“Ask a Priest: Why Would God Create People Who Won’t Believe?”
Q: I have a few questions preventing me from really believing. I mean this in the least cynical way: How can God be all knowing yet put people in a position where in they won’t become believers? I understand the free-will argument, but if God is truly all knowing, wouldn’t he still know about what decisions people will make throughout their life? And why are there things like stillbirths and childhood cancer and infant mortality? If God has some big plan, why couldn’t he just create it that way in the first place with all our memories and ideas and personalities prefabricated? Lastly, let’s say my mom got into heaven, and I went to hell; she would be in eternal torment knowing that I will be burning forever. I think it’s almost a core part of my mother’s soul that she loves me and cares where I am. If she weren’t in torment in heaven over my fate, would she really be the same person? Thanks for reading. – Wayne
Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC A: You pose some tough questions that people have grappled with for centuries. Ample answers to your questions could fill a book. But perhaps a few ideas might help. Faith is both an act of the will (a person gives assent to a set of beliefs) and a gift of God. Some people sincerely seek the truth and yet don’t make that explicit act of Christian faith. God alone knows the heart and mind of each person. If Our Lord knows a nonbeliever has tried to live a good life as best he can, the Almighty will be merciful when judging that soul. To us believers, the fact that someone is seeking but doesn’t embrace the faith is a reminder that we have a tremendous gift from God — and that we will have to give an account of how we used that gift. “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much” (Luke 12:48). As for free will and God’s omniscience: There is no incompatibility here. An analogy might help. Let’s say we are neighbors. One day I look out the window and see you trimming the hedges in your front yard. Does my seeing you cause you to trim the hedges? No. You are freely choosing to do the yard work. I just happened to notice it. Now, imagine God, who is outside of time. For him, everything is present. He sees you trimming the hedge in your front yard now. He also sees you doing it a year from now and five years from now. You are freely choosing to do the work today, next year and five years from now. God simply sees all this at once. Admittedly, it is a bit more complicated than that. But perhaps you get the basic idea. Still, there is the underlying question of why God would create us, knowing that so many people would reject him. In fact, some of the saddest lines in Scripture touch on this mystery: “When the LORD saw how great the wickedness of human beings was on earth, and how every desire that their heart conceived was always nothing but evil, the LORD regretted making human beings on the earth, and his heart was grieved” (Genesis 6:5-6). God chose to go ahead and create the world as he did (without the prefabricated memories, etc.), knowing at least some people would respond in love. That was good enough for him. And for the record, God “wills everyone to be saved” (1 Timothy 2:4). As for physical suffering: This is a fallout of Adam’s sin, which caused a cosmic disruption and brought misery into the world. This fallout means that we inherit original sin (that is, a damaged human nature) and are prone to illness and death; hence, the tragedy of childhood suffering and death. Again, it’s hard to understand this. One explanation is that God allows evil because he can bring something good out of it. That explanation can bring a bit of comfort to some people, but not all. As for your mom in heaven and you in hell: What follows isn’t meant to sound callous but simply theological. It’s an explanation offered by some theologians. Your mom wouldn’t be sorrowful about you because in heaven she would share more deeply in God’s sense of mercy and justice. She would understand that anyone in hell is there because they rejected God. And since she knows firsthand how wonderful and beautiful God is, her love for him would far surpass her earthly attachment to you. To put it bluntly, she would understand that it’s pure justice that you ended up where you did. Again, an analogy might help. Imagine you had a childhood friend, Sam. You and Sam were best buddies. You did everything with him. You loved him like a brother. Fast forward a few years, and you meet the woman of your dreams. Sally is the sweetest, most charitable person you’ve ever met. You fall in love and get engaged to her. The day comes when you introduce Sally to Sam. The thing is, Sam isn’t impressed with her. He later comments to you that he thinks she’s bland and pudgy and even makes a joke about her ethnic background. Does this mean you dump Sally? Probably not. More likely, you cut ties with Sam. You see a crudeness and hardheartedness in him that you didn’t notice before. More to the point, you’re angry at the disrespectful way he talks about the woman you love. Something like that might happen with the souls in heaven (minus the anger). They distance themselves from those who rejected the One they so dearly love in heaven. I hope some of this helps. Count on my prayers.
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