tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9880934.post110490256209063815..comments2007-04-16T10:54:29.398-07:00Geoff Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01266385637915121433noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9880934.post-1105055955781003932005-01-06T16:59:00.000-07:002005-01-06T16:59:00.000-07:00Thanks for the note J. <br /><br />1. God does care about murder (in all of its forms). But as you mentioned it is not the murdered that concerns him, but the murderer. The victim moves on to the next phase of life, the other must repent or <A HREF="http://www.blogger.com/r?http%3A%2F%2Fscriptures.lds.org%2Fquery%2Fmarked%3Fid%3D1105054369030"> “suffer even as I have suffered” </A>.<br /><br />2. This earthly suffering question is something entirely different... God is filled with mercy and love toward us (notwithstanding His justice). I'm just not sure we have the needed perspective to understand what real suffering is. What we might think is excruciating suffering, God might consider "remodeling". (I'm thinking of the CS Lewis house remodeling parable in <I>Mere Christianity</I>.)Geoff Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09126015700202614684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9880934.post-1105039713521957132005-01-06T12:28:00.000-07:002005-01-06T12:28:00.000-07:00I agree that God probably is not that concerned with death in concept. I would assert, however, that much of the death (and suffering) of this world is man made. I imagine that God is very concerned about that, because (as you say) it affects man's spirit.<br /><br />I would also assert that God cares about our suffering. Even though he is not concerned with Death in concept, the Mormon tradition contends that God is material, passionate, and personal. The consequence of these beliefs is that God is a "God of the Details" and that he cares about us and our suffering.J. Stapleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10840130620557789676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9880934.post-1104963276597415922005-01-05T15:14:00.000-07:002005-01-05T15:14:00.000-07:00WhooHooo! Someone actually read my post! (And having it read by someone cool like you, Dave, makes it all the better.) Anyway, thanks for the welcome. I'm a fan of BCC.<br /><br />In response to your comment about Old an New Testament differences: My contention is that God never has and never will be very concerned with mortal death -- at least He will never be nearly as worked up about it as we are down here in Babylon. He noticed sparrows deaths in Adamic times too -- He just didn't (and doesn't) worry about it. It is the "life of the soul" -- not the life of the body -- that God is concerned about.<br /><br /><I>Therefore, care not for the body, neither the life of the body; but care for the soul, and for the life of the soul.</I>D&C 101: 37Geoff Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09126015700202614684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9880934.post-1104961156234184132005-01-05T14:39:00.000-07:002005-01-05T14:39:00.000-07:00Welcome to the neighborhood, Geoff. I'll add you to my blogroll.<br /><br />So how is it that in the OT God treats death in a rather cavalier fashion, but in the NT He notices even the death of a sparrow (Matt. 10:28-31). I think life was cheap in the ancient world but has come to be valued more highly in the Christian era.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16545582642775796073noreply@blogger.com