Ishmael and his friends have seen things that would drive sane men to the brink of insanity. The killing of children and slaughtering of innocent people. Where was God when the little infant was shot down in the dawn of life. He or she shall never know the joys of life and what it has to offer and instead be buried in the blood drenched earth along with the rest of the village. Where was God when the devoted father decided to drive home early to kiss his daughter goodnight but was killed by RUF rebels on his way home. From 1991 to 1997, over 189,000 thousand children under the age of nine died either in combat or by rebel raids in Sierra Leone.
We control the fates of ourselves and of our peers and only us. For those of you who are religious, I urge you to not be offended by my opinion and know you can be completely honest in your responses. But I ask only that tonight after you say your prayer, ask yourself, is somebody really listening and will this divine being act to make your life easier?
I'm sorry, but I have to disagree. I do believe there is a God. I just think he prefers to let us live our lives with free will. There's also things that may just be to great for him to control. For example, this war that happened in Africa. The rebels chose to attack and kill and torture, but I don't believe God would have had the power to change their minds (free will). All though, what do I know? Maybe He could've. Yet, I believe God sill helped many of the people in Africa. For example, think of everything Ishmael has been through. It couldn't have just been luck that kept him alive all that time! Think of all the near-death experiences Ishmael had went through. I believe God somehow helped Ishmael out. Maybe He knew Ishmael would someday write a book about his experiences and wanted everyone to see what a hiteous thing war is. There have been many times when I have thought something in my mind, asking God for his help with it, and most of the time I get His help. For example, yesterday I wished that my computer would work tomorrow (remember this was yesterday) and kept thinking, "Please, please, God. Just let it work tomorrow. I will never ask for another thing from you." And guess what? Even though my computer crashed yesterday, it turned on today and not a thing was lost on my hard drive. I do believe God exists and DID help many, many people in the war. I just don't think he had the power to save EVERYONE.
ReplyDeleteGood Job
ReplyDeleteI agree, God does not seem to have a presence in this civil war and if he does it is an extremely small one. It seems people are slaughtered just for living. There are no feelings when a person is killed. In the story it seems that most people do not even think about their religion anymore, never was there a soldier who prayed before battle. However my personal religious views have not been changed from reading this book.I do not believe the book is supposed to change religious views but to show that there are some truly horrific things that happen in this world.
I agree with you Thomas, even though I am Catholic. If there really is a God why did he not step in when the poor Africans were subjected to untold horrors. I understand that God might not be able to help everyone, but innocent children. I would compare this to the Holocaust, religion wise. After seeing huge amounts of murder and torture most survivors religious views were tested to the max. I question my beliefs when I hear about these mass slaughters and I have never seen a massacre(unless you count when the Giants beat the cowboys). Seeing untold horror, merciless torture, multitudes of killings: I can only wonder how the survivors religion was tested???
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Thomas and I think Tierney said it perfectly. It is hard not to question your own beliefs after hearing about all this ruthless killing that went on and has gone on throughout mankind's history.
ReplyDeleteI am not saying that their is no god or anything, but I think that maybe we have have exaggerated his powers and the impact that he can have on us.
I really dont know what to think right now religion wise. Im so confused because of World Religion and this book, but I think that I think that God has a "plan" for everyone and that alot of people take religion and God too literally. Like no one ever said the bible was true fact and many people question the bible and God and ask the big question HOW? How is this possible? Scientists have told us its things the Bible is impossible so how can it be true? But I think the bible and God are more of abstract things that are focused more on the question WHY? Why has this happen? I firmly believe things happen for a reason and yet I still believe that people can control their own fate and destiny, and that in a way destiny can still be a thing that is uncontollable. What Im saying is that God works in different ways and has different plans for all of us. For some it may be to die young for a cause, for others like Ishmael it is to live and be able to tell his story to the world.
ReplyDeleteAgreeing with almost everyone else who has commented on here so far, I would like to believe that there is something bigger than us, that has the power to influence our lives. To not let the innocent suffer fates like they did during that war. But really, things like this make me have serious doubts.
ReplyDeleteThere's no reason why God would choose to help some people rather than others, it just doesn't add up.
If God really is out there, wouldn't he be preventing these things from happening?
I dont agree at all! I am a Christian and I do believe in God. I believe that just because someone is going through a hard time it doesn't mean that God is responsible. Just because someone is suffering or struggling, its not Gods responsiblility to save them. As a Christian, Jesus is my savior. That doesnt mean that he saves me from all suffering it means he saves me from the punishment of my sins. I also think that sometimes, God sens trouble our way for two reasons. One.. to test our faith and see if we'll remain faithful to him even through times of trouble. Two... to strengthen our faith. Someone who has lost their way, God might pt them through some things to push them to the point of understanding that they need God. This book does not make me doubt my faith. Although this is only the third week of school, and religion has come up in several conversations. I have friends who are athiests and buddhists. They tell me about their beliefs and it kinda makes me doubt my religion. Im having a hard time dealing with that! .. The tragic situation in this book, is based on bad decisions made by the government who attempt to play God.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments thus far gang. Religion is never an easy thing to talk about, and of course, the purpose fo reading this book is not to make you deny your belief system. But as we read and experience more, we should be comfortable questioning our beliefs and values. One of the tricky things about religion is that it remains based on faith rather than on observable actions. So for those who haven't yet posted, maybe a question to consider is where does your faith (or lack of faith) come from? That, or you can continue with the dicussion of how God (if there is a God) would allow such awful things to happen.
ReplyDeleteKeep it up.
I agree with Thomas. But if there was a God he woiuld not tell us what to do. I believe that if there was a God then he would start all of us the same way, innocent. If someone decided to ignore or give up their innocence then God would not stop them. If there was a God he would let everyone chose their own destiny by choic3es made early on. But as I do not believe in God my beliefs are strenthened by tthis book. Where was your God when these children were tortured and forced to fight other children and take drugs. Kids these days do these things by themselves they are not forced out of their innocence and deprived of their childhood like the kids in A Long Way Gone.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, good job Thomas, that was certainly enlightening.
ReplyDeleteReligion have existed since the beginning of civilisation, and have survived millenias. In all cultures, there have been blasphemy. Faith is deeply rooted into all of our society, and it is something that have passed the test of time and cannot be easily erased.
I do believe there is a God, but I also agree with Thomas that we have certain control over our own fate. Even in the Bible, there are evidences to suggest God did indeed let 'Awful' things to happen. It never said that God is responsible for preventing his own children from suffering. I remember a scene from the novel 'Angels and Demons' when they discussed about faith they mentioned that 'God will let us make mistakes, and in this mistakes we learn'. So going through pain in some degree can even reflect God's love for us.
And also,innocent indivilduls are often sacrificed for the 'Greater Good of All People.'
We can definately control our won destiny to a certain degree with our thoughts and actions, and God simply provide us with guidelines.