No it was murder. Killing children, no matter what the circumstance, is murder. Killing children is not God's justice in the Christian faith.
Kosta: It's just that if we go through a tribulation and recover, we call it "being tested," and if we don't make it, we call it "tempted."
FK: I don't see it that way. I will grant that sometimes it can be difficult to discern which is which, but it is NOT outcome determined.
Sure it is! We made the rule: if we "come out stronger," it was a test, and we are blessed; if we we are worse off, it was a temptation and we gave into it and are punished.
For example, if my cable scrambled and I suddenly had the naked channel for free, my best guess is that it would be a temptation
Oh, poor FK! And if you were to give in and watch "just a little," what would that do for your salvation? Nothing. And if you gave in to it and watched it all night long, would that make you less "saved?" Of course not.
So, what's the point even if it was a temptation and you gave in to it? You could say, I am only human and I still sin, but next time I may be able to resist. But, then, you could also say, God gave it to me and I took it. I harmed no one and I feel "blessed." :)
It can go either way, because the outcome was good. But if you watched the channel and something happened to your loved ones soon thereafter or while you were watching it, you might say it was God testing you and you failed and now yo are punished.
The outcome has a lot to do with our disposition towards sin.
However, if I got sick, and my choices were to either seek God for healing or curse Him for my sickness, then I would guess that to be a test
Well, if I got sick I would seek a human doctor first, and leave miracles to God. Cursing God for our sickness implies that God is responsible for it. If that's the case, then He is also repsosnible for my sin. It was sin that brought sickness and death into the world, not God.
God only gives blessings. Some use them to commit sin; others to do God's work.
No it was murder. Killing children, no matter what the circumstance, is murder. Killing children is not God's justice in the Christian faith.
No. "Murder" is a legal term and very often an incendiary word meant to stir emotions. It always refers to "that which is unlawful", in the genre. Since there is no law which says that God cannot intentionally kill humans, He is not subject to a charge of murder. Children or not. He is the potter and we are the clay. He can do whatever He wants with us within all bounds of morality, GIVEN God's nature as it is revealed to us in the OT and NT.
So, what's the point even if it was a temptation and you gave in to it? You could say, I am only human and I still sin, but next time I may be able to resist. But, then, you could also say, God gave it to me and I took it. I harmed no one and I feel "blessed." :)
Well, ONE point is that tests and temptations do NOT determine salvation, grace through faith does. Another point is what we ultimately take out of the experience. I can think of many temptations I have succumbed to that now are an anchor of strength for the experience. Some temptations I still struggle with today, but others are beaten by God's grace, such that they are not even temptations any more. The point is that we are closer to God for the temptations He has overcome on our behalf and we are therefore better able to serve Him.