[Wilhelm Tell]

Having said that, it sure appears that the armies of Satan are on the march right now. So much of what is happening in the world, both the big events and the strange little ones like this, bears the hallmark of the prince of lies.

I'm not into theology that has every problem tied up in neat answers, either. I will probably be accused of being an athiest troll, but I have to wonder where God is when horrible, stupid things like this happen. Does God have a plan for everything? Did He just one day decide, "I think I'll decapitate a missionary today." I think it is better to admit that there is no answer than to try to weave some rationalization that makes God look like a child who tortures animals. Once one has lived long enough and has been touched by enough tragedies, easy, painless answers become impossible.

I can imagine the missionary getting to heaven and asking the Lord, "I was going to help a lot of people, so why did You allow me to be killed in a stupid accident?" The Lord might answer, " I see you are from Stupid Planet. Things like that happen on Stupid Planet all the time. I had nothing to do with it -- Stupid Planet's warranty expired a long time ago. I know that Stupid Planet is under bad management, but every time I go down there to try and fix things, I get kicked out. (God shrugs.) What can One do?"

We live in a beautiful world -- and it wants to kill you!

[Consort]

I will probably be accused of being an athiest troll, but I have to wonder where God is when horrible, stupid things like this happen.

The Creator made us in his image and, therefore, we are also creators...on a lesser scale. As such, we create what we experience: the good, the bad, and everything in between. That's why it's flawed...we are learning. If God created it, it would be flawless.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

It's a jungle out there
Disorder and confusion everywhere
No one seems to care
Well I do
Hey, who's in charge here?


It's a jungle out there
Poison in the very air we breathe
Do you know what's in the water that you drink?
Well I do, and it's amazing


People think I'm crazy, 'cause I worry all the time
If you paid attention, you'd be worried too
You better pay attention
Or this world we love so much might just kill you


I could be wrong now, but I don't think so
It's a jungle out there

It's a Jungle Out There! (By Randy Newman)

[b9]

I believe strongly in intuition, and have been protected on many occasions. I can't cite a single incident of something gone wrong, where I wasn't 'warned' in some way first but blew it off. The older I get, the better I listen. I refuse to believe we're sitting ducks.

[Old Professer]

Safety recall?

[FITZ]

I will probably be accused of being an athiest troll, but I have to wonder where God is when horrible, stupid things like this happen.

God didn't make elevators. Between this and the power out in NY which left people trapped in elevators for hours, I'm taking the stairs from now on.

[des]

God created natural laws. Men created machines. Sometimes men and their machines go awry but the laws of nature remain. Just as God wouldn't likely defy gravity for you if you fall off a cliff.

[dr_lew]

I have to wonder where God is when horrible, stupid things like this happen.

Heav'n from all creatures hides the book of Fate,
All but the page prescribed, their present state;
From brutes what men, from men what spirits know;
Or who could suffer being here below?
The lamb thy riot dooms to bleed to-day,
Had he thy reason would he skip and play?
Pleas'd to the last he crops the flowery food,
And licks the hand just rais'd to shed his blood.
O blindness to the future! kindly giv'n,
That each may fill the circle mark'd by Heav'n;
Who sees with equal eye, as God of all,
A hero perish or a sparrow fall,
Atoms or systems into ruin hurl'd,
And now a bubble burst, and now a world.

Pope, Essay on Man

[VOA]

I will probably be accused of being an athiest troll, but I have to wonder where God
is when horrible, stupid things like this happen. Does God have a plan for everything?

I'm certainly no theologian, but I think there is an interesting passage in
Luke, Chapter 13, in which Jesus is asked about people dying in governmental
persecutions or accidents (the falling of a tower).
I'm suprised I haven't heard this passage addressed more in church, but I'll take a stab
at trying to explain what Jesus said.

To quickly sum up, he said that the people who perished didn't necessarily lose their lives
because they were evil.
BUT...people should take note of these sort of "unexpected exits" and
prepare themselves for the possiblity that they might be felled by similar freak accidents.

In other words "get right with God", because you might just not have a split-second
to clean up your life here before being taken away.

That's just my amateur exegesis of the passage...I'd gladly welcome correction/amplification
from other posters/lurkers.