A lot of times we can't properly assess the risk of something ahead of time. Even when we can, we often take risks that are deemed acceptable. There is risk in, say, getting into a car or an airplane, but the benefits outweigh the risk. On the other hand, people who bought tickets for the 9/11 flights died horrible deaths as the result of making a decision that had no way of knowing would lead to their deaths. The same thing applies to people who bought bad meat and died of E. coli, or people who were on a beach in Thailand at the wrong time and got swept out to sea in the tsunami.
The risk of suicide (in addition to the horrendous pain that it causes to the family of the person committing suicide, pain that really never goes away) is that it will not achieve the desired results (i.e., ending some form of present pain). If there is no God, the suicide may accomplish what he or she wants to by ending existence. However, if there is a God, the suicide could just be inviting more pain, like jumping into a pile of salt to extinguish being on fire.
As for the little children, even in India there are Christian groups. One of my best friends growing up was a Christian whose parents were from India and had converted because they came to the US for medical school and were preached at. The Christian response would be that anything is possible with free will and God's grace, and of course the little children don't need to confess before a certain age regardless of whether they grow up to be heathens or God-fearing Christians.
The risk of suicide (in addition to the horrendous pain that it causes to the family of the person committing suicide, pain that really never goes away) is that it will not achieve the desired results (i.e., ending some form of present pain). If there is no God, the suicide may accomplish what he or she wants to by ending existence. However, if there is a God, the suicide could just be inviting more pain, like jumping into a pile of salt to extinguish being on fire.
As for the little children, even in India there are Christian groups. One of my best friends growing up was a Christian whose parents were from India and had converted because they came to the US for medical school and were preached at. The Christian response would be that anything is possible with free will and God's grace, and of course the little children don't need to confess before a certain age regardless of whether they grow up to be heathens or God-fearing Christians.
Political correctness is the pettiest form of casuistry.
ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius
Ummaka qinnassa nīk!
*MySmiley*
ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius
Ummaka qinnassa nīk!
*MySmiley*
I figured I'd put RAFO's top religiologists on the case
08/09/2011 02:03:55 PM
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well I am not religious but that seems a bit of a strawman argument
08/09/2011 05:01:57 PM
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Hm, so there's a broad Divine Plan, but it doesn't matter either way who wins the Super Bowl?
08/09/2011 05:25:23 PM
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Your argument only works if you get to decide who and what god is, like I said strawman
08/09/2011 06:32:17 PM
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I don't know that I'm a "top religiologist", but here goes:
08/09/2011 05:35:26 PM
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I can totally do this.
08/09/2011 06:57:19 PM
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Believe it or not, this is a thought I had when I was little and christian.
08/09/2011 07:39:24 PM
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Predestination is something only strict Calvinists believe.
08/09/2011 08:53:59 PM
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Didn't mean to bring up predestination.
08/09/2011 09:17:19 PM
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Sorry. That's how I read it...
09/09/2011 12:48:07 AM
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It's not a risk you can refuse...
09/09/2011 06:04:44 AM
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Many choices in life are risky.
09/09/2011 03:15:49 PM
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I think that looking for an absolute answer re: religion is pretty silly.
08/09/2011 08:22:16 PM
- 272 Views
That's a tough one...
09/09/2011 01:27:25 PM
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I'm treating this like a survey even though you didn't make it one: It's about a relationship.
12/09/2011 11:23:45 PM
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