Thread: Thoughts after the death of an Uncle.

(not sure where this belongs)

One of my wife's uncles died this week; here are some thoughts.

If I leave my car out the front and someone steals it and as a result he ends up in gaol whose fault is it? Not mine (unless I left the care unlocked which is illegal here) so it's the thief's, but what about the others involved? The police who decided the crime was worth investigating; the police who caught and arrested the thief; the person who decided that there was enough evidence to prosecute; the prosecutor; the judge; the jury; the gaol guard who keeps the doors locked; all are in some way responsible for the thief being in gaol, but in a positive way. The thief himself is responsible for his being in goal in that he did something wrong and so is being punished, with the others they're fulfilling their responsibilities to protect society by punishing criminals.

My uncle died of cancer. Is it responsible? Yes, but as it is "a malignant growth or tumour resulting from an uncontrolled division of cells" it's not that it knows it's responsible. Is my uncle responsible? Yes, he's a sinner and that is why he died, all sinners die, it's the wages of sin. Is God responsible? Yes, He decreed that death would be the punishment for sin before any sin had been committed, but as in the above example that's a positive, He is actually fulfilling His responsibility to punish evil.

Someone said "No man is an island entire of itself", nothing happens in isolation, but it doesn't mean that if something happens everyone's involvement is the same, everyone's responsibility is the same.

(I hope that makes sense)

God alone knows the thoughts and intents of the heart so for me, I'll just let God sort it all out..

However I would consider MY part...not locking the door would be sin on MY part but the thief stealing it holds no responsibility for me...obviously he would have stolen it locked or unlocked.

I agree that situations cause, and are sometimes caused by, a domino affect.

Originally Posted by FunFromOz

My uncle died of cancer. Is it responsible? Yes, but as it is “a malignant growth or tumour resulting from an uncontrolled division of cells” it’s not that it knows it’s responsible. Is my uncle responsible? Yes, he’s a sinner and that is why he died, all sinners die, it’s the wages of sin. Is God responsible? Yes, He decreed that death would be the punishment for sin before any sin had been committed, but as in the above example that’s a positive, He is actually fulfilling His responsibility to punish evil.

Well, the cancer cells are not moral free agents so they can't be held responsible. The uncle is responsible for his sins, of course.
But whether or not he was a sinner, he would have died (in a physical sense) eventually.

Just my opinion.

Originally Posted by njtom

But whether or not he was a sinner, he would have died (in a physical sense) eventually.

Just my opinion.

Unless the Bible lies we're all sinners and we die as a punishment.