My point, Terry, is that we don't all have the same choice. The weak ones have little choice, and because of that they will often be treated very badly. The strong ones have the choice to treat others badly if they want to, and they often make that choice.

When God doesn't interfere, he allows the strong ones to treat the weak ones badly.

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This is a picture of a slave ship carrying slaves to America. Many of the American slave owners were good Christian men who had read in the Bible that God permits the keeping of slaves.

America then made a choice. It would no longer permit slavery. That was a noble, honorable decision, which almost 150 years later culminated in giving America its first President whose skin color is more or less the same as the skin color of the slaves. America has indeed made a noble journey.

That doesn't change the fact that thousands and thousands of slaves were treated brutally by men who felt comfortable and justified in doing so, because they felt their Bible allowed them to keep and punish slaves.

My point, Terry, is that 'we' don't always have a choice. The strong ones have a choice. The weak ones often don't. And the weaker you are, the less of a choice you usually have.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote:
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Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die:
That is the fate of weak people almost everywhere. Theirs is not to reason why. Theirs is but to do and die. And the strong people, who have been given the luxury of a choice, can choose whether the weak people are going to live or die. And in making that choice, the strong people can choose whether or not they themselves are going to heaven. Except it is not so clear that those who abuse weak people are going to hell. The ideas of what sins are unforgivable and will send you to hell have varied wildly during the almost 2000 years that Christianity has existed. And God offers no opinion on the matter.

A very good friend of mine recently read two books about people living in Afghanistan, The Kite Runner, which is about two boys, and A Thousand Splendid Suns, which is about two women. Afterwards, my friend said that she had really, really enjoyed reading The Kite Runner, because the main character in that novel has a choice, and therefore it is so interesting to see what he makes of that choice. A Thousand Splendid Suns, however, is about two women who don't have a choice, and whose lives will necessarily end in catastrophe. My friend thought it was boring and crushing and depressing to read that book. Yes, people who don't have a choice are not much fun, are they?

When God doesn't interfere, he allows the strong ones to brutalize the weak ones. When God gives 'us' a chance to choose between good and evil, he allows weak people to be brutalized by strong people.

Ann