Why is God so Cruel?

by Gregory Allen Butler

I often hear people ask, "Why is God so cruel?" And it’s easy to understand why people might think this, especially when they see tragedy befall their loved ones. We live in a world where people are killing people everyday, in wars, in crime, and in accidents. Millions others are dying everyday from disease. And if God is infinite in knowledge and power, why does He allow such a state of affairs to exist?

We have such a short view of things, don’t we? To understand why life can be so full of suffering, it might be helpful to explore what the purpose of life is. In modern culture, through the mass media, we are bombarded everyday with images of how life is supposed to be. We see beautiful homes, cars, clothes, plasma televisions, etc. It becomes very much suggested that the aim of life or the goal of life is to have all of these things. And some people suffer because they are prevented from acquiring them. And in their suffering, they too say God is cruel.

But is that really what’s happening? Is that the purpose of life? Did God create the universe so that after a few billions years we could get to the option of subscribing to HBO?

The other day when someone asked me this question, "Is God cruel?" I answered in this way:

God is no more cruel than the surgeon can be called cruel for cutting you open during surgery. Without the proper understanding, the cutting might seems cruel. But when you see the whole picture, that there is something that needs to be removed, or repaired, then the cruelty ceases to be an issue.

Or consider this possibility. You and a friend are driving through the mountains and your car breaks down. You are several hours walking distance from the nearest town. A snow storm is picking up intensity. After a couple hours of walking, you tell your friend that you have to rest, that you are just too tired to walk any farther. Your friend, knowing that if you stop to rest, that you will end up freezing to death, continues saying, "Keep walking." You start to wonder why your friend is so cruel, not allowing you to rest. You don’t see the big picture. You only know that you are tired and that your friend doesn’t seem to care.

Or consider the spiritual masters over the ages that have appeared cruel to certain disciples. One master, whom I read about today, came from the tradition of Tibetan Buddhism about a thousand years ago. His name was Tilopa. He became the master of a disciple named Naropa, and his treatment of Naropa could be looked upon as cruel. Naropa, in obedience to his master, suffered beatings, broken bones, burns, and all kinds of physical sufferings. But Tilopa was always quick to heal him. The sufferings were brought on to impart lessons on the nature of the clinging mind. Eventually, Tilopa bestowed Self-Realization on Naropa. The sufferings turned out to be nothing but the clearing of obstructions to pure self, and in that sense, the cruel treatment was actually compassionate, as it ended all the self-created suffering that otherwise would have been waiting for Naropa. I found this story on the internet today and you can read this amazing historical spiritual drama in two parts, part 1 and part 2. Your time spent will be well worth it.

But even if you are not a spiritual aspirant, you still come into this world with lessons to be learned. In that sense, we are all on a spiritual path, and we are the creators of our own trials and tribulations. That might be hard for you to accept, but the evidence is out there. For more on this theme, please read my article, Spirit World -- Life Between Lives, which focuses on the work of Michael Newton, Ph.D. and his book, Life Between Lives. His book is geared to practicing hypnotherapists revealing Dr. Newton’s step-by-step methods of regressing hypnotherapy clients to that span of time between lives, where the soul decides the purpose of its next lifetime. It will open a new perspective for you regarding the nature and purpose of life.

Is God cruel? No. Is life painful? Yes. But through that pain and suffering, we are able to transcend the physical and discover the formlessness of our true eternal existence. We are not here for a joy ride, but to clear the obstructions to real self – our source of being.

The other night, my wife and I watched the movie, Glory Road, about the 1966 Texas Western College basketball team. This team, comprised of mostly black athletes -- overlooked by all of the major college basketball programs – went through tremendous physical and mental suffering, including threats on their lives, in the course of their season. But it created in them the perseverance to defeat the number one ranked team in the nation, the University of Kentucky, and win the national championship. Nobody outside of the Texas Western team and coaching staff thought it was possible. See the movie and you will be amazed by their determination and courage.

Was God being cruel to the team, or was he just creating greatness in them? See the movie and let me know what you think.