“Everything Happens for a Reason”
When something terrible happens, do you need it to have a reason?
Honest Heretics edition for skepticsSwitch to Centered (for believers)
Chapters
In this lesson
- Read it3 min
- The world behind the words4 min
- How it drifted5 min
- What they'll say back3 min
- Measured against the center2 min
- A keeper1 min
- Reflect2 min
- Practice this week1 min
- Bring it back1 min
It is said at funerals, in hospital hallways and in sympathy cards. Everything happens for a reason. God has a plan. He needed another angel. People say it out of love, wanting to give meaning to something senseless. Sometimes it helps. Often it lands like one more weight on someone already carrying too much.
You're not imagining the harm. "Everything happens for a reason" can tell a grieving parent that God wanted their child to die, and its harsher cousin tells the survivors of a disaster that they had it coming. Well-known preachers have said exactly that on national television. Jesus was asked this question directly, and he answered no.
Measured against the center
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