I am not religious, and the religious people in my surroundings tend to be significantly less delusional, but to parrot the way this was explained to me: to a certain subset of Christians, “Why is cancer still a thing?” is a feature, not a bug. If you get sick, it’s Your Fault. You should have prayed harder, believed harder. If you were Religious Enough, your faith would make God heal you. If against all odds you somehow *were* Religious Enough and still got sick, as long as you suffer nobly enough, you were instead sent to be Inspirational and Faith-Affirming to the people around you (think the Christmas Shoes song). It sounds like your mom has left the faith but that she’s still firmly stuck with the ingrained dogma. Maybe pointing this out in a less charged setting could help her start to unprogram that?

To be fair, most religious people are delusional. Not all of them, but definitely most. FYL. I hope you can open her eyes.

In a way this is the opposite of one Seinfeld Episode when George gets a mysterious spot on his lips. He eventually says that he doesn’t believe in God, except for the bad things - that God wouldn’t let him be successful… Most Christians encourage each other that God will hear their prayers and answer them by saying things exactly like Mom said. They don’t generally openly question why a God of love would let or cause bad things to happen, or if they do, they rationalize it as either a punishment or test of our faith… Religion is generally not about logic, no matter what religion one practices. If you stick strictly to logic, you are not usually religious. But people are not purely logical beings. We have emotional needs and often want to turn to someone or something else when we are feeling overwhelmed. Religion provides that outlet for many people… The truth is I do not know if there really is a God who watches over us and listens to our prayers and thoughts. But I do know that there are times when it provides comfort to pray and share your thoughts and fears. Having gone through cancer myself, I can tell you that I prayed, as did my Jewish wife. But we used all the relevant medical options.

This is my pov, Since the first sin occurred there will continue to be sin so "bad" things will happen plus freewill includes good and bad but God will be with you during those times. 2nd God can and does heal but faith without works is dead.

Religion is the root of all evil