by Amazing1914 97 Replies latest jw friends
Usually death is preceeded by either a long period of intense pain and suffering or a short moment of absolute, unimaginable terror.
And there are some schools of thought that this is a part of the human condition and that we are born into our misery to learn from it before moving on to the next level.
Thanks, Jim. I respect your intellectual honesty ... and am hoping that the resolution of such issues is not too painful for you, in the long run. For me, it was a thankful release.
take care
tal
There have been natural disasters since the beginning of recorded time, way before the invention of the destructive technologies you describe.
Had those been blessed with the available technology that is still in it's infancy today, people may not have had to suffer the destructive forces of nature. Sattelite imaging, seizemic reading for the potential for earth quakes, even the Tsunami of a year ago or so that wiped life out on such a grand scale, could've been lessened due to the fact that there were warnings as to the Tsunami's destructive power that could've been sounded, but because of business & industry not wanting to cause a potential shortfall financially, in the event that there was not as big a problem as they would've believed to be, in thier limited reasoning, several more thousands of people were killed as a result of human greed.
The world is by no means perfect in the condition that it's in. There does exist the potential for the planet to be a paradise, in a state where we have God's eternal blessing and backing. There are answer to questions that only cause more questions to to be asked. I don't discount the loss of life that's going to come as a result of this hurricane as well as host of other things that are certain to come afterwards, I still believe that God will make a fair accounting when all other things are brought to the otherside, as in life, also in death, be it by 1 or in the numbers unable to be counted.
Proph,
There was a wealthy, powerful man, living on the top of the mountain overlooking a shanty town. He knew the whole town was about to be destroyed by a mudslide. How did he know? Because the construction of his new home had caused the unsettling conditions that made the imminent mud slide a reality. In spite of the fact that he had advance knowledge of the slide, and the means to save all the people, he decided to sit by and watch while it happened, and see how many of the poor people could save themselves. Is he a fair man?
I still believe that God will make a fair accounting when all other things are brought to the otherside, as in life, also in death, be it by 1 or in the numbers unable to be counted.
I liken "God" to the man in my illustration. How can "God" make a fair accounting, after sitting back and watching all the pain and suffering he has not only allowed, but heaped upon humankind (at least according to his Word, the Bible)?
And remember, we are made in his image, so should I not be able to understand his motivations?
tal
***Just so you know, I am Christian and accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I just don't know how to answer with convincing arguments these issues for myself or others.***
Jim,
As I have said to several people like yourself whom I respect and who come to this board to share their thoughts, "you’re a smart guy, you will figure it out".
Your open and intelligent mind is a very strong tool, even more than you may think. You are closer than you know.
Take care,
Dave
I've been watching the evacuation on the news. They keep showing these huge five lane highways that are packed... but only on one side. If the local officials were smart they would direct traffic so that people could use both the north and south bound lanes to go north. Anyone who needs to go south can use one reserved lane. This would give the north bound traffic nine lanes to use.
*************
i was thinking the same thing
why is such an idea appear to be rocket science to these planner
all lanes but one or two for emergency vechicle etc should be heading the hell outta town
i can;t beleive how stupid these guys are
Why blame God? It doesn't exist. For a long time in the Dubs I would get all pissed off about how God could allow this sort of shit to happen.. after a while I just knew in my heart that God wasn't there. To quote the Dubs, surprisingly, it was a "happifying" conclusion.
GBL
Qcmbr - You're taking the mickey, right, about 'when has dying been bad. All it is, is people returning to God', sorry to paraphrase you but...really?
Have you seen and experienced anyone dying, recently or at all?
Have you witnessed their suffering?
It's not all nice and tidy like in the movies.
Have you, and this is not an arrogant question and I hope not offensive to you, as I don't know your med history, but have you ever 'suffered' severe and I mean severe physical pain that no pain killer will alleviate?
Dying is very unpleasant in the vast majority of cases. People in general, do not slip away nicely and quietly without massive sedation. It's a bad world, and....if anyone's trying to make excuses for an all powerful God, then I'm not going to agree with you, for a moment even.
I've had a lot of ants in my house lately, I don't mind taking my finger and killing all that I see. I don't mind pouring poison in their nest.
Maybe God looks at us as mere ants, and could care less what happens to us. After all, the universe is so vast that there may be more important task at hand. We may put more importance on the human race than God ever has. The bible's explaination of life seems like a lot of crap to me.
I have no idea what is really going on in the universe, sort of like everyone else on this planet. Could someone give some real evidence of the truth????
Ken P.
Gill - I was talking about the concept of dying - not the method. Yes, I've seen some pretty nasty deaths. I also know that in the grand scheme of things a moment, minute,hour,day,week,year of pain is still only a drop in the ocean of time which doesn't belittle that experience but helps me understand it.
The blind man will appreciate his sight more in the next life than anyone of us who have never been without sight ever can. This is what makes the concept of a loving god , Jesus , who descended below everything and suffered everything for and on behalf of everyone so powerful to a believer. That is the whole point of the atonement - only someone who had experienced the worst could ever hope to understand and heal the rest of us. Knock out religion and you get the nastiness of unguiged nature and accidental evolution.
Life can get pretty awful here but it'll be worth it. In the meantime we shouldn't keep looking for God to keep intervening if we don't want Him the rest of the time.
