I would love to hear 'them' say that to all the adolescent girls on my other halfs ward who have been people smuggled, raped, beated, abused, tortured, hooked on drugs & forced into prostitution (incidently not one of them is over 16yrs).

heard a religious saying once; a guy prays to god about his life being so hard and he has such a burdon to bear and god comes to him and shows him a room full of crosses of many sizes and says "go pick out the cross that you wish to bear"...so the guy wander through the room, seeing crosses that are as big as himself, as big as a truck and even as big as a building..then the guy spots a very very tiny cross...he picks it up and says to god, this is the cross I want to bear and god says "but thats the one you already have".. This is a novel little story and one that I am sure brings many people relief when they feel the burdens of the world are too much...but the reality of it is, people have problems they cannot bear all the time, money problems, addiction problems, etc. just recently a man killed himeself his wife and his 5 kids because the burden of losing his job and home was too much to bear...now if god didn't give people burdens they couldn't bear there would be no unhappy miserable people...especially ones killing themselves. In my opinion, there is no god..shit happens..no god, no divine intervention or dissemination of burdens...bad stuff just happens and often it happens to good people and all we can do is deal with it the best we can and hope that along the way we have others who help out or make it more tolerable.

I wonder how "they" know that? I don't recall it from the Bible.

well He knows you inside and out. He knows your past, your present and your future. He knows what decision you will make before you even make it. He knows the problems and obstacles you will face and knows how you will deal with them. so no He doesnt over estimate you, He knows

I think the question is does everyone have the potential to forgive others or themselves and the strength to work through the most severe and awful situations, such as the before mentioned by joker. People have overcome extraordinary circumstances and found a way to live again. Many do this through spiritual means. Logic and reasoning would drive a person, in an extreme situation, mad. Humans are insanely adaptable beings,,,so I believe that any problem we are faced with can potentially be overcome.

I was beaten, tortured, abused, smuggled, held captive in another country... Perhaps you should ask us "the abused" how we feel "the Joker" before making such comments. I believe that we underestimate ourselves not that God overestimates us. I escaped on my own, built a career from nothing, am getting married and buying my own house. Why? Because I never gave up hope. Bad things happen, but we can ALWAYS overcome. I believed this even when I was sure that I was going to die. I lived my life the way I believed was right and still found my way into Hell on earth through no fault of my own and never gave up hope. No, most girls aren’t as lucky as I am, but again this is how I felt even when I was sure I was at my end. My God put’s no trials before me that I am unable to deal with. I just might not be able to deal with it in the way "I" want. It’s never about what we want or what we think we can endure. The human spirit is stronger that we give ourselves credit. And God will NEVER give you something you can’t handle. Believe in yourself and in God to see you through.

I heard in the news the other day about a little girl being kidnapped and killed. Seems she was given a problem she couldn't bear.

I don't understand how you could blame God for that man killing his family. First of all I don't think he knew God, and if he did he would still be alive today. If you know God, then you know his word, and if you know his word you can survive under any circumstance. In Philipians 4:12-13 Paul says, " I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ,who gives me strength. God protects his people that truly follow him. There are christians that die unexpectedly, but that is reality. God only permits this to show unbelievers that even when the people we love are taken from us, we will still trust in God. I dare you to start asking christians how was their life growing up and how did they pull through. you'll be surprised. Remember; nothing is impossibble for God.