But not everyone lives.
(sorry, I had to do it)
Posted on 12/31/2004 1:08:02 PM PST by Pokey78
BTTT for later!
Ah, sweet reason.
Everyone dies.
If we don't know the bad in life, how can we recognize the good when it comes? Life isn't fair.
Personally, I'd much rather substitute all the murderers, rapists, child molestors etc in place of all those innocents. But I'm not in any position to do that.
That said, prayers for the hundreds of thousands of lost souls.
Why? Because this world is only very temporary, and He has something infinitely better He wants to share with us. Things only seem dead end if we take that point of view and make this world everything.
Amen to that, my friend.
Our ways are not His ways. To know the answer to the question asked would be to claim a wisdom we cannot
posses.Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom.But
when bad things happen we tend to respond to the immmediate
in an emotional rather than rational manner.Only after a
period of reflection can we begin to comprhend the myriad
of causes and effects.For sometimes we choose behavior or
actions that place us in harms way unnecessarily. But it is not given to us to know Gods purpose all the time -for sometimes th eonly way we can grow --is by suffering loss.
Very well said. The world is not fair and those who look for fairness on earth will always be bitterly disappointed.
So Islam isn't really monotheistic? ;)
I've always found this fascinating.
What distinguished the biblical prophets from their pagan predecessors was their refusal to see natural catastrophe as an independent force of evil, proof that at least some of the gods are hostile to mankind.
Superstition is one of the primary enemies of mankind. By excising it with a greatly simplified spiritual view of cause and effect, Judaism (and Zoroastrianism) set a new standard on which human beings could evaluate questions of fate and morality without resorting to overwrought notions of cause and effect. Judaism goes a step further by erradicating witchcraft and astrology. The stage was set for western civilization to thrive.
In the ancient Babylonian creation myth, the Enuma Elish, for example, the goddess of the oceans Tiamat declares war on the rest of creation and is only defeated after prolonged struggle by the younger god, Marduk.
Tiamat, was that you?
very interesting article. I agree with the rabbi that Maimonides probably had the right idea. But he was wrong about angels - angels have free will, otherwise how could some of them reject God and fall? (do Jews believe in fallen angels BTW?) The angels' free will is very important because it makes it such that God did not create any evil, even at the beginning, it was always the result of free created beings choosing badly. I think this could even in a sense explain things like the tsunami. The world is not the best of all possible worlds, it is fallen and Satan is the prince of it. So things like this are going to happen, sadly.
Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
(Luke 13:1 KJV) There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
(Luke 13:2 KJV) And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?
(Luke 13:3 KJV) I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
(Luke 13:4 KJV) Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?
(Luke 13:5 KJV) I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Interesting. God is in as much trouble as Bush. Either it's God's/Bush's fault if something happens or it's God's/Bush's fault for not preventing something happening. Uh, just were does Nature and the rest of us come in?
God is asleep at the switch? Or maybe we should look more at a Catharist version of our world? This isn't heaven baby.
It's not our place to question God about anything. We live our life, and God willing, we've followed his word.
I'm not a Priest, Minister or "Reverend" (like the Reverend Rectum Je$$e Jack$on or AL "go-out-and-kill-a-cop" $harpton, but I know that much.
Wise words.
But not everyone lives.
(sorry, I had to do it)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.