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 Twelve crosses comprise a makeshift memorial across the street from the movie theater where last week’s mass shooting happened.
July 28th, 2012
10:00 PM ET
My Take: This is where God was in Aurora
By Rob Brendle, Special to CNN I held her hand as she died. Her family had come to a church where I was pastoring that morning, a routine Sunday. A thousand things would never have crossed their minds as they drove through Colorado Springs toward New Life Church’s enormous concrete worship center - including the prospect of being assaulted in their minivan by a young man with a high-powered rifle. Later that day, we were all at a local hospital. The girl whose hand I held, Rachel, had already lost a sister at the scene. Her father was down the hall in critical condition and her mother was coming undone in the waiting room, but she didn’t know any of it. Rachel lay unconscious for a couple of hours more in the ICU.
And then she died. Her family had come to church together that morning, and by nightfall they were shattered. That was almost five years ago. The movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado shook me and the rest of the nation. Reading about the young and unsuspecting victims took me back to the dying girl in the ICU who had come to my church that day in 2007, in a an incident that left the two girls dead and injured several others. Back to the Columbine massacre a decade earlier that horrified the world and traumatized Colorado. And back to the aching questions that accompanied those previous incidents: Why did this happen? Where was God in all of it? How could a loving God allow this? Where was God in Aurora? 7 responses We pastors face the unenviable task of being asked to answer for God. Most people ask the big questions in times of irresolution, times when satisfying answers are scarce. Let’s be clear: there are no easy answers to the deepest questions of suffering. Libraries overflow with the volumes that have been written to address these questions. Centuries of philosophers, pundits and preachers have reflected on the existence of evil, the meaning of pain and the role of God in suffering. I won’t begin to recount all of their ruminations here. But here’s what I think. God is the author of life and the originator of good. He distinguished humankind from among his creation with faculties like reason, emotion, dexterity and choice. Scripture teaches that God made people in his image. Set apart from all the rest of his creatures, we were endowed with the capacity to know our Creator and ennobled with the ability to choose him. So singularly did God love humans that he gave us this ultimate gift. Aurora survivor to alleged shooter: ‘I forgive you’ The capacity to choose God and goodness came with the commensurate ability to choose evil. Is it loving to force his creation to follow his order, or to teach it and leave the creature to choose? It would seem that God came to the same conclusion that America’s founders did many millennia later: compulsory virtue is no virtue at all. But Scripture also teaches that God is totally in control. He is all-powerful and all-knowing and he is willing and able to intervene in human events. So there is a gap between human choice and divine foreknowledge, a gap that transcends understanding and that helps define God in my mind. The debate over this theological tension has persisted for centuries, and I don’t aim to settle it here. Let me suggest simply that God, in his sovereignty, has chosen to make our decisions meaningful. Consequently, much of what happens on earth neither conforms to nor results from his preference. There are at least four influences on human events: God’s will, to be sure; but also the will of Satan, our adversary; peoples’ choices, for better or for worse; and natural law (gravity, collision, combustion, and the like). It is difficult to know which force causes the circumstances that devastate us. But it is enough to know that God need not be responsible for them. The man who made the Aurora crosses Much of the internal gridlock around tragedy is because suffering is foreign to us. This foreignness is peculiarly Western and modern. Most of the world, for most of the world’s history, has known tragedy and trauma in abundance. You don’t get nearly the same consternation in Burundi or Burma, because suffering is normal to them. God and hard times coexist intuitively there. For us, though, God has become Anesthetist-in-Chief. To believe in him is to be excused from bad things. He is our panacea for the woes of life. The God of the Bible promises no exemption from suffering. In fact, he all but promises suffering. He does not suggest that his followers won’t go through fire, but rather that we won’t burn up. Mostly he promises to be there with us, to comfort and encourage us and renew our strength. God grieves with us, and he grows us into good people in the process. CNN’s Belief Blog: The faith angles behind the biggest stories Where was God in Aurora? He was on the lawn in front of the Civic Building as thousands gathered in solidarity, hope, and love at a packed prayer vigil last Sunday. He was in University Hospital as neurosurgeons groped for synonyms for miraculous. He was in the outpouring of compassion at a victim’s funeral and in the passionate call for unity from a resolute councilwoman and at the bedside vigil of a wounded victim’s church community. Redemption has only begun in Aurora, and already God is everywhere. Their will be beauty once this story is written that overshadows and transcends the ashes. Jesus started his ministry by declaring, “I am the light of the world,” and ended it with “you are the light of the world.” What God our cities will see is what we show them. From the beginning, light has shone in the darkness - he ordered it that way. And the deeper the darkness, the brighter the light will appear. Where is God in Aurora? He is shining brightly from the hearts of his people. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Rob Brendle. soundoff (4,566 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 Next »
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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Editor’s note: Rob Brendle is the founding pastor of 
EPICURUS SAID THIS IN 340 BCE.
Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?
Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able to stop evil, but not willing?
Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing?
Then why cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing?
Then why call him God?
on a separate note:
why would an omnipotent god allow 20,000 children to die everyday from malnutrition and diarrhea? why would god allow innocent children to suffer the pain of incurable cancer and other diseases?
by what laws of physics did god whip up our universe in 6 days and create 2 humanoids? it also seems there was a lot of incest taking place in order to be fruitful and multiply.
most religions back track their history and date their creation to 5000 to 7000 years which doesn't agree with any rock i can pick up in my backyard and date to almost 4 billion years ago.
what of evolution which is a proven science?
why is there no mention of dinosaurs in the bible?
what of the 3 degree above absolute zero temperature of the universe which proves a 14 billion year old universe?
if methuselah lived 900 years, why can't we?
how did jonah get swallowed by a big fish and survive?
god wiped out mankind and allowed noah's family to repopulate the world? there we go with a lot of incest again.
web sources state that there are between 3 million and 30 million animal species and 10,000 new ones are discovered/catalogued every year. how did noah get them on the ark?
what about an earth centric universe? we know our solar system revolves around the sun.
ten plagues? come on. mysterious death of first born child plague?
a burning bush that isn't consumed? wine into water?
wandering in the desert for 40 years? how come we don't see these miracles on the 6 o'clock news? i could go on and on but i've gotta get back to work.
How can God be a "he." If there is only one god, then god does not have a penis.
hmmmmmmmmmmmmm........You sure do know alot about the Bible to give all of those statements.
Then (God) answered:
“Who is this that darkens my counsel
with words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone —
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy?
8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors
when it burst forth from the womb,
9 when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10 when I fixed limits for it
and set its doors and bars in place,
11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;
here is where your proud waves halt’?
..Have the gates of death been shown to you?
Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death[b]?
18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?
Tell me, if you know all this.
19 “What is the way to the abode of light?
And where does darkness reside?
20 Can you take them to their places?
Do you know the paths to their dwellings?
21 Surely you know, for you were already born!
You have lived so many years!
..“Can you bind the beautiful[c] Pleiades?
Can you loose the cords of Orion?
32 Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons[d]
or lead out the Bear[e] with its cubs?
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens?
Can you set up God’s[f] dominion over the earth?
34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds
and cover yourself with a flood of water?
35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?
Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who endowed the heart[g] with wisdom
or gave understanding to the mind[h]?
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens
38 when the dust becomes hard
and the clods of earth stick together?
..“Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him?
Let him who accuses God answer him!”
WHY I WILL NEVER TAKE HE BIBLE LITERALLY: "He distinguished humankind from among his creation with faculties like reason, emotion, dexterity and choice." ANYONE CAN WITNESS OTHER CREATURES WITH SAME FACULTIES. "Scripture teaches that God made people in his image. Set apart from all the rest of his creatures, we were endowed with the capacity to know our Creator and ennobled with the ability to choose him." WELL, NO, PEOPLE DON'T HAVE THE CAPACITY TO KNOW GOD AND THAT IS ON ANY NUMBER OF RELIGIOUS TEXTS. HE – OR SHE – IS THE UNKNOWABLE. THAT'S WHY IT'S CALLED "FAITH". "So singularly did God love humans that he gave us this ultimate gift."SELF SERVING. I LOOK AT THE UGLINESS OF MANKIND AND THE BEAUTY OF THE NATURAL WORLD, ADN I'S DAY GOD LOVES FORESTS, AND DEER, AND TEH FISH, ETC., MORE THAN US. "But Scripture also teaches that God is totally in control." coupled with this "There are at least four influences on human events: God’s will, to be sure; but also the will of Satan, our adversary; peoples’ choices, for better or for worse; and natural law (gravity, collision, combustion, and the like)." SEEMS CONTRADICTORY... unless you say that God wishes Aurora's, massive fires, tornados, tsunamis & earthquakes upon us, including innocent children. But why would he do this? So that in the aftermath we can come together in mourning?!? How about not taking innocent lives in the first place. OK, so Holmes chose Satan. God apparently gives us that choice. But the VICTIMS of Aurora didn't choose Satan! The Bible says a lot of stuff even the most DEVOUT Christians reject (Slaves, anyone? God says it's OK in he Bible.). So people pick and choose whatever is convenient and self-serving. God exists for me. But not in the Bible, in a book written by men who thought the Earth was flat....
"god" was getting ready to go to the Olympics. Not available that day or he might have been with the 70 virgins that a suicide bomber will get when he explodes all over a street filled with innocent by-standers. Or at a football game, you know, once a touchdown is scored the player will point to the sky, to acknowledge his particular sky-god. Why do so many Americans hate one another and kill each other? Is that part of the "right to bear an AK-47"? Why do so many America's not care for one another in terms of health care? Why?
I see why our families, our communites are in trouble, I'm reading adult comments.........WOW!
Well NICE add YOUR adult comments. If you can clear things up we'll be glad to read it!
With every positive energy there's a negative counterpart. This may be answered by taking into consideration the existence of a negative force. Humans although in between react to the energies and it is us who decide which side would win.
God created us with the intention that we would all die. I don't think death matters as much to him as it does to us. Maybe he actually knows something that we don't. 😛
so if we were made in god's image, i assume god is dead.
Quoting the author. "But Scripture also teaches that God is totally in control. He is all-powerful and all-knowing and he is willing and able to intervene in human events." So I again "Where was g-od" If he can intervene, why didn't he stop the shooting BEFORE any shots were taken. If G-od is in control why does bad things happen period. With all due respect HE'S FULL OF IT.
Ken, religion isn't about answers it is about reward. Therefore trying to use logic on people seeking a prize (look at lottery players) is futile.
Atheists, evangelicals, Catholics, Southern Baptists – they are all wrong. Because we are all gods. We have yet to unlock all of our godly abilities. (By the way, zombie-apocalyptic behavior is one of the signs of a rough start to this godly awakening that will one day fully bloom.) It is written.
Atheists are less harmful though to society because they are more tolerant of a larger portion of the rest of society than any of the religious groups.
atheists are less harmful? really? WOW! I see many atheist bashed on religion even toward Christians you got it all wrong!
heaven.. what is the definition of God. Surely people 5,00 years ago would have thought we were a God. The ability to prescribe simple medicine would have given you God status. Therefore a God is someone or something that is beyond our current capabilities. I always joke, that Aliens won't have to take us over by force. All they need to be able to do is follow Apocalypses and half the world would surrender willingly.
JoeyE Atheists should be bashing Christians. At least for their most extremist views (like say most of the NT attributable to Paul at a minimum).
Of course not David. Because of what I already said – most of our godly abilities are still not apparent to us. It is written.
Atheists don't preach that believers are going to hell for not believing as they do.
A very well written commentary
Where was God? Must have been in the same place he was during World Wars One and Two, the Black Death, the Crusades, the reigns of Mao and Stalin, etc. . . .
So basically you're saying you still don't comprehend free will....
So Holmes had "free will". And that's a convenient argument. But what about the victims? THEY didn't choose Evil!!! Their free will simply said, "Let's go see Batman." And for that, God punished them?!?
hmm.. didn't realize that I could use free will to protect me from the Black Plague.. Actually we understand free will. We know what man can do, it is what God can do that is being called into question. Since we are talking about omnipotent, I will share with you the Omnipotent Paradox
Could an omnipotent being create a stone so heavy that even he could not lift it?" If he could lift the rock, then it seems that the being could cease to be omnipotent, as the rock was not heavy enough; if he could not, it seems that the being was not omnipotent to begin with
God was in the same place he was when evil men nailed his Son to the cross.
charles johnson,
You, of all people, should not think that they were "evil". If not for them, your "died for our sins" legend would never have begun.
I believe Jesus described them as ignorant. Having no knowledge
Once again here is a pastor trying to answer a question in which he is not qualified to answer, It is impossible to prove that God exist and just as impossible to prove that he doesn't. So stop trying to give people words as if they are coming from God and tell them the truth. "I don't know". I don't know why this gunman decided to kill people who were in a crowded theater, the answer can only be found if we ask the gunman.
It kind of sounds weired when you hear "Where was God during the masaqure?" What do we expect when we don't need God in our day to day routines. We have taken God out of school prayer, can't have prayer during public fuctions like baseball games. It seems that we need God on our schedule not his.
So God is the creator of the Universe and everything in it All Seeing, All Knowing, All Powerful.
Yet God takes responsibility for NOTHING that goes wrong, Sounds like a psychopath to me.
Everyone has a belief factor to them. Its innate. Either you choose to believe in something, someone, or some "god" OR you choose not to believe in something, someone, or some "god". But regardless of how you "feel" you are believing one way or the other. The question on the table is "what if what you believe is wrong?" Before making assumptions or going off of PURE emotions try looking for absolute truth. We believe in life because we live yet we also believe in death because we experience it through people dying everyday. Believe that where there is start there will be a finish. Where there is casue there will also be an effect. Believe in the balance of Life. Believe past the five senses. Understand the intuition that resides within ones self.
Belief.. what you said was very beautiful and eloquent, but unfortunately science isn't interested in what makes us feel good. It does little to help us answer questions.. actually it interferes tremendously. Unfortunately much what we know about the universe and life in general is based on chaos. While we understand that what will occur after certain events, it is the events themselves which are random. So regardless if you want to attach a reason, such as God made the asteroid hit earth, or that the asteroid was on a path toward earth based on certain random events, it really is irrelevant. The dinosaurs are now extinct.
Belief.. what you said was very beautiful and eloquent, but unfortunately science isn't interested in what makes us feel good. It does little to help us answer questions.. actually it interferes tremendously. Unfortunately much what we know about the universe and life in general is based on chaos. While we understand what will occur after certain events, it is the events themselves which are random. So regardless if you want to attach a reason, such as God made the asteroid hit earth, or that the asteroid was on a path toward earth based on certain random events, it really is irrelevant. The dinosaurs are now extinct. But what science hopes to do that religion or belief can't is try to understand the random events to stop it from happening again.
Can some body explain why God no exist Please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Can you provide verifiable evidence to show god does exist? The buybull does not count.
What nonsense.
And there in lies the paradox of religion. Tragedy doesn't care what religion your are, it is an equal opportunity enforcer. And why even try to attempt to address this?. From a religious perspective what tragedy has occurred? The events have actually resulted in the people being in a better place (at least that is what the pastor believes). For the non believers a tragedy has occurred at a level that a believer could never understand.
Pastor
You say that “God is the author of life and the origin.ator of good. He dis.tin.guis.hed humankind from among his cre.ation with fac.ulties like reason, emotion, de.xterity and choice” and then say that “It is diffic.ult to know which force causes the circu.mstances that devastate us. But it is enough to know that God need not be respo.nsible for them.”
I am puzzled by how you can reach this conclu.sion that God need not be respo.nsible. If you a.s.sume that God, as our creator, gave us choice (free will), you also have to agree that as our creator, he also gave us whatever decis.ion making abi.lities we have. He dete.rmines how much of a cons.cience we have, how much greed we have, how much will power we have, how good we are at re.aso.ning, etc. God clearly could have given the Aurora shooter better dec.ision making abil.ities but chose not to. That makes God u.ltima.tely respo.nsible for the shooter's actions.
@reason.. trying to use logic on them is futile.
I say we go get this "God" creep and beat the stuffing out of him.
Robyn. If you really want to punish God, get a gun and kill a bunch of people. Then you can generate a long list of people who deny Him because of what you yourself have done. That'll show Him who's boss.
The Lord gives each and every one of us the ability to make decisions! People choose daily by their free will to do things, good and bad! Because we are given that ability to have free will, it doesn't become the Lords fault when some choose by free will to go and do bad things!
Before you come to any conclusion you have to spend time to read/study the books that we have around us and then using ur intellectuals you see which makes sense then you establish your belief... there is no way one can make you believe that there is One God the Creator of the heavens, the earth and anything between them...
Sahih International Translation:
O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah , through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer. - Al Quran Chapter 4: Verse 1
Peace!!!
@Jordyn
I make a flawed robot and it chooses to kill. Who is ultimately responsible? Me.
God makes a flawed human and the human chooses to kill. Who is responsible? God
People are always asking where was God when something bad happend. Here is a question to you where is God on your daily basis? Is God someone you wake up to and the last thing on your mind before you fall asleep? If God isnt part of your life dont expect Him to be there when something bad happens. If God isnt someone you worship as LOrd and MAster of your life dont question HIm where He was when you were in trouble. Dont u yout think that you are being selfish only using God when its convinient to you but dont give a care about Him. If the kids that are growing up these days all you here from them is " i got u, you are dead, no you dead, am going to kill you etc" this is the anoiting they receive after they have played their vedio games. Majority of vedio games today are full of violence, evil spirits, monsters etc. Is God something that these kids are looking up to? No, their god become these evil vedio games which is all they see and want that game to become a reality. This kid that killed all these ppl, growing up he was a normal kid just like any ordinary good kid that played these vedio games and theevil spirt entered him and he was under control of the devil. The biggest weapon that the devil has today on childeren is these vedio games plus everyother entertaiment that out there Lada Gaga etc. So dont question God instead examine yourself do I have a realitionship with Jesus Christ that alows myself to question Him where was He when i needed Him. In reality if you have a relationship with Jesus Christ and you have repented and asked HIm to be your Lord and Savior then God will never leave you nor forsake you. Thats like being under the God's . The devil cant touch you if you are on God's territory but if you choose to roam artound away from God well then the Devil has a full right to do as he pleases.
Slowly..but finally, the young (new) generation is seeing the truth...youre on your own.
Zhanna.. do you see how ridiculous you statements are? When the world trade center collapsed, it wasn't the Christians who survived, nor the Muslims or the Jews. When there are mass shootings, we don't see 1 group come out unscathed. When a plane crashes, it isn't the priest, the innocent children or the Christians who walk away. Nope tragedy doesn't discriminate, and there are certain tragedies that have a zero percent outcome. If I drop you into a Volcano, it won't matter how devout you are, you are going to incinerate.
Search some of Lady Gaga's interviews. She is a Christian and a believer in GOD.
The answer is that god was not there. Religion(s) keep perpetuating a myth regarding something that never existed..
Dave – If that is truly what you believe, then I pity you. To go from a bleak existence which we ultimately have very little control over, to one of darkness, has got to be a miserable existence. Find a bible, read it, and read it again. Eventually you may come to understand. Good luck, and God bless...
Dont listen to Jeffe Dave...they always use put-downs if you dont believe in the guy floating around in the clouds.
Only we, humans, have the ability to break God's heart. We do so when we pay no attention to his soverinty over us. He holds the keys to Heaven and the life of a Christian along the way. But don't be fooled. Yes, God is GOOD...ALL THE TIME!.....but the devil is also very powerful and he's full time, too. But he certainly does NOT have our good, at heart! Don't give him the time of day! "Turn your face upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of HIS glory and grace!" Lay all your burdens on Him, for He cares for you!!!!
Hey jeffe65-
Explain Jim jones and his bible readers down in Guyana. You got easy answers and no real solutions.
Got to go, the pay for view Jewish-Christian-Muslim-Hindu smackdown is about to start on channel 666.
Winner goes to finals against Zeus & Baal.