Is God not entitled to take a parent's life?

[w00t]

The only thing that matters is that the parent or parents can raise the child in a loving, happy and caring environment. In the UK a fundamentalist Christian family expressing the sort of bigoted views we see on this forum would not be considered suitable adoptive parents, whereas a loving and caring gay couple might be!

 

[Starfish]

This is an age old question, I believe, and can be considered in the broader context of why does God cause or allow tragedy and difficulties in people's lives. I don't know how much God causes or how much He merely allows, but being God, he could prevent all of it. But, He doesn't want to prevent it all, as that would deny purpose of life.

It's good to have a father and a mother. It is good to be safe. It's good to be healthy. I believe all of these are ideals we should work for. I should wear a seat belt. I should not take unncessary risks with my life. I should want to live and want to be safe and want to be healthy. But, God in his infinite wisdom, may decide that it will be best for me not to have one of these. He may give me a serious illness, or take a parent through death or divorce, or He may give me parents who don't love and care for me. God might cause this to happen or He may merely allow it to happen. Things like this happen for our own good and we should trust in God's wisdom. Now, the fact that God may allow a 16 year old to get in a serious accident and permanently lose physical capacity, does not mean that we should behave with disregard for our own safety. It would be foolish to think, "Well God obviously does not care about human life because he allowed this child to die in infancy, so it doesn't matter if I care about human life". Similarly, it's foolish to think that because God does not always provide a father and a mother for a child, that having a father and a mother is not something God always wants us to strive for.

I so agree with you. On the subject of the importance of fathers, in today's society, there are too many people with no reference point. Many people don't know what a good father is--they've never known one. So the reasoning is often 'my dad was worthless, so dads are worthless, and therefore not important for my child'. This is so tragic!
Having had a wonderful father who raised me after my mother died, and watching my husband with our kids, I can't imagine life without one. I can see the vital, non-replaceable spot he has in his kids' hearts. And can only imagine the loss for a child who never had a dad.

 

[w00t]

I so agree with you. On the subject of the importance of fathers, in today's society, there are too many people with no reference point. Many people don't know what a good father is--they've never known one. So the reasoning is often 'my dad was worthless, so dads are worthless, and therefore not important for my child'. This is so tragic!
Having had a wonderful father who raised me after my mother died, and watching my husband with our kids, I can't imagine life without one. I can see the vital, non-replaceable spot he has in his kids' hearts. And can only imagine the loss for a child who never had a dad.

You were fortunate. Sadly there are too many bad fathers out there!

 

[Starfish]

You were fortunate. Sadly there are too many bad fathers out there!

I was fortunate! However, you have to remember I grew without my mother. But I was blessed with many good adults in my life.

I just wish that everyone could see what life CAN be like. There ARE great dads out there. We need more role models for our kids.
Not having a mom, I grew up watching the old sit-coms that actually had functional families (Brady Bunch, Leave it to Beaver, The Waltons). These were some of the role-models I had. Today's TV seems to lack families. Oh, if we could have the Cosby Show back! This isn't just fantasy land, families like this can exist. I know because I achieved it with my husband.
I just wish everyone could realize that its possible to aim a little higher, to be a little better. There are good men out there. A good father; a man who truly loves his children and their mother, is priceless.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

It's good to have a father and a mother. It is good to be safe. It's good to be healthy. I believe all of these are ideals we should work for. I should wear a seat belt. I should not take unncessary risks with my life. I should want to live and want to be safe and want to be healthy. But, God in his infinite wisdom, may decide that it will be best for me not to have one of these. He may give me a serious illness, or take a parent through death or divorce, or He may give me parents who don't love and care for me. God might cause this to happen or He may merely allow it to happen. Things like this happen for our own good and we should trust in God's wisdom. Now, the fact that God may allow a 16 year old to get in a serious accident and permanently lose physical capacity, does not mean that we should behave with disregard for our own safety. It would be foolish to think, "Well God obviously does not care about human life because he allowed this child to die in infancy, so it doesn't matter if I care about human life". Similarly, it's foolish to think that because God does not always provide a father and a mother for a child, that having a father and a mother is not something God always wants us to strive for.

So... God, in His perfect plan and infinite Wisdom, might place a child in a situation with one parent or no parents at all, or might render a 16-year-old permanently disabled for reasons beyond our comprehension, but His plan could never include a child living with two Moms or two Dads?

I so agree with you. On the subject of the importance of fathers, in today's society, there are too many people with no reference point. Many people don't know what a good father is--they've never known one. So the reasoning is often 'my dad was worthless, so dads are worthless, and therefore not important for my child'. This is so tragic!

On the contrary - I had a wonderful father. I'm just willing to be open to the idea that children can be just as well off in some other arrangement. Is a child with two wonderful mothers any worse off than one with one wonderful mother and one wonderful father? I have no reason to say that this is the case.

Having had a wonderful father who raised me after my mother died, and watching my husband with our kids, I can't imagine life without one. I can see the vital, non-replaceable spot he has in his kids' hearts. And can only imagine the loss for a child who never had a dad.

I had a wonderful father. I also had friends growing up with wonderful fathers who were quite different from mine, as well as friends with other, very different, living arrangements that provided a nurturing environment and a loving home. I recognize that what worked for me is not the only option. There's more than one way to skin a cat.

 

[w00t]

I was fortunate! However, you have to remember I grew without my mother. But I was blessed with many good adults in my life.

I just wish that everyone could see what life CAN be like. There ARE great dads out there. We need more role models for our kids.
Not having a mom, I grew up watching the old sit-coms that actually had functional families (Brady Bunch, Leave it to Beaver, The Waltons). These were some of the role-models I had. Today's TV seems to lack families. Oh, if we could have the Cosby Show back! This isn't just fantasy land, families like this can exist. I know because I achieved it with my husband.
I just wish everyone could realize that its possible to aim a little higher, to be a little better. There are good men out there. A good father; a man who truly loves his children and their mother, is priceless.

I agree that in the best of all possible worlds children should have a mother and a father, but we don't live in Nirvana! I am grateful that my husband and I were able to provide a caring and stable home for our children, who have gone on to provide a stable, happy and caring environment for their children.

 

[Smoke]

I was fortunate! However, you have to remember I grew without my mother. But I was blessed with many good adults in my life.

You are very fortunate that no religious zealots tried to keep your father from bringing you up without a father.

I just wish that everyone could see what life CAN be like. There ARE great dads out there. We need more role models for our kids.

I had a great dad. My mother had a great dad. My cousins, or most of them anyway, had great dads. But having good role models and learning by example how to be a great dad doesn't do one much good as long as religious busybodies make it their business to prevent you from using what you've learned.

Of course, in most states, a gay man or a gay woman can adopt. I know gay people who have adopted children and are wonderful parents. But they adopted as single parents. A gay individual can adopt, but a gay couple can't -- at least, not where I live, and not in many places. All the Christian folks are doing is denying those children the security of having two legally-recognized parents. If their legal adoptive parent died or became incapacitated, the other person who has shared in their lives and upbringing would be a legal stranger, and the children would lose the only stable home they've ever had, all to satisfy some irrational idea of what is "best" for the child.