 |
 |
I cannot take > comfort in the idea that there is an all-powerful deity who would permit > the devastation of September 11 to take place. > Ken, I'm going to be foolish enough to respond to your age-old question. I'm probably not going to get it right, but I'll try. Scripture tells us that the Creator of the Universe loved humankind so much that we were given a free well. That's what the story of the Garden of Eden is all about. God gave us everything, but we decided that 'the grass was greener on the other side of the apple,' so we disobeyed the very, very first commandment. We didn't believe that God would actually be telling us the truth when He said that we would die if we ate the fruit. God was right.....we were wrong. We do die now (spiritually and figuratively) - amazingly frequently at the hand of others who choose not to believe in the fifth commandment. So, when evil acts on the part of our fellow humans brings horrific misery and pain, we turn to the God of love to bring us peace in the midst of our tribulation. We also ask that God sends Grace to those in pain and those who cannot pray because of their situation, to bring them an extra measure in strength and peace. In a sense, for those of us who believe, to be in the presence of God in a terrible time such as this is to briefly return to the Garden where all lived in peace and tranquility. It is an effort to escape from evil by being in the presence of ultimate Good. ------- God bless Mary Ann (CG Jamie 61/21) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn