Wade. I will try to answer your question to the best of my ability. So starting with your opening paragraph:

FIRST PART:

"As we plant so shall we reap", If we plant a pear tree don't expect oranges to grow from it. This is more expressed in "To those that have even more shall they receive, to those that haven't, even that that they have they will lose." Those seem to fit together well.**

This is the LOA in action. "As we plant, so shall we reap". As we think, so we create....so if we think small, don’t expect big things to manifest . "To those that have even more shall they receive, to those that haven't, even that, that they have they will lose." When you give Gratitude for all that you have you will be blessed with more, if on the other hand you moan and complain about our LACK....then you will continue to lose.....even what we already have.

The LOA is in existence here on earth to help us consciously/unconsciously co-create in a positive/ more pleasurable or in a negative / more stressful way.The choice is always ours. Either way the LOA will create for us, through our thoughts.

SECOND PART

"However there is also the teaching that God allows bad things to happen to teach us so that we may grow"

This is the teaching of others to keep us from embracing our true identity. For far too long, we as Souls having a humans experience have looked to others for direction and in doing so grew further and further away from our true essence which is the Light and Power “Within” each and every one of us.

It is my opinion that God/Source does not stand above us and dish out punishment or pain in order for us to grow. We are all GOD/SOURCE.

Let me draw a picture here: if you could imagine your body as a space suit with a zip down the front and you and everyone else on this planet, unzipped their space suits together, there would emerge an energy from each of us that would converge into ONE and this energy would then join the larger energy that we call God/Source.

So taking it from there, we as individual aspects of God/Source created a plan of what it was that we wanted as individuals to experience in order to grow prior to returning to earth to have our human experience. I also believe that in the bigger picture of this woven Grand Design, that as Soul Groups i.e. (communities/ countries) that we agreed to offer our bodies up through various Disasters to speed up the Awakening of other parts of ourselves in human form. In other words, to bring to the attention of each individual the negative ways we as humanity have and are creating through GREED, POWER, EGO etc

THIRD PART:

In relation to your friends death;

When something as unexpected as a murder or accident happens to ie: family/friend, then there is something here for us as individual souls to experience. Perhaps their death was to become the touch stone for others to connect in a more understanding/ loving/compassionate/forgiving way. When the time is right and when we are ready to hear the answers, we can ask for guidance on the event and we will receive the information we need as individuals to help us understand and cope. Information like "why did he do it" may never be given to us here on earth as we only have access to a very small portion of our full potential , but in time “all will be revealed”

I apologise to all that may feel my depiction of life here on earth is being done in such a simple format, however I have long since given up making life more complicated than it is

Cant really believe the premis that God allows bad stuff to happen to teach us things. If indeed God is within us then i would imagine He speaks to the inner man. I know lots of people whove had horrendous things happen to them and its not taught them a thing.

However they do say that pain is a good teacher.... So there are two sides to this.

I would say God doesnt teach thru negativity,some may learn by their own mistakes which lead to pain.

But again i know examples of people whove had their hands burnt in the metaphorical fire,who soon after plunge their hands back in it again.

Good question Wade.

Perhaps God doesnt "allow " or not "allow". Perhaps were the people who individualy or corporately cause the pain and the pleasure. God being neutral.

I must admit im in two minds about this one.

Graham

The Bible says it rains on the just and the unjust the same. Good things and bad things happen to good and bad people. The Bible also says that all things work for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose. So even though bad things happen to us that we didn't attract to ourselves, and even though God didn't make it happen to us, God can work it to our benefit. Also, we don't get to pick how we learn things. I prayed that God would show me who He really is, because I knew the churches didn't have it right. I also prayed for the gift of healing. I ended up getting in several accidents and getting whiplash and other muscular pain, not bones broken. It was in learning how to heal myself of the pain through exercise and stuff. Then I was given a book, that book led to another book and then a video here and video there and so on and now I am here on this site discussing some things about God that I may never have come accross if I hadn't been injured.

ok we reap what we sow what we do to other will be done to us! what we plant good or bad also come back to us! and we also create the experiance that we live individually and collectively! some time we cause harm to other just by seing bad where there is none! we need to check our though speak and action to know what we are doing! when you start to believe in something you give it power!and belief can also hide the truth from you at the level of the mind! you want example i will give you some i have seen someone shaft other people! and one weekend he decided to do is roof and he falled down and broke is wrist! another did not want to ear something that someone was saying and lost some earing! someone lost faith and as liver problem! in french liver is foie and faith is foi. another thing i have notice the future is part set and part unset!the part set is the probability for something to happen according to someone state of being! most often people will make the same choice in the same circonstence!and people around them also!the part unset is a choice they did not do yet! and both of those will create the future event! and i can also tell you that we chose to come here and we chose to have some obstacle in our lives to try to over come them or learn from it! but we might sometime set the goal alittle high!

How did people feel about this before the bible?