And now the final and most difficult issue of them all:
For people of faith, God is never wrong ("There must be a reason.")
This is the reason why SOME PEOPLE, when they actually see that there are a lot of 'wrong' things in the world (hunger for millions; genocides -- American Natives, the Shoah, Armenians, Rwandans; and other garden-variety events of ordinary sadism), THESE PEOPLE conclude that God doesn't exist.
Basically both groops agree that it is an essential requirement that God is always right.
Since *IT* can't be wrong, the presence of evil in the world is proof that *IT* doesn't exist.
That's Paul's conclusion.
COMMENT Focus on Paul, not on yourself. He loses his faith because his faith presents him with an absolute choice: either accept the suffering, injustice etc. as a "gift" from God, or get out.
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I agree that Paul loses his faith because he believes that if all of these negative things are happeing to him and his family, then God must not exist. I don't think Paul wanted to believe that God would allow these things to happen to him if God was real. For Paul, I think he understood that while life might be hard, one shouldn't have to endure so much trials, sadness and struggle back to back. Alot of the loss of his faith I believe not only had to do with deaths and disappointments he experienced but also with the denial from people who were supposed to be good Christians like the priest for example who basically refused to help Paul and his family when they were in need of food. Or even at the end when he dreamed that his father was never coming back and that they would continue to suffer. All of this played an important role in the loss of his faith in God. He didn't see the point in believing in something if it wasn't benefitting to him.
ReplyDeleteHi Amanda,
DeleteI agree that Paul loses his faith in believing that God exist because if all those events happened to me I would also think God does not exist. I understand that some people would never lose faith in God, but there must be a breaking point in the middle where something positive happens and not all negative events occurring one by one.
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DeleteI believe you are right. I think the priest not helping Paul when they were in need must have played a role in Paul losing his faith in God. Also Paul and his family were all good Christians who prayed, went to church and believed in God. If God existed why would he make them suffer of all people? Such thoughts must have brought Paul to stop believing in God.
DeleteI think that Paul loses faith and does not believe that God exist because there was nothing positive in his life that happened following his father’s death. He would always see his mom sad/crying, he saw that she wanted to commit suicide, and Luigi got injured from his job. There was no one that would stay by their side. When Paul wanted to become a bricklayer, they did not want to hire him because he was young and small and when he finally convinced them to hire him he got paid $3.50. He questioned if his life was only worth $3.50. If this was to happen to anyone I believe that they would not think god exist.
ReplyDeleteHi Annie,
DeleteI definitely agree withyour comment. Indeed there was nearly nothing positive that happened in Pauls' life following the death of his father and when a person experiences constant turmoil they pretty much give up hope of anything positive ever happening to them. I think the breaking point for Paul was when he had his nightmare about his father never coming back and his continuos suffering. I think at that point, for Paul, all hope (atleast the smidgen of it thathehad left), was lost.
I definitely agree with you in terms of nothing being good for him. Everything he thought he had in his life crumbled right in front of him causing him to lose his belief even more each time. Finally getting a job and then being told that you make less because of your age must have been the last straw causing his decline. Losing everything he loved causing him to feel as though nothing goes his way.
DeletePaul was only a child himself. He had always only seen and heard those around him speak good of God and Jesus. When he made it through one suffering only to find another one waiting for him just as he started to move on, it was only natural he started to question the existence of God. Paul's friend, Louis, told him there was no God. Father John, a man of the Church, a man of God also did not help Paul when he was in need. He and his mother always prayed yet bad things always happened to them. It seemed no one was answering their prayers. These factors only helped Paul in doubting his faith.
ReplyDeleteChildren do not think much of the future. The same goes for Paul. He wanted his present to become better and happier. Believing in God means believing in heaven. But Paul did not care for heaven and rewards there. He wanted a good life now. Therefore he refused to believe in God.
Hi Haris,
DeleteAt first I had a hard time writing a comment because I wasn't sure which direction to go as to explaining why Paul felt that way, but after reading your comment I gained a good sense of direction. I definitely agree with your perspective on Paul being put in a situation where he was forced to only care for things that only benefitted him in the "now." He felt pushed to his limits when all these traumatic incidents continued happening and that his prayers were not being answered so he now favors putting his faith in the present instead.
I can understand why Paul would lose his faith and belief in God. First his father died, then uncle who stepped up to take care of the family was injured on the job, then was denied work, received less pay; all while being surrounded by poverty and suffering. Nothing in his life was going well. In most cases, suffering is not considered a “gift” from God but rather as a punishment. For actions that were supposed to be seen as a “gift” they showed no promise in regards to a better life to come, there was no reassurance that anything will ever come out of them. I cannot blame Paul for losing his belief, every time he prayed for this suffering to end, he found himself surrounded by more and more suffering. He searched for help from someone who he thought would be able to provide him with what he was asking and was given more pain in return.
ReplyDeleteMichal,
DeleteI agree with your comment. Paul could no longer see any hope. He suffered one bad thing after another and I think it is only natural to let go of your faith when there is this continued bad pattern of events.
It is evident that Paul loses his faith. He spends a life time of suffering and he was exhausted physically and mentally. Paul spent a life time battling the unimaginable and never got to see the "light at the end of the tunnel." Often, when bad things happen it can be thought of as a punishment from God and not a gift. I understands Paul's frustration which led him to not believe. He never caught a break.
ReplyDeletePaul's breaking point was the nightmare about his father and continued suffering. He good no longer see even a glimmer of hope. He had no way out and prayer meant nothing to him.
I certainly agree that his breaking point was the nightmare. He encountered many roadblocks that left him in questioning, but the nightmare seemed to set off the time bomb that was his disbelief in God.
DeleteYes, I agree. I feel like he felt like he was never going to reach the light at the end of the tunnel. he endured a lot, and he reached his breaking point.
DeletePaul had the least amount of tenure with faith in his life, essentially having merely grown up with it. The many cases that test his faith (Louis, Father John, Nazone's death) quickly discredit his beliefs. He benefited nothing from his beliefs. It only seemed to linger around him as a reminder that he had to stay positive,, despite no signs of progress from prayers and faith.
ReplyDeletePaul lost faith because he kept feeling betrayed or let down by God. He believed that someday it will get better. First, Geremio dies, Luigi loses his leg, He can’t find a job, Nazone dies, then his mom dies. His faith and trust in God kept decreasing because pain and suffering just kept following him. Paul reached his breaking point, He started question why something he believed in so dearly kept hurting him and causing him pain. He believed that while believing in God, that his life was going to remain as a living hell, so he decided to change is belief system as a whole, so maybe his life will be better.
ReplyDeleteI think Paul loses faith because so many terrible events happen to him one after the next. I think that he feels as though god can't be real since he doesn't have mercy on Paul or his family. I think Paul would like to believe that god is real, but after many unanswered desperate prayers he can't see how god could possibly be watching over him.
ReplyDeleteThere are various reason for why Paul came to the conclusion that God doesn't exist, but it comes down to the fact that he doesn't believe God would exist and continue to let all these horrific things happen to him. Whether it be him not finding a job, his friends being terribly injured or dead, or his mom dying, he doesn't believe that this would be considered fair to be done to anyone therefore God cannot exist because God would only allow good to happen. The problem with Pauls thought process here is that he considers all these things to be evil things that are just happening to him rather than God bestowing on him multiple tests to see if he will keep his faith strong. Pauls particular predicament is that he feels as if he hit rock bottom and it brought him to the point where he is willing to do anything to fix his immediate situation. He has been driven to a standpoint where if obtaining a good comfortable life means giving up his strive towards heaven, then so be it.
ReplyDelete