Religion III

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by Show Me the Wire

“The parents of the children were busy taking food from the plane, so they had left their children only briefly while they collected the food. This was the situation for the girl in the photo taken by Carter. A vulture landed behind the girl. To get the two in focus, Carter approached the scene very slowly so as not to scare the vulture away and took a photo from approximately 10 meters. He took a few more photos before chasing the bird away”. [emphasis added]
https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/vulture-little-girl/


A very humane choice, don't scare the vulture away from an unsupervised child, while the parents were collecting food from a plane stocked with food.

Is that all that you got from that photo?

[Show Me the Wire]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

Is that all that you got from that photo?

Is there something else? Another human took care not to protect an unsupervised child from a perceived threat, while the child's parents were busy collecting food from a plane.

[Show Me the Wire]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

What "decisions" do you suppose the world's unfortunate children have made, which have resulted in the grave consequences that they now face? They didn't choose the "right parents"? If the "Almighty", with his unlimited power and his limitless "love", won't help these suffering children, then...WHO will?

Yes...we live in a "fallen world". But...how can it be otherwise when all that the "Almighty God" can do is make promises about a future that none of us can ever live to talk about? Promises can only take people so far...you know.

Obviously, it is the parents who make the decisions, which impact their children.

I thought you studied Eastern philosophies, which embrace suffering and explain that what we think is evil at the time is not really an evil.

Have you forgotten that Jesus suffered and that he embraced his cross?

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by Show Me the Wire

Obviously, it is the parents who make the decisions, which impact their children.

I thought you studied Eastern philosophies, which embrace suffering and explain that what we think is evil at the time is not really an evil.

Have you forgotten that Jesus suffered and that he embraced his cross?

If that's all you can say when you see a starving child...then you are a poor representative of your professed religion...no matter WHAT that religion may be.

[TJDave]

Originally Posted by Show Me the Wire

Obviously, it is the parents who make the decisions, which impact their children.

“Our Heavenly Father”...isn’t that what you like to call him?

[boxcar]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

If that's all you can say when you see a starving child...then you are a poor representative of your professed religion...no matter WHAT that religion may be.

If starving children don't teach you that there is something profoundly wrong with this world, what will? You can blame God all you want for all evil in the world, but what are the "boots on the ground" doing to alleviate the children's hunger?

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by Show Me the Wire

Have you forgotten that Jesus suffered and that he embraced his cross?

When did Jesus "embrace" his cross...when he was carrying it up Golgotha hill? Because I remember that he begged his father on the night of his arrest, hoping that he could be spared the ordeal which laid ahead for him.

[Show Me the Wire]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

If that's all you can say when you see a starving child...then you are a poor representative of your professed religion...no matter WHAT that religion may be.

According to the caption the child's parents were collecting food? Do you believe the parents were not going to feed their child?

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by boxcar

If starving children don't teach you that there is something profoundly wrong with this world, what will? You can blame God all you want for all evil in the world, but what are the "boots on the ground" doing to alleviate the children's hunger?

I blame EVERYBODY...but I blame mostly God because he can supposedly fix all this with a snap of his fingers. But you, who readily blamed Obama for this country's woes, are decidedly subdued when it comes to hurling any blame at all at the "Ultimate Ruler of our World" for all the evils that we so often see. There is enough blame to go around, Boxcar...why should God be spared?

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by Show Me the Wire

According to the caption the child's parents were collecting food? Do you believe the parents were not going to feed their child?

What about all those children who never get close to the food?

[Show Me the Wire]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

When did Jesus "embrace" his cross...when he was carrying it up Golgotha hill? Because I remember that he begged his father on the night of his arrest, hoping that he could be spared the ordeal which laid ahead for him.

And he said not my will but your will be done.

Why try and mischaracterize traditional Christianity? Christianity teaches suffering and not that everything is rainbows and sparkles as you try to portray.

This is Holy Week, the week we praise and honor the cruel passion and Crucifixion of Jesus.

And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus
23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.


Matthew 10:38; Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23; Luke 14:27

As Christians we are to accept the sufferings of life. What we may believe is an evil, may not be an evil.

[Light]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

I wouldn't blame God for those woes either...except for that pesky little passage of Luke in the bible, where it says that..."not even a hair falls from our heads without our Father's permission". It also says that not even a sparrow can fall from the sky without God wishing it so. So...I think I should be forgiven here for putting considerable blame on the "Heavenly Father" for these horrible woes that some of the most innocent beings are subjected to...while admitted sinners like Dave Schwartz and I have been allowed to live comparatively "worry-free" lives.

Let's go a step further. Why did God allow Hitler to rise to power? Why did God allow the U.S. to drop 2 A bombs on innocent civilians. Why did God allow slavery in this country. etc. My best answer is this:

There is a Zen saying: A flower falls even though we love it and a weed grows even though we do not love it.

1) God does not judge. He is not the policeman of morality. Looking at videos of Hitler's speeches, he is full of fire and determination. His will is powerful. When someone wants something as bad as Hitler wanted it,no matter whether it is right or wrong God will allow it. He will grant it. He does not judge it.

2) The person such as Hitler in this example, does NOT believe he is wrong or immoral. He believes he is right and doing humanity a huge service. This is important in that you can manifest "good" if you try hard enough, but you can also manifest "bad" if you believe it is good. Again, God does not "police" your morality. If he did, nothing would happen. Because a good action can lead to something bad and a bad action can lead to something good. And it continues on and on in its unraveling. There is a good Zen example about this called "maybe".

3) If there are 2 opposing forces wanting the opposite outcome, the stronger willed force will prevail. The force that has "fear" will lose. God will give the victory to the force who wants it most. Will not judge whether the victor is right or wrong.

So going back to your "starving children in Africa" the stronger force presently is the ruthless corrupt governments that believe these children are expendable in the name of their politics and their political rule is more important. Just like Assad in Syria. All those dead people in Syria are expendable and are nothing compared to Assad's regime in Assad's eye's and his supporters.

Now look at the opposing forces, they are weak, especially in Africa. Nobody wants to interfere. There is nothing for them to gain. In Syria, yes, there is some political power to gain in the oil rich region, so there is a little more involvement.

IMO, this is all part of the evolution of our species. We are born in darkness and ignorance. So we have many wars over time and injustice and cruelty of man to man. But today, especially with the anti war/love generation that erupted in the sixties, things are changing. It has reverberated to today. People are not so quick and enthusiastic about jumping into war chanting "with God on our side". Many are starting to see that God is on the other side too and Love in the answer for all ills. We have feared our neighbors rather than Love our neighbors. I believe that is changing.

Many Nde's reveal that even on the other side,God does not judge your actions on Earth. Because God knows your actions are not solely yours. They are a result of what came before you and before that that led up to you doing what you perceive as free will but is predetermined.

There is only one thing that overrides one's life and actions being predetermined and being a slave to predetermination. That is Love through enlightenment.

[Show Me the Wire]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

What about all those children who never get close to the food?

Is there a picture of them? Or was the photographer too busy trying not to scare the vulture so he could take a photogtaph?

[Show Me the Wire]

Originally Posted by TJDave

“Our Heavenly Father”...isn’t that what you like to call him?

Yes. The Father who created the earth which puts forth its bounty, to be fashioned by human hands into, bread, etc. The earth produces its fruits and grains, etc. more than enough to feed the population of the earth.

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by Show Me the Wire

Is there a picture of them? Or was the photographer too busy trying not to scare the vulture so he could take a photogtaph?

Do the photographer's actions explain the inactions of God?