Orlando shootings

[EricB]

Hi James,
I can see what you mean, and I think your take on this was correct. I just re-read everything Sajih wrote, and it does seem obvious that he was referring to God allowing the devil to do his evil work on us, rather than God himself ordering these maniacs to commit these atrocities. Sorry Sajih about the misunderstanding. And George and Baidu...if you are reading this, please reconsider and come back here to us because this was just a bad misunderstanding.

I think we are all so outraged about these events that its sometimes hard to think straight. Also, there is this immediate sense of due justice we all feel when we hear about these events, that we want the people involved to be caught and punished as fast as possible.

Now I understand what you meant Sajih, when you compared the bombings in Syria with these terrorist acts. Both are the work of the devil. The fact that one group of people claim to be doing God's will is irrelevant.

What got me confused and upset is how you used these events as examples of God's will. I didn't understand is that you meant God had forsaken us and is allowing satan to do these things. I took it the wrong way and thought you meant that God himself had sanctioned and organised the terrorist acts himself by commanding some lunatic to run over people with a truck, etc. This was clearly wrong thinking.

But if I may please...I still think that these awful events should not be used as examples simply out of respect for the victims and their families. Imagine for a moment that it was your child that got run over and killed by a truck on purpose, and then reading somewhere that this happened because of God allowing it to happen due to his disappointment with the human race. Reading something like that would not make you feel any better, and might even turn you away from God.

So I would like to repeat my suggestion...when it comes to these kind of tragedies, let's Just condemn the tragedy and say how bad we feel for the victims and their families, and just leave it at that.

On another topic, I would like to address where I got the 72 virgins thing:
You are correct Sajih, the Quran does not specifically mention 72 virgins anywhere. However, the Quran does state that all martyrs will go to Heaven and shall be granted the company of MORE THAN ONE houri. Translation of "houri" can be virgins, pure beings, angels, etc. While the Quran does not use the number 72, it does say "more than one". The number 72 comes from a hadith with a weak chain of narrators, and not the Quran. But the point is that these murderous brainwashed martyrs that blow up/run over innocent people, think they are going to heaven and be rewarded with God's acceptance and be granted with multiple "houris". They have no idea that they are just tools of satan, who got brainwashed into thinking that they are servants of God doing God's will. This is very dangerous because an otherwise normal human being can easily justify mass murder if he thinks that it is part of God's plans and he's just an instrument of God. How else can you explain someone willing to strap explosives to their bodies and walk in a crowded place and blow themselves up?

So Sajih, please accept my apologies about the misunderstanding.

Blessings to all,
Eric