GGG Most WANTED ~ CLOSED

[Keisaku Hakurei]

What immediately comes to mind is an account from one of the Gospels, where Jesus notes that a tower collapsed killing several people. He then stated that time and unforeseen occurrence befalls everyone.

There's also a scripture that says God causes it to rain on both the righteous and the unrighteous (He is impartial, he does not bring misfortune to the wicked, nor are the righteous untouchable).

As for bad things happening, I was taught God allowed Satan to torment Job because Satan implied Job was serving God out of selfishness because of his blessings. Not to say that that's the reason for everything bad in the world (the earthquake in Haiti was caused by plates moving and shifting, I was kind of upset at hearing a televangelist said God was punishing those people for being bad when disasters affect everybody), but if [insert your deity of choice here] stopped everything bad from happening right down to a glass falling and breaking what kind of people would we be?

I'm also reminded of the Prodigal Son... a boy leaves home and squanders his money, then has to do an unpleasant job for what wasn't even a living. That's not the full story, but he brought that upon himself by making poor choices.

Well, I hope I did a good job of explaining my views. I don't usually have an opportunity to discuss religion like this. sweatdrop  

[ThisEmptySoul]

Unforeseen to us maybe, but perhaps not to a higher being. It is agreed upon that God is impartial: viewing both the righteous and unrighteous with the same eyes without favoring one over the other. However, I do not take that to mean that misfortune is simply randomly dealt and whoever happens to be in the wake of such events are the ones that suffer. I believe there are circumstances that lead to those people being in the path of both misfortune and good fortune, and they are often things way beyond our comprehension as we can only see what is on the surface.

Keep in mind, though, that just because I believe they were somehow led to be there does not mean I think they deserve to suffer since what a person does and does not deserve is not my judgment to make. Ultimately, one should be the well-wisher of all, helping others regardless of their situation and whether or not on the surface their condition seems "deserved".

I once heard this concept explained with the example of a parent and their children. The parent {God} loves each of their children unconditionally. While one child may be well behaved while the other is not, that does not make them love one more or less than the other, and it always makes the parent happy to see their children get along, work together, and help each other. So if one child has come across trouble because of their behavior such as squandering their money, though their misfortune may be of their own doing, it would still be seen as honorable for the other child to help their sibling through this difficulty and would make the parent happy.

Something else to keep in mind, though I used the example of misfortune being a person's own doing, is that what is seen as misfortune may not actually be. For example, by going through such an event, a person may sometimes walk away from it with a new and better outlook on life, or reap some sort of benefit from it such as a better living situation. For those whose lives are ended abruptly by such things, perhaps the circumstances of their afterlife {such as reincarnation or passage into heaven} could be better than what they were experiencing in their current lifetime. This is not to say that these events should be celebrated, but rather add another perspective on the situation to see why one would have to endure hardships.

The more opportunity you have to discuss these things, the easier it will be to explain your beliefs properly. I understand that it is not always easy finding someone you can speak openly about religion to though, since it can be a sensitive subject or some people just simply don't wish to get involved with such a heavy conversation.  

[Keisaku Hakurei]

Quote:

I once heard this concept explained with the example of a parent and their children. The parent {God} loves each of their children unconditionally. While one child may be well behaved while the other is not, that does not make them love one more or less than the other, and it always makes the parent happy to see their children get along, work together, and help each other. So if one child has come across trouble because of their behavior such as squandering their money, though their misfortune may be of their own doing, it would still be seen as honorable for the other child to help their sibling through this difficulty and would make the parent happy.

I hear the loving parent comparison used a lot. Quite fitting, since the Bible says he created everything and everyone. I just didn't think of it.

Quote:

Something else to keep in mind, though I used the example of misfortune being a person's own doing, is that what is seen as misfortune may not actually be. For example, by going through such an event, a person may sometimes walk away from it with a new and better outlook on life, or reap some sort of benefit from it such as a better living situation.

Anything you can walk away from, you can learn from. Or even benefit from, as you said. ^-^

Though JW's don't believe in an afterlife... I could cite scripture but I don't want to sound too preachy. They do believe in resurrection though, but this is all off-topic and could wait until another time.

About the Prodigal Son... the story is that a son asked his father for his piece of the inheritance. He then went to a faraway land and squandered his money on a sinful but luxurious lifestyle. Hard times hit the land, forcing the now pennyless son to work for less than the minimum wage taking care of pigs, which the Jews considered unclean. He decided that he would be better off working as a servant at his old home than he was in his current situation, so he went home presumably expecting the worst since word of his life on his own had apparently reached his homeland, but instead his father greeted him warmly and welcomed him back, even having a big feast thrown for him.

To be honest, it was an illustration about God's love for his worshipers, the son who left home being people who turn away. sweatdrop

But I didn't bring that part up because I felt it would hold deeper significance to a Christian. sweatdrop  

[bandaidd]

*walks in and gets confused, seeing a discussion on religious philosophy underway. goes back outside to look at the sign and see if it is really the MW bar*

Yes, it is! *RN's a new number to see if she can earn a 15th good deed* Are good deeds transferable?  

[bandaidd]

Woo! I think I'll use this one right away.

*walks behind bar and starts opening bottles and pouring the contents down the sink, starting with the prettiest bottles first*

I may start a pretty bottle collection!  

[lady leko-chan]

*materializes in and sees band pouring out liquor*
WHAT THE HELLL!!
Do I need to start following you around!?
Why didn't the silly string trap get you? gonk
or maybe it did and you thought it was a party for you.... stare
no matter...

PRANK  

[lady leko-chan]

*sends a ghastly wind that lifts up band skirt over her head then with a flip of the wrist Band's underwear gets lifted from the back over her head trapping her skirt over the head as well*
now behave!!!
*start returning what bottles she could to the shelves*  

[bandaidd]

oh noes! the atomic wedgie! please! let me down before a BOY sees! you're a big meanie. crying  

[lady leko-chan]

*looks around for a bruiser to toss band out so she doesn't need to deal with this today*
I'm a meanie!???
YOUR the one pouring out all our alcohol!!
Do you have ANY concept of how much money you're costing the bar!????
*tries to keep her cool*
I'll let you out of that little situation soon, no boy will see rolleyes
I do respect modesty you know  

[katana68]

*entering the main bar area, she goes straight to the espresso machine and makes a large cafe' mocha. Topping it with whipped cream, she the goes and has a seat at the bar*  

[Psyzapp]

*Walks up to the Main Bar after getting ready for her day. She goes over to the espresso machine and makes herself a latte. She takes out her iphone and starts checking her email, while making a list of arrangements she needs to make.*

Hi Katana! xd  

[lady leko-chan]

*as she sees the two ladies she releases Band from her punishment*
good morning ladies
*winks*  

[Psyzapp]

Hi Leko. *she smiles.* Say ladies…I have some fantastic news. Ryzan has agreed to help me run the MW Bar and help me with the Luxury Spa we will be adding. biggrin  

[lady leko-chan]

oh that is good new.
I'm so glad he agreed.
*watches Band carefully with a scowling look*  

[katana68]

I think adding Ryzan is a wonderful idea, Psyzapp! By the way....we got busy last night and you never said anything more about why you want me to meet that person we spoke of.....