*sigh*

That's a big topic, but from a Christian perspective I'll try to answer as much as I can. I know life is horrible, and God really is horrible... if you think life is a happy thing. But according to Christian's, we live in a fallen world, which means essentially that everything is bad. More importantly, we caused it, through a common human trait that most of us know as rebellion. So the reason good things happening is a blessing from God is that everything really should be bad. Note that the strongest nation in the world, which we are, was founded on Christian principles, and that the further we move from those principles, the more morally bereft we become. Now it is arguable that there is no correlation, so I won't press the topic, but it does say something for the validity of Christian principles if not the existance of the God Christians say exist.

God's plan is not to make everybody happy or even to make Christians happy. It is to get as many people into heaven as possible despite the fact that we blew our one chance for a perfect world. If God tried to make everybody happy at the expense of redemption, he would surely be a terrible deity, because he would be sacrificing eternity for a mere century. So: Jenny's husband dying was a favor to him- forgive me if that sounds calous, but try to understand what I mean. I'll pray for his family (though I'm sure you're thinking that won't do them much good) but we live in a fallen world, and what happens to them is our own fault. It's your fault and my fault too, because we're not perfect. And only perfect people make a perfect world.

Why is God a man? The easiest answer to that is that He isn't. Jesus was a man because coming down and manifesting as a woman would have been just plain stupid. I'm sure if he were in a gender neutral society it would have been a toss-up or at least an evaluated choice. The reason God is referred to as 'He'- even to this day- is because we lived and still live in a male dominated society, and there is no third-person gender-nonspecific singular pronoun to use in its place. If you have an alternative suggestion I'd probably take it to hard since I think it gives Christianity a bad name, to be so intrinsically cheuvenistic.

Faith and forgiveness... faith requires that you realize that you are blind no matter what you do because nobody can know everything. That's not a bad thing, that's just life. I'm a Christian and I am strongly opposed to anybody who ascribes to the 'ignorence is bliss' maxim. I happen to love knowledge.

I don't know what to tell you about forgiveness, except that you'll someday reach a point in your life when forgiveness sounds awful good. The greatest sins are lying or stealing or even killing; they're the little things that happen every day and every hour; pride, hatred, bitterness. When you see how they effect your life and the life of others, conviction hits you like a brick and suddenly the prospect of divine forgiveness make a lot of sense.

Life can be cruel, I agree. But its not God's fault, its ours. It's the flip side to freewill. God could have made us robots and everything would have been perfect. It also would have been pointless. I, for one, am willing to accept the pain that comes with imperfection, because my free will means a great deal to me. I think therefore I am, right?

I hope Jenny's family can keep life in perspective in spite of the tragedy and perhaps even because of it. God does ease pain and He's the best friend that anyone could ever have. I know, because He's been there for me every time.

My words won't convince you or anyone else of anything, but I just want to point out that even if you don't agree, Christians are stupid or senseless. Given, the vast majority are, but that's just how people are. Some of us- still referring to Christian's- are smart, analytical, and won't take any of the cheesy mumbo jumbo about religion that makes it more like a gimmick and less like salvation.

~Dan

Dan was mostly correct about the perfect world thing and that is all our fault. Only a couple of things I would like to comment about the death. Before I do though, let me tell you this.
My Aunt Debbie was a Sunday School teacher, chior director and wonderful christian too. It was about 1 week after Easter of this year 2003. It was photo day at her church and my Auntie had been helping to shuttle children back and forth to have their pictures taken that Saturday morning. She was on her way home and was just about a mile away from her home and had 4 children in the car with her. For reasons unknown for sure she drove the car off the road and hit a colvert and was killed. There was also a 5 y/o and 13 y/o killed along with her. We think she may have had a diabetic attack.
It was simply an accident. No one blamed God for it. None of us live forever and we all must go one way or the other and at one time or another. I do know and believe though that alll things work togather for the good of them that love the Lord.

Now for the God being man part. Since Jesus is God, (gasp) that makes God a man. Jesus did not come into existence when He was born of Mary. Jesus has always been in existence because He is God. His name shall be called Emmanuel, which being inturpreted is, God with us.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word WAS God. John 1:14 And the Word, (which was God) was made flesh and dwelt among us. This was referring to Jesus. Jesus told Phillip one day that if you have seen me, you have seen the Father. He also said in John 10:30, I and my Father are one. Note: He put himself first because he was not referring to two people. The God of the old testiment is none other that Jesus of the new.
Remember when the Jews were going to stone Jesus in the bible because they said that He made Himself God? The Jews asked Jesus how He knew their father Abraham who had been dead years before Jesus was born. Jesus told them, "Yeah before Abraham was, I AM." What did God say from the burning bush when He spoke to Moses and Moses asked, who shall I say sent me? He said to tell them that I AM has sent thee. So as you can see now, the Great I AM in the old testiment was that same Jesus in the new. Check out I Timothy 3:16 It says God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen on angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world and received up into glory. Yet Jesus was all these things. Jesus is the one the apostles preached unto the Gentiles. Jesus is the one they saw received up into glory.
These are only a few examples. Its all through and through. You can not seperate Jesus from God and we all know that Jesus was a man. (as far as his flesh goes) GCJ

All great points especially the man question.

Too me though Christianity has caused more destruction than it has good and a bloody trail going back to its beginings. The Original Roman Catholic church even murdered it's own to create an orthodoxy of it's religion. All but the Gnostics religion have been dessimated into the sands of time. I believe personally that it is Christianity's fear that well beget the Armeggedon. If you read the Nag Hammadi library you will learn that Jesus came here to show us how to reach a plane where we could communicate with god directly but that would have taken power from the Greed of the Roman Catholic chruch. The Roman Catholic church still having it's armies and then multiplied because christians could now be in it as well went across the lands murdering their own kind over denominational differences. They had the same savior who said "turn the other cheek" "do good to those that hate you" simple terms anyone with have a retarted brain should be able to follow. The crusades were nothing more than jealously because the libraries of Islam pre-dated most jewish secular religions and christianity. Again they ruthless murdered them and burnt their ancient libraries down. But the bottom line is I don't try and convert anyone and my wife and children are christian and that is ok with me because it makes them better people and that is what we should all try and be. ~smiles~ Once again thank you for your comments they were insightful and gave me some insight. I am Agnostic and would like to think there is something more than this

I think religion does cause a lot of pain and destruction but I'm glad it's around because it gives people something to do with their time. I don't really want to know what religious people would come up with on their own if they didn't have a dogma to blindly go by. As long as they stay out of my hair, it's A-OK with me.

Check out a movie directed by Kevin Smith - its called Dogma with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, i think its an excellent representation of they way the church could be viewed.