At 10:13 PM 1/22/2007 -0300, Ricardo Aráoz wrote: ... > > IMO, a belief in another world, an afterlife, makes it so much > > easier to devalue this life. Suicide bombers are the ultimate > > expression of this, but even the willingness to wage war and send > > your own countrymen to their deaths becomes much, much easier when > > you believe that they will be going to a better place once they are > > dead. > > > >But of course. What's more. I never understood why do christians get so >angry when someone kills their children. After all they are innocent, >they'll go straight to heaven. And this wonderful killer who sacrifices ...
I think the grief comes from to Christians for many reasons. First, we are still human. What happens in our physical life hits us just like it does anyone else. Next, Christian belief is that life is sacred. When tragedies strike, our spirit mourns for the loss. But then, as you say, the innocent life is expected to go to Heaven. This does console Christians. In fact, this gives many Christians the strength to forgive the offender (if there was one). There was a great example of this with the IRA-British war/conflict. I'm embarrassed that I don't have the man's name, but I don't have time to look it up. This is his general story: he was attending a church service with his daughter (I think early teen or just pre-teen in age). The IRA bombed the building. He and his daughter were trapped in the rubble. He could hold his daughter's hand and they could talk. His daughter would cry/scream occasionally, but as they talked he thought they would end up being OK. They were like that for some time. When they were finally pulled out, the daughter's injuries were so terrible she died very quickly. That man publicly stated his forgiveness to the IRA bombers. He went on to be a negotiator/speaker to try and bring peace and was respected by both sides. He made a big difference as a result. Not everyone can cope with a loss or an evil with the same degree of forgiveness. And, in general, for the world to have order there needs to be some justice. A drunk driver/drug abuser that kills a bus-load of children goes to jail. That is justice. Whether the families, in their heart, can forgive him or not, that is the Christian struggle. -Charlie _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
