I don't see how this is relevant, unless you are trying to make an emotional argument out of this. Obviously we are more affected by some deaths than others, but at the end of the day one person is just as dead as another.stretched said:How much death have you personally seen Jenyar?Jenyar said:“but what makes you think his death was worse than dying of old age”
You still strething, stretched. That one death is like another does not make anything "OK", or "God's will", and that's not what I said - it just brings things into perspective. Emotion is like gravity: it contorts and compresses space-time itself. I could just as easily turn the question around on you: why is dying in your sleep a "better death" than dying as a soldier or an innocent? Just because you like one more than the other?The way you reason, its OK for Iraqis to die in Iraq. On the battlefield or in their sleep. Its all good. Its all Gods will. George B does not come in to this? Also you are condoning the death sentence for an honest mistake? Que?
You see, the various ways a human can die only become problematic when we start applying certain criteria to their death, like cause or guilt or suffering. Then you can start calling one death "fair" and another "unfair", one "peaceful" and another "violent". That's when death takes on the personality of the dying. It's as if we're saying a bad death is caused by a bad God, and a good death by a good God, only, we want to decide whether their death is good or bad, based on our judgment of the person and the circumstances.
We would all like everyone to die peacefully, in fact, I think we would all like there to be no death at all. But that's talking about paradise, about the life God wants us to have. And we don't live in paradise, we live in a world that is running down. It's strange that people can blame all kinds of injustices on God, while they are quite willing to believe in survival of the fittest, which leaves no room for any justice in or after death.
Uzzah lived under God's rules, as part of God's people. It wasn't a stranger that God struck down, it was one of His own people. You assume his particular death must be a great injustice, because for some reason you think he had been finally judged on the spot. No, his life had been cut short, the way a climber's life would be cut short if he cuts his own rope in mid-air. Israel had put themselves in danger when they ignored God's directions, and they suffered many casualties for their indiscretion. Those were the rules they lived by, and they looked forward to justice for every person, whether he died of sickness or was struck down by God himself. That's why they often made no distinction between a natural death and a supernatural one.
An honest mistake in a dangerous environment is just as lethal as a deliberate one. Laws exist for the sole purpose to keep people in safe environment, where there is room for honest mistakes, and even then they are judged by the seriousness of the mistake. If you run over a pedestrian by accident, you can still be prosecuted for involuntary manslaughter. It might have been an honest mistake, but the consequences were the same: a life was cut short.stretched said:Your god is extremely insecure. An honest mistake, as described, is against gods will?Jenyar said:“God said He does not want anyone to die. That does not mean He said He will not punish sin. Sin is by definition doing something that is against God's will. I don't know how you can say there is a contradiction.”
You've just described the whole system of justice on which the Western world was built. Except you've reduced all criminal activity to a "painting", and all possible punishments to an unreasonable death threat. All you're doing is explaining to me what you think of this particular event, although you've extended it to a universal rule governing how God acts under all circumstances.Dad: Son, don’t you DARE touch that priceless painting or I will kill you!
Son: Yes dad.
(Earthquake occurs … painting slips off wall. Son steadies it.)
Dad: Jees! I told you not to touch it! Die!
What happened to Uzzah can only be understood with the context of what happened and was happening to Israel around him. This short piece about Uzzah in the Jewish Encyclopedia might help a little to set your mind at ease about his fate.
There are too many perspectives to cover here, but I'll attempt a short analogy. The ark of the covenant could stand for two things: Noah's ark (the past) and paradise in God's presence (the future). In the time between the Exodus and the Babylonian exile, it was the judgement seat of God, signifying His presence among Israel, His strength and glory. The temple was later built to contain it, and only the High Priest could even attempt to approach it (at great personal risk, see Lev. 16:2). What happened to Uzzah convinced David to restore the ark to its proper sanctity. They had been taking God's presence for granted. The effect was the same as if Noah had been poking holes in the bottom of the ark.Explain to me clearly. What EXACTLY was/is the ark?
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