Who decides which children live and which ones die?

[Anonymous]

Is it God? Satan? Fate? Karma? Random?

Thinking of Lane Graves and Caleb Schwab and so many others.

I so WANT to take comfort in religion, but I just feel angry and scared when I think about it. By all accounts both of these families were/are deeply religious. How does that even work?

[Anonymous]

Then stop thinking about it. We are all going to die. We can't always pick the method.

The Dad decided in this case

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Dead-Murder-Suicide-Berks-County-389398512.html

[Anonymous]

If you are a Christian you know that this world is broken and this life is ethereal, a pit stop in eternity. So all the pain and brokenness and hurt and evil are temporary, and pale in comparison to what you face in eternity, whether it be good or bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are a Christian you know that this world is broken and this life is ethereal, a pit stop in eternity. So all the pain and brokenness and hurt and evil are temporary, and pale in comparison to what you face in eternity, whether it be good or bad.

This

[Anonymous]

Free will allows it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are a Christian you know that this world is broken and this life is ethereal, a pit stop in eternity. So all the pain and brokenness and hurt and evil are temporary, and pale in comparison to what you face in eternity, whether it be good or bad.

This

Ok, but HOW do you know. You just do? Its a feeling you have? A parent/pastor told you? I was raised Protestant but I don't "know" for sure anything about all of this.

[Anonymous]

I don't know what to say - want to scream at God often (in fact, I do scream at God).

I guess it comes down to this - I don't know who to cling to but God in this broken and sin filled world. I have a relationship with God which tells me he is the standard of goodness in this broken world, so I cling to him. I also know that God incarnate (Christ) suffered tremendously and is with us in our sorrows. All I can do is stay close to God and pray for everyone, friends, enemies and myself.

Lord have mercy on us all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are a Christian you know that this world is broken and this life is ethereal, a pit stop in eternity. So all the pain and brokenness and hurt and evil are temporary, and pale in comparison to what you face in eternity, whether it be good or bad.

This

Ok, but HOW do you know. You just do? Its a feeling you have? A parent/pastor told you? I was raised Protestant but I don't "know" for sure anything about all of this.

Not pp you are quoting, but I "know' because it is the only way to make sense in this world and to find peace. I do not subscribe to the pp's view entirely and I have a different view of what 'eternal life' is, but I have found peace with what I believe in and it helps to explain the horrible tragedies that can happen in our lives. What I believe makes logical sense to me and that's how I "know". But this is very personal to each person's beliefs

[Anonymous]

Sometimes the person who decides is the person who decides to drive and text or drunk drive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are a Christian you know that this world is broken and this life is ethereal, a pit stop in eternity. So all the pain and brokenness and hurt and evil are temporary, and pale in comparison to what you face in eternity, whether it be good or bad.

This

Ok, but HOW do you know. You just do? Its a feeling you have? A parent/pastor told you? I was raised Protestant but I don't "know" for sure anything about all of this.

Well, we know that the world is a pretty messed up place sometimes based on basic observation. It could very well all be completely random and a result of natural processes. And a lot of people are able to cope and be perfectly decent people accepting that reasoning.

For me, I don't accept it, and that leads me to have a relationship with God. It gives me a lot of peace and gratitude, and also compels me to want to be better and ironically to want better for this world and for the next generation. But I don't "know" anything, and I really wonder about people who have this 100% certitude about their religion and have all this smug pity for non-religious people or people of different religions. Like, are they delusional or something?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes the person who decides is the person who decides to drive and text or drunk drive.

True.

A family member's son was diagnosed with leukemia at 7. He was born disabled. His parents are deeply religious and just accepted that this was God's decision and it was somehow meant to bring them closer to God. Seems pretty cruel to me, but that's what comforted them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes the person who decides is the person who decides to drive and text or drunk drive.

OP here. I guess my point is - why was it THAT child on that waterslide, vs. some other child on the same day or a different day. Same with the boy at Disney. Why THAT boy that day? Even with drunk driving, which car do they hit? Its all so random. When I book a flight, I (fleetingly) think - will a plane crash this day? If so, will it be this one or that? The one time I was in a minor car accident, I was plagued with knowing that I almost drove a different route. Or what if I left 5 minutes earlier? or later?

In Disney, the movie had just ended so the family was probably about to head up anyway. AND they were leaving the next morning! What if they went to bed 5 minutes sooner? Or planned their trip a different week? I just can't even imagine...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes the person who decides is the person who decides to drive and text or drunk drive.

OP here. I guess my point is - why was it THAT child on that waterslide, vs. some other child on the same day or a different day. Same with the boy at Disney. Why THAT boy that day? Even with drunk driving, which car do they hit? Its all so random. When I book a flight, I (fleetingly) think - will a plane crash this day? If so, will it be this one or that? The one time I was in a minor car accident, I was plagued with knowing that I almost drove a different route. Or what if I left 5 minutes earlier? or later?

In Disney, the movie had just ended so the family was probably about to head up anyway. AND they were leaving the next morning! What if they went to bed 5 minutes sooner? Or planned their trip a different week? I just can't even imagine...

I think, pp, that religion helps people avoid constantly thinking about these "what-if" situations. I am lucky that I have not had a catastrophic tragedy in my life recently, but I imagine if I did, thinking about the "what if" scenarios constantly would drive me insane. People have to accept fate or God's will in order to move forward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are a Christian you know that this world is broken and this life is ethereal, a pit stop in eternity. So all the pain and brokenness and hurt and evil are temporary, and pale in comparison to what you face in eternity, whether it be good or bad.

This

Ok, but HOW do you know. You just do? Its a feeling you have? A parent/pastor told you? I was raised Protestant but I don't "know" for sure anything about all of this.

Well that depends on how you define "know." For me, I know because I believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, and this is what the Bible tells me. As a Calvinist, I believe that God has a reason for everything.
Go to 2:49 in this video, and watch until 4:02. That'll give you an answer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeX6Lhb0_6A

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes the person who decides is the person who decides to drive and text or drunk drive.

OP here. I guess my point is - why was it THAT child on that waterslide, vs. some other child on the same day or a different day. Same with the boy at Disney. Why THAT boy that day? Even with drunk driving, which car do they hit? Its all so random. When I book a flight, I (fleetingly) think - will a plane crash this day? If so, will it be this one or that? The one time I was in a minor car accident, I was plagued with knowing that I almost drove a different route. Or what if I left 5 minutes earlier? or later?

In Disney, the movie had just ended so the family was probably about to head up anyway. AND they were leaving the next morning! What if they went to bed 5 minutes sooner? Or planned their trip a different week? I just can't even imagine...

I posted about the 7 year old with leukemia. Apparently it has to do with that family needing to be brought closer to God, or God's desire to use that family for a certain purpose. Mom of that 7 year old is now pretty active in helping families whose child has just been diagnosed. I'm not sure why her already challenged son had to endure chemotherapy, PTSD from all of the treatments etc. but the parents just accept that as being God's choice. I've come to the conclusion that it isn't meant to be understood.