Some Questions for God

If I ever make it to Heaven, there are some answers to questions that I'm sure puzzles others as well. Some are obvious but some are not. Here is my list.

- Feb. 2017

I am a Catholic and Christian most of my adult life. I read the bible and attend Mass on a regular basis. I also study the bible and some passages to find deeper meanings. I think I have a good understanding of religion and the important role they play in our society. Before choosing catholicism, I studied many religions and learn the basic tenets and discern for myself what is the best fit for me personally. I am a believer based on faith. I am also an engineer and scientist. I read extensively books by various authors which gave me knowledge and fresh perspective. My background is one of an educated consumer if you will and not a blind follower or by birth. I do have some questions that are unanswered just as most other individuals and pholosophers down the ages. I have some theories that I came up with by myself but still I would like to hear the answers from the source.

Some of my questions are specific to the Christian bible. Since it is the Word of God, I wish to have clarification on some points.

• Why are we here?
• Why do bad things happen to good people?
• Why so many religions?
• Why so many races of people?
• What was the true reason for the tower of Babel, why have so many languages to confuse...?
• Why was Adam and Eve setup to fail? The original sin, why no second chance?
• What is the reason for some 10% of population being left handed?
• Why are a small minority of the population gay and trans sexual?
• Why do You have favorites? Such as Abel over Cain, and the Jewish people are the chosen one?
• Why do miracles happen?
• Are we alone in the Universe?

I am an engineer and a scientists by training. I like to take things apart and understand what makes it tick. I also like to look for optimum solutions. In any design, there are trade offs that a designer makes in order to come up with an optimum solution.

If I was to study and analyze the design of the human as a "machine" designed for a purpose, I would have some questions for the Designer. I am also very impressed with the outcome. I say that because I see the limitless possibilities and the amazing accomplishment of our human race. They are only made possible as a result of intelligent design by our Creator.

The mechanism of DNA is one such example of a unique and perfect design. As an engineer, I can think of no better mechinism of reproduction of cells and human sexuality as the propagation of our species.

• We are here to demonstrate the glory of God. We are a testament to his greatness and we are created to be his subjects and to worship Him. That is not to say it is the only purpose. There is no law that say there is only one meaning of life. A secondary meaning could be one of self discovery. We are most happy when we learn and explore and unlock secrets of the universe. We are a social animal and enjoy family and friends and interactions. We are each a unique creation.
• The reason bad things can happen to good people is due to "free will". When God gave us free will, it forces somethings that are out of his control. He can chose to intervene by ways of supernatural ways but then it defeats the whole purpose of free will.
• The reason we have multiple religions and multiple races is one of diversity. Just think of ice cream and how dull it would be if all you have is vanilla flavor.
• The tower of Babel baffles me. If I was a designer, I would want the most efficient way to communicate. As such, I would come up with one universal language that all can easily learn and have proficiency as quickly as possible. This way, it will lead to better communications among individuals and across nations so as to minimize confusion and misunderstanding and avoid conflicts. That would be my ideal. I would like to know what God's intention was besides what was stated in the Bible, to confuse the people so they could not build a tower to reach God of the heavens, and be like God...
• The Original sin is also a big mystery for me. What I mean by setting up Adam and Eve is this. By placing the test in the garden of Eden, with the tree of knowledge, it is almost guarenteed that at some point, due to our curious nature, we will fail the test. If that is the case, why did God do it? Why was this necessary for Him? Why was there no second chance? In life as in baseball, we are given 3 strikes... so why not in this incidence? One strike and we were out of the garden of eden.
• Being left handed, I am curious why God created this oddity. It is an oddity because only a small population has this feature. If it was 50/50, I could understand it better. If it is genetically based, it would be close to 50/50 just like other traits. However, it is not in this case. For some unknown reason, it is only about 10%. This does lead to some conflict growing up especially in a Country that favors conformity. I was reprimanded by my elders to always use my right hand to eat and write. As it turned out, being left handed has some unique advantage. When I was in College, and joined the fencing team, I discovered the benefit of being left handed. I had an edge over the other fencers.
• The same goes with gays. Even a smaller population, by some estimates of 2 or 3% of the population are gay or transsexuals...Why?
• Why do You have favorites? As a father and parent of 3 kids, I work hard to treat each of my three children equal. They are all unique in their own way and have various talents and attributes... but I love them equally. As God is Father to all his creations, I could not understand why he would have favorites. Why he chose Abel over Cain? Which lead to the first murder. The jealousy that ensued between the two brothers is what lead to the slaying of Abel by Cain. It was so unnecessary in my opinion. Why did God do it? The same applies to the people of Israel. Why did the bible say, the Jews are the chosen people of God? Should we all be treated equally in the eyes of God? A huge mystery which again is the source of conflicts down through the ages. To this day, the Jews and Moslems are fighting in the Middle East and for what?
• Why miracles? If God is all powerful and absolute and perfect...why do we need miracles? Why can't He device a better way to demonstrate his power and his soverignty without using supernatural means to change history? Doesn't it negates the whole concept of free will? If he has the power to overide anything and everything we do, then we really don't have free will do we?
• Are we alone? Despite some evidence of UFO and aliens and Rosewell incident..., I am of the believe we are not here by accident of nature. If that is the case, it was by design. The whole thing including the universe is part of that whole package. Are we the only species in this vast univers? I have no idea. If anyone knows, it would be the Creator himself. I sure would like to know? Even if it is impossible for us to meet due to the vast distances...it is nice to know we are not alone.

Philosophy is an exercise in thought. There is no right or wrong. It is just our brain trying to make sense of the natural world we see. Religion and their tenets can be taken on faith or explained as philosophy.

If God exists, He must have some purpose. Everything we see and experience in this world must have some meaning or purpose. Otherwise, what's the point of living?