jt: Once more I am forced to disagree with you "John the Humble" - You state in your original post that Samson's death involved revenge and suicide though the word used in Judges 16:28 is "avenge" which may be synonomous with revenge but there is a distinction in use ie:John responds:
Judges 16:28 "Then Samson called to the Lord and said, 'Oh Lord God, please remember me and please stregthen me just this time, O God, that I may at once be avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes."
Your paragraph above is the reasoning for including Samson in the Hall of Faith. My comment above is the reason why I am right about his death. John The Humble
Avenge = To take satisfaction for an injury or punishment by punishing the injuring party, to vindicate by inflicting pain or evil on wrongdoer.
Revenge = Inflicting pain or evil maliciously in an illegal manner.
The word avenge is also used by the martyrs in Rev 6:10 who cry out to God night and day
It is used by the widow in Luke 18:3 who cries out to the unjust judge
In Deut 32:43 God promises to avenge his people
As for the "suicide" aspect of Samson's death - because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord Israel had been delivered into the hands of the Philistines for 40yrs (Judges 13:1) and the parents of Samson (who judged Israel for 20yrs) were told prior to his birth that He would begin to deliver Israel out of the hands of the Philistines. So you could say that he (Samson) willingly layed his life down for the ministry. Do you think that Jesus' death was suicide? He also layed his life down willingly, it was not taken from Him.
The only alternative is to accuse God - and I for one am not going there..........
We see it differently, then. The "avenging" was the result of the actions of Samson himself. His anger is not addressed against the immorality of the Philistine people or their idolitry. Rather, it was an anger stemming from personal injury by the hands of the Philistines. His eyes and nothing else. He was mad because he was injured.
His death was suicidal in the sense that he was fully aware that he was going to die in this event. He caused his own death. Christ, of course, did not. I use the word "suicidal" advisedly, however. But sinse I do not believe that forgiveness offered to the child of God is regulated by the conditional requirement of "repentance" (as it that word is used in the common way) , I do not see the problem in our disagreement.
John
