ping
I'm lost.
My mom spoke to me at her funeral, and this is what she said: (Besides calling my brother in a law a jerk and what did I expect, he was always a jerk and would never change....), 'Nothing that happens here on earth matters. God forgives everything....' What a gift! We know God forgives everything, but somehow this gets lost in day to day problems. She told me she wasn't old and sick anymore, that she was happy and with family and friends and that I should sit on her grave and talk about her and have a really good time. It was one of the best days of my life. So unexpected. Wonderful.
What, for heaven's sake, is this all about?
Marking for later sermons from the holier than thou crowd.
"O God, through whose mercy the souls of the faithful are at rest"
The author treats the chaplain as if he said, "through whose mercy the soul of this faithful one is at rest." He did not, of course.
"Bless this grave... To bless means to make happy; "
Uh, no. One who is blessed is made happy, but they are not synonyms. That's how silly translations like "Wei Li's Happy Chicken Buffet" happen.
Bless:
To make holy by religious rite; sanctify.
To make the sign of the cross over so as to sanctify.
To invoke divine favor upon.
To honor as holy; glorify: Bless the Lord.
To confer well-being or prosperity on.
To endow, as with talent.
Blessing a grave would make the gravesite a source of comfort for those who mourn there.
"We must assume that he is appealing to the heretical high-church Anglican theory of baptismal regeneration"
I don't know how you want to twist scripture to call baptismal regeneration a heresy, if you call going near the subject appealing to it, the cleric appealed to it far less than Jesus did.
"Asked whether all soldiers were cleansed by water and therefore going to heaven,"
God ordains all things. Praying does not change his mind. Yet we in hope pray that he has already willed things to be. Thus, it is virtuous to pray in the reasonable expectation that the person was christian, even if we cannot be 100% sure. Just like we would pray for someone we knew had been Christian, without being 100% sure he had not apostasized.
Besides, there are no atheists in foxholes, remember? :^D
"Why do you not mention or pray in the name of Jesus Christ, which is the usual practice in Christian services? "
It is troublesome the way that Jesus Christ is hidden away from public rites... this I will agree with the post with.
Well, if reported accurately, I guess that means the chaplain's answer to the question "What must I do to be saved?" would be "Get baptized, and become affiliated with a church."
In contrast to the Bible's answer.
Then he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" 31 And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family.
(Acts 16:30-33 -- preaching Christ, leading to saving faith, attested by baptism)
Dan
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Many Christians respect and admire the contributions made to human knowledge or the deeds of heroism of non-Christians, even though, by the tenets of evangelical Christian theology, these people would not have been saved. The same thing can be said in instances where nothing is known about a fallen, brave soldier whose name is known to none but God.
You beat me to it. I thought the same thing as I read this. So....are you making enough to share or do I need to go pop my own? lol