first, thank's for writing. your question is one that is raised often. there are two reasons that people ask that question. one is that they are trying to pursue god but just don't understand how a "loving" god could allow these things. the other reason is that some people are not interested in trying to get to know god (you can know him!), they come up with questions like these to try and dismiss that there is a god.which category are you in? if you are asking me this question with no intention of getting to know him then no matter what i say you will "automatically" dismiss it and my answer will do you no good. however if you do want to know him , i have your answer. after you read this please write me back and let me know what you think of my answer, most do not write a response and i am curious what you think. another reason (actually the main reason) why people dismiss explanations about god is because they realize that if it is true then they will have to subject thier life to him and they don't want to. where are you in this matter ? i can provide every answer if you are seeking god , but you must choose for yourself - god can be known !!! here we go, the bible where god has spoken to his creation in clear terms has said "he has declared to all his creation that it is i the lord who has created both the blind and the lame and the deaf for my glory". here is where the "catagories" of created life come into play , the lame,blind,deaf, retarded, mentally ill,stillborns,dis-figured,siamese twins,herphaphrodites and anyone else that i missed. god states that not only did he make them , that in making them he did not make a mistake (not once). he has made each one of us for a good reason and a good purpose. while we do not see the "behind the scenes" of that purpose , it does not mean that it is not true. you and I look on the "outside" of someone and automatically assume that if they were made by god then he must not have "baked them" in the oven long enough. god is very different from us in that he looks at each one of us as equal and the same , there is no differentiation with god. that is why we have trouble with this issue. when god "makes" someone in the "catagories" that i named he makes them for his purpose and his plan. we tend to think in terms of only this life but god thinks (and designs) in terms of eternity. whenever god does something he does it so that he can use it to draw people (get thier attention) in hopes that they will ultimately come to know him for eternity. i have seen this played out in a painful and personal way. god took my friend at 37 years old in a car accident. "my friend" left a wife and three children. god did this knowing the pain it would cause the ones who were left behind. my friend went to be with the lord because he knew christ. i guarantee you that my friend was not complaining to god that he had only designed his life to last 37 years, he was rejoicing that he didn't have to live with this messed up world any longer. it caused great pain in his wife and children and god understood this before it happened and did it anyway ! why? because god had used my friends life and his choices in order to get the attention of others who did not yet know christ. i "saw" that thru my friends death that many good things have happened in people's lives that may not have occured otherwise. god had orchestrated the whole thing. now to the "un-trained eye", alot of people could only see the scenario : why would god if he was good allow pat to die at 37 and allow his wife and children to be fatherless. if one doesn't know god and how he works then that would be a legitimate question. where we get into trouble and have a hard time with the "answer" is that we take it personally. i know it hurt me bad when god decided to take my friend . but in short order i was able to turn my hopelessness into joy because i knew what god was up to ultimately. you and i might not like everything that god does, but i can assure you that when you know him your trust in him takes over and fear is replaced with joy.you can answer your own question if you think about it. some of the people that god has created in the catagories that we have talked about DO GLORIFY GOD. and by this i mean that they're are many people with mental/physical abnormalities that have a great life. true life never consists of whether a person is physically/mentally "whole". that is a mistake that we make. the bible says : "mans looks on the outward while god looks at the heart". it is about embracing the will of god as it pertains to your life. some people not only understand that god made them that way , but they embrace it and let god use them. others become bitter against god. it is no different with people and the way they view thier circumstances. i have a hard life myself. i have had chronic fatigue syndrome for 11 years and am currently unable to work. that causes financial hardship on our family. my wife (she's the best) has to work 1 1/2 jobs just to try and keep our head above water (lol).this has been going on for a long time. god could "fix" the situation anytime he want's - but doesn't. and for good reason. so many great thing's have come from my life thru the personal hardship that god has "designed" for my life. i have more than embraced it. it is not a road that i would have chosen for myself originally, but god know's what he is doing (it is "ALWAYS" for good) and now because of my hardship , my life really adds up to something. as far as stillborns go in gods design they go straight to heaven . stillborns are cheated out of nothing , they don't have to "weather" this life like you and i do. the parents suffer but the suffering that they go thru somehow plays out in the eternal will of god.this is were i say that i don't like suffering (especially as it pertains to me or someone i love)but i understand it because i know god and why he does what he does. it is in god's character to sacrifice the life of one in order to gain the lives of many(he did this by sacrificing his own son on the cross.) this life is temporary. eternity is "ETERNAL" (never ending). it is to that end (eternity) that god work's. if you think about it in those terms then god IS fair. if there were no eternal life to consider then i would agree with you that god would be un-fair in his design of people in different "catagories". and god is fair. the only people that god sends to hell are the ones who have rejected gods "only" provision to get to heaven and that is thru christ alone. god will never banish to hell the person that HE HAS CREATED that cannot understand the plan of salvation. which answers your question about people who are mentally retarded. they have somewhat a hard road to go in life to be sure but as they say - ignorance is bliss. how many "retarded" people do you know who aren't happy? most are. some obviously have behavioural problems but most are happy. there is no such thing as a past life. god has made us "once". and when we die we go into eternity to live where "WE HAVE CHOSEN" - NOT GOD. you choose now whether it will be with god or apart from god. there is no second chance to come back and try to get it right. you/i have one chance only. so to recap god has made the retarded and the stillborn, etc , etc. but if you do not know him and how he works then it doen't make much sense. it only makes sense when you "know" him because then you see it from his perspective. god does not see the people in the catagories that we have discussed any differently then he sees YOU. each one of us plays a roll in his plan and that "plan" is "ALWAYS FOR GOOD". let me know what you think. write me back and at least tell me if i gave you a sufficient answer.
( every person god has ever made whether they made it out of the womb or not has a soul and is subject to god).............visiondude
"i am .........."meant to"
P.S., that RJoH is a stand up guy. thanks, vision
until further notice, it's france everyday