Christians: Do you believe you are supposed to die for your faith? Are you taught this? (suicide, sin)
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Personally, I see the school shooting, the Charlestown church shooting, and all other similar events as terrible tragedies authored by Satan, not by God.
Are you a Christian? Do you believe God/Jesus is more powerful than Satan? Then why didn't God stop it? Why didn't Jesus send the cops sooner, jam the gun, get the shooter into an accident on the way to the school, cure his mental illness?
You folks can't have it both ways. Either everything that happens is God's will, or some things are terrible tragedies. If it's God's will, it can't be a tragedy. If God allowed it, permitted it, caused it, then it can't be a tragedy.
None of us wants to die. And it is evil when a person is persecuted (or worse) because of their faith, their politics, etc.
That said, I think that in answer to this question, we can each ask ourselves a comparable question: suppose someone told us that we had to renounce our marriage, or disown our children on the spot, or spit in our best friend's face, or especially allow our loved ones to be persecuted in our stead, on pain of being gunned down. How would each of us react? Do we want to live with what could be a broken relationship? And can any of us sleep at night knowing that we chose to betray our loved ones?
So it is with our personal relationship with the Lord.
Are you a Christian? Do you believe God/Jesus is more powerful than Satan? Then why didn't God stop it? Why didn't Jesus send the cops sooner, jam the gun, get the shooter into an accident on the way to the school, cure his mental illness?
I often ask the same things myself.
But God did give us all free will. That said, I myself often wonder why He does not intervene more often and prevent these tragedies.
None of us wants to die. And it is evil when a person is persecuted (or worse) because of their faith, their politics, etc.
That said, I think that in answer to this question, we can each ask ourselves a comparable question: suppose someone told us that we had to renounce our marriage, or disown our children on the spot, or spit in our best friend's face, or especially allow our loved ones to be persecuted in our stead, on pain of being gunned down. How would each of us react? Do we want to live with what could be a broken relationship? And can any of us sleep at night knowing that we chose to betray our loved ones?
So it is with our personal relationship with the Lord.
No, your examples are not even remotely applicable. Regardless, WORDS mean nothing in a life or death situation. If someone had a gun to my head, or my child's head, I would say anything I had to say to save my child's life, or my own. If someone had a problem with the WORDS I said to save my life or my child's life, then it is that person who has a problem, not me.
Furthermore, if we believe God knows our hearts and minds, do you really think God would want someone to die or cause the death of someone else because of words? If you believe your relationship with God would be damaged because you wanted to live, again, you are the one with the problem.
I have known folk,(soldiers) that have been through bullets flying through their clothes and not being hit and had bullets at point blank range not penetrate the skin in fact one guy was shot and the new testament in his vest pocket stopped the bullet.
There are miraculous events that do occur, but we don't count on that
What we count on is, that no matter what happens we trust God, having given our self to God and His instruction, knowing one's path is ordered of the Lord.
Now I cannot speak for those walking in the wisdom of their own understanding, out side God's personal instruction ,
God has spared some of these as well, but it does not mean they are walking in God's will ,the opportunity is still there to find that relationship .
Likely it is some one praying for them, for why God intervenes.
That was the case in my life several times I know of.
Who's will are you serving your's or God's.
It makes a difference.
God knows what is in out hearts. He does not expect us to make ourselves martyrs because some whack-job on a killing spree is asking questions.
LIFE matters. Surviving matters. Returning home to your family matters. Answering the questions of a disturbed killer who is pumping bullets into innocent people does not.
Agreed.
I think Jesus is more focused on us confessing him in front of those who are not whack-jobs.
You answered this yourself in this post. It isn't free will if there is intervention is it?
There is very little free will involved with people who are so mentally disturbed they think killing people is a good idea.
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