Why does God always get the Credit or Blame?

[Toots]

Is the Devil powerless? If we are going to have a Devil at all why don't we blame bad things on him? Why is it always an act of God? I try and use logic in an illogical world.

[WildClarySage]

1. Gosh, I never hear people *blame* God, exactly, just saying things like

"We can't understand God's will"

"God has His reasons that we don't know about"

etc.

But I've yet to hear a losing football team saying Yeah we woulda won if it hadn't been for God! (though they almost always say things like "I thank God for our win today")

I think that if they start to blame/credit Satan, then they have to accept that Satan is more powerful than "God's Will" although certainly Bush's election to the presidency is proof enough of that...

[ptolle]

6. ups & downs

I too wonder when I see athletes make a good play and point upward to whom or what are they pointing, and why when they make a bad one do they not point downward or at least toward themselves?But of course I'm given to wondering about a lot of odd stuff.Or it could be as a friend of mine says " I don't think I'm mentioned in god's will".Unless there's a codicil I'm not aware of I don't think I am either.

[MostlyLurks]

2. Brandishing Dangerous Logic...

A few only tangentially related thoughts on this:

Comic Jeff Stilson has a bit about how sports stars only credit God with victory, but never with defeat. "Just once I'd like to see some footbal player say something like 'Yeah, we were doing real well in that game...Until JESUS made me fumble. He hates our team.'"

On a separate note, my mom is a bedrock fundamentalist who, when I was younger and she was stupider, tried on many occassions to convert me. Problem was, I went to Catholic schools all the way through HS so I knew enough about religion and the Bible to fight her pretty ferociously. I also had no qualms about fighting fair.

One particular evening I just about made her head explode during a debate about evolution. She holds to the notion that all evolutionary evidence was deliberately placed by God to trick us into dount. Those are her words: trick us into doubt.

Anyhoo, I started by asking her, as if I didn't know, who "The Trickster" was (as if I had heard the term in passing without knowing what it referred to). She said "that's the Devil".

"Why do they call him that?"

"Because he uses lies and deception to lead you away from God."

"Oh, I get it. So he tricks people into not believing in God."

"Exactly. So some people call him The Trickster."

"But didn't you just say that fossils evidence was a trick played by God to fool us into disbelief?"

"..."

"So why is God doing the Devil's work?"

"..."

"Or could it be that you are actually worshipping the Devil as God because you, yourself, have been tricked?"

"STOP PLAYING YOUR SEMANTIC GAMES WITH ME! THIS IS ABOUT FAITH!"

Mom storms off. I enjoy steaming bowl of Campbell's soup while watching hockey game. Decades long truce ensues.

Anyhoo, just came to mind for some reason.

Mostly

[txaslftist]

3. It's one of the pesky burdens of omnipotence. n/t

[Ron Green]

4. 'Cause most people have to think of God as a personality ...

along with the Devil. We're not too much beyond the polytheism of the olden days.

[PaulaFarrell]

5. Cause people are scared

If they couldn't blame it on god they'd have to admit that many things are down to purely random chance and beyond control. They'd rather believe they can make deals with god to protect them.

[cassiepriam]

7. With the perks, comes the heat...

[pitohui]

8. be serious

god is claiming to be the omnipotent almighty, if you are all-powerful, i'm sorry, things are this screwed-up, you get the blame

no hiding behind a discredited subordinate which is all lucifer is if you read between the lines

god is either all-powerful or he ain't

if he is, he is doing a piss-poor job & fully deserves my blame & anger

if he is just another incompetent who can't do anything to help but has a hand out for my money anyway, he deserves to be ignored for the joke he is

these storms are all the proof i need that god sucks & if he doesn't like it what is he going to do abt it, apparently he can't even be arsed to exist

bitter much, yes i am