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Suffering and the divine punishment of the good alongside the wicked

The great St. Augustine sees clearly and speaks frankly where we moderns deceive ourselves and obfuscate.

Detail from image of statue of St. Augustine, carved by Gian Lorenzo Bernini [c.1650; WikiArt.org]

Many today labor under the delusion that the reality of suffering is a difficulty for Christianity – as if Christian doctrine would lead us to expect little or no suffering, so that its adherents should be flummoxed by suffering’s prevalence.  As I have discussed in previous articles, this is the reverse of the truth.  The Catholic faith teaches that suffering is the inexorable consequence of original sin and past actual sin. It is an essential part of the long and painful process of sanctification, of overcoming sinful habits of thought and action. It is the inevitable concomitant of the persecution Christians must face for preaching the Gospel and condemning the world’s wickedness. It is an inescapable punishment for sin, which we must embrace in a penitential spirit. By way of suffering we pay both our own temporal debt and that of others for whom we might offer up our suffering. By way of it, we most closely unite ourselves to Christ’s Passion. The extent and depth of human suffering thus confirms, rather than disconfirms, the claims of Christianity.

As I proposed in those earlier articles, bafflement at suffering is less the cause than the consequence of the modern West’s apostasy from the Catholic faith. It also reflects the softness and decadence of a dying civilization that has become accustomed to affluence and cannot fathom a higher good beyond ease and beyond this life, for the sake of which we might embrace suffering. Nor is it apostates alone who exhibit this blindness. The spiritual rot has eaten its way deep into the Church, afflicting even those who are otherwise loyal to orthodoxy and Christian morality. And in our disinclination to accept suffering, we are only ensuring ourselves more of it.

Here as elsewhere, the great St. Augustine sees clearly and speaks frankly where we moderns deceive ourselves and obfuscate. In chapters 8-10 of Book I of The City of God, he discusses how and why evil and suffering befall the good as well as the wicked in this life. As our own age descends into ever deeper moral, political, social, and economic disorder, we would do well to meditate upon his bracing teaching. If the faithful believe they will or ought to be spared the brunt of the punishment that the sins of our civilization are liable to bring down upon it, they are sorely mistaken. Things are likely to get worse for all of us, even if only so that divine providence can ultimately bring something better out of the chaos.

In chapter 8, Augustine notes that while there is in this life some connection between evildoing and suffering on the one hand, and righteousness and blessings on the other, it is very far from tight. The wicked enjoy many good things, while the good suffer much misfortune. To be sure, this will be redressed in the afterlife, when the good will be rewarded with eternal happiness and the wicked with eternal torment. “But as for the good things of this life, and its ills,” Augustine writes, “God has willed that these should be common to both; that we might not too eagerly covet the things which wicked men are seen equally to enjoy, nor shrink with an unseemly fear from the ills which even good men often suffer.”

When we wonder why God permits us to suffer even though we try to obey him, part of the reason is precisely that we might be saved. For if we pursue righteousness only when it is easy to do so, our virtue is bound to be shallow and unlikely to last. Nor, if the connection between virtuous behavior and material blessings is too tight, are we likely to pursue the former for the right reasons. We cannot achieve happiness in the world to come if we become too attached to the world that is, and suffering is a means of preventing the latter.

Moreover, says Augustine, the difference between a truly righteous man and a wicked one is often exposed precisely by suffering:

Wherefore, though good and bad men suffer alike, we must not suppose that there is no difference between the men themselves, because there is no difference in what they both suffer. For even in the likeness of the sufferings, there remains an unlikeness in the sufferers; and though exposed to the same anguish, virtue and vice are not the same thing. For as the same fire causes gold to glow brightly, and chaff to smoke… so the same violence of affliction proves, purges, clarifies the good, but damns, ruins, exterminates the wicked. And thus it is that in the same affliction the wicked detest God and blaspheme, while the good pray and praise. So material a difference does it make, not what ills are suffered, but what kind of man suffers them.

Now, so far Augustine is addressing suffering that is unmerited. But there is also suffering that good men can merit and bring upon themselves, as Augustine explains in chapter 9. This is so in several ways. First, of course, nobody’s perfect. Even those who avoid the more blatant violations of Christian morality still typically exhibit moral failings of various lesser kinds:

Although they be far from the excesses of wicked, immoral, and ungodly men, yet they do not judge themselves so clean removed from all faults as to be too good to suffer for these even temporal ills. For every man, however laudably he lives, yet yields in some points to the lust of the flesh. Though he do not fall into gross enormity of wickedness, and abandoned viciousness, and abominable profanity, yet he slips into some sins, either rarely or so much the more frequently as the sins seem of less account.

But there is also the attitude that the good man takes toward those who do live especially wicked lives. There are many who disapprove of such wickedness and would never practice it themselves, but who nevertheless, out of cowardice, refrain from criticizing it in others. Here Augustine makes some remarks that are especially relevant to our times, and worth quoting at length:

Where can we readily find a man who holds in fit and just estimation those persons on account of whose revolting pride, luxury, and avarice, and cursed iniquities and impiety, God now smites the earth as His predictions threatened? Where is the man who lives with them in the style in which it becomes us to live with them? For often we wickedly blind ourselves to the occasions of teaching and admonishing them, sometimes even of reprimanding and chiding them, either because we shrink from the labor or are ashamed to offend them, or because we fear to lose good friendships, lest this should stand in the way of our advancement, or injure us in some worldly matter, which either our covetous disposition desires to obtain, or our weakness shrinks from losing. So that, although the conduct of wicked men is distasteful to the good, and therefore they do not fall with them into that damnation which in the next life awaits such persons, yet, because they spare their damnable sins through fear, therefore, even though their own sins be slight and venial, they are justly scourged with the wicked in this world, though in eternity they quite escape punishment. Justly, when God afflicts them in common with the wicked, do they find this life bitter, through love of whose sweetness they declined to be bitter to these sinners.

Here Augustine teaches that it is not enough to refrain from the sins of wicked men. The Christian must also criticize them for their wickedness, and try to get them to repent of it. To be sure, Augustine goes on to acknowledge that there may be occasions where one might justifiably opt to postpone such criticism until an opportune moment, or refrain from it out of a reasonable fear of doing more harm than good. But he teaches here that it is not justifiable to refrain from such criticism merely because it is difficult, or because we fear causing offense and losing friends, or because we don’t want to risk losing status or other worldly goods. For the wicked are in danger of damnation if they do not repent, and we “wickedly blind ourselves” if we shirk our duty to encourage them to do so. Even if we avoid damnation ourselves, we will justly suffer alongside them when divine providence visits this-worldly punishments upon them (social and economic disorder, natural disasters, and the like).

Here too Augustine emphasizes that God allows the good to suffer alongside the wicked in part to wean them from their attachment to this world, where their reluctance to criticize the wicked is a symptom of this attachment:

What is blame-worthy is, that they who themselves revolt from the conduct of the wicked, and live in quite another fashion, yet spare those faults in other men which they ought to reprehend and wean them from; and spare them because they fear to give offense, lest they should injure their interests in those things which good men may innocently and legitimately use – though they use them more greedily than becomes persons who are strangers in this world, and profess the hope of a heavenly country.

Augustine is especially hard on Christians (such as clergy) who do not have family obligations and the like to worry about, yet still shrink from doing their duty to condemn the wickedness that surrounds them:

[They] do often take thought of their own safety and good name, and abstain from finding fault with the wicked, because they fear their wiles and violence. And although they do not fear them to such an extent as to be drawn to the commission of like iniquities, nay, not by any threats or violence soever; yet those very deeds which they refuse to share in the commission of they often decline to find fault with, when possibly they might by finding fault prevent their commission. They abstain from interference, because they fear that, if it fail of good effect, their own safety or reputation may be damaged or destroyed; not because they see that their preservation and good name are needful, that they may be able to influence those who need their instruction, but rather because they weakly relish the flattery and respect of men, and fear the judgments of the people, and the pain or death of the body; that is to say, their non-intervention is the result of selfishness, and not of love.

The application to the present day is obvious. Consider the sexual sins into which our age has, arguably, sunk more deeply than any previous one. So as to avoid criticizing these sins too harshly or even talking much about them at all, even many otherwise conservative Christians lie to themselves about their gravity, pretending they are slight when in fact (and as the tradition has always insisted) they are extremely serious. Such sins have, among their consequences: the even graver sin of murder, in the form of abortion; fatherlessness and the poverty and social breakdown that is its sequel; addiction to pornography and the marital problems it brings in its wake; the loneliness and economic insecurity of women who in their youth were used by men for pleasure, and are later unable to find husbands; a general breakdown in rationality that has now reached the point where even the objective difference between men and women is shrilly denied; and the willingness to mutilate children’s bodies in the name of this gender ideology.

Worse, many Christians deceive themselves into thinking that it is love or compassion for the sinner that prevents them from condemning these sins too harshly. In fact, given the grave damage caused by these sins, and the difficulty so many have in extricating themselves from them, to refrain from warning others against them is the opposite of compassionate. Yet the present age is so addicted to them that, of all sins, sexual sins are those criticism of which puts the critic at greatest danger. People fear for their reputations, and even livelihoods, if they speak up. Hence, as Augustine says, “their non-intervention is the result of selfishness, and not of love.”

The consequence, Augustine teaches, is that many sinners who might have repented had they been warned will end up damned as a result. And those who failed to warn them will suffer at least temporal punishments along with them, because they were too attached to the comforts of this life to help others prepare for the next. Augustine writes:

Accordingly this seems to me to be one principal reason why the good are chastised along with the wicked, when God is pleased to visit with temporal punishments the profligate manners of a community. They are punished together, not because they have spent an equally corrupt life, but because the good as well as the wicked, though not equally with them, love this present life; while they ought to hold it cheap, that the wicked, being admonished and reformed by their example, might lay hold of life eternal… For so long as they live, it remains uncertain whether they may not come to a better mind. These selfish persons have more cause to fear than those to whom it was said through the prophet, He is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand (Ezekiel 33:6).

In chapter 10, Augustine hammers on the theme that the treasure of Christians is to be found in heaven and not in any of the goods of this life, and that, accordingly, no worldly suffering can possibly truly harm them. He writes:

They should endure all torment, if need be, for Christ’s sake; that they might be taught to love Him rather who enriches with eternal felicity all who suffer for Him, and not silver and gold, for which it was pitiable to suffer, whether they preserved it by telling a lie or lost it by telling the truth. For under these tortures no one lost Christ by confessing Him… So that possibly the torture which taught them that they should set their affections on a possession they could not lose, was more useful than those possessions which, without any useful fruit at all, disquieted and tormented their anxious owners.

As this last remark indicates, the loss of worldly blessings – material goods, reputation, friendships, health, livelihood, even life itself – is permitted by God so that we might learn not to cling to these things at the expense of the beatific vision, the value of which trumps all else. God thus only ever permits suffering not in spite of his goodness, but rather precisely because of his goodness. As Augustine says, there isn’t “any evil [that] happens to the faithful and godly which cannot be turned to profit,” so that, with St. Paul, “we know that all things work together for good to them that love God” (Romans 8:28).

(Editor’s note: This essay originally appeared on Dr. Feser’s blog in a slightly different form and is reprinted here with the author’s kind permission.)


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About Dr. Edward Feser 49 Articles
Edward Feser is the author of several books on philosophy and morality, including All One in Christ: A Catholic Critique of Racism and Critical Race Theory (Ignatius Press, August 2022), and Five Proofs of the Existence of God and is co-author of By Man Shall His Blood Be Shed: A Catholic Defense of Capital Punishment, both also published by Ignatius Press.

67 Comments

  1. Suffering. For the reprobate just punishment, for the faithful discipline for sanctification, offering what we suffer for the reprobate’s turn to repentance and salvation. These irrepressible realities addressed by Dr Feser within the aura of impending disaster. Things will get worse. Many of the credentialed, prelates, theologians are expressing this opinion.
    Never in the history of Christianity has the entire spectrum of Apostolic tradition been subverted by seeming plausibly couched arguments. How far it portends we don’t know. What matters is that we are alert, and as recommended by essayist Feser, deepen our relation to Christ, and go so unimaginatively far as to actually participate in His crucifixion.
    “The Christian must also criticize them for their wickedness, and try to get them to repent of it” [who else but Augustine, the source of Feser’s commentary] is largely ignored in the politically correct ecclesial world of ‘make nice’ insipid Christianity. Thou shan’t upset the congregation. Empty pews are the result. Lacking candor and with that fire they’ve turned to other things [one Feser points out the ruination of marriages – pornography].
    If I may add out of experience that Laity hunger for that fire, the truth about things as they are. Suffering for a greater good, at its best for love’s sake, even for, better said especially for love of the adversary, the tormentor is the purest offering of love and the most effective to elicit repentance. That, because it most closely imitates Christ. Christ whose impossible love shatters all logic.

    • Father Peter,
      I am a reprobate sinner in need of help and prayers. Could you please remember me in a special way in your daily prayers and offer up some of your sufferings and penances this advent for the salvation of my soul and to help me make reparation for my sins? Thank you Father!

      • We all feel unworthy and yet, the Lord Jesus came to rescue us. Fr Peter will have words of comfort and nobility. God bless you.

        Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

        Psalm 51:1- To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. …

        Micah 6:6 “With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?

        Psalm 34:18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

        1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

        • @ Casey mcKee.
          Casey I am most pleased to fulfill your request, that intercession belonging in a specified manner to the ordained priesthood. Know that graces for your repentance will be given, be prepared to respond with faith and confidence.

    • Fr. Morello summarizes our present moment: ” Thou shan’t upset the congregation.” So, instead, this from an unknown source of probably the 1970s”

      “Adults
      discovering their spiritual emptiness,
      look to the Church
      not for a breezy bon mot,
      but for the hard truths of
      mystical life, fasting and prayer.
      Lapsed Catholics,
      tiptoeing back into Church
      on Sunday Morning,
      look not for a communal meal
      and a handshake,
      but for a holy Sacrifice
      and the promise of redemption.
      Our faith is like a strong drink,
      or a plate of hearty food.
      We can make it easier to accept,
      by watering it down
      and taking out the spices.
      But who wants a watery drink,
      or a tasteless dish? (“If the salt
      has lost its savor…”)
      Our society is begging for red meat.
      If we offer a thin soup, instead,
      we shall rightly be rejected”

  2. What most attracts the human heart that prompts them to follow Christ? The call to a life of sacrificial love and acceptance of suffering unto perfection by grace. Preach that and they will come.

    Preach a life of ease, self-indulgence, rewards here on earth, a prosperity gospel, creature comforts, satisfaction of carnal passions, etc and the churches will be emptied. Don’t doubt this; just look around. Look at those who proclaim such a gospel…where are their adherents?

    • Dear Deacon Edward, you are right to point to the frequency of effete preaching as an indicator of sickness in the Church.

      We could add to that: a general ignorance of Christ’s commands results in many in our Church being ignorant of the Person of Christ and His Father.

      At Luke 11:23 Jesus explains: “Those who are not with Me are against Me; and they scatter who do not gather with Me.”

      How gloriously informative is The Word of God; yet, fiercely incisive, too. We rejoice in God’s Word and are all subject to it. Those who chose to live in discipline to it, are firmly built on the eternal divine Rock (Matthew 7:24). A very good place to be!

      That so many of our Catholic brothers & sisters, including many hierarchs, reject God’s loving discipline, causes us who believe to deeply fear for them, for they are clinging to straws.

      John the Beloved Apostle reports that the children of God (and of Mary) are known by: 1. Their obedience to God’s commandments; and, 2. Their witness to the teachings of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 13:17b).

      God has made it that easy for us to inherit eternal life.

      Sadly, much theologizing can obscure this easy yoke & light burden (Matthew 11:30).

      Take care. Keep well & ever sustained by the love of The Lamb; blessings from marty

  3. This is right of course, but we are told by the bishop of Rome not to judge, and even before his ascension the pervasive atmosphere in the Church since I was a young man, long ago, is not to speak the chastising rebukes that Augustine and Feser say we are called to speak. I do not dispute Feser nor Augustine, but there is a reason in addition to risking our comforts and well-being that most of us do not do what they say we are called to do – it is the example and quite often the vocalized direction of the Church not to be “judgmental”, to be tolerant, for instance to make the sodomite and the adulterer “feel welcome” in the Church, or not to call heretics heretics but instead “those of a different tradition”, etc.. And there is also a background belief, usually but not always unspoken, extending even to the Vatican, that no one really goes to hell forever, that mercy forgives everything anyway, and if that is the case then the importance of correcting another’s sins becomes of lesser importance, less worth risking personal discomfort and suffering over. These are problems that are pervasive and penetrating and though Feser and Augustine are no doubt right, the thick inhibiting fog through which we walk is not going to be easily dissipated.

    • Mark,
      All you say is undoubtedly true. Yet in the Catholic morass of the Catholic world today, CHRIST speaks. He speaks through those of strong faith and hope, in the words He gives to the tongues of those who love Him enough to speak on His behalf.

      If we focus more on Christ and less on the deceits of those who know not His truth, power, and strength, we advance His charity and His will. Should we let stand the false and dishonest fake speech of those in opposition to Christ? If we remain silent or allow the loss of others’ faith and hope to influence us, the tortuous assault against Christ advances in modes and directions we barely discern while we ourselves lose faith and hope.

      One could argue that the critical mass of crises in the Church today functions to point clearly to the dire lack of Christ’s voice. All the more reason babes, saints, and sinners with faith begin to speak – boldly – courageously, in season and out.

      Onward, Christian Soldier. Happy Penitential Advent, my friend and friends.

    • Mark:
      Of the “thick and inhibiting fog through which we walk,” when such fog is really, really thick it’s actually solid B.S. And the marketers, so proud of their well-rounded arguments, are really tumble bugs in clerical garb.

      Instead, this from our first pope:
      “In times past there were false prophets among God’s people, and among you also there will be false teachers who will smuggle in pernicious heresies. They will go so far as to deny the Master who acquired them for his own, thereby bringing on themselves swift disaster. Their lustful ways will lure many away. Through them, the true way will be made subject to contempt. They will deceive you with fabricated tales, in a spirit of greed…” (2 Peter 1-4).

    • Dear Mark and Meiron,

      The struggle of sincere Catholics amidst a mob of insincerity and mockery IS the normal Christian life, NOT something strange and able to subvert our devotion to loving and obeying King Jesus Christ.

      Long before Augustine (a mixed bag if ever there was) and faithful St Dr Edward Feser, mighty Apostle Paul told us: “So be very careful about the lives you lead, like intelligent and not like senseless people. This may be a wicked age, but your lives should redeem it.” (Ephesians 5:15)

      “Try to discover what The Lord wants of you, having nothing to do with the futile works of darkness, but expose them by contrast.” (Ephesians 5:10-11)

      Protestants, Charismatics, and Pentecostals have a source of blessings we rarely find in Catholic congregations, for they readily do as St Paul instructs us in Ephesians 5:18-20: “Be filled with The Holy Spirit. Sing the words and tunes of the psalms and hymns when you are together and go on singing and chanting to The Lord in your hearts, so that you always and everywhere are giving thanks to God who is Our Father in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ.”

      In Africa, Catholics generally sing & chant like that, with all their heart & soul, but in Australia you’ll get dirty looks if you do. We need congregation-wide coaching in how to open our hearts & pour out our all to Jesus who gave His all for us.

      I know no clergy able to lead this. It has to be a ministry of inspired lay leaders.

      Much to be done but with Christ always on our side, we WILL get there.

      ‘Nil desperandum’; for persevering Catholics the end will be glorious!

      Always in the love of The Lamb; blessings from marty

        • Dear Mike, thanks for your question.

          Martin Luther, Jean Calvin and other reformers separated from our Catholic church, when they should have persevered in calling for reform from within.

          Yet, as all recent popes have reminded us, God has (surprisingly?) manifestly blessed authentically Apostolic churches (e.g. Lutherans, Anglicans, etc.) with outstanding Bible scholarship and superb liturgical praise & worship music.

          They have SO much to teach us, and many of us Catholics are humble enough to discern that our glorious King, Jesus Christ, is constantly and joyously at work among these separated brothers and sisters, too.

          There’s no merit, Mike, in cutting off our nose to spite our face! Let’s recall how Saint Peter the First Pope had to be taught to be more inclusive by Saint Paul (see Galatians 2:11 et seq.)

          As our unchanging role model let’s look to Jesus, who described himself as “humble and lowly of heart” (Matthew 11:29).

          Proud and arrogant attitudes have too often been the cause of horrible offenses in our beloved Catholic church. Let’s avoid repeating the same sins . . !

          Take care, Mike; keep well.

          Ever in the grace & mercy of Jesus Christ; love & blessings from marty

          • I’d like to say that as a
            Christian, I truly do hope Jesus Returns to Earth Real Soon , literally no later than 2025
            To Eliminate all Evil, Suffering and Injustice in the World, once and for All Forever.
            Countless people in America and Worldwide are Suffering in Silence from various problems,
            Countless people are Very Afraid of the Future, in this Uncertain,Chaotic World often filled with sadness and suffering so I hope Jesus Returns Soon, literally no later than 2025
            Imagine a Perfect World as the Bible Describes
            A World with True Peace and Stability
            Where there will be No More Suffering, Evil or Injustice, No War, No Racism, No Poverty, Or Hunger or Homelessness, No Fear or Uncertainty or Anxiety, No Crime, No Violence, No Bigotry or Hatred, No Animal Cruelty, No Loneliness, No Mental or Physical Disease or illness, No Hectic Stress Filled Rat Race , No Natural Disasters, etc , Where Love & Friendship, close face to face Friendship is Everywhere
            See the Bible verse
            Revelation 21:4

      • Dear Dr Marty:

        Unceasing blessings of insight and discernment. The Lord is putting us to the test, yes the testing of our faith!
        The pages of CWR tell us clearly that dependable men and women stand for Jesus and seek the right course for the church. It is through tribulation the church ultimately grows. Devoted witnesses speak volumes, raise people up and draw others into the church.

        Psalm 139:13-16 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

        Matthew 25:21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

        Titus 3:5 He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

        1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

        We love Christ and want to see the church as a beacon of light and hope.

        Benedictions as you as you continue to bring much to the discussion table!

        Brian

  4. I often hear the refrain that no one preaches about sin anymore. Probably because no one in the pews wants to hear about it. Keep everything ‘NICE’ and when a brave priest or Bishop does speak out, what criticism he gets from the establishment. The Bishop is the one with authority who chastises the brave priests. What’s one to do?

  5. The Book of Job is an allegory about the rise, fall and Restoration of Israel. Both wicked, and the righteous such as Job, suffer equally upon the Fall of Israel in 587 B.C.. The “Chaldeans’ hauling Job’s children off and into captivity, are the Babylonians hauling the House of Judah, out of the Promised Land and into captivity, pain and suffering in Babylon, in 587 B.C.. The “Assyrians” hauling Job’s children off, are the Assyrians hauling the House of Ephraim off into captivity, pain and suffering, in 722 B.C..

    Until the Second Coming of Jesus, to Restore the Kingdom to Israel, the world, righteous like Job and wicked alike, are still suffering from God’s Covenant with Israel.

    God made a Covenant with His People, Deuteronomy 28: Blessings for Obedience. Curses for Disobedience. If God’s people, as a whole, love God through obedience to His Commandments, God will pour down blessings upon His people as a whole, “Blessings for Obedience”. If God’s people, as a whole, hate God through disobedience, God will pour down upon His people, as a whole, “Curses for Disobedience”. God’s people are all those circumcised into the Israelite Church, the Descendants of Judah and the Descendants of Ephraim, and those Baptized into the Catholic Church.

    Deuteronomy 28: Blessings for Obedience. Curses for Disobedience.

    Acts of the Apostles 1:6 The Ascension of Jesus.
    “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

    Jesus has not yet, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”, so we, God’s people, righteous and wicked as a whole, are still suffering from the Fall of Israel.

    Lamentations 2:1
    How the Lord in his wrath
    has detested daughter Zion!
    He has cast down from heaven to earth
    the glory of Israel,
    Unmindful of his footstool
    on the day of his wrath.
    The Lord has consumed without pity
    all the dwellings of Jacob;
    He has torn down in his anger
    the fortresses of daughter Judah;
    He has brought to the ground in dishonor
    her king and her princes.

    Baruch 4:11 With joy I fostered them; but with mourning and lament I let them go. Let no one gloat over me, a widow, bereft of many: For the sins of my children I am left desolate, because they turned from the law of God, and did not acknowledge his statutes; In the ways of God’s commandments they did not walk, nor did they tread the disciplined paths of his justice.

    2 Kings 24:18
    The LORD’S anger befell Jerusalem and Judah till he cast them out from his presence.

    Israel was not really in God’s Presence in heaven. Nor were Adam and Eve in heaven, but in the Presence of God on free-willed earth, before their fall from the Garden of Eden. It was God’s Presence which was removed from Adam and Eve, upon their Fall from the Garden of Eden, which is on free-willed earth. In Ezekiel 11, it is God’s Presence which was removed from free-willed earth, when God removed His Presence from the stone temple in Jerusalem, upon the Fall of Israel. God places His Presence, away from Israel and atop God’s Holy Mountain.

    Ezekiel 11:22
    Then the cherubim lifted their wings and the wheels alongside them, with the glory of the God of Israel above them. The glory of the LORD rose up from the middle of the city and came to rest on the mountain east of the city

    In Jesus’ John 17 prayer to God the Father, Jesus laments the fact that He is going to Ascend into Heaven and leave His Church on earth. Through apparitions and locutions from Jesus and the Blessed Mother over the past 200 years, Jesus has told us to prepare for His Second Coming! Jesus is about to take over as King and Ruler of the world, defeat Satan as the ruler of the world, Rule the world with and through His Catholic Church, bring His Kingdom Come to free-willed earth, Restore the Kingdom to Israel, Restore Job, Marry His Bride the Catholic Church, by placing His Presence in the Revelation 21 ‘New Jerusalem’, which puts His Church on earth atop the Holy Mountain of God, on free-willed earth for tens of thousands of years, and wipe away His Catholic Church Bride’s every tear! Hallelujah! Come Lord Jesus Come!

    John 17:1 Prayer of Jesus.
    And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you…
    …I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one.

    Divine Mercy in my Soul, 512:
    The day of the renewal of vows. The presence of God flooded my soul. During Holy Mass I saw Jesus, and He said to me, You are My great joy; your love and your humility make Me leave the heavenly throne and unite Myself with you. Love fills up the abyss that exists between My greatness and your nothingness.

    Divine Mercy in my Soul, 912:
    I want you to be My spouse.

    http://www.apocalypseangel.com/married.html

    http://www.apocalypseangel.com/eden.html

  6. I have been looking for a while for a traditional priest that through the Holy Spirit will speak the truth and give sound advice no matter how hard it is to speak. I had a childhood that was partially tainted by abuses and traumas resulting in a disordered rebellious person with malformed and immature character and thinking. An illumination of conscience happened after the death of a parent. For 10 years there was a struggle.to change. Eventually the Holy Spirit departed and much suffering and darkness came. The struggle continued to change even with no emotions whatsoever. When bad times hit, truths were revealed that were hard to handle and fear affected rational thinking resulting in a move to a different region. There has been a continuation of daily Mass and the sacraments and prayer, but still no true healing or complete conversion. Is it possible for such a person to be healed so late in life and at such a crucial juncture in God’s time? The move has cost the faith of a family member and caused pain to a mother and sister left behind. Is there forgiveness for someone a selfish individual that would leave due to fear of death from the evil in the world. There is regret for leaving and the damage done. There is a desire for repentance and to serve God and truly be who God intended. How does one correct such error. There is Much sadness and desire for repentance. Thank you D

  7. More about my post of
    September 21, 2023 at 5:27 PM
    Myself and others are reminded of the Bible verse
    Revelation 22:20 which says
    “He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”
    Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” The sooner Jesus Returns the Better
    I told a fellow Christian friend of mine back in 2020 that for the sake of Argument, If I was God , I would Not just passively allow Human Suffering, Evil & Injustice to Continue. That if I was God I would simply clap my hands and make the World into a Perfect Utopian Paradise as described in my post of
    September 21, 2023

    • Mark, let me expand on my above comment of
      SEPTEMBER 23, 2023 AT 9:19 AM , one time years ago when I was 14, and my sister was 11. My Sister was a rotten horrible person at age 11 , with a horrible personality, my sister one day was crying about various things , she was deeply upset and my heart went out to her , I didn’t like seeing her upset and Suffering, I really didn’t , it made me very upset as well
      Like I said Jesus cannot return soon enough, I hope and pray no later than literally the year
      2025 , to Establish a Perfect Utopian Earth, Free from Evil, Suffering and Injustice, but the New Earth, this Physical Planet Earth transformed will Never be “boring” . It will be an Amazing Adventure, the Ultimate Adventure. Just to Clarify, I’m a Mainstream Protestant Christian, Not a Jehovah’s Witness. I base my views on Revelation Chapters
      21 & 22 , see also the various editions of the book
      Heaven: by Randy Alcorn , it’s a Superb Book

    • Countless Human Beings in America and Worldwide are
      Suffering in Silence, even if on the outside they seem happy and fine, they often have problems that they keep to themselves and don’t discuss in Public
      Other things that deeply upset me was one time when I was 13, my Father had chest pains and nearly had to go to the Hospital
      When I was 10, My Mother was in the Hospital recovering from Hernia surgery, seeing her in the Hospital Bed deeply moved me
      Years later in my Teen Years when my Mother had additional physical problems and had to call 911 and have the EMS take her in an ambulance to the Emergency Room deeply upset me.
      It truly was upsetting to me seeing the EMS come to the Apartment to take her to the Emergency Room. Like I said in my Other comments here , I truly do hope Jesus literally Returns to Earth by the End of the year 2025
      I meant it when I stated to a Christian friend in 2020 , that if I was God I would simply clap my hands and eliminate All
      Evil, Suffering and Injustice in America and the World once and for All Forever.
      And Make the World a Perfect Utopian Paradise, where no human being, animal or other living creature would have to Suffer

    • Indeed The Bible verse
      Matthew 6:10 says
      “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” English Standard Version , I truly do hope Jesus Returns and Ends All Evil, Suffering and Injustice in the World, Once and For All Forever, by the End of 2025

  8. It also deeply upset me a few weeks ago when a female friend of mine was weeping over the phone to me, deeply upset over breaking up with her boyfriend, her crying and weeping was very intense, she said speaking to me made her feel much better.
    Other things that deeply upset me was when about a year ago I was in the Dentist office waiting to be seen, and I heard the terrible loud screams of a boy , I estimate about 10 years of age, enduring a painful dental procedure of some sort.
    Another time in September 1991
    I was in the 6th grade walking home from School, and I saw a little girl with her mother crying about something, that also deeply upset me

    • Plus, Countless people in America and Worldwide are Unable to Enjoy their Lives in the Present, because of their painful pasts and they are Afraid, Very Afraid of the Future , the sad reality is for many Suffering people things Never Get Better , just worse and worse
      Countless people feel as if they are walking on Eggshells
      Very Afraid of the Future
      Myself and Countless Other Christians hope Jesus Returns soon , no later than 2025

      • See my other comments here
        Countless people are Suffering and Miserable, Lonely and Very Afraid of the Future, in these uncertain chaotic Unpredictable times , they desire and crave True, Peace, Stability and Happiness that will ONLY Exist in Heaven and the New Earth, these Christians realize that this True, Peace, Stability and Happiness is Impossible in this present Earthly Life, it will Only Come in Heaven and the New Earth
        No one in Heaven and the New Earth will be Afraid of
        “Suffering, Evil or Injustice, No War, No Racism, No Poverty, Or Hunger or Homelessness, No Fear or Uncertainty or Anxiety, No Crime, No Violence, No Bigotry or Hatred, No Animal Cruelty, No Loneliness, No Mental or Physical Disease or illness, No Hectic Stress Filled Rat Race , No Natural Disasters, etc ” because Everyone in Heaven and the New Earth will Know and have Peace of Mind that None of those things will Ever Happen to Anyone at Anytime, it can’t and won’t happen, so no one will ever be Afraid or Worried, There will be True Peace and Peace of Mind Knowing these horrible things will Never Happen Again, there will be Love and Close Face to Face Friendship, Fellowship for Everyone, Never Again will anyone suffer from crippling, debilitating loneliness, Social Isolation, etc.

        • On the Topic of Suffering
          Because of All the Hideous Suffering and Misery in
          America and Worldwide in 2023
          Countless people Hate Life and Hate their Lives, they definitely wish that they were Never Born. They realize that
          Life is Not a Gift, it is an Imposition, a Cruel, Unjust, Unfair Imposition that no one wanted or asked for
          That’s why More people are deciding Not to have Children, are Not Pro-Life , are Anti-Life, embracing AntiNatalism and Supporting the Growing
          Right To Die, Death With Dignity Movement for Suffering Mentally ill, Terminally ill and other Suffering People, Voluntary Euthanasia. They are Against
          Pro-Life Suicide Prevention and Forced Living Extremism and all the Toxic Positivity in Our Culture. While Life does indeed have some good things, for most people in America and Worldwide Life is Horrible
          For Many Suffering People things Never Get Better, just worse and worse, many problems are permanent, and even if things do ultimately get Better for some Suffering people, Great , I’m Happy for them, Still it doesn’t change the Fact that things will Often Get Worse Again in the Future, often unexpectedly
          Life has it’s Ups and Downs, Twists and Turns
          Like I said I hope Jesus Returns to End All, Evil , Suffering and Injustice in the World, Once and for All Forever and make the World a Perfect Utopian Paradise, no later than the year 2025
          Jesus cannot return soon Enough

          • Countless people are Suffering, for many people life is Non-Stop Stress, Work, Worry, life is overly stressful and complicated
            Countless Suffering people even in their Sleep are Tormented by Horrible bad dreams and Nightmares, they are Not always able to wake themselves up, they wake up with chest pains, crying
            Jesus Cannot Return Soon Enough

          • About Human Suffering, a
            Right To Die, Death With Dignity website in 2020 said in part about how Pro-Life Suicide Prevention people love to Quote the Bible

            ” 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 by stating the following:

            “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.”

            The Bible takes its views on the human body as god’s “temple” further in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 by stating the following:

            “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

            These Bible verses combined gives us a clear idea of how Christianity sees humans in relation to the Judeo-Christian god. According to Christianity, all people and their bodies are sacred “property” of the Judeo-Christian god, an extension of him, and subject to his will; and any extinction of a person’s life can ‘only’ be done at the discretion of the Judeo-Christian god himself. This is very consistent with common pro-life parlance, claiming that “the time hasn’t come yet” for those who wish to be euthanized to pass, or that it is “not within their power” to decide when they pass.

            Why Are These Religious Arguments Against Euthanasia a Problem?

            The first issue that stands out in these religious arguments against euthanasia for the mentally ill is that they objectify these individuals. For the Bible to state that someone “was bought with a price” implies the idea that people (and the mentally ill, in this case) are “objects” that can be bought or sold. The Bible further objectifies and dehumanizes people by claiming that they (and, most importantly, their life) are “property” of the Judeo-Christian god. These beliefs are particularly troubling as they dehumanize people, deeming the will of those who wish to die to end a chronic, painful sentient experience and recurrent discomfort as less important than their life, thus making them slaves, or prisoners, of a pro-life regime that hardly (if at all) acknowledges their suffering.

            The Human Body: God’s Temple? Or God’s Prison?

            The Bible characterizes humans and their body as god’s “temple.” However, when one thinks of a holy temple, one thinks of a sacred establishment where troubled souls go to find peace of heart and mind. The human body, however, is quite different- it is an organic creation that houses the human soul, subjecting it to the vulnerability of the human condition, including the constant urge to satisfy needs like food, water, hygiene, medical care, love, etc., causing significant discomfort when these needs are not met, which is sadly the case for many people in developing nations. In that sense, the human body is nothing like a holy temple. Furthermore, many people all over the world experience chronic suffering within their bodies, such as movement difficulties, chronic physical pain, and refractory mental illness, and many of these unfortunate souls feel entrapped in these bodies like they would in a prison. Why, then, would the Bible compare disease-ridden bodies with sacred establishments where one would not be entrapped in such torment? Is the Bible making a genuine comparison here, or is it merely throwing struggling humans a bone?

            The Incongruence Behind God’s “Ownership” of Humans and Their Life

            It becomes very apparent that god’s claim in the Bible that the human body is “his holy temple,” is nothing more than meaningless flattery when one considers, for example, the millions of impoverished souls in developing nations which have no access to water, food, medicine, hygiene supplies, etc. which that god does little to serve. His meaningless rhetoric is just as noticeable for what it is when one considers the troubled souls in any part of the world, for that matter, who are troubled by some chronic physical or emotional pain which said god does little, in many cases, to provide any relief for. Why, then, does this god have the gall to claim human bodies and their lives as “his own” despite treating many of them (as troubled as they may be) as though he disowns them, giving them scarce attention and doing little to end their plight? To say the least, if this god does indeed exist, it would be very fair to say that he is not a “good” god like many of his worshipers proclaim, and that he is also a despot and a negligent hypocrite”

          • Many people have called
            Suicide Prevention Slavery and State Sponsored Terrorism against Suffering People, it sends to people the message that their lives and bodies are Government Property

  9. Furthermore, Pro-Life Suicide Prevention People and Professionals, Lawmakers, Policymakers cannot have it both ways, they cannot have it both ways. They cannot hope to be Effective in Preventing Suicide and Saving Lives and Not Make Certain the Government ,Charitable Organizations and Society Overall Give Massive, Massive Amounts of Money, Resources and Free Stuff to Suffering People. A Robust Social Safety Net, Less Red Tape, Documentation, Paperwork, Waiting Period, Headache, Hassle so that no one ever becomes Homeless for any reason. Better Quality Housing for Everyone, where People can live completely alone, No Roommates, Not having to share a Kitchen or Bathroom.
    It’s about Privacy for people when they live completely alone, but also many times we read about in Newspapers and on TV that their are sadly domestic violence Incidents between Roommates. Talk is Cheap, Actions Speak Louder than Words.
    Pro-Life Suicide Prevention people, Professionals and Lawmakers Need to Get at the Root Causes of people’s Misery and Fix those Problems, Improve Actual Quality of Life for Suffering People. For Suffering people calling 988 or some other Suicide Prevention # isn’t going to solve their Problems

    • As it is, Pro-Life Suicide Prevention people and Professionals have Nothing to offer but Propaganda, Lies and False Hope that they give to Suffering People.
      The ignore the Very Real Sexual Desires and Sexual Needs of Incels – Involuntary Celibates and other people unable to Get Sex Naturally for Various Reasons. Incels are Human Beings with Feelings and Needs , Not Monsters

    • I will give an Example of how Cruel, Unjust and Unfair Life is.
      My Own Mother, who lived in New York City her entire life became ill with Very Severe Type 1
      Bipolar Disorder ,
      Manic-Depression at age 19, in
      1969, she had to drop out of College, could only work part time because of her Mental illness, and even those jobs she eventually lost because of her illness. She got married in 1978 to my Father who worked one job Full Time, my Family of 4 , My Mom, Dad and Sister . My family was somewhat above the official poverty line for that time period
      But for a while we didn’t even have a Phone, no landline or cell phone, mobile phone, no phone Period or VCR or Cable TV
      Now before 1978, my Mother got
      Social Security Disability, SSI in addition to her part time jobs, that she ultimately lost, due to her condition.
      Because the Social Security Administration counted her husband’s income, they had the policy that they could no longer give her any SSI benefits, not even a Reduced amount, the Rules and Policies of the Social Security Administration and Government overall and who can receive benefits should have been different, More Generous, Loving, Compassionate, Caring, Flexible, with More Heart , and Regardless of my Father’s Income and the Fact that he worked full time. Social Security should have given my Mother something like $3,000 per month, Every Month, Tax Free ,and with
      Medicaid, Medicare until the day of her death in 2014 at age 63.
      That way the Government would be sending the message that they love her and care about her as a human being, and have compassion,
      Sympathy and Empathy for her and others like her , by giving her
      $3,000 dollars per month, Every Month , a total of $36,000 a year , Every Year until the day of her Death. That’s the way it should have been. The Government, Charitable Organizations, Society Overall should have done more for her and Countless other disabled, less fortunate and Suffering people like her.

      • Plus with my Mother and her
        Very Severe Type I Bipolar Disorder, Manic-Depression
        It was under control Most of the Time, she always took her
        Medication, but at least 3 times, in 1993, 1995 & 1998
        She had Severe Mania Episodes, it was Very Traumatic to Witness
        Very Traumatic, and often living in Fear of her becoming Manic Again
        The Government should have Also given my Mother Food Stamps, around $300 to $400 dollars each Month until the Day of her Death

        • My Mother definitely deserved $300 to $400 a Month every month in Food Stamps, in addition to
          $3,000 a month, every month
          Because if the U.S. Government spent $10 Billion dollars on the James Webb Space Telescope, launched in 2021, then certainly the Government should have been Far More Generous with people like my Mother

        • The Question is, why are
          Incels being unjustly demonized and vilified ?
          Involuntary Celibacy is Everyone’s Problem , anyone can become Disabled and/or Incel as they Get Older
          Incels ,Involuntary Celibates are Human Beings with Feelings that are created in God’s Image, they are Not Monsters
          The Sufferings of Incels is sadly getting worse and worse Every Day in America and Worldwide
          The Public Schools sadly helped to create the Incel Crisis

          • The Public Schools Need to Teach Basic and Advanced Social Skills, Life Skills, Street Smarts, Emotional Intelligence from a Very Young Age , from Elementary School to the End of High School , and Teach these Skills Year After Year after Year. So that the students don’t grow up to become Socially Awkward unhappy miserable suffering adults
            Not All Students learn these Vital Skills Naturally , and many students have Socially Awkward inept parents who don’t teach these vital skills. The Public Schools in America and Worldwide Need to Teach these Skills in Great Detail

          • A website in 2019 stated about the Intense Sufferings of Incels
            “The United States has major restrictions when it comes to the pursuit of sex, especially for involuntary celibates, or incels. Soliciting a prostitute is illegal in the United States, as if legalizing the exchange of money for safe sex with a consenting adult man or woman, under no coercion, in a safe and private setting, meant the fall of civilization. If one takes into account that engaging in, and soliciting, prostitution is illegal in the United States, but the making and broadcasting of pornography and sexual innuendos in American media is not, one sees a shameless and hypocritical double standard in American society which puts incels in the United States at a great disadvantage by narrowing their “freedom” down to merely being allowed to derive fantasies from porn or references to sex from TV shows to stimulate their libido, and to use them as a vehicle to reach orgasm on their own. This endeavor is limiting at best and unfulfilling at worst, and it is therefore a major cause of sexual frustration for many incels in the United States. Much to their dismay, they are not free to pay someone to partner up with to make those fantasies a reality without getting arrested in the United States, nor are they free to even talk about those fantasies or their sexual frustration without facing ostracism in American society as well as backlash, especially from the traditionalist, anti-prostitution prudes, activists, and zealots that abound in the country. The end result of this social dynamic becomes a tediously prudish American society that imposes far more restrictions than it allows freedoms when it comes to incels’ pursuit of sex. Law enforcement in the United States even goes as far as to waste time setting up sting operations to arrest and disgrace adults who make advances to pay for sex with another adult rather than investing the time and resources they waste in those unnecessary operations to fight real crime. To say the least, American society can be frustratingly tedious, prudish, oppressive, and disempowering to live in for incels, and it is likely that many of them are incels to begin with because they are socially marginalized by the vast majority of crowds in said society for reasons that don’t necessarily have anything to do with their sexual ardor. This is yet another example of how freedom in the United States is very lacking and how it is in no way all-inclusive.”

    • A person recently typed on an Internet Right To Die Group in November 2023
      “I’ve been contacted by the mental health services and my local doctor saying they are “concerned about my well-being” because I discharged myself from the mental health services because they did not understand my situation and I didn’t find them helpful at all and they spoke to me like garbage and didn’t have a clue.
      I cannot bring up the subject of the right to die to them and won’t even attempt to bring it up to a doctor even in a philosophical way because I have brought this subject up before despite saying repeatedly that I am not suicidal and ended up in the back of a police van with handcuffs on being taken to hospital to be discharged again.
      The mental health team and doctors make money out of other people’s suffering and forcing people to keep running the treadmill of life with absolutely no regard for people’s level of suffering. If your pain is mental or psychological or if your situation is complex and unique to you your automatically viewed as not being “sound of mind” or “not being able to think clearly” which couldn’t be any more further from the truth.
      If I have access to a peaceful pill I wouldn’t immediately swallow it, it would be put away somewhere and give me that control and more control over my life and situation and if anything will keep me going for longer and give me complete peace of mind. Society is the problem.
      Suicide prevention organizations and society as a whole are forcing people to exit life in undignified agonizing manners which creates a ripple affect which is also traumatizing to others involved and doesn’t give people closure and creates a whole range other problems. Suicide prevention creates the very problem they claim to care about. They are barbaric and ignorant beyond belief.”

  10. The thing is because of All the Pro-Life Suicide Prevention Forced Living Extremism in America and Worldwide, it Fills countless people with FEAR, Terror and Dread of the Future
    Knowing that we have to Linger and Suffer till the bitter End, for Decades upon Decades upon Decades, No Matter how Unbearable, Unspeakable or Intolerable our Suffering Becomes
    To want to Prevent Impulsive Suicides in Suffering Mentally ill and other Suffering people is one thing, but To Keep Suffering people alive Against their Will at All Costs is a hideous Human Rights Violation
    If Pro-Life Suicide Prevention People want to Prevent Impulsive Suicides, they should Also Work to Make Psych Units and Psychiatric Hospitals in America and Worldwide more Safe, Sanitary and Humane for Patients and Staff alike
    Countless Suffering Mentally ill and Other Suffering have been Suffering for Decades upon Decades upon Decades

    • Furthermore, when some people claim that they Must
      “Preserve and Prolong” Human Life at all costs, regardless of Quality of Life, they are taking it to an unhealthy Extreme Level, they are committed the Horrible sin of Idolatry , they are worshipping life and Human Life
      It is Idolatry, and it’s Sinful
      Quality of Life is what Matters Most, Not Quantity
      Does anyone really think that God would want people to linger and suffer in Misery for Decades upon Decades upon Decades, or be miserable in Nursing Homes.
      Often the Human Body is definitely a Prison of Horrible Mental, Physical and other Sufferings. That’s the sad Ugly Truth. Greed is bad, People Before Profits, Doctors and the Medical Profession, Pharmacists Companionship Need Money, like Everyone Else, but Not at Profiting off people’s Misery

  11. About the Topic of God, Free Will and
    Human Suffering, a person earlier this November 2023 typed on Social Media
    “God in Christianity is the ultimate mafia boss.
    The Mafia boss demands that you give something of value to protect you from his own violence. This is the same as God.

    God isn’t saying “Pray, believe and glorify me and I will protect you from a rival God.” He is saying “Pray, believe and glorify me and I will protect you from my wrath.”

    If the consequences of exercising your free will are so dire that exercising your free will causes eternal damnation in the fiery pits of hell, then you really don’t have free will, just as the Mafia boss doesn’t give you free will.

    Progressive theologians focus on the NT loving and hippy parts of Jesus’ message. However, they ignore the immoral repugnant basis of Christianity in general. Or progressives will deny the resurrection which places them outside Christianity entirely. I find it fascinating how progressive Christians try to put lipstick and a modern spin on an immoral bronze age belief system.”

  12. Countless people have pointed out that the
    “American Foundation for Suicide Prevention” in New York City is a Scam Organization and
    Exploiter of Suffering Mentally ill and other Suffering people
    The Vast Vast Majority of Americans and People Worldwide are Against “Suicide Prevention” and Forced Living Extremism and in Full Support of the Growing
    Right To Die, Death With Dignity Movement, Voluntary Euthanasia Assisted Suicide, 100 percent Free of Charge for Any and All Suffering people who Request To Die and Give Explicit Consent
    Polls and Surveys have shown this, and that Most Disabled persons are in Full Support of the Growing Right To Die Movement
    Legality doesn’t Equal Morality, Countless people have correctly pointed out that the Bible is Neutral Regarding Suicide, that Suicide is Not a Sin, or Selfish or Cowardly,
    But it is Extremely Sinful, Cruel, Inhumane, Selfish and Cowardly to Force Suffering Human Beings to “live” in Misery Against Their Will, at all costs to Suffer even More.
    Pro-Life “Suicide Prevention” people and so-called “professionals” are a Very Large Part of the Reason why America and the World is sadly a Living Hellish Chaotic Uncertain Unpredictable Nightmare, Countless people wish that
    Pro-Life Suicide Prevention people and so-called “professionals” would Quit and Give it a Rest already with their Failed Pro-Life Suicide Prevention Extremism

  13. Many people are Against
    Suicide Prevention and Forced Living Extremism
    Others have called Suicide Prevention Diabolical, Cruel, Inhumane, Primitive, with
    No place in a Civilized World
    What is so Terrible about Allowing Suffering Mentally ill, Terminally ill, Incels, Homeless, Paraplegics, Quadriplegics and other Suffering people a Legal and Available, 100 percent Free of Charge, Quick, Peaceful and Painless Death with Dignity
    It’s Disgusting how some people place “Suicide Prevention” on a Pedestal and Worship it ,
    That’s Idolatry and Sinful
    Most People in America and Worldwide agree that it’s Time to Repeal the Unjust, Cruel, Inhumane, Asinine, Outdated
    “Laws” against Suicide and Allow Suffering Mentally ill, Terminally ill, Incels, and other Suffering people decide for themselves the Time and Manner of their Deaths and have a Voluntary Doctor Assisted Death with Dignity, when they cannot even have a Life with Dignity or Happiness
    Others have condemned
    Suicide Prevention as Pro-Suffering
    America and the World is Horribly Overpopulated and Overcrowded, Overpopulated is
    Not a “Myth” it’s a Fact and it’s getting worse
    Earth cannot sustain
    8 Billion People and Growing
    Allowing Voluntary Assisted Death will help combat Overpopulation

    • People with Mental illness are
      Not Stupid or Incompetent, they are Fully Self-aware that they are Suffering Unbearably, and that things often Never get better , they are often Fully Capable of Making a Rational Decision to have a Doctor Assisted Death
      Each case is Different
      Pro-Life “Suicide Prevention” people and so-called
      “Professionals” won’t even compromise on a Waiting Period for Suffering Mentally ill people who want to Die
      Countless people have pointed out that All this Unhealthy Pathological Sick Obsession with Pro-Life Suicide Prevention has gone way too far for far too long. That the Constitutional Rights of Americans to Free Speech and Privacy are at Stake with all this
      Suicide Prevention Creepiness
      Suffering Mentally ill, Terminally ill, Incels, Homeless, Paraplegics, Quadriplegics, Homeless, and other Suffering people who want to Die are being treated worse than criminals, worse than animals with no rights at all. All in the name of
      “Suicide Prevention” Extremism
      The Nerve and Gall of
      Pro-Life Suicide Prevention people and so-called “professionals” is Sickening, who made them God that they can decide for others what’s best

  14. Most Americans in 2023 are Not Patriotic and don’t like America, because the “Freedom” in America is a Joke
    Adults cannot even do what they want with their own lives and bodies, how is that
    “Freedom” ? How ?
    America is Making Incels
    Involuntary Celibates Suffer Even More
    America was sadly Never Remotely a “Free Country” or
    “Greatest Country in the World”

    • Countless people have condemned
      Pro-Life “Suicide Prevention” people and “Professionals” as Control Freaks, who only care about Controlling others and that the
      “American Foundation for Suicide Prevention” only cares about money, Not about actually helping Suffering people
      What is so Terrible about Suicide that it Must be
      “Prevented” by Force at all costs
      Thankfully More and More people are Speaking Out against the Evils, and Wickedness, Immorality of Suicide Prevention and Forced Living Extremism, and in Support of the Growing Right To Die, Death With Dignity Movement in America and Worldwide for Any and All Suffering people who want a Quick, Peaceful and Painless Death, Not just for the Terminally ill, but also for people with Unbearable Mental illness, Incels, Homeless, Paraplegics, Quadriplegics and other people who are Suffering Unbearably
      How would Pro-Life
      “Suicide Prevention” people and “professionals” feel if THEY were Forced to “live” in Misery Against Their Will, Against Their Will at All Costs to Suffer Even More
      Why Must Pro-Life Suicide Prevention people and “professionals” Force their views upon others, why can’t they mind their own business

      • America and All other Nations of the World need to seriously realize all the Hideous Harm done to Society all because of
        Suicide Prevention and Suicide Prohibition Extremism and just Allow Suffering Mentally ill, Terminally ill and All Other Suffering people have a
        Voluntary 100 percent Free of Charge, Doctor Assisted Death Death with Dignity if that’s what they Truly Desire.
        This is the 21st Century, Not
        Medieval Europe, the Middle Ages Europe where Suicide was Falsely Considered a Horrible Unspeakable Sin leading to Eternal Damnation in Hell
        This Medieval, Dark Ages
        Taboo and Stigma Surrounding
        Suicide is Sickening
        People kill themselves, all the time, we hear about it all the time, it’s Nothing New,
        Suicide has always happened in Human History and it always will
        Society should just Get Over this hangup and Abnormal Fixation with
        “Suicide Prevention” and
        “Saving Lives”
        Suicide Happens All the Time, the World does Not End , Life Goes On,
        Pro-Life “Suicide Prevention” Extremism and Fanaticism Backfires Terribly on Society.
        Most people in America and Worldwide are Morally Opposed to
        Suicide Prevention and Forced Living Extremism, and realize that it is Torture and Abuse of Suffering People to Force them to “live” in Misery Against their Will at all costs. However, many Governments and “Laws” are Extremely Heartless, Ignorant, Selfish and uncaring
        Pro-Life Suicide Prevention people and so-called “professionals” are very smug judgemental Heartless Self-Righteous Hypocrites and Losers, they have the attitude
        “We won’t help Suffering people die, but we won’t help them live either” that’s Extremely Selfish

        • Pro-Life “Suicide Prevention” people and so-called
          “Professionals” are making Everything Worse, they fail to realize or don’t care that people feel Mental, Physical and other pain differently, Not everyone can handle alot of stress , people have different thresholds
          Pro-Life Suicide Prevention People should Make All Areas of Society More Humane and Far Less Hellish, Schools, Workplaces, Hospitals, Jails, Prisons, Our Neighborhoods, etc
          Still hope to see my other Excellent Comments added soon
          Suicide Prevention and Forced Living Extremism is Extremely Unethical, Extremely Unethical to Force any type of Suffering person to “live” in Misery, Against their Will, at all Costs to Suffer even More. Pure Evil
          The Ugly Truth Needs to be Told about the Evils and Wickedness of
          Pro-Life “Suicide Prevention” and Forced Living Extremism
          Countless people with Mental illness are horribly Persecuted for the “crime” of wanting to Die

  15. About the Problem of Suffering In the 1998 Film “Patch Adams” the character of Patch Adams played by Robin Williams says in one scene
    “What’s wrong with death, sir?
    What are we so mortally afraid of? Why can’t we treat death with a certain amount of humanity and dignity and decency…
    and, God forbid, maybe even humor?
    Death is not the enemy, gentlemen.
    If we’re gonna fight a disease, let’s fight one of the most terrible diseases of all–
    indifference.
    Now, I’ve sat in your schools and heard people lecture on transference… and professional distance.
    Transference is inevitable, sir.
    Every human being has an impact on another.
    Why don’t we want that in a patient/doctor relationship?
    That’s why I’ve listened to your teachings, and I believe they’re wrong.
    A doctor’s mission should be not just to prevent death…
    but also to improve the quality of life.
    That’s why you treat a disease, you win, you lose.
    You treat a person, I guarantee you, you win, no matter what the outcome.”
    Pro-Life “Suicide Prevention” Forced Living Extremism has gone way too far for far too long

  16. On Fox News earlier today a host said that the World is so horribly messed up that we are all basically living in a
    James Patterson novel

  17. A person typed earlier today on an Internet Right To Die Group
    “I see the world as it is now, exploitation, suffering, survival to the last breath… diseases, wars, poverty. fate awaits us all. The lucky ones will die of old age, enduring slow decay of the body, loneliness for years… the less lucky ones, like me, will have to end it earlier. Some of the unlucky ones will choose to survive in subhuman conditions, becoming whores, beggars, or just low paying jobs that slowly kill your soul.

    I can’t see anymore the beauty of nature, I forgot what it’s like to laugh or enjoy work or hobbies, I forgot the taste of excitement or love, all that is inside me is emptiness and extreme fear of life. I am no longer a free spirit wondering earth, I am a locked conciseness in a flesh prison, anxious about pain and mentally paralyzed from going out of bed.

    My friends are having kids and I can’t understand it. Humans and me are so different now. Their words are so empty to me. Nature videos scare me rather than being entertaining. I feel not belonging to this world, anxious about it, disgusted from it… humans bullying each other for no reason, no one is kind. Lies everywhere to use you, sell to you, just to get your money, your time and effort, people just devouring each other (along with the animals). The supposedly best country, U.S., endlessly talking about race and what the color of your skin is, and other countries are no better. The cruel man succeeds while the honest, hard working man fails. Life is much more than unfair, life is the opposite of fair! women get raped and most men don’t get to have an honest relationship. But we all will die soon enough! I would rather life to start hard and get better with time, not the other way around! I hate it all, the selfishness, the ugliness of it all, I can’t bare it! It’s all so ugly!

    I can vent endlessly, I guess I will stop here for now”

      • Athanasius , I believe in being fair and objective, Life has some good things , but overall Life is sadly ugly and hideous for most people in America and Worldwide. We Cannot Sugarcoat or Whitewash that , people say “Ignorance is Bliss” for a reason, because if people knew how horrible things really are or could become, they would really freak out big time. America and the World is sadly rapidly falling apart. Myself and other people do indeed take these Horrible Unjust, Cruel, Inhumane “Laws” personally because it personally affects us. Countless people are Afraid, Very Afraid of the Future

        • We see what we’re willing to see. Your perspective is warped and overly cynical. We’re not called to live in fear. Life certainly has its difficulties, challenges, and heartaches, but it’s not all bad, and it’s not even mostly bad. Life is certainly not “hideous” for most people in the states.

  18. A person typed on an Internet Right To Die Group
    “There’s a population crisis in Japan due to low fertility rate and increase in the elderly.
    A certain professor has suggested that the elderly should kill themselves, as in mass suicide. People are angered by his suggestion calling him evil, also blaming the younger generation for being immoral and selfish.
    I really hope people understand how it feels to be forced to do something against their wish. Telling someone to kill themselves is no different from telling a person to go on despite the suffering. Somehow stopping a person from unaliving themselves isn’t considered as an evil act instead its accepted as a noble deed.
    This hypocrisy should end.”
    Another person typed in response
    “100% agree. I honestly can’t understand why people would like to keep on living in their old age, it’s horrific. Diseases, decay, needing someone else to do basic stuff for them… having someone cleaning your a–? There’s no dignity in it.”

    • There is inherent dignity in living life well, even in the face of its indignities. We can live under our circumstances or transcend them. That’s our choice. Life is ultimately what we make it.

      • Athanasius, with all due respect I disagree with what you said
        “Life is ultimately what we make it.” Some people just cannot be very successful or happy in this Life no matter how hard they try, because they have bad heredity, environment, upbringing, many things beyond their control, as if it’s their destiny and fate to Not be Very Successful

  19. Athanasius, I honestly don’t think my perspective is
    “warped or overly cynical” but the Truth, I don’t like to think of myself as a Pessimist, but a Realist. I truly do hope Jesus Returns by the end of the year
    2025 to Eliminate All
    Evil, Suffering and Injustice in the World once and for all Forever and Make the World a Perfect Utopian Paradise.
    As I typed before on the comments here
    Many Christians also don’t like it when it’s dark out at night, they find it creepy, uncomfortable, depressing, gloomy, they also don’t like the rain,snow,
    The Bible verse
    Revelation 22:5 says
    “There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.” This verse and it’s context speaks of the Coming New Earth, which will be on this Physical Planet Earth
    I interpret and like to think of Revelation 22:5 and it’s context as teaching that in the New Earth, we will still have
    24 hour days, but Not Total Darkness like in this current world. That it will be bright and sunny during the day , but later in the day or early in the morning there would be dusk or
    twilight, Not Total Darkness like in this current World.
    Randy Alcorn discusses this verse and it’s context in his book “Heaven”

  20. A person recently typed online earlier this
    February 2024 about Heaven and the
    Coming New Earth
    “The SAME NEW Heavens and NEW Earth — (again NOTE that its ALSO a NEW EARTH) that the Apostle Peter spoke about that is PERFECT AND COMPLETE

    That is why GOD said He will create NEW Heavens AND NEW Earth meaning He will NOT ONLY purge out the old HEAVENS (where Satan has access to GOD in accusing our brethren) BUT ALSO THE old Earth where wickedness rules

    That is why there will not only be perfect spiritual (Heavens) blessings, bliss and happiness in the WORLD TO COME but ALSO physical and material (Earth) blessings and happiness as well.

    But UNLIKE the present world we now know, the World to Come would be A PERFECT WORLD and not a mixture of good and evil, joy and sorrow BECAUSE Satan the devil and the fallen would no longer exist in that Age BUT only the SAVED ONES with their Savior AND KING for all eternity.

    So yes, the WONDROUS BEAUTY AND GLORY OF World to Come is beyond our wildest imaginations and would be “MORE than we ask OR think” because its not just a perfect Utopia BUT A Golden Age.

    A NEW Heavens AND A NEW Earth where RIGHTEOUSNESS Reigns. (2 Peter 3:13) where both The KING and His People will live a happy, harmonious and peaceful life forevermore

    Lets all look forward to that Day.”

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  2. Suffering and the divine punishment of the good alongside the wicked – Catholic World Report – The Old Roman
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