I read your story on Flocks Diner and honestly am too lazy to sign up so I can post a comment there, so I’ll do it here.

I too am angered by the story and have on many occasions (in ones like this and many many others) screamed out “Where are you God.” In some instances I am still awaiting an answer.

But in one situation, God did grant me an answer. (Another horrible story ahead about child rape). I’ve worked in foster care for about 11 years and seen some horrendous stuff. In one wonderful foster home, I worked with a 6 month old healthy baby boy. Great kid, but he’s not the one this story is about. Another child in the home, who looked to be about 6 mos old, ALWAYS smiled at me when I came to the home. Beautiful baby boy with big eyes and a cheerful spirit. This child died suddenly of a serious medical condition shortly after I began going to the home. Fever spiked on Friday, he didn’t make it to Monday. In the aftermath, I learned this baby’s story. He was raped (6 months old!) by a mentally ill man. The minute I heard that story, all I could think of was the child’s smiling face. It didn’t matter what was going on, when I came to the house, I saw him smiling. At that moment, I decided that the boy’s smile has to be a gift from God. How else could a smile so beautiful be explained from a child who had been through such misery.

There are many instances in life where I still wonder where God was and get intensely angry. My mom’s suicide is most present in my mind now. But with this child, I am grateful that God allowed me to experience his presence through the smile of a young 6 month old rape victim. He does work in mysterious ways.

Well, it’s wonderful that “god” was so willing to give you the gift of a smile - what about a gift for the suffering child? Apparently a smile is more important than any of the billion and a half things “god” could have done to stop the monster - having him make a mistake, be seen, drop dead, etc.

The child was hard-wired to do things that make adults respond; children who smiled were better survivors because that, combined with the instincts adults have to respond to children, helped them survive.

Imagine the things “god” could do. What if pedophilia were genetically linked with a heart condition - pedophiles could drop dead and we’d have no hint “god” was doing it, so no challenged to faith.

Ridiculous to believe that “god” so loves us, but so hates this child, that he/she/it would let the child suffer, with limited cognitive ability, and then die. Faith really can justify anything, no matter how disgusting and vile - it’s the universal apologetic of evil.

That smile is a sign from god the same way the sun coming up is a sign from god, the same way rain is a sign from god, the same way steaming piles of cow flop are signs from god.

There is no excuse, none, for any sentient creature with the power to prevent it allowing a 3 year old child to be raped. Such a creature, if it exists, could claim to love us the same way a little boy with a magnifying glass can claim to love ants.

If there is a god, saying, “God is not our baby sitter” doesn’t cover the half of it. God is not anything to us. God is either totally powerless, totally uncaring, or totally oblivious.