Did you miss me? Things have been a little hectic with the closing days of sabbatical and preparations for our move (ah, the joys of Methodist itinerancy - more of that anon...)
Anyway, what follows was prompted by reading Psalm 121 this morning before doing my chaplaincy round at the Ulster hospital, together with a reflection in a devotional book aimed at helping those with a cancer diagnosis:
I lift up my eyes to the hills,
But find the crumbling concrete façade
Of a hospital ward block.
From whence cometh my help?
The hospital is cradled
Between beautiful green hills.
Housing creeps towards the crests
But still the hills stand secure.
And behind the hills stands their maker,
The creator of heaven and earth, seen and unseen,
Ever watching, never sleeping
Day and night, summer and winter.
From whence cometh my help?
From doctors, nurses, therapists and chaplains
From professionals, family and friends
But ultimately from the Lord
I lift up my eyes…
Selah
Comments
Croydon, London.
Given the above how can you sing
"The winds and waves obey Him"?
Although they have no proof, or texts to cite, Christians tell us that children go to heaven. Even though for nearly two thousand years, parents were told that if their child was not baptised, it would not go to heaven.
While Christians quote many platitudes, when they are asked difficult questions, they simply quote even more platitudes.
In my own case,I witnessed a paedophile (Dr Lindsay Brown), abuse many boys, while at the same time he led many boys into the 'Kingdom' - many of whom went on to full-time Christian service. When I ask, where was God/god in all of this, Christians say they will "get back to me" with an answer - but they never do.
Victor Stevenson
stevensonstudio@aol.com
I'm not going to tell you I will get back with an answer, because I don't believe that there is an adequate one. Any attempt to "shift the blame" from God's shoulders would only involve pointing to something that the mother or someone else had done wrong which would be callous to say the least, so if it helps to blame God, so be, it... I believe he is big enough and it is another in a long list of questions that will ultimately need answered.
However, as to the teaching of the church re unbaptised children well that owes more to a medieval undervaluing of children than it does to Biblical teaching...