In article , roninfromde{at}yahoo.com says...
>
>Are you on drugs?

No, he is under the influence of a much worse delusion than any drug known to
man. But you have shown that he is not alone.

>God killed over 100,000 people and orphaned who knows
>how many children b/c people have evil thoughts?

And why did you think so many of us responded by quoting Lk 13:1-5 to him?

> So every single person killed was evil?

Christ forbids us to jump to that conclusion (Mt 7:1).

>Or some good people got taken out as collateral damage?

"Collateral damage" make some radically unchristian assumptions, too.

>Wow.  Good luck getting people to follow you in that nonsense.
>In the interest of giving you an 'out' on this topic:
>Have you ever considered that there are other things besides good and
>evil?

Perhaps he has. And perhaps he already rejected this 'out' as he should do.

>Like natural processes?

"Natural processes" do not take place without the will of God.
How could they,
when God is the author of the natural Law that they follow?

>Amorality?

But that contradicts Christianity just as radically.

>Consider, as i do,

No, don't, better NOT to repeat your mistake.

>that
>earthquakes have been occuring for millions and millions of years

Well, of course they have. But this is really just a distraction.

>and weren't really considered tragedies until they affected people.

And rightly so.

> So did
>they suddenly become evil the 1st time they killed a person?

Of course not.

>When a
>lion kills an antelope, is that evil?  When he kills a human, is that
>evil?

You are asking the wrong questions, which is why you come up with the wrong
conclusions, even if the immediate answers to the questions _appear_ so very
reasonable.

>In my opinion, the only way to reconcile all of this with a god is to
>concieve of god as a completely removed being from any earthly or human
>processes.

But that 'reconcilation' is COMPLETELY ALIEN to the Christian faith! Consider,
for example:

   Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one
   of them will fall to the ground without your Father's will.
   But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not,
   therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. (Mt 10:29-31)

These are the verses that show that God exercises control (Providence) over ALL
CREATION, managing it for the benefit of Man -- even when very unpleasant things
happen, things _we_ would rather did not happen. So how can _your_ belief be
anything BUT alien to Christianity?

Furthermore, if you read Acts, and see with what faith Paul, Barnabas and Peter
endured such great hardships in preaching the Word, you will see that it really
_is_ possible to live according to that faith.

>As soon as you pray to him to alter an outcome for your
>benefit, you open the can of worms inherent in "Why did god allow
>100,000 people to die?"

No, because even our own prayers and other actions are governed by that same
Providence.


-- 
---------------------------
Subudcat se sibi ut haereat Deo
quidquid boni habet, tribuat illi a quo factus est.
(St. Augustine, Ser. 96)
---
þ RIMEGate(tm)/RGXPost V1.14 at BBSWORLD * Info{at}bbsworld.com

---
 * RIMEGate(tm)V10.2áÿ* RelayNet(tm) NNTP Gateway * MoonDog BBS
 * RgateImp.MoonDog.BBS at 1/12/05 11:06:56 AM