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 A man pauses at a memorial of crosses near the movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, the scene of last week's mass shooting.
July 26th, 2012
02:49 PM ET
My Take: CNN readers' 7 answers to 'Where was God in Aurora?'
By Stephen Prothero, Special to CNN Over the last few days, CNN’s Belief Blog has received more than 10,000 responses to its question, “Where was God in Aurora?” The underlying concern here has vexed theologians for centuries: How can evil happen in a world that is lorded over by a good and all-powerful God? As CNN's readers struggled to make sense of God's presence (or absence) in the Aurora, Colorado, massacre, I counted seven different answers to this question: 1. There is no God. Self-professed atheists may make up only 2% of the U.S. population, but they are extraordinarily active online, and on CNN's Belief Blog. A commenter who identified as Jason spoke for them when he wrote, “Where was God? He was where he has always been. Nowhere because God does not exist.” Bob Dobbs agreed: “God is imaginary. The question is moot.” Many in this camp also quoted the ancient Greek philosopher (and skeptic) Epicurus:
2. Don’t blame God, blame Satan. Many theists on the site described the world as a battleground between God, who is working for good, and Satan, who is working for evil. “As long as Satan is loose to promote evil, bad things will happen to good people,” wrote kat. 3. Don’t blame God, blame us. Probably the most common response from Christian commenters was that evil is a result of free will. Do we really want to be “puppets” or “robots"? Of course not. So God has given us the will to choose either evil or good. Watch: Survivor of massacre says he forgives gunman Believer summed up this position well:
Here Deborah also chimed in: “This act of violence was not God's will. I get so tried of people blaming God for evil acts. Humans of their own free will do evil things.” 4. God was behind the massacre, and it was just. Some believers saw God’s righteous hand in the Aurora massacre, inflicting a just punishment on a wayward nation now run by secular liberals rather than conservative Christians. Lenny wrote:
Read: The man who made Aurora’s iconic crosses Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, took a similar tack in an appearance on the Heritage Foundation's "Istook Live" radio show, laying the blame at the feet of a nation that has turned away from its God:
5. God was present at the massacre but with the victims, not the perpetrator One classic claim in the Abrahamic tradition of Jews, Christians and Muslims is that God is with those who suffer - the poor and the oppressed. Some commenters saw God’s miraculous hand in the midst of this suffering, not causing it to happen but bringing it to an end. “This may sound crazy,” wrote Diana, “but I believe God had a hand in that the gun jammed so that more people weren’t killed.” CNN’s Belief Blog: The faith angles behind the biggest stories The most common claim in this category came from peacemaker, who wrote, “God is and was with the victims and s/he is weeping.” In a more explicitly Christian vein, Lauren wrote: “He was there in the theater, pierced by bullets with the victims. He was scarred by the shrapnel. His eyes were scorched with gas and then burned with tears as He mourned alongside the broken.” 6. Which God? Some commenters interrogated the question itself, arguing that the knots it twists us into are rooted in what commenter Ego_Death called “a false idea of what God is.” After all, the problem of evil in a world ruled by a sovereign and good God only presents itself if you posit one personal God who is both good and all-powerful. Follow the CNN Belief Blog on Twitter Referring to "our idea of a human-like personal God" as "an ancient myth," Northstar56 wrote:
Evoking something more akin to the “watchmaker” God of the deists, who makes the world and its laws and then refuses to intervene in its operation, Norm wrote: “God is not involved in our everyday mundane activities. How arrogant of man to think he’s the center of the universe and has God’s constant attention and every action is ‘God’s will.’” Taking a different tack, "varun" invoked the teachings of the beloved Hindu scripture the Bhagavad Gita:
7. Who knows? It’s a mystery Agnosticism is a rare virtue in the United States nowadays, but there were a few commenters who admitted to something less than the absolute certainty exhibited by atheists and evangelicals alike. "The answer," wrote Terry, "is we don't know where he was." Fluffy the Gerbil of Doom saw this "God works in mysterious ways" move as “ultimate cop-out/rationalization,” but I am not so sure. In September 1862, in the midst of a much greater American tragedy, Abraham Lincoln wrote a private “Meditation on the Divine Will” in which he struggled to make sense of what God was doing in the Civil War. He later reworked those reflections into his second inaugural address, one of the greatest speeches in American history. Surveying the corpse-ridden landscape of North and South, Lincoln observed, “Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes His aid against the other.” Clearly there was little good in slavery, he reasoned, yet equally clearly God was not giving a swift and sure victory to the Union. So what was God up to? In the end, Lincoln had to admit he did not know. Or, as he put it, “The Almighty has His own purposes.” I suppose this is in a sense a “cop-out,” but it is a humble one, uninfected by the absolute certainties (either pro- or anti-God) that have shed more blood on earth than agnosticism ever will. It is also a classic example of answering a question with a question: What is God doing with this war? Who knows? “Josephpusateri” also answered our question with a question. His comment was in my view the best of the hundreds I read, so I will end with it here:
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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Editor's Note: Stephen Prothero, a Boston University religion scholar and author of 
God was right where he was when they crucified his son, Jesus.
God was right where he was when humanity (Adam and Eve) were given freedom of choice, and they decided to rebel and disobey the very commandments, which make life good for all.
So God was there when Hitler killed all the Jews? and Stalin slaughtered his own people?
So you are saying God is a worthless piece of garbage that enjoys watching people get hurt?
God was likely with the hundreds of people dying in Syria right, or in other parts of the planet.
Stephen Prothero - non believers are up near 20% of the US population! Where did you get your 2% number from?
No, they're actually not.
@DD,
You are incorrect sir. From the Pew Forum:
Unafilliated ....... 16.1% (including)
Atheists ......................................... 1.6%
Agnostics ....................................... 2.4%
No particular organized religions ... 12.1%
Define unaffiliated......you're assuming that the unaffiliated 16% have no spirituality. That's a false assumption. Statistics dont lie, but some lie using statistics.
For many years on surveys such as these I would check the [ ]Christian box... out of habit, and embarrassingly, a bit of superst'ition and a bit of paranoia that they weren't really anonymous.
And what about that other 12.1%. They're also automatically non believers?? Sounds like these statistics are severely lacking in specific information regarding the supposed non-belief of 16.1% and 12.1% in this survey......
Higgs Boson: "Don't call me God. Only one of us is imaginary"
So the Higgs Boson is God now? Funny stuff
lol, i suggest you read more science article... Higgs Boson, or commonly mislabeled as "the God Particle" by non science population, is a recently discovered elementary particle in the Standard Model. and yes, this is a joke. science class over
oh thank you ramen. I dont know what humanity would do without you. We're all in debt to your enormous intelligence
you're welcome. now go read up "Sarcasm for Dummies"
We've been watching, and we're p*ssed. We're sending a space jockey with a special payload.
WWRSD?
God was where he was during any act of violence......letting the devil control the world....and ppl letting him.....freewill....and unfortunately the masses has chosen Satan....so he is letting him reign down......when He is ready....U will b the first to know....no worries
Where is CNN's journalistic integrity? "Where was God in Aurora?" has the stench of those Westboro Baptist Church terrorists all over it.
Please get back to reporting factual news before you slip to the sensationalist tripe that TLC wallows in.
Just so you know, Westboro "Baptist" is an independent church that calls themselves "Baptists". As a true Baptist myself, I can tell you that no other Baptist church that is part of the true Baptist denomination shares not one single view that those at Westboro "Baptist" present. The message that the true Baptist denomination brings is peace and love through our Savior Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for all of humanity. Are there some that don't live this belief? Yes, of course, people are human and hypocrites and none more fits this criteria than Westboro "Baptist" and their message of hate.
Anonymous:
Fair enough.. I appreciate your clarification and I respect all religions.. however, I was trying to point out the irresponsible of CNN's decision to jump headlong into tabloid/sensationalistic 'reporting' and calling it responsible journalism.
Sadly religious zealots and perverse splinter groups spring from most religions and I view the Westboro Baptist Church as terrorists -no better than Al Queda or the like.
I'm glad to be part of the 2% that are more evolved than the other 98% of America.
To the 98%:
If you weren't afraid of death, would you still be religious?
Nice! That's what it really does come down to.
non believers are up near 20% of the US population! I don't know where Stephen Prothero got his 2% number from?
Im not afraid if death because of my beliefs... So I guess my answer is, yes
If there is a god, he's more akin to a kid with an ant farm. He's just watching what everyone is doing, but he himself does not participate.
If you guys really feel the need to have some omnipotent being lower his hand down through the clouds, point at you and save you... then I have a bridge to sell you. No, really I do.
>1. There is no God.
We're NUMBER ONE!
Though I find it distasteful to use tragedies like this either to proselytize or to rationalize. The proof of God's nonexistance is all around us and a better topic for a slow news day than a day of horrible news.
I with Mr. Prothero were more specific about where is his "Self-professed atheists may make up only 2% of the U.S. population" figur is coming from... A 2008 Gallup poll showed that 6% of the US population believed that no god or universal spirit exists, and, to the best of my knowledge, the trend is upward. On the other hand, what can you expect from a "religion scholar".
Well, I am not sure how you "prove nonexistence". This statement is wrong in so many ways. God's existence is just assumed with zero proof. Great claims require great proof! So far RELIGION HASN'T PROVEN ANYTHING!
Define evil
Define sin
Define good
Define righteousness
In the head of his believers.
Love or God will come about as we choose to Love and not define God in terms of a completed being that our small minds must do and have done in history. If we must define God it is usually for our own purpose as history has shown. Why not say the only God that will ever exist is the God that we create as a collective being called Man. Outside of natural disasters caused by science that we have not been able to control, all tragedy is the result of our collective wishes toward our fellow man who we should love without reservation. How easily we see 12 deaths as a tragedy, and it is, but do not see the deaths of thousands every day due to the decision of 'civilized, non -convictable killers" such that we do each day that one of our fellow man suffers.
Let's just get serious here people. There are no gods period. Man created the gods not the other way around. I mean seriously.... adults talking as if there is such a thing and I'm sorry to say to dumb to realize this. Never has there been proven a god that exists and never has there been any evidence to believe such silliness. To believe in things where there is no evidence or prior experience is just gullibility. Many when asked what's the problem with the country respond that "God has been taken out of our schools". The real problem is that people are too dumb to get it out of their brains. Grow up and face the facts. Get over it and learn something.
I believe in God and I also believe you need to use correct grammar.
There's still no god.
Use the free will and intelligence you have and stop being a puppet for money shakedown organizations who perpetrate hoaxes on you.
Until you morons realize DERRRRP, ITS JUST US ON PLANET EARTH, and we better all WORK TOGETHER TO MAKE LIFE BETTER, you will go on blaming god, or blaming the devil, or blaming muslims, or whatever.
Take CONTROL of your lives.
There is no GOD. There is no Heaven. There is no hell. There is no devil.
THERE IS ONLY US ON THIS PLANET.
If they did that then there's no eternal life. That's all it's about. They think they'll continue on to another place. It's actually all quite a desirous sinful lustful attempt to 'live' forever.
I am a Muslim but I always tell people that my faith is by choice only. I like your comment because it is true. I have never seen God so I don't keep my life on hold for it. Do good because it is in our nature. Choose to do good because we have the power to do so. Faith is just a personal choice to me.
@ the muslim: Doing evil is also in our nature
Why do people continue to make excuses for God? If we did that for an abusive father, we would be given a DSM IV diagnosis.
It was evident to an ancient Greek, but it's still not clear to most. There.is.no.god.
Without God, you have no justification for your outrage against the massacre. Dog-eat-dog, survival of the fittest. The definition of evil also becomes relative...
No. I have every right to be horrified by a crime.
Sooo.... you believe in a supernatural agent NOT because you ACTUALLY BELIEVE one exists, but because you believe one is required for you to you preserve that which you seek to preserve?
You are abusing the English language and your own consciousness. Stop it.
We have something called society pal. The non-existence of god means morality is on us, and not some ficticious set of clay tablets in the desert.
I help an old lady across the street or protect the young because it's the moral thing to do. Not because I'm afraid of some lake of fire.
Which makes me morally superior to you christians, I do it by personal choice, not fear.
@ atheist: And if there were no society? No Laws? What defines morality then big guy?
@Romans,
if there is no society, you still have your own conscience.
Morality is the collective consensus of conscience.
It is not handed down on graven tablets by voices in a burning bush.
Ok, so where do we get our conscience???
I like your comment not a GOPer.
The questions Romans ask seem rhetorical, what would we do without society and where does conscience come from. We have society, and we have a conscience. We can make decisions for ourselves. We don't need some imaginary guy who will throw you in a lake of fire to treat each other well.
God was probably watching us use the 'free will' he granted. Who knows what the end results will be from the Aurora tragedy? Sometimes good comes out of evil, its all mental masturbation anyway. It goes along with the 'Blame America first' crowd to question God and his motives. In my humble opinion we flatter ourselves thinking we posses that kind of brain power.
“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?
Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing?
Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing?
Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing?
Then why call him God?”
~ Epicurus
Wasn't Epicuris the father of hedonism?
Didn't he teach: If it feels good, it must be good.
Do you really want to follow the philosophy of such a depraved mind?
Not exactly what Epicurus said.
Barry G.,
Guess what? We learn to figure out what can be verified before we accept the words or philosophies of *any* man.
- Aristotle had some great ideas which have been verified to be useful and beneficial to us, but you should read how he thought that human conception occurred and believed that thinking occurred in the region around the heart and not in the brain.
- Isaac Newton was heavily into alchemy, numerology and the occult.
- Brilliant Nikola Tesla thought that a pigeon was his wife.
Verify, verify, verify. There is not a whit of verified evidence for any of the supernatural beings or events told about by men in the Bible nor anywhere else.