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December 14th, 2012
06:17 PM ET
Massacre of children leaves many asking, 'Where’s God?'By Dan Gilgoff and Eric Marrapodi, CNN Belief Blog Co-Editors (CNN) – As he waited with parents who feared that their kids were among the 20 children killed at a Connecticut elementary school on Friday, Rabbi Shaul Praver said the main thing he could do for parents was to merely be present. “It’s a terrible thing, families waiting to find out if their children made it out alive,” said Praver, who leads a synagogue in Newtown, Connecticut, and was among nine clergy gathered with parents at a firehouse near Sandy Hook Elementary School, where the shooting occurred. “They’re going to need a lot of help,” Praver said of those who are close to the dead. From the first moments after Friday’s massacre, which also left six adults and the shooter dead, religious leaders were among the first people to whom worried and grieving families turned for help. Over the weekend, countless more Americans will look to clergy as they struggle to process a tragedy in which so many of the victims were children. “Every single person who is watching the news today is asking ‘Where is God when this happens?’” says Max Lucado, a prominent Christian pastor and author based in San Antonio. Follow the CNN Belief Blog on Twitter Lucado says that pastors everywhere will be scrapping their scheduled Sunday sermons to address the massacre. “You have to address it - you have to turn everything you had planned upside down on Friday because that’s where people’s hearts are,” Lucado says. “The challenge here is to avoid the extremes – those who say there are easy answers and those who say there are no answers.” Indeed, many religious leaders on Friday stressed that the important thing is for clergy to support those who are suffering, not to rush into theological questions. A University of Connecticut professor on Friday hung up the phone when asked to discuss religious responses to suffering, saying, “This is an immense tragedy, and you want an academic speculating on the problem of evil?” “There is no good answer at that time that anyone can hear and comprehend and take in,” said Ian T. Douglas, the bishop for the Episcopal diocese of Connecticut, referring to counseling family and friends of the dead. “They’re crying out from a place of deep pain.” Praver, the rabbi, will join a memorial service Friday night at Newtown’s St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church. “We’re going to have a moment of prayer for the victims,” Praver said of the service. “We cannot let it crush our spirit and we march on.” Some national religious groups are also sending staff to Newtown, with 10 chaplains dispatched from the North Carolina-based Billy Graham Evangelistic Association on Friday. Public officials including President Obama, meanwhile, turned to the Bible in responding to the shooting. “In the words of Scripture, 'heal the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds,' ” Obama said from the White House, citing the book of Psalms. On Twitter, #PrayForNewton became a trending topic. CNN’s Belief Blog: The faith angles behind the biggest stories Some religious leaders argue that modern American life insulates much of the nation from the kind of senseless death and suffering that plagues much of the world every day. “Most of the world, for most of the world’s history, has known tragedy and trauma in abundance,” wrote Rob Brendle, a Colorado pastor, in a commentary for CNN’s Belief Blog after this summer’s deadly shooting in Aurora, Colorado, which left 12 dead. “You don’t get nearly the same consternation in Burundi or Burma, because suffering is normal to there,” wrote Brendle, who pastored congregants after a deadly shooting at his church five years ago. “For us, though, God has become anesthetist-in-chief. To believe in him is to be excused from bad things.” My Take: This is where God was in Aurora Lucado said there was an eerie irony for the Connecticut tragedy coming just before Christmas, noting the Bible says that Jesus Christ’s birth was followed by an order from King Herod to slay boys under 2 in the Roman city of Bethlehem. “The Christmas story is that Jesus was born into a dark and impoverished world,” Lucado says. “His survival was surrounded by violence. The real Christmas story was pretty rough.” Many religious leaders framed Friday’s shooting as evidence for evil in the world and for human free will in the face of a sovereign God. “The Bible tells us the human heart is ‘wicked’ and ‘who can know it?’” the Rev. Franklin Graham said in a statement about the massacre. “My heart aches for the victims, their families and the entire community.” Many religious leaders also said that such tragedies are a good time for lay people to express doubts about God – or anger. “This is a time to go deep and pray,” says Lucado. “If you have a problem with God, shake a fist or two at him. If he’s God, he’s going to answer. And if he’s in control, he’ll find a way to let you know. soundoff (9,195 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 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 Next » |
  About this blog
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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If you believe in a "God" who had the ability to stop this but didn't, you are as crazy as the shooter.
There are no gods or goddesses, devils or angels, ghosts or goblins. Religion was created by man to control the masses.
I just watched The Hobbit. The Goblin King was epic!
Yakob: And those who realize this, but still choose to live a worthwhile life, a respectful life, an honest and caring life of high moral standards are criticized for being atheists. Amazing! Most atheists that I know, me included, live a 'clean life' NOT because we FEAR God but because it makes sense....its a rational and calculated decision! Can we be good without God? Of course we can. Are ALL atheists good? No! Are all religious folks good? No! (And I'm guessing that the 'bad' ones are about of equal proportions in both the religious and non-religious camps.)
He'e obviously on vacation for the holidays.
God was taking target practice.
Where's god, why even bother asking when we as a nation have turned our back to him. Where is morality, where is love of the creator, where is the love of what is good? You reap what you have sown America as horrific and as painful as it might be.
Let put things in perspective. 20 people died. You get that on a regular basis on the highway. 8,000 children will die this year in car accidents. This is just an opportunity for the gun grabbers to act. As hillary said "never let a crisis go to waste"!
507
Close enough. You are number 509.
509!! IT'S 509!!! HOW DARE YOU CONTRADICT COUNT VON COUNT!!! MUPPET VAMPIRES ARE NEEVR RONGW!!
Follow @ipaadha. you get all answers. you will see god.
Christians are delusional lemmings.
No more so than any other human being
It's usually the really religious but I digress.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
God sent His Son into the world to suffer and die so that our sins could be forgiven.
If you are a man or woman of faith, then you accept that God's plan for your life is better than your own plan for your life. Sometimes that means great joy, other times it means great suffering. In any case, God's ways are higher than our ways. We are not capable (yet) of understanding God's perfect plan. Just keep trusting in Him.
My deepest sympathies and prayers for the families.
It's all mythology made up by conniving desert men.
It's a good thing you're religious because you'd have no chance to be a positive influence on society without having all your decisions made for you.
God can go fuck himself. What a dick.
You ask "where is God?"
We are the ones that took him OUT of our schools!
Canada doesnt allow your phsyco god in schools either, why doesnt this happen there?
You are truly sick
506.
And child are molested at churches...
Where is God you ask? Don't blame God you kicked God out along time ago. Now you ask where is God? God has always and will always be there for us but you wont allow it. Maybe its time to reconsider and allow God back into our lives and the schools. Don't blame God for your stupid and ignorant mistakes. God gave us freedom of choice so this is your choice.
If god gave us freedom of choice, why do his followers always strive to REMOVE freedom of choice??
We atheists never give up ground we've gained.
Yes it's your responsibility to start being real parents and stop trying to blame public schools for your shortcomings.
The God of our Bible Does not VIEW death like a Mortal Man. Tragic as Death is , we will ALL participate, some sooner some later, ..never the less FAITH is a requirement to understand the Perfect Righteousness of a .....GOOD God. To Believe ALL CHILDREN innocent, and PURE is just THAT. No we dont Understand this ....mess....GOD did not do it .yes it happened , Children die in WARS, Accidents, illness, etc continually in the Cycle of life like all sad but TRUE. Yet to KNOW the Spirit is still GOD GIVEN and PERFECTLY watched over .....those little children are Having the Time of Their Lives this very Moment !! And you can too by FAITH like a little Child Knowing GOD is Good, Rightoues,Perfect not willing ANY should Perish.. Time and Death are MINOR in the Scope of ETERNITY, Forever.!!!! eVil DOES NOT win in the END GOD through CHRIST in US ,if you Choose, like a child........does.
Please invest in a properly working keyboard... Or a fully-functioning brain.
Jeez, man. You write like a child. How old are you?
W, it is not my bible and if god was real I would beat the shit out of him for being such an asshole.
There are over 3000 religions in the world, each worshipping a god... When you finally understand why you dismiss all those other gods, you'll understand why I dismiss yours.
The average christian mind:
"I believe in the bible because I believe in the bible".
Simple, but awesome reply!
And the bible is true because the bible says so.
There is no God. People made the concept of a God to explain things they couldn't and to control and exploit people in simoler times (to be fair, this still happens – especially with children). We as a society have become sickenly dependent on these stories to go about our lives. People kill in the name of god, demand answers from this deity, and cry out for god's guidance when something like this happens. Why? Because something we can't explain has happened.
Please take a minute to try and think about how much time you devote to prayer, and then try and devote that period of time to thinking about the logic in what you're doing.
Unfortunately, the religies can't do that. Too biblewashed.
eh? Who do you think made the Universe? The laws of physics? Kindness? Evil? Good? Math? People?
If you think all of existence is due to random event... you will never understand. You have my sympathy.
Ugh.. "Simoler" above is "SIMPLER"
Bill, it is you who needs sympathy as you are clearly delusional.
Bill, we don't need your sympathy. We're the ones who understand, not you.
Bill, you are the crazy guy who believes in sorcery passed down by desert dwellers for centuries, to finally get written, revised, and reinterpreted by the same control freaks who want to rule over humans which are weak of character. To you I say go to HE*L!
Science works the same way, they make stuff up to make their equations work and then when what they made up the first time gets to a point when it doesn't work then they make up something else.
The hell-bound democrats through God out of school, REMEMBER???
What's the count on this stupid meaningless comment, about 525 now?
Because teaching our children to pray to something that doesn't exist is child abuse
I know Jerry, what else could God do? Somebody had to be killed.
Prayer isnt allowed in Chinese schools and this doesnt happen there. Prayer isnt allowed in Canadian schools and this doesnt happen there. Why is that? Explain it to me or we all know you are full of it. Ignore me and you know yourself that you are full of it.
507 I think.
Fox News or Rush Limbaugh must have said it, and all the sheep what to come here and baa-baa-baa the same words back out again.
It's really great that people like Jerry have a place to go find out what their opinions are every day.
"through God"
what the hell is that supposed to mean?
Mithra, the same day as the shooting, 22 kids were attacked in China by a nut with a knife.
All of them lived. Kinda embarasses the "guns don't kill" thing, because in both cases you had someone who wanted to kill, but only the guy with the guns succeeded.
I think Jerry meant "threw." Typical religie mistake.
I think they "through" Jerry's English teacher out of school.
I'm a proud Republican and an atheist. We are becoming a bigger force in this party. Jerry, you have no place to go dude.
Perhaps if we, as a country and people, included God more in our lives... the beliefs that have been handed since time immemorial... we would avoid these evil things that come from a Godless world.
The shooter's parents sound like good & wonderful people... but what about our media culture that glorifies violence? Our culture that teaches 'there is no right or wrong'... Even good parenting can be overcome by the evil we glorify.
The most immoral people in America are Christian... Just look to any Republican politician for proof... God and religion are a way to control the weak-minded, nothing more.
WHy dont these things happen in Country's with the highest percentage of atheists? Canada,. China. Netherlands. I think your full of it. Maybe if you didnt teach your children the morals from the bible (own slaves, woman silent, severly punish children) the world wouldnt be so messed up. Maybe if you stopped telling people that there is an invisible man in the sky that is going to make sure everything is ok, instead of taking personal responsibilty, the world wouldnt be so messed up.
Mit, wiki wants your correction: "A series of uncoordinated mass stabbings, hammer attacks, and cleaver attacks in the People's Republic of China began in March 2010. The spate of attacks left at least 21 dead and some 90 injured."
:
To all the christians blaming this on taking care prayer out of school, please explain to everyone why this doesnt happen in Canada or China, places where prayer is also not allowed in schools. Seriously, I want an answer. If you cant answer it, we know yo are full of it. If you pretend not to see this, we know you are full of it. So, lets hear it. Why?
Foolish person. Have you ever heard of "The great leap forward".
Uh, the Great Leap Forward had nothing to do with people going into schools and killing little children. Nice try. Okay, lousy try, but hey, you lose a few, you lose a few more.
You're calling me foolish while avoiding my question? Explain it. Funny how all the christians disapear when i start posting. Explain what the greatest leap forward is and how it pertains to my question. Id love to hear you babble some more.
Actually, China does have regular incidences of things like this (though guns usually are not involved). You see, it has nothing to do with religion. There are crazy people the world over, and when they snap, innocents get hurt. Religion doesn't stop it, laws don't stop it, political systems don't stop it, it's just the way it is.
Silly one... trying to be perceived as 'profound'...
You asked about 'why not in China'... it did happen in China... to the tune of 22 million deaths. 16 million in the USSR... 3 million in Cambodia... All self-proclaimed Atheist states.
What you choose to believe is up to you – but don't try to pass off your hate for what is good, what is right, what is God... as being 'profound'. It is just pure silliness.
No Bill, that was communism. They were not killed for religious reasons. They were killed for political reasons. We've been over this many times. You see, totalitarian regimes always do that, whether they believe in god, like trujillo and Franco and Mussolini, or whether they don't, like Stalin, or whether they go for a self-styled mysticism, like Hitler. The common denominator is the totalitarianism, not the level of religious belief.
Sorry that your point is easily destroyed, but that's the truth.
Mit, wiki wants your correction: "A series of uncoordinated mass stabbings, hammer attacks, and cleaver attacks in the People's Republic of China began in March 2010. The spate of attacks left at least 21 dead and some 90 injured."
God is right where we left him outside and 100 ft away from the school and any government building in the US.A sad but true situation.
I think you are reading your latest restraining order by mistake.
You are the 506th person to parrot that idiotic statement. Pick any page for a devastating rebuttal.
100 feet isn't far enough.
Bet, have watched your threads and I see that you are using this event for your own amusement and the bashing of people of faith. I sure am glad that you are nowhere near my community. How do I know that. We'd of run your sick self out of town moons ago.
That's unAmerican, dgintn. And illegal. And intolerant.
Just like a true Christian.
Dgintn, because taking forced prayer out of school has nothing to do with some freaking nut going into the school and slaughtering 20 6 and 7 year olds.
@ dgintn
Nice ad hominem there. No one has posted anything making light of the deaths of these innocent children and teachers, you pathetic liar.
I am amused by the frantic efforts of deluded religious people who try to reconcile this event with a loving and compassionate deity.
Just because the few are taking God out of the schools, doesn't mean he should be removed from our heart. God is everywhere you go, whether it be in school, the mall, or the 4-lane highway out there. Only the words are being removed, not God Himself. God is part of a person's heart no matter where the person is. Teach your Children well. Education begins at home / with the parents.
Indoctrination starts in the home too. Stop poisining your childrens minds.
That's blatant child abuse. You should be arrested for that.
To Tym who said: "MAN TOOK "GOD" OUT OF SCHOOLS, REMEMBER!!!"
So Tym, your God decided to kill a bunch of little kids because some adults voted God out of the school? I guess that's an outstanding justification for killing small children! It also makes Adam Lanza a hero who is simply doing God's will. Will you say the same thing if one of those kids was yours?
Sometimes the simplest answers are the ones that are sadly true. There is no god except for the gods of human imagination. We are all potential victims of random acts of violence by men or nature. Many times there is no reason, except that we are all in this world together trying to survive the best we can. Instead of trying to find answers we should just support the victims and show compassion in times like this. We only have each other and that is the only truth we can all attest to.
Frightened Christians always have the need for everyone else to believe as they do in order to justify their delusions and reassure themeslves that their entire world view is not based on a lie.
Thanks, Ruth. I am a non-believer and know that our human community must respond to this tragedy. Now is not the time for a debate on the existence of any god, but to gather in support of those who are hurting, and to use our hearts and minds to work on ways for other tragedies to be averted.
Conversely, when we don't do these things as a nation we can expect the opposite. We collectively become responsible for these lives being lost. We've told the life guard we "don't need" your protection or lifeline.
"God rules this world. It is the duty of nations as well as men to owe their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow... and to recognize the sublime truths that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord." – Abraham Lincoln
"It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favors. – George Washington
"It must be felt that there is no national security but in the nation's humble acknowledged dependence upon God and His overruling providence." – John Adams
"God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God? That they are not to be violated by with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever." – Thomas Jefferson
"As nations cannot be rewarded or punished in the next world, so they must be in this. By an inevitable chain of causes and effects, Providence punishes national sins by national calamities." – George Mason, Father of the Bill of Rights
It was a lunatic named Adam Lanza that is soley responsible for that tragedy; not the separation of church and state.
Sorry you're so angry that forced prayer was taken out of public schools, but get a clue yourself; that's what church and Sunday Schools and parents are for.
His protection? You moron, God supposedly doesn't protect anyone because it interferes with their free will. Accept or reject, the result is the same.
But that also means that he cannot do anything good either, because that would interfere with free will. God cannot answer prayer, intervene in any way, or perform miracles, or those involved wouldn't have free will. It means God never becomes involved. Either way, god cannot do anything without violating his free will rule.
Get the paradox? It's why god can't really exist – what people claim about him is self-negating.