Americans on a tour of the world set out to prove that people are generally good get murdered in Turkmenistan. Stupid games
They should have just believed God, or maybe history.
still cant figure out how people are so so so stupid sometimes ? sad for the parents
The Gods of the Copybook Maxims?
What’s copy book maxims?
The worst thing about good people is they honestly can’t even comprehend evil. Part of me wishes the world was full of such people, but then I remember that the entire world could then be enslaved by a single evil person.
It’s a shame they had to lose their lives because they didn’t understand truly evil people exist. But just as you sometimes can’t fix stupid, you also can’t make people understand things they can’t relate to. Truly evil people will never understand what it is to be good and sometimes really good people can’t understand what true evil is.
I try to be good, but not so good that I fail to understand evil exists. But at least their example may serve as a warning to other “good people.”
How do you know they didn’t? I seem to remember a school full of Amish kids accepting their own slaughter because of their beliefs when one bad person came for them.
Well if the premise is that these poor murdered people believed that people are good then they evidently didn’t believe or maybe even read what the God I know said about fallen humanity. Must have been operating under a different set of propositions.
As for the Amish, they are pacifists. They would not resist violence with violence. The Anabaptists I have spoken to do understand evil and humanity’s propensity toward it.
And the point remains that there are many people who believe in God who still believe that there is good in everyone or won’t resist violence with violence. So unless they specifically cited their beliefs, we shouldn’t make assumptions, it’s bad enough they died because they believed people are basically good.
Plenty of people doing missionary work in places every bit as dangerous who believe their faith alone will save them, I wish it was always true. Of course I wish people everywhere were “basically good” but I know that isn’t the case.
Yes it is my assertion that to believe that people are good is so gross an error in understanding what the Bible teaches about sin and sinners that it would indicate unbelief or a situation of never reading the scriptures at all. It’s that plain.
They did cite their beliefs…people are basically good.
I think people like that think you or me or anyone on the right is evil dangerous and scary and the terrorists are the good ones and we are making them this way
And for all we know they were Mormons. Are you as critical of missionaries who get slaughtered in Africa?
Sadly if we apply Bizarro Berkeley logic that scenario is entirely plausible. In a huge irony, Islamist believe homosexuality is a crime punishable by death, women are property, child rape is permissible and anyone who doesn’t strictly adhere to their brand of religious fundamentalism can be put to death but when you point out their hypocrisy because they hate Americans who simply don’t agree with homosexuality, object to radical feminism and choose to be religious they reply “it’s a different culture so it’s not the same thing.”
Seems to me if the US would just actually engage in a little bit of Imperialism, since they are being accused of it anyway, we could just keep one of these countries that we waste time rescuing the people from themselves and their preferred culture and we could establish a country based upon Western Democracy and Roman concepts of a Republic where people would be free to own guns, make their own decisions about religion, have free speech, free expression and practice a little bit of conservatism to preserve such ideas. If it happens to have natural resources such as oil, even better.
I’m thinking Turkey would be a candidate since they are so fond of invading places like Cyprus. We can let the Russians have Syria as a trade off.
Don’t understand your reference to Mormons.
As for missionaries. Whether they get my criticism or not would depend on the situation. Number one on the list is are they actually proclaiming the true gospel. If their situation is dangerous yet not completely suicidal I wouldn’t criticize at all. Being a spokesman for God has always been dangerous to one degree or another. I try to always have sympathy for those that are murdered no matter what their beliefs…nobody deserves to be murdered at the hands of another. The problem with this couple is that they put themselves in a bad spot because they believed a lie. If their intention was to prove that people are good, they didn’t believe God or even history apart from God. Even history shows the barbarous nature of man.
While I don’t disagree with your worldly view, it seems at odds with things like this.
“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
Now I’m no expert, but it seems like Jesus is telling people to go out and love your fellow man, even with consequences be damned.
My Mormon comment was based on the fact that the people I’ve met who truly seem to try and walk the walk and are the most polite and courteous people I’ve ever encountered are often Mormons. They will do almost anything to rescue others to the true faith of Mormonism.
Yes loving God and neighbor are commanded, but we must be careful about the definition of love. Biblically speaking it’s an action more than a feeling. Affections do play a part. So, loving God and neighbor would primarily involve keeping God’s commandments…toward God and toward neighbor. Keeping those commandments must be done for the right motives also…for the glory of God. Consequences do play a part in that God isn’t asking Christians to put themselves in hopelessly suicidal situations willy nilly. Has every Christian been called to be a missionary, a pastor, an elder, an apostle etc; etc., the answer is no. There are times when we are to flee persecution, there are times to defend ones life. God never tells us to purposely seek suffering. The first thing God has called me to, beside 1st loving Him, is to love my wife and children, and to take care of them to best of my abilities. Do I live up to loving God and neighbor as God has commanded…of course not, but I’m learning. Keep in mind that the perfect embodiment of love, Jesus Himself, whipped the money changers and drove them from the temple for their grievous sin against God.
As far as your experience of Mormons goes, I could say the same for many of the Christians I’ve met. (I don’t consider Mormons to be Christians). Believer and unbeliever can manifest various degrees of civil righteousness…no one is as bad as they can be. There would be a huge difference in motivation for those good works though.
Well said.
Same concept applies to people who think that guns are “bad”.
Guns themselves arent bad, same as knives. Its the bad people who use them that’s bad/evil.
Their concept has no logic to it (as usual). Without evil, there would be no such thing as good, no light without dark. One exists because the other does.
It’s definitely not a politically correct sentiment, but I’ve had the same thoughts. Maybe add Venezuela to that list.