I trust humans as far as I can throw them—and when I walk into a church all I see are humans.
When I see a book of any kind all I see are humans.
Human claims about what books mean are human claims—no more no less.
That is what I believe.
I will tell you what I would tell the unjustly harmed family who has been traumatized by a drunk driver:
“It was not fair. It was not just. You did not deserve this—and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. That is all I know—and you have my heartfelt sympathy. If there is anything I can do for you let me know.”
You’re telling me you don’t trust your own claims.
Where does that place our discussion?
Here is what I would tell any victim of tragedy:
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. From the book of Revelation.
When a child suffers and dies, he is with the Lord and his suffering is gone, and not even remembered.
For the atheists out there, you have never justified your faith in atheism because it is objectively false.
Thank you for your post. So far, you are the only poster who has demonstrated any ability for sympathy or empathy for people in painful mourning. Your rhetorical response to a grieving individual is perfect and the correct one.
When someone is grieving, it’s unfeeling and cruel to arrogantly advise the aforementioned person that they should be happy and celebrating the fact that their loved one (or loved ones) are gone forever.
Most of the responses on this thread are just word salads.