richard Rohr, Leo Tolstoy, Peter Drucker, and Stephen Covey. I am a better person for the journey I’ve traveled, and my hope is it is seen and experienced by those I’m around and I share life with.

Rocky, ChurchboyNoMore

I think that as followers of Jesus, we should be able to accept and love everyone. No matter what we believe, what our faith or doctrine is, no matter our religion, nationality, sexual preference or color, we want to see each other as Jesus sees us. This is a type of love we cannot do on our own. It is only possible by the love of God within us. We want to love, accept and care for people.

It is only natural that we will not always agree, but we want to look past those areas of disagreement and love each other in godly love. This is the way that others will come to see the love of God, not through condemning and bashing one another. Not in trying to prove we are right and everyone else is wrong. Love does not mean seeing eye-to-eye, it does not mean we agree or even like some of the things people do, but it does mean we look past the differences and love each other as Christ loves us.

No matter if we are gay or straight, black or white, religious or atheist, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Taoist or Jewish or whatever label people put on us, the underlying fact is we are all human beings. We all deserve to be treated with respect and be accepted. Each of us should be able to live our life and make our own choices without being judged and condemned by others. We should be able to discuss our differences respectfully, and none of us should try to force our views and choices on others.

If we could look past the labels and see each other as people who overall want the same things, to be happy, to be loved, be healthy, get our bills paid and enjoy life, I think things would be better even with our differences. This is not to say we are going to agree with everyone, happily associate with everyone and always get along with everyone, that is just not going to happen. There are too many different thoughts, ideas, beliefs, lifestyles and personalities for us to agree on everything and be totally comfortable with everyone, yet accepting each other and respecting each other in spite of our differences certainly is a possibility.

Let’s look past the labels and see each other as human beings who have feelings, who want love and friendship. Let’s be people who can get to know one another, learn from each other, share thoughts and ideas and accept each other as being created in the image of God. God loves the world and we should make it our goal to do the same.

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Michael Donahoe was added as a writer for Done with Religion as his views fit perfectly with those that are shared on this site. He and his wife have been outside the walls of religion for fifteen years. He enjoys writing about his experiences and thoughts, and he wants to encourage others who are going through the religious deconstruction process. He also writes on Substack at https://deconstructiontrail.substack.com/ and https://personalmeanderings.substack.com/

Many rightly wonder if what Christian leaders claim about God is true. Who can blame them when God supposedly created a place such as Hell, to torture forever those who don’t believe in God a short time here on earth. In this Posts I will propose a question, which can paint one’s view of God, and then will provide a link what I have written before about the topic. I try to keep a page length with bold subtitles. It concerns a question about God that I wish people would be willing to discuss about God, so they could draw their own conclusions than what many Christians claim to be true about God.

The Bible/Jesus/God’s message isn’t dropping to your knees to avoid Hell to go to Heaven after death, but start loving now – a path toward great relationships.  God’s main desire is for you to avoid a life full of regrets. See below link:

What Is Main Message About Bible/Jesus That Christians Get Wrong?

Mike Edwards was added as a writer and has been a great addition to the site. Mike provides many interesting views and various ways of looking at things. He is not afraid to ask questions and he keeps an open mind as to teachings of the institutional church. Mike also has his own site where he writes at What God May Really Be Like

I write a lot about this topic as I named my blog over 15 years ago  What God May Really Be Like  So I often revisit what God may really be like. I used the word “May” because I was countering dogmatism growing up in church. Who knows what God is really like unless God talks to you directly? I am claiming that if you are told something about God that goes against universal moral intuitions, question it – such as is a literal Hell real? There are many interpretations of the English word “Hell” in the Bible. Would a loving God really create a torturous afterlife place for unbelievers? Intuitively, the only God worth believing in must be perfectly loving and moral. We can only assume what love is by comparing to perfect human love.

God must be good intuitively! 

Many of us left organized religion, not God, because claims about God’s character was contrary to our deepest moral intuitions. It doesn’t make sense why a Creator wouldn’t love the same way we humans believe we were seemingly created by a Creator to love (aka goodness vs. evil). Even those who try to defend God’s violent ways in the Old Testament agree, or they wouldn’t attempt to rationalize why a supposed inspired/infallible Book by God reports bad actions contributed to God. We can’t always understand what perfect love is – to help a drug addict or let them hit bottom – but even the Bible assume we can understand God’s perfect love/goodness through human lens – “be perfect, as your heavenly God is perfect.” (Mt 5:48).

God can only be understood through “goodness” lens anyway

If God is bad or evil at times, we can only understand such actions by comparing/exploring what is good. If God was supposedly unloving, we can only pursue such knowledge by discussing what true love it. It seems we can only rely on human reasoning to decide what interpretation of the Bible is more likely, what are loving human actions toward others, or understanding what God’s love is like. 

How do we know what “good” is? 

Parents create/have children to be loved and teach how to love others. An existing Creator surely creates desiring to love and be loved. God surely love how we know parents should love their children. We all seem to know the question we ought to ask ourselves – am I loving others perfectly? That is how God loves. We know how we should love and how God loves – are you loving others like you want to be loved? We may not always be certain the most loving action, unless my son or son-in laws mistreat women!  There is a reason anyone who justifies selfishness is often friendless.

Our inborn sense of good and evil, not an ancient Book, tells us sexual abuse or murder is immoral. Self-evident morals aren’t hidden in any Holy Book If one thinks their Creator loves contrary to universal moral intuitions (should infidels be destroyed in this life?), it is because of their interpretation of a supposed inspired Book by their God. When there is debate about laws we must have discussions.

Surely, perfect human love is the same as Godly love

The only God worth believing in must be perfectly loving as opposed to in any way hateful. God’s love surely is the same as supreme parents – other-directed not self-consumed. Love gets excited when we do well and make a difference in the lives of others. Love anticipates, hopes for my success, believes in me, pulls for me even when failing, because I do the same for my children. We doubt God but God still loves. Parents bring children into the world hoping their children freely reciprocate their love for authentic relationships. Why would God be any different.

Why wouldn’t God be most like what our moral intuitions suggest? 

God’s goodness isn’t just according to the Bible!

Ancient literature is subject to interpretation. Even if the writers understood their God perfectly, which we can’t prove, we can’t claim our interpretations are perfect. The truth is biblical scholars who have a deep respect for the Bible don’t agree what God thinks about gays, women, hell, and other moral issues. See here. See here. See here.  Gays are supposedly condemned, women’s leadership roles are limited, despite their gifts and a fiery torturous afterlife awaits infidels – all in God’s name

A Book cannot be the sole determinate of what God is like since the same passages are subject to different interpretations. Also, the majority of people born in this world did not have a copy of the Bible. We are left to wonder how a Perfect God, the only God worth believing in, truly loves. It is only intuitive that a Creator loves the ways their creations ought to love one another. We all seem to know the question we ought to ask ourselves – am I loving others like I want to be loved. It isn’t presumptuous to imagine what a loving God is like through our moral consciences. See here.

 What was Jesus’ thoughts on God’s goodness or love? 

Many, including me, are convinced to understand Jesus is to understand God. It seems Jesus came to suggest salvation is a current life of love, not a future destination to avoid Hell. Jesus told the woman who had committed adultery: “go now, and leave your life of sin” (John 8). Where was Jesus’ evangelical spiel? Jesus was asked by a religious expert how to have eternal life. He simply said to love God and your neighbor (Lk.10:25-37), since loving God leads to loving others. Jesus confronted the religious who kept laws but didn’t follow Jesus with their heart. Godly love surely seeks to empower us to be the unselfish people we deep down desire to be for a better world. See here.

Goodness or Godly love is exactly the same!

The Bible doesn’t always describe God in perfect human moral terms, so may God-believers resort to suggesting God’s actions are sometimes a mystery. Believers assume God must be perfectly good so rationalizations are made, since they assume the entire Bible is approved/inspired by God, They must explain why the Bible reports God acting violently or destructively. See 9 Reasons To Not Trust The Bible’s Claims About God! But a Book can’t be the definitive word about God since subject to different interpretations, and we can’t prove God always controlled what the writers understood and wrote about God.  

How you imagine God’s love can determine how you relate to God

• The truth is we can’t know definitely what an invisible God’s love is like. But the only God worth believing in loves perfectly. What is perfect love?
• I propose we can know what God’s perfect love is like but imagining what a perfect parent’s is like. We can’t always know what perfect love is – whether to let an addict hit bottom or force them into rehabilitation – but only the guilty don’t know sexual abuse or domestic violence is evil.
• If we think God is hard to please and pissed off about sin rather than what sin is doing to us, we may judge others just as harshly rather than showing patience and mercy
• If God is really a warlike God according to the OT, we will use such behaviors to possibly justify going to war when we should
• If God condemns gays, we will condemn gays out of devotion to God
• If God thinks men have authority over women in some positions, that will filter down to your wives, daughters, and friends and stifle their gifts.

I’m convinced belief in a benevolent God, according to common moral intuitions, makes you kinder. We often treat others the way we think God treats us.  How has God’s threats of punishment helped you break away from bad habits or behaviors you long to change? I guess fear God if helps to avoid consequences of destructive actions. But if struggling and need encouragement and mercy, a loving God awaits with open arms. Grace or authoritativeness doesn’t guarantee change, but I believe we best change because of a friend’s or God’s love and acceptance. See It Matters If Your God Is Nurturing Or Authoritative!

Mike Edwards has been writing for Done with Religion for some time and has been a great addition to the site. Mike also writes on his own site that can be found at What God May Really Be Like  He can be contacted by email at: medwar2@gmail.com

When we talk about the Word of God, we usually think of the Bible.

If we say the Bible is just a book, people get all offended and ready to voice their opinion about the Bible being the Word of God.

Actually, I disagree with that thought. Based on John 1:1, the Word of God is Jesus. He is the true, living and inerrant Word of God. The Bible never says it is the Word of God or that it is inerrant.

So often, we Christians focus so much on the Bible that we forget we have the living Word of God inside of us. The Holy Spirit, who is God in spirit form, just as Jesus was God in human form, lives within us.

There is certainly nothing wrong with reading the Bible. Men were inspired to write what they thought about God, what they experienced in their search for God and what they saw as they followed Jesus. Through it we can learn from the past, we see the story of redemption throughout, we come to know the love God has for us and how God provided our salvation through Christ. We learn what pleases God and we come to know that it is only by grace that we are restored to fellowship with God.

The Bible teaches us the law and how we humans are completely unable to live a life pleasing to God through the law. The law was our tutor to bring us to realize that we need God’s grace through Christ.

The Bible teaches us of the freedom we now have in Christ and by that grace we can live a life pleasing to God. We learn that God is a Spirit of love and that God loves the world and wants to fellowship with us.

The part we need to get over is how we like to fight and argue over which version is the correct writings of the Bible. We need to remember that all versions of the Bible are only translations and man-made interpretations of what men thought about God and what they knew about God, yet all was given through inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

We need to focus on Jesus. Only Jesus is the true and living Word of God. When we focus on Jesus and listen for the voice and leading of the Holy Spirit within us, we will then hear and come to understand that the true and living Word of God is Jesus.

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Michael Donahoe was added as a writer for Done with Religion as his views fit perfectly with those that are shared on this site. He and his wife have been outside the walls of religion for fifteen years. He enjoys writing about his experiences and thoughts, and he wants to encourage others who are going through the religious deconstruction process. He also writes on Substack at https://deconstructiontrail.substack.com/ and https://personalmeanderings.substack.com/

Books have been written trying to answer this question. It is a fair question. If an almighty God truly exist and since a non-evil God is the only God worth believing in, why don’t they intervene more in evil. I’ve written a great deal trying to answer why God doesn’t intervene more in suffering and evil if supposedly all-powerful and loving. See here. I am trying to give a brief answer, though this Post is longer than previous ones, to spur thinking on one’s own how they might answer or think about God on this question compared to what they have heard. It matters – one’s attitude toward God can determine the depth of their relationship with God. One of the main reasons many want to believe in God but hesitate is why so much evil exists if a good God is real and all-powerful.

Is God Really All Powerful?

Most who have grown up in the institutional church have been taught that God is all-powerful, thus why doesn’t God, supposedly loving, intervene more with evil in this world? But, how can God be all-powerful and humans have some freedom/power? It makes no sense to say God can exert all power and creatures can exert some power. Even the Bible doesn’t claim God is all-powerful and can do anything. God can’t tempt others (Jas. 1:13). God can’t lie or be unloving. God can’t make one believe or freedom would be a farce. Maybe God can’t be all-powerful. Thus controlling!

God can’t be controlling! 

If God is supposedly perfectly loving, adult children know perfect love can’t be controlling. This may explain why God can’t intervene in suffering. This may be an unsatisfactory explanation to many – but better than some rationalizations given below. A parent may think they know best for their adult child, but acting controlling in a child’s life could make them even more rebellious. Besides, controlling love is an oxymoron. Even the Bible claims love does not insist on its own way (I Cor 13:5). Instead, God works with creation through influence. In this view, God suffers with the world and works to heal it, but can’t unilaterally prevent all suffering. See A Loving God Can’t Be All-Powerful!

Don’t miracles prove God is all-powerful?

But how can God do miraculous things – against natural laws such as bringing Jesus back from the dead – and not be all-powerful. One cannot deny Craig Keener’s scholarship on miracles as reliable reports exists all over the world of physical/literal miracles. I am not going to try to convince you to believe in miracles or not. But it is important to consider if miracles are possible because it can shape our views of God and God’s love. Most of us have asked God for a miracle in our life, even unbelievers. Most would admit the answer usually has been “no.” I am defining a miracle as something supernatural such as a malignant tumor disappearing in one’s body without any possible medical explanation, or walking on water. Most miracles prayed for seem to defy natural laws. .

I doubt miracles don’t happen because some people are less sinful or beg better at the feet of an arbitrary God? A possible better explanation for healings is that various biological and environmental factors are involved such as cells and organs. It may not be a stretch to say God has to account for human and natural freedom as well. Perhaps miracles can happen when God’s love aligns with countless factors known and not known. God cannot intervene singlehandedly, but a loving God always wants to intervene whenever circumstances will allow.

Many believe in miracles because the Bible says so. It is possible that many miracles in the Bible weren’t meant to be taken literally but to illustrate God’s love for righteousness than actual events. Thus, the writer isn’t lying.  Genesis talks about a magical tree of good and evil and talking snakes. No such trees and snakes exist. A Global Flood could be a literary device to illustrate the destructiveness of human versus God’s ways. The same for the parting of the Red Sea. Maybe Jonah wasn’t really shallowed by a whale. The gullet of a whale is too small to swallow an adult. Was the writer trying to show God has a right to show compassion and Jonah’s misguided enthusiasm for the destruction of his enemies? See here others explanations miracles not being literal such as feeding the 5000.

But the Bible can’t be the definitive word on God 

I often don’t refer to the Bible because the Bible or any ancient literature is subject to interpretation. Maybe I am right or wrong on my understanding. Scholars don’t agree on interpretations of many biblical passages. And we are free to speculate if God agrees what all the writers penned about God, even if we agree on the meaning of the passage.

Most Bible-quoting folks believe we are made in the image of God. If a Creator exists, perhaps that Creator informs their image-bearers – you and me – through their moral intuitions how we ought to love others. Humans are free to speculate what a God’s love is like. Such a God should love how humans love. I am convinced God is always seeking to intervene when possible, as I am as a parent. We don’t have to assume God can answer our prayers but doesn’t for some unknown reason. We can wonder why a loving God doesn’t always intervene. Maybe God can’t! Surely, God suffers with us but the unfortunate truth in a free world is suffering happens and God can only influence and not overpower. 

Freedom can explain some evil but not all evil

It is not logically possible for God to create freedom unless there is the possibility of love or hate.  I don’t know of any human parent who brings children into the world not desiring their children freely reciprocate their love as opposed to being forced. Without freedom we could accuse God of not creating the very best world where only true, authentic relationships can develop. Freedom allows human to develop qualities of moral character that cannot be created initially.  Freedom obviously cannot guarantee a pain free universe.

Not “all things lead to good, even horrific evils.” Is God really in total control?

Others come to see suffering not as something caused by God, but as something used/allowed by God because God is supposedly all-powerful. That view may work for some, but I believe many hold onto this view because convinced God must be all-powerful. The Bible is quoted which implies God allows evil for good. Genesis 50:20 is quoted: “Joseph, reflecting on his brothers’ betrayal in selling him into slavery, says: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

This suggests to many that God is always in control, even though bad things happen. It simply is not true all evil leads to good, as if God in complete control. Ask victims of rape or abuse. We must ask why doesn’t God stop such evil if all-powerful? Some abuse often leads to a lifestyle of abusing others or hating God. It isn’t always true that all suffering helps develop virtues like courage, compassion, and resilience. This may be true for some but not all.

It is natural to ask, “If God could stop this (by allowing), why didn’t He? Many feel betrayed or abandoned by God. Some find it hard to pray. This reaction isn’t a lack of faith — it’s an honest human response to suffering. Feeling angry with God can be part of a genuine relationship — it means you still believe. God can be questioned! If we maintain that God allowed – thus limits their Power – this suggests God can do something but doesn’t. We must come up with a better explanation that God simply allows – thus controls – evils but isn’t responsible for such evils. A God who can prevent evil but doesn’t is counter-intuitive to love. No loving parent or God sits idly by when they could prevent tragedies such as rape or murder. What loving parent acts that way. We are left to believe God doesn’t care, God is punishing us, or God has abandoned us and left us.

 Explanation that God and evil being a mystery doesn’t suffice either

Some argue that God’s reasons are beyond human understanding — that we can’t see the full picture from our limited perspective (as in the Book of Job). It makes no sense if God is seeking a relationship, why would God be mostly mysterious. When my child is seeking to understand, I don’t simply tell them “you can’t understand. Just deal with it.” It is true we can’t understand God fully, but God’s spiel when seeking to understand isn’t “go away, figure it out.”

What may be a start to a solution

Please know there are alternative views of God if currently struggling what claims you have heard. Accepting God is not all-powerful has helped me deal with brain cancer. See Why Did God Allow This Cancerous Tumor In My Brain?

No, God doesn’t plan or control tragedies in your life

• God doesn’t plan for you to be unable to have children if you desire to be a mom or dad
• God doesn’t plan for your body to be wrecked by cancer
• God didn’t want you sexually or physically abused as a child
• God didn’t want your partner to leave you by wanting a divorce
• God didn’t want your loved one murdered or severely injured in a car accident
• God didn’t want you let go from your job

In our suffering we don’t have to feel God doesn’t care or that God could do something and doesn’t. God knows and empathizes with us in our suffering. God grieves with us. God can empower, inspire, and accompany us. God can influence us to follow Jesus’ example which can make for a much grander world. God doesn’t derive pleasure by seeing us in pain but the unfortunate truth in a free, uncontrollable world is that God’s power it limited and suffering happens. Lean on God and others for emotional support and encouragement in difficult times.

Mike Edwards was added as a writer and has been a great addition to the site. Mike provides many interesting views and various ways of looking at things. He is not afraid to ask questions and he keeps an open mind as to teachings of the institutional church. Mike also has his own site where he writes at What God May Really Be Like

This is the first time I am responding to the below post written 6/22/25 when a tumor was found in my brain. See update after initial Post below. I still have brain cancer. The tumor was removed but I still get brain scans that the tumor is not back growing. I am done with radiation and chemo treatment for the next 6 months but who knows after that. For some reason the initial diagnosis of the MRI that you have a tumor in your head didn’t freak me out. I just went in death-mode preparation. I don’t have scan freak-outs that I get every 2-3 months (maybe because I take a zanax), but I am too aware that brain cancer could come back and decisions will have to be made. I don’t know if I want to go through chemo again or whatever.

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Long story short  6/22/25

On April 15, 2025 my tennis partner, who is a Doctor, sensed I was off. (More than usual). I typically walk home after the match, but he insisted in driving me home and that I see my regular Doctor. I am so thankful for his urging. I saw my Doctor a day or two later and an MRI was scheduled. Within hours I got a call that I had a tumor in my brain. I had very few symptoms before except minor headaches that I thought nothing of. I was ready to play a third set of tennis that day but my buddies said no. Guess I was acting off/weird. Within days of the MRI, I was scheduled for brain surgery to remove the tumor (April 21). I spent those few days preparing my family, not knowing if I would make it out of the surgery alive or have motor skills severely damaged. Things went very well in terms of the tumor being removed (cancer still remains), The tumor was a severe cancer type.  So, I begin chemo/radiation treatment shortly after for 6 weeks. I’m in my last week of 6 weeks of treatment.

No, God didn’t CAUSE my tumor! 

I hope no one thinks God caused this tumor to teach me a lesson for my sins. I ain’t no saint but I’m kinder than most folks. I have friends who will verify. I know some selfish/evil people that are cancer free. I refuse to believe a loving God using tragedies to punish or teach one a lesson and we remain clueless reasons for such actions. Besides, that assumes God is simply pulling strings to control events in the world. Did God cause this for a greater good. I doubt it. God can’t control how I will react to a tragedy in my life. I could be pissed at God and no good comes of it. Some claim all evil eventually leads to good as if some grand plan by God. Not my God! Ask sexual abuse victims or family members of murdered loved ones if good always comes out of evil.

Or it is claimed we sinners have no right to question a Holy God. I have a God I can doubt, question, get angry with, whatever. That is what a loving parent/God is like. How do I know this? I have been a child of a parent and a parent of children. Why would a Creator create us to have intuitions of what true love is (allowing a child to question) but not be loving themself?

See Does God Really Punish Or We Just Reap What We Sow? Assuming God is in control of punishment makes a mockery of freedom. It is an oxymoron to claim God is in complete control and we humans have freedom. If God does actively punish and carry out wrath, God is letting a whole lot of evil in the world slide. God doesn’t love more those spared than those supposedly punished.

Does God Really Allow Cancer?

It is claimed a mystery how God can allow evil but not be evil. Humans don’t get a free pass if they can stop evil but don’t. Ask sexual abuse victims when their parent knew and did nothing. One might ask why God allows such harm if supposedly all-powerful. Thinking God is all-powerful (thus all-controlling) assumes God can pull strings to make certain things happen (allow). So much for genuine freedom?  See God Can’t Stop Your Suffering And Evil!

Thankfully, I don’t entertain such a view of God which has helped having a positive view during all this, though I have many miles to travel in my journey. My silent friend (God), along with family and friends have been a life-saver. You have a lot of internal conversations when waiting for brain surgery or going through cancer. When one believes “God allows” your mind can wander. Why me and not others (is God’s love arbitrary – if God can supposedly control everything), what lesson is God trying to teach me. I never had to go there. I am convinced God isn’t all-powerful.

If we maintain that God limits their Power, this suggests God can do something but doesn’t. We must come up with a better explanation that God simply allows – thus controls – evils but isn’t responsible for such evils. A God who can prevent evil but doesn’t is counter-intuitive to love. No loving parent or God sits idly by when they could prevent tragedies such as rape or murder. Are we to believe God doesn’t care, God is punishing us, or God has abandoned us and left us clueless about the grand plan? God doesn’t just allow your suffering!

God may not be all powerful 

It is only natural to believe a Supreme Being, if they exist, is all powerful. Most Christians believe this because of their understanding of the Bible taught in churches they attend but questions arise if God is all-powerful. If God can control everything, why doesn’t God intervene more in medical emergencies, rape, physical abuse, etc. A miracle supposedly saved Trump but not the gentlemen in the front row. I doubt it. God doesn’t pick and choose when to cause or allow suffering.

God can’t be all-powerful if all-loving. Perfect love isn’t controlling. Ask any adult child with a controlling parent. Thomas Oord in his new book defends ably that the Bible doesn’t necessarily claim God is all-powerful and can do anything. See here. God can’t tempt others (Jas. 1:13). It makes no sense to say God can exert all power and creatures can exert some power. I have never understood why God doesn’t stop evil if God can do anything.  If “everything happens for a reason” because of God, this would make God responsible for all goodness and all evil. It is claimed a mystery how God can cause or allow evil but not be evil. This isn’t true for humans. Some claim all evil eventually leads to good as if some grand plan by God. Hardly!

What about prayer and miracles? 

Many prayers asking for healing are obviously not answered. Are miracles arbitrary – God picking and choosing to bless some and not others? Conditions in our body may not always be right. Various biological and environmental factors are involved such as cells, organs, etc. If God wouldn’t take away your human freedom, it may not be a stretch to say God has to account for natural freedom as well. Miracles can happen when God’s uncontrolling love aligns with countless factors known and not known. God surely intervenes when circumstances will allow. Pray if you like, but God is already working to do all God can to prevent suffering. That’s what perfect Love does! See  Why God Doesn’t Answer My Prayers?

I am convinced God is always seeking to intervene when possible.  Pray for miracles, but don’t assume God can answer our prayers but doesn’t for some unknown reason. God suffers with us, but the unfortunate truth in a free world is suffering happens, though God is dying to help. We can pray but be more understanding when God can’t answer our prayers. Pray to God for emotional support and encouragement in difficult times. My silent Friend has gotten me through some difficult times when my brain begins to wander.

Did God really choose the Holocaust by not responding, including senseless suffering to children in the world?

Do you read the Bible Edwards?

I believe we should assume the Bible isn’t inspired by God. We can’t prove the Bible is or isn’t inspired by God. Besides, the Bible is literature that requires interpretation and we don’t all agree on the correct interpretation even concerning moral issues such as if God condemns gays or not. Many assume inspiration means God approved or controlled all recorded by the writers, especially characterizations of God. Many don’t think of inspiration as meaning that God encouraged or motivated writers/editors to record their understanding of God, thus possible being right or wrong.

See here all my rants on the Bible and why we need to rethink our understanding of the Bible.

So, what good is God? 

The only God worth believing in or having a relationship with must be a perfect Lover. God can’t be all-powerful or controlling and be true to God’s nature. Thomas Jay Oord in his books says that so many positive elements can come from affirming a universal, divine Lover. Such a Spirit empowers, inspires, and accompanies us in our relationships with others. God knows and empathizes with us in our suffering. This is what I have experienced. God obviously grieves due to all the evil in the world. God suffered when Jesus was crucified. God suggested through Jesus’ example and words what kind of life lived here on earth can make for a much grander world. My relationship with God, though a silent friend, has carried me so far.

My future 

I thought initially that surgery and removing the tumor out of my brain was my greatest danger, when discovered I had a tumor. Thus, why I tried to prepare the family and get financial house in order, as I thought I might not be back. Turns out most don’t die on the surgery table. Motor and physical skills can be damaged, which I didn’t realize as much, but I had a great surgeon. I was only in hospital two days after brain surgery, had brain fog for a week (you had to have 5 PHDs to understand my texts), but I felt pretty good after a week. It does help to be retired.  I began radiation and chemo therapy for 6 weeks. So far, no nausea, I can handle the tiredness because I was very active before tumor. I get tired – I get moving. Sitting makes me more tired. My stamina affected but I can change some of my habits to hopefully see my grandchildren become teenagers. I am a cool POPS. I didn’t have a relationship with my grandparents, so I want to get it right as I did as a parent when I had children.

I am walking on the average 2-3 miles a day. Playing tennis two days a week. But, 5 weeks of great fortune with treatment doesn’t guarantee the next week of treatment and thereafter. And it takes some weeks after treatment to recover from tiredness, etc. So the journey ain’t over! I will have an MRI August 6^th, a month after treatment to see how much treatment was successful with the cancer. Even if very successful I may be prone to seizers and other medical matters down the road. I could live a year but some with my type of cancer live 10 years or more. We will see. Thank God for God, family, and my friends. Peace!

February 25, 2026 – Update of my brain cancer journey

I have mainly written this journey to hopefully help some suffering and disappointed with God. What we have been told about God may not always be true. This is the first time I am responding to the above post written 6/22/25 when a tumor was found in my brain. I still have brain cancer. The tumor was removed but I still get brain scans every 2-3 months that the tumor is not back growing. I am done with radiation and chemo treatment for the next 6 months but who knows after that. For some reason the initial diagnosis of the MRI that you have a tumor in your head didn’t freak me out. I don’t have scan freak-outs (maybe because I take a zanax), but I am too aware that brain cancer could come back and what decisions have to be made. I don’t know if I want to go through chemo again or whatever.

Spiritually speaking, I know God didn’t cause or allow this. See above. God and I are good thanks goodness. God has been my biggest comfort through this journey as well as my amazing partner Janet. And I have amazing kids, I can talk and share with God with all my thoughts without feeling that God doesn’t care by allowing/cause my cancer. I happen to believe God is the perfect lover. I am free to speculate what that means. Basically – how I should love others like I want to be loved. How I wish to be loved and know how I should love others is how God loves!

Future fears – honestly, this second leg of my journey has been more challenging. I have had a few setbacks but not like having head split open and possibly coming back brain damaged. I got a skin disorder (bullous pemphigold) and a mild case of shingles from treatment. Going through infusion treatment. I got a low blood count making me susceptible to infections but good to go. I gained weight and knees hurt, but still walking for recovering. Tennis by choice has taken a back seat.

If you sit down and talk to me and ask questions, I may be even more open. I am not sure I will handle this second journey better than the first. I am told I have been a good patient with the initial news -fake it till you make it!  I’ve been told it helped being so active and healthy. What may not be so visible is my understanding of God and my amazing wife and children.

But we will see what the future holds. I know God, Janet, and kids will be there for me.

Mike Edwards was added as a writer and has been a great addition to the site. Mike provides many interesting views and various ways of looking at things. He is not afraid to ask questions and he keeps an open mind as to teachings of the institutional church. Mike also has his own site where he writes at What God May Really Be Like