This is a question I've been wondering about for a while!

Who is to blame when bad things happen? Who is to be congratulated when good things happen?

A common trend I have seen in life is that people will congratulate themselves for anything good that happens (especially those who have no real interest in serving or believing in a particular "god" - they may not be Atheist, just Agnostic or just don't care even). They congratulate themselves for jobs well done, for work they've done, for things they've beein given. However, when bad things happen, they turn around and blame God. Why is God doing this to me? How could a loving creator do this?

These same people who congratulate themselves for the good and blame God for the bad. See the contradiction? In my opinion, the answer for both questions should be the same. Either it's God, or it's humanity.

Most of the time, I'm going to guess that people don't actually believe God had anything to do with the bad, but in order to lay blame somewhere they lash out at a convenient scapegoat - and what could be more convenient than a God who supposedly controls the world.

Is it that simple? Is it a coping mechanism to try and blame someone else when things go wrong? What do you think?

Regards, PA

You know, I think you have a very good point here. And what you said is very true and I see it alot. Some even turn away from God after losing a loved one, because they feel that God did not help them.


I personaly believe God only interviens when necessary (if at all, and to be honest no one really knows). I believe he's more of an observer.



Just my 2 cents.

I believe in God, and when bad things do happen I tend to blame it on God. Why? Because he did this to me. That's what I think when i'm angry, but of course I know better.

And who do you congratulate/thank when good things happen?

God.
When I pass my midterms or my interviews, I thank God.
When good things happen I say "Thank you God"
However..when bad things happen...

Fair enough

I've been known to both curse and thank god during particularily tense and difficult times (I had thanked him for getting my father through a difficult heart operation, and cursed him for 'letting' my grandmother die.) in the case of my grandmother, i know differently now, god doesn't do that sort of thing. and as such condemn myself for opportunities missed or advantages lost, though you are correct PA it is human nature to want to blame someone else, anyone else, and the logic of "hey, god has big shoulders, i'm sure god won't mind taking the blame here" is relatively sound in principle, though flawed in execution. sorry for butting in, just thought i'd add my two cents, feel free to omit.

Either way I still don't believe in 'him'.

Good and bad things happen,they always will and it's no ones fault. There. It's that simple.

in simple terms, it is human nature.

people tend to take credit for the things they succeed at, while looking for external factors to blame for perceived failures. It is all a process of protecting one's self image.

For once, hyper, we agree on something

Yeah i dont get that people that are so "religious" that just drop God when something bad happens like a family member dying...If one had true faith and really believed in God they'd believe in him and trust him through thick and thin- to me thats a false faith and a weak heart- if you're going to believe in God you have to have a strong spirit and be prepared for anything in this life- it gets you much further than being weak and false in your beliefs. I told God if i became a parapledgic tomorrow- i'd accept it...I'd take it...I'd be strong and my faith wouldnt change...thats true faith...true love.

There is value in everything , in the challenges more so, Blame ???Why???I've had many challenging experiences these events have contributed greatly to who I am today and most welcomed, There is perfection in everything....No not everyone blames or feels a need to... In order to change anything one has to be responsible for all of it, i don't see growth as right or wrong you live your learn you grow, you become wiser.....

Ive seen FAR more believers ask this question and blame God than non-believers. Personally I believe its the most asked question among believers.

The logic is quite simple, they see all 'bad' things as punsihment and all good things as rewards for their deeds. It is entriely 'deed' based and you only need to look to scripture too see God meting out punishment and also rewarding those that please him with eternal pleasure.

So yes according to believers God is the guy who hands out punishments, but he only rewards those who 'did' the good things. Therefore the person can take some of the credit, since they naturally wanna feel important because they instigated the good deed that got them the reward. Often when 'bad' things happen people(believers in general) fail to see where they instigated something bad, hence they blame God. Its a lack of knowledge of waht they did 'wrong' in other words that causes them to lash out at God for the 'bad' things hapening int heir life that they see as punsihment. Those people feel that God can't punish them for their ignorance! Its unjustified, hence their anger at God.

The thing is there is no God handing out punishments and rewards. The universe operates simply on cause and effect. (all though believers wont believe this, given examles int he bible where God blatantly interferes.) When you believe in just cause and effect and that conciousness, YOUR cpnciousness creates realtiy its just a matter of exploring and figuring out what works and what dosent work given what it is you wish to be, do seek or have. There are no rewards or punsihments, just natural outcomes of choices. If somethign goes wrong there was a reason! Piano's dont fall otu of the sky. Hence the search for knowledge to understand what works and what dosent work. This is the life principle by which to live by. You as an individual make many choices, some concious some unconciously. And sometimes its difficult too see and become aware of some of the unconcious descisions you made.

Venom very well said......

The law of Karma answers this question, all suffering is a result of our actions, if we harm someone, they suffer because of their previous bad karma, and we incur bad karma for our future suffering. So its not God but ourselves.

Aye I tend to agree with Karma. I used to be a fairly mean person to people and put people down and its pretty much come full circle which makes me just think its karma. So now I just be nice all the time. Its better anyway.

i dont blame god when something bad happens nor do I really thank god if something good happens. but of course it is easier to blame someone else rather than yourself when something bad happens to you.

While I have seen this behavior exhibited by many, I have also seen the reverse in just such a way too.

Believers who thank god for every little piece of "good" that comes their way, but a stout refusal to acknowledge any responsiblitiy to their god for any "bad" that comes their way.

My personal philosophy requires ME to accept responsibility for my actions both good and bad. If I pass an exam, its because I studied and did well. If I fail, its because I didn't study enough.

If I get into a car accident because of the way I am driving, its MY fault, not gods. If I get to my destination safely it is because of MY ability to drive, not because "god is my co-pilot".

PA, this is a load of dog logs. This is what's wrong with our society no one ever takes the blame for their own bad actions. Most of the people who blame it on something else are actually religious. The atheists and agnostics don't usually look for a scapegoat because they don't have one. What about the religious that all my life I heard say "thank god" when something goes well or "the devils handy work is at hand" when something goes bad? I'm like JMPD1 I take responsability for the good and the bad in my life. Life is a rollercoaster of good and bad and it will always happen so make the best of it and don't pass the blame to nonentities.
I would appreciate it if you wouldn't always include N/B's in your little blame game. Remember we don't believe in your gods or devils so why would we blame them?

I live in the bible belt and I virtually never hear anyone blame anythng bad that happens in their daily lives on the devil. Those rare occasions have been years apart, and were in saying "I think that boy has the devil in him", an old expression that has almost died out.
Oh they rave about the devil but to them he is pretty much a non-local person who lives in Washington DC most of the time when he is not at home in the Middle East.

Actually what I do on rare occasions hear is someone who thinks they have been cursed by a witch or warlock, and all but one of these people have been black and only two were rural people with the rest all city dwellers.
Voodoo in the old south is pretty wide spread, it just does not get much media coverage outside of stories connected to New Orleans.

Thank you Sheri. Nor was this topic meant to imply everyone does assign blame to some power/force.

Interesting. In my experience, it has been those who only have a nominal interest in God that have assigned blame to a creator being for suffering. Either those who are Atheist or Agnostic, or those who just believe in God and just don't care about him.

That's my experience though, I guess you have a different experience.

Indeed, as my opening post said, people like having it both ways, but it just doesn't logically work.

Most of the time, I've found it's those who don't believe who make these assertions. Not necessarilly Atheists alone. There are many people who believe in God, but not Christianity, if you understand my meaning.

Fair enough. No offense, but I have no idea what transpires in the "bible belt". I've had people tell me, but it's all gobbledygook to someone raised in a primarily secular culture and region.

Regards, PA

Why is it that a Christian will give God the credit when something good happens, but will blame the Devil/Satan when something bad happens?

That's what this thread is trying to answer, zandore. You are right, the reverse is just as true.

It is called Superstition!

The bible belt is an area in the USA that has a strong wide spread religious culture. It is the area where the majority of the religious fundementalists in the USA live.

The statement that religious people thank God when something good happens and blame the devil when something bad happens does not apply to the religious people here. They just do not do that. This is a secular myth in the USA.
They thank God when something good happens and when something bad happens they thank God that it was not even worse than it was.
Anyone can see it for themselves from interviews with Katrina survivors across the southern states.
They see the hand of the devil at work in politics and in foreign beliefs different from their own, but not in their daily lives. Part of their beliefs is that the devil has no power over them, none in their daily lives, and that they are protected from him, so they do not blame him when something bad happens to them here.

Thanks bella, but as I said, not ever having lived in anything close to as rabid an environment as you suggest, I cannot really comprehend the situation over there. That's just the way of things.

I concur.

I blame the living when bad things happen...which leads to blaming God as he created the living.............so over all I blame God for the good and the bad.....and that's not a bad thing

Why do people blame god? because it is nice to think that there is someone to blame.....life is always going to be full of bad things...if it wasn't then there would be no good things either you must have one to have the other.....

I have heard many people give thanks to God for things that they did for themselves...why is that right? if I accomplish something through hard work why should anyone get credit but me? It is the same thing PA.....and if a Tornado or a hurricane or a flood destroys everything that I have worked so hard for yes I think most people want someone to blame they want someone to be angry with...and since it is no ones fault then yes a God may very well get blamed it's what most people would consider normal.....

I do think the danger of religion is it allows for blame thus lack of responsibilty, I often see religion as the great enabler.... as Curiousity said for a NB there is nothing to blame, you get that you are responsible for your experinces and if you don't like them you change them, Change begins with the ability to be responsible, i have heard as Bacca pointed out many religous people giving away their accomplishments, often oblivious to the fact that they are source of percieved goods and bads... you draw to yourself experiences that reflect your beleifs...

Almost everyone I know has lashed out at friend when they were upset, even when the friend was trying to help. Even me. Later did they discover is that all they wanted was for someone to tell them that they were right in feeling the way they did. Often times we put ourselves in harms way and ask people to tell us its okay and that we did nothing to deserve it when we got hurt. And sometimes freak stuff happens and if we are so self absorbed, we will never see where we can benefit from it. Also, people think of death as such a bad thing. No, death isn't bad... for the first death. Its the second death thats bad, and one should only feel remorse if they will not see that person in heaven. And again thats not God's fault. Death is more of like a rest from a days hard work. Instead of forcing yourself to stay awake so that you can get the most out of the day, get some rest. For when the next day comes, you will be ready to take on a new day with a healthy smile and a vibrant attitude. I feel better now!

Nope. The truth about religion is that it teaches you that you are responsible for you actions. Its your motives that condemn you. If you do it for yourself, then you are excluding everyone else. If you do it for everyone else, you exclude yourself. If you do it for God and His love for everyone else, then everyone benefits from it. Glory belongs to God. He created us, so we thank Him. So, no. Religion doesn't deflect any responisiblity for our actions, we just realize that worrying about our glory is pointless. Death makes the world pointless. All benefits teach us is that if we do good, we'll be happier when we die. Unless a hurricane destroys our family, or the stock market crashes, or you get laid off. So much that we can't control really makes our benefits pointless. Just a confidence boost thats strong enough to take on each day, but nothing more. Death is a worldly let down.

Well, what child, if asking for puppy will be given a snake by his Father? And what child, if asking for bread will his Father give him a stone? Seriously, we take in account many things when it comes to bad. One: we all die. We shouldn't worry about what happens to us. We should worry about what we can do for others. Two: There are wicked and hateful people that do evil for fun. That's not God's fault. Three: We place total confidence in God's wisdom. So that whatever may come to turn, is really for our best. Call this naive, but its better than crying over our painful lives that for some reason we strive to make last a long time. A long miserable life is worse than a short happy life. Ever wonder how people who are afflicted so much can make such an impact on us? Its because they comprehend death and fear it not. And by there realization that they have an appointment with death, they devote their lives to the benefit of those who would recieve them. They aren't concerned about their well being. They know death has called them out, and thus they do what is important. They help others. This is our motive. Give God the glory like he deserves and stop whining like a little brat who thinks they know how to run things better!

If you don't believe in our God, then why do you care what we think?

I will let you in on a little mystery about Christianity....Ready?
[b]God gave us free will to follow Him or rebel against Him. There is no blaming God. The devil challenged God by saying that His creation doesn't love Him. This is what the story of Job is about. Job loved God and stayed faithful to him. He didn't blame God. He didn't blame the world. He didn't blame the devil. He loved God and put his trust in Him. In otherwords, we can't whine and moan about our lives. We love God and follow Him regardless of how our lives are. Its so easy to think Christians don't take responsibility for their actions, but they do. Its core in the teachings. Its just a misconception and misobservation that many think Christians blame God or the devil. We are not full of ourselves, the we become vessels of love instead of pride and selfishness. The truth, not impression. The truth.

And also, if we aren't to address nonbelievers, who challenge us in this case, then who else should we address? Christians know darn well about their responsibilities. Now if they reject them, God will deal with them the way he sees fit.

Right on
Couldn't have said it better. The core of Christianity is taking blame for every wrong we have ever done, as opposed to sweeping it under the carpet and blaming it on human nature, or just simply ignoring it.

Regards, PA

"God gave us free will to follow Him or rebel against Him"

it is so fitting that the illusionary creature gave something that is an illusion.

but people still go to the show......

Hope and glory belongs to us all and not just God..and as he created us he is responcible for all the good and the bad that goes on....like I said before the living causes 99% of the bad and who created the living?...that should answer the question

I've noticed some people mentioning karma, however I don't think that this is always the case. I think some Old Souls tend to choose difficult paths so that they can learn. If you have an easy ride, would you be as patient or as tolerant, or even as generous compared to the one who has had a few difficulties? It's different for everyone of course. But I don't think people should scoff and say oh that is just karma. No, that's lazy and irresponsible in my opinion. Karma is so much more dimensional than just you give, and then receive. Karma ties into intentions and situations as well. There is no simple cosmic law in my opinion.
I think it's easy to blame God for things, especially bad things. I think that's why most people do so. It's not so bad to blame yourself occasionally. Life after all, is a learning process, and it's fine that no one is perfect. When good things happen it's fine if you want to thank God or even yourself. But when the crap hits the fan, you can say thank you for your hardship, cause without it you probably wouldn't be the same person.

okay buddy. whatever you say.

who's choice was it to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil? It was Eve's and Adam's. God didn't force them to eat or not to eat. He told them not to or they will die. The serpent told Eve that she would be like God. This pleased her because she wanted the glory that belonged to God. So thus, it is not God's fault. God warned Adam and Eve. They knew the consequences and ignored it. That seems to be a common theme even today.

good point.

People that blame God obviously don't think they are in control of their own lives... but of course they are in control. Its much easier to blame someone else than to take personally responsibility for your own life and what you feed it.
I've said this before...I see 'GOD' as the sum of all things in creation, everything. We decide what part of 'GOD' we tap into. I don't see GOD as controlling anything, yet it supplies all the answers we could ever imagine.

On your first question, I could ask you the same thing. Why do you care what I think if your mind is already made up.
Your second item is a mystery in the fact that you are under the immpression that you and job are every xian. The fact remains that many of the religious and many of them xian, do use their entities as scapegoats or as something to be rewarded.
Your third point is contridictory to your first. I'm here to seek other ideas and to give my own. I can't believe you are that naive that you would think that all religious people would take responsability for their bad deeds or negative energies around them. There are still those that think in terms of "god makes good things happen and evil makes bad things happen" and there are also those that blame their god when bad things happen too.

The point I was trying to make is that I'm tired of being blamed for something I don't play any part in. Such as agnostics, atheists and other N/B's being accused of blaming an entity as in the OP. We don't believe in them no matter how much you would like to believe that.

science is your friend, you need not fear it.

knowledge is your friend, you need not fear it.

recognizing the limits of our knowledge is healthy, hiding from this with mythologies is dangerous.

there is no "free will", but it is a persistant illusion.

you are judging your responses by based on your logic, while totally ignoring mine. You can't ask that the two be conformed to one universal logic because they would never cleave one to another. It isn't about what you think is naive. That's your logic, but it doesn't make it fact. If what you consider fact only turns out to be your opinion on what you think is true, then how can you call that fact? You rationalize things on your own understanding and so do we, so why judge us and call us naive just because you don't understand. Its religion, its about how you choose to live, not about what others think about you.

Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin scientia, from scient-, sciens having knowledge, from present participle of scire to know; probably akin to Sanskrit chyati he cuts off, Latin scindere to split -- more at SHED
1 : the state of knowing : knowledge as distinguished from ignorance or misunderstanding
2 a : a department of systematized knowledge as an object of study <the science of theology> b : something (as a sport or technique) that may be studied or learned like systematized knowledge <have it down to a science>
3 a : knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws especially as obtained and tested through scientific method b : such knowledge or such a system of knowledge concerned with the physical world and its phenomena : NATURAL SCIENCE
4 : a system or method reconciling practical ends with scientific laws <culinary science>
5 capitalized : CHRISTIAN SCIENCE

science means knowledge. It doesn't mean you have to reject God. Like I said, there will never be one universal logic. If you think your logic is the right one, thats you, not everyone. Science may be what you believe in, but not me. I don't have to and I don't care what you think of me for not. I don't need science to live good. If we all die, it doesn't matter how good we live. Don't ya get it.

well, blue,

in your contortionistic attempts to undermine anything that dares challenge your mythology you have made a wonderful argument for humans being the most unevolved species on the planet since you claim they need your book to live together, to live well, etc, while every other species excels at living well WITHOUT your superstion.

Congradulations!

The world according to big blue: humans, the only species that requires an operations manual!

BTW, man did just fine without an operations manual for the majority of his existance. Do you think some fanciful creature slipped something in the water way back when to stupify humans enough that they needed operations manuals?

We do die, period. That does not hinder us in any way from living well prior to that point.

According to alot of Non-Believers, humans long ago also believed in Gods, and created Gods. So how do you know they survived well without them? "Operations Manual"? What exactly do you mean? I personally believe we all need morals. That can also be an "Operations Manual".

So what you're saying is that I'm wrong in my perception and you can unequivically state that no religious person feels this way? I wasn't calling "us" naive I was calling you naive. Your logic is based on spinning what others say into what you want to hear.
Now that's logic

it took quite a while before man had reached a point where abstact thought was possible.

Then came the "why" questions, later followed with superstitious explanations.

Yet later, man learned to reason.

Then he began to discover the true roots of events.

BUT, reasoning is learned.

Where creative thought is natural.

So any ignoramus can point at the volcano and claim "mountian mad"

But it takes work, reasoning, logic, research to understand why the volcano errupts.


Man is mostly an ignoramus.

Religion proves that.

And you know this how? Because you can prove why and how the universe has got here? And you can explain away every single parnormal occurance?

If not, then I guess this is just your belief.