How liberal religious institutions talked about the Newtown tragedy, during Sunday services.

[Thats my opinion]

I have multiple contacts with a variety of churches and other religious institutions. In almost every case, last Sunday the ministers aborted their sermons and talked honestly about what we might do to see that this sort of slaughter does not continue to happen. There were four topics almost universally covered.

The first was the imperative of standing in compassion with the families of the children and the adults who were gunned down.

The second was about what can be done to foster intelligent gun control, and how we need to be involved.

The third was about the nature of God, who suffers with the suffering. Jesus was known as “the suffering servant.” The common message in these churches was that God is involved in all of life-- in all the processes of life-- that God lives in all things and all events. So God suffers with the suffering.

The fourth was that to ask ”Where was God?” is the wrong question, as if God micromanages human affairs. The real question should be, “Where were we?” Since we have been given the earth to take care of, these events are our responsibility, not God’s

This change in direction during the church services was particularly important because the third Sunday in Advent is JOY Sunday. So instead of Joy, there was mourning.

What will happen in these churches is an immediate focus on gun control and support for Diane Feinstein, the President and others. While the liberal religious community will certainly not be the only voice, it will be an important aggressive voice.

If you are interested in my feeling about gun control, check out the gun forum in DU.

[beam me up scottie]

1. God suffers with the suffering?

Really?

So tell me again why he let those little children get gunned down by a maniac?

Why do we have to suffer at all?

"as if God micromanages human affairs"

Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?
Then He is not omnipotent.
Is He able, but not willing?
Then He is malevolent.
Is He both able and willing?
Then whence cometh evil?
Is He neither able nor willing?
Then why call Him God?

Epicurus (c. 341 - c. 270 BC)

Either the dude's omnipotent or he's not.

[white_wolf]

6. Just to add to this here is the Buddhist version of Epicurus's Riddle.

"If the creator of the world entire they call God, of every being be the Lord, why does he order such misfortune and not create concord? If the creator of the world entire they call God, of every being be the Lord, why prevail deceit, lies and ignorance, and he such inequity and injustice create? If the creator of the world entire they call God, of every being be the Lord, then an evil master is he, knowing what's right did let wrong prevail!"

[beam me up scottie]

7. Thank you.

None of it ever made any sense to me.

Here's a more contemporary quote about the christian god from someone I've always admired:

“We must question the story logic of having an all-knowing all-powerful God, who creates faulty Humans, and then blames them for his own mistakes.”

~ Gene Roddenberry

[dimbear]

2. The Bible promises again and again that God will protect his faithful:

Psalm 97:10 (NIV)

10 Let those who love the Lord hate evil,
for he guards the lives of his faithful ones
and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

Everyone here has memorized the 23rd Psalm, the one that runs
"Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all of the days of my life....."
It has to be important, you hear it so often.

Don't we remember also the promise that we are valued above the lilies of the field and the wild fowls that have no barns?

Promises been made, my friends, written out in black and white. On the other hand, finding Biblical support for the theory that you're on your own is rough sledding.

[trotsky]

3. Your first two items have nothing to do with religion.

People with or without religious beliefs have expressed those thoughts.

Your third and fourth items are a variation of the same behavior displayed by Mike Huckabee, exploiting this tragedy to preach about, defend, and promote your god.

I also find it interesting that you have the audacity to think you speak for all liberal religious institutions - how could you possibly know that those "four topics (were) almost universally covered"? How many services did you attend in one weekend to verify this? Such arrogance.

[cleanhippie]

4. Have you abandoned your assertion that "human unfaithfulness" caused the shootings?

Yeah, thats what I thought. I see the fundies do this every day; spew some bullshit about how our lack of faith in god is the cause, then when the heat gets turned up, run away from their words as fast as they can.

[struggle4progress]

5. ... The real question should be “Where were we?” ...