Posted on 12/18/2004 8:48:05 AM PST by churchillbuff
... Johnnie Carl, 57, shot himself to death in the pre-dawn hours Friday in a basement bathroom, leaving behind both the manic-depression that tortured him but also the church, community and family that adored him.
"He was such an incredible, caring person," Linda Carl said Friday, her words fighting her tears. "He never felt he was worthy of all the praise he got. He would be totally amazed and disbelieving of what people are saying about him now." ...
[snip]Carl spoke openly about his illness, according to friends and colleagues, many of whom expressed sadness - but not surprise - at his death.
"I think that every human being has a weakness and strength and we saw last night what Johnnie's weakness was," Skidgel said.
The "weakness" was manic-depression, which required at least three different drugs to keep the orchestra director from cycling into the extreme emotional highs and lows that characterize the disease.
(Excerpt) Read more at ocregister.com ...
Guess he got off his meds. Sad story.
FMCDH(BITS)
RIP, maestro.
I think he was the music director or the organist.
It's very sad --- and it seems that many very talented people are manic-depressives.
He was off his meds. They took him off the one that was stabilizing him because it was interfering with his kidneys.
Orchestra director.
But who was he having the argument with and why which precipitated his gunplay?
This anwers some of the points made in the theological discussion the other day. Deliberate suicide is known as the unforgiveable sin, because it rejects grace, hope, and the gift of life, accedes to despair, and leaves no time or opportunity for repentance.
But only God can say how deliberate a suicide is. Many suicides have at least some element of mental instability. That certainly seems to have been the case with this man. Sin requires consent.
I think Johnnie Carl deserves our prayers. Also our prayers that no one else will be inspired to follow his sad example.
God knows the heart and soul of man. He knows how much each can handle, understands our weaknesses and how they plaque us. I feel sure that He understood this man's trials.
I always thought the unforgiveable sin was not accepting Jesus as the Savior - just my thought don't know for sure.
Sin is man's nature. What "consent" did Esau give from the womb when he sinned?
The real question in this sad ordeal seems to be why wasn't Schuller's Fortress of Solitude able to ease Carl's desperate struggle?
I had thought that the "sin against the Holy Spirit" was what was known as the "unforgivable sin."
I thought, that Jesus himself told us what the unpardonable sin was, Blaspheming the Holy Spirit .
Suicide is sinning against God because it is taking a life that is not our own. We all belong to God as His creation, the fallen and the saved.
Free will?
"The real question in this sad ordeal seems to be why wasn't Schuller's Fortress of Solitude able to ease Carl's desperate struggle?"
That is the qustion isn't it. Why doesn't the so called church have any answers.
Maybe it's because Schuller has rejected the God of the Bible in favor of a God of his own making
Just a wild guess
Those in leadership at the Crystal Cathedral have been spreading false teaching from their start. This is the sort of fruit born by error. 'Christian' teaching that we are to attempt holliness is in severe error. We are to let the Power of Christ make us holly and we, in our own efforts, shall fall far short of perfection while in this body. So many churches teach Christ 'plus'. Christ plus your striving. Salvation and Justification is a free gift to all who believe upon Him. YOU add nothing.
I agree with you.
What if the person committing suicide is mentally ill?
I think the pastoring has to take some responsibility. JMO.
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