Orthodox user here, in the aftermath of the tragic church massacre of our Christian brethren in Texas today. For the sake of those with an interest in the faith, I will discuss two little understood but often asked questions about part of our beliefs.
1) Why did God let this happen? What kind of a God would allow ______ to happen to ______ [this assault to happen to those in Texas, in this case].
The short answer is two sided, first, our creator made us in his image, with the gift of free will being bestowed upon us. We can do anything we want - whether we should or not, is a different story. God desired a true, meaningful, mutual relationship with mankind, and the only way to allow for this, as opposed to making legions of drones capable of little more than worshiping him, was to provide us with Free Will.
We are free to worship him, and to love him, and to love one another if we choose, but if not, we are free to go. I was raised in a Protestant church, until I became an Atheist around age 9, until I was in my early 20's.
I was never struck down by lightning.
I was never threatened with being stoned or whatever else happens to non-Christians when they leave their respective temples.
I returned. I chose to return. I was loved and embraced by God and the church when I did.
But I could have chosen not to, also. God would have let me make this decision, as is a part of having free will, although thats not to say that I wouldnt have suffered consequences for this decision later on, down the road if I had.
Does this make sense?
