Propaganda, Prejudice and Greed

When I was in elementary school, a long, long time ago, I hated History. That was the era when we had two separate subjects - History and Geography. Now a days it’s called Social Studies, which is actually one of my favorite subjects to teach. It is a 5 fold subject, covering History, Geography, Government, Economics and Culture. Some people might think I’m a bad teacher because of this, but I don’t make my students memorize important dates, nor do I require that they can name all 50 states and their capitals.
I mention this, because I just completed a course called “Teaching Hispanic History and Culture to the Southwestern Child.” Our professor was a Latino, born and raised in New Mexico, whose ancestors have lived in this part of the world for nearly 500 years. Since the LORD has given me such a heart for the Native American, this course required that I look at this area from a different perspective. It was very interesting. The things I saw first and noticed the most were the vibrant colors and beautiful churches. The thing that interested me most was an article by Joseph P. Sanchez, Ph.D. called “The Spanish Black Legend - origins of Anti-Hispanic Stereotypes.” Over the past few days, I’ve done some historical research, and I discovered that I still hate history. It is really hard to uncover the truth, because everyone who writes about it seems to have some sort of bias.
I went into this with a bias. The article states that:
“While Spain’s claim to the New World had become a source of contention among the have-not nations, another historical trend fueled the flame of anti-Spanish propaganda. In 1517 the Protestant Reformation erupted. Spain and Portugal remained staunchly loyal to Catholicism and claimed to be the conservators of the One True Faith. Before the Reformation had run its course, England France and the Germanys , the Dutch lowlands and several other nations had aligned themselves with Protestantism. The schism was an event that shook all of Europe.”
As I studied Luther, and the Reformation, over the past few months, which was a consequence of my reluctance to accept the doctrine of predestination and divine election, I came to the conclusion that this doctrine led to the American concept of Manifest Destiny, and the near annihilation of the Native American population, justified by the belief that obviously these creatures were sub-human, savages, predestined for damnation and it was God’s will that the White European take over their lands, from sea to shining sea.
So then I read Dr. Sanchez’s words, “Manifest Destiny expounded the belief that God had blessed and preordained U.S. expansion and parenthetically, that He would punish Mexico for it’s depravity. …there was a widespread belief that the God-forsaken Mexicans were unworthy to keep the valuable resources that they had inherited from Spain.”
So, here is how the Black Legend started, according to the article. Spain had laws that protected the rights of the indigenous people in the “New World.” However, many of the gold hungry Spanish settlers were not obeying these laws. Several conquistadors had been brought to court and imprisoned for abuses of such laws. But a Dominican monk, Fray, Bartolome’ de las Casas believed that not enough was being done. He sent a report to the King of Spain that included documentation that supported his case that the Spaniards abused Indians, giving negative examples, not including the positive things that were happening. As a result, reforms were made. However, some years after his bid to reform the Indies had run its course, the Dutch aquired a copy of his report and published it. The English and French followed suit. Spain’s foes presented this as proof that Catholic Spain was bigoted. Catholic Spaniards, they wrote had exterminated and brutalized Indians. Dr. Sanchez writes “Fueled by the Protestant Reformation, the propaganda underwent an anti-Catholic phase in which Spain stood accused of bigotry.” Propaganda, prejudice, and greed. From this perspective, I would conclude that the Catholic Spanish were not as bad as the European Protestants in their dealings with the indigenous people they encountered in America. And for now, that’s all I have to say about this. Time to do my chores.

Through Spanish Eyes

Since moving to this part of the world back in 1998, because of my life long interest in and respect for Native Americans, I have looked at life here from a certain, admittedly bias perspective. Last week I took a course for teachers on teaching Hispanic History and Culture specifically to the Southwestern Child, and I have had to look at things differently. From a Latino perspective. I took a "field trip" that covered nearly 600 miles in 2 days, designed to experience the rich Hispanic Culture of this area.
This class, this field experience, and an article the professora gave us by Josehp P. Sanchez Ph.D
called "La Leyenda negra Espanola" (The Spanich Black Legend - origins of Anti-Hispanic Stereotypes) is what peaked my interest in the topic mentioned below.
Manifest Destiny and the Black Legend.
Which I am working on.
Meanwhile - I wonder, why are American weather forcasters still smiling?
What a awesome nation we have. We can have wild fires and flash floods and whirling winds and drought all at the same time. Still our greed, violence, and perverseness run rampent. We can have 50% + of our citizens name the name of Christ, worship in their churches, argue theology in coffee shops, pubs, and blogs, while the hungry continue to starve, the homeless continue to wander the streets, children continue to play in the dark. Mothers and Grandmothers weep at the alters, while vibrant music plays and estatic worshipers jump for joy. The call to "Be Still, and Know that I AM God" is drowned out by ritual, tradtion, and prejudice, as teachers argue over which rituals are acceptable and which are blasphamy. The call to care for the Widow and Orphan, the Homeless and the Captive, the Hungry and the Naked, is all but forgotten. Why?
The churches that try to do the most for those, the least of those, are accused of preaching a "Social Gospel" are critizied for helping without telling those poor souls that they are in danger of burning in hell.
And to head back, off this rabbit trail, onto the main path of Manifest Destiny, Propaganda and Predjudice, I have to present this question.
If I KNOW, without doubt, that without Jesus, eternal destiny is Hell...that if a person dies without Christ, they WILL go to Hell. Isn't it my duty to tell them? Warn them?
Or can I just talk to them, and love them, and feed them, and let the Holy Spirit do the convicting? Right now my head is too full, so I'm going to drink more coffee and get ready to do my homework, paperwork, house work. Maybe I'll just watch TV. Not...

Jeremiah call home...

Manifest Destiny and the Black Legend

I think I am going to write a piece on how Martin Luther affected the lives of the Native Americans. I'm just finishing up a class on Teaching Hispanic Culture and Histroy, which shed some more light on a subject that has long interested me.
"Christians" have been "evangelizing" Native Americans for over 500 years and yet less than 10% of Native American people claim to be "born again" Christians. That is a "protestant" statistic. I'll have to check into the percentage of Roman Catholic Native Americans, which is probably about the same, or a little higher, at least in the Southwest.
Anyway, if you are interested...stay tuned.

No News is Good News

The news blips that I am hearing greatly disturb me.
I know there is a time and a season for everything, and He has the whole world in His hands, and I'm hoping these "signs of the times" are signs that He will be coming back soon.
But I'm wondering how much worse it will get before that glorious day.
I'm wondering how swiftly the wrath of God will fall upon those who name the name of Jesus and mock the Word. And who will be hurt when all hell breaks out.
I'm wondering how soon this nation will turn into a Big Brother society - in the name of tolerance and protection from hate and terrorist we are loosing our personal freedoms, our right to speak out and in the name of compassion and the right to choose, we continue to kill unborn babies and pull the plug of those who appear to have a substandard quality of life.
There is hate and violence in the streets.
Christians, Sons of the Most High God
Stand up! Shine!
The glory of the LORD shines on you, through you!
The earth and its people are covered with darkness (the darkness is not good)
but the glory of the LORD is shining upon you
Nations and Kings will come to the Light or you dawning Day
Shine Jesus Shine - grace and mercy please.

Which is True?

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge but fools dispise wisdom and discipline.

For with much wisdom comes much sorrow. The more knowledge, the more grief.

consider these statements:

Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart.

A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.

Written by the same "teacher" to different readers at different stages in his life. Actually as I see these written next to each other, I can see how they rather compliment than contradict each other. Still, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes seem so different. One says "this is how you should behave" the other says "it makes no difference how you behave". I think that Solomon is right about life in general, but wrong about death.


"For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity.
All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return. "

Hey, I found a new "Life Verse"
Ecclesiastes 10:19
Bread is made for laughter, and wine gladdens life, and money answers everything.

Just kidding. I'll stick with Proverbs 3: 5-12

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
Pro 3:6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Pro 3:7 Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.
Pro 3:8 It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.
Pro 3:9 Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce;
Pro 3:10 then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.
Pro 3:11 My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline or be weary of his reproof,
Pro 3:12 for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.

Happy Father's Day

Seek and Ye Shall Find

My "wake up" call, a teaching program on the local Christian Radio station is doing a study on Psalms. The last two mornings the teacher was discussing Psalm 8.
"Oh LORD, my Lord" "Oh YHWH, my master"
He started out talking about just what the word God means, and just who the LORD is.
He said, that although man might seek after a god, a purpose, or a sort of enlightenment...man is incapeable of discovering God except for the fact that God chose Himself to reveal Himself.
He further said that God has and continues to disclose Himself to mankind through and in Nature (Romans and Job), History, the WORD (Bible) and Jesus. Then the teacher went on to explain four aspects of the true God that seperates Him from all false gods and all false perceptions of god. This particular teacher likes alliterations, his four points were
1. God - LORD - YHWH is PLURAL (He is They) The trinity is explicity a Christian revelation.
2. Powerful and Self existant - Self sustaining
3. Perfect
4. Praise Worthy (and as we worship we become truly human)
There were two points that stood out in my often muddled mind.
When I was seeking "enlightenment" I tried a lot of "stuff". Meditation, Out of Body Experiences, Power Stances, Vision and Spell casting. I was very interested in the occult. Surely there were some hidden secrets that would lead to this allusive enlightenment. Some ancient methods to achieve the highest level of humanity. When I finally realized that Jesus was the Way, I was amazed that the Truth was so available and so obvious. Anyone, in this country at least, has access to a Bible. You can buy them for a dollar at the Dollar Store. God has not hidden Himself in some labynyth, mantra, or talisman. (excuse spelling there). Nature declares His glory and His attributes, History proves His interaction with Humankind, and to make things perfectly clear He gave us His written Word, and became Flesh.
And as far as the Trinity. There are a lot of "christians" out there (in here in blogland) that firmly believe that Roman Catholics are satanic, evil, idol worshipers, etc. But I contend that they do a much better job of teaching the Trinity than most non-Catholic Christians. Most of the Sunday School, Children's Church, VBS curriculum that I've previewed and/or used, identify Jesus as the Son of God without attempting to explain that He was infact God. This "three in one" business is seldom mentioned. How can God be his own father? It's easier to brush over it.
But the Catholics teach their littlest ones that there are three persons in one God. They acknowledge the Trinity at the beginning and end of every prayer session.
Well, that's all I have to say about that right now. I'm reading Ecclesiastes and soon will move on to Job. It is very windy, dusty and dry here in New Mexico. And oh so HOT!
Blessings all!
me

Sovereign God, the Lord Yhwh.

I was recently asked why I had such trouble believing in a Sovereign God.
So I decided to do a word study on the word Sovereign.
Sovereign - Webster’s definition
Supreme in power. Possessing supreme dominion or jurisdiction, royal
Free of outside influence or control…the person having the highest power of authority in a state, as a king, queen, monarch.
Sovereignty
The state of being sovereign the supreme power in a state, an independent government.

This word is not found in Strong’s Concordance nor in the King James Version of the Bible. The word used there is Lord (as opposed to LORD which signifies the name of God - YHWH or Yahweh)
Lord - Websters
A person possessing supreme power and authority, as a ruler, governor, monarch.
Strong’s Concordance
Lord - Adoni- controller, master, ruler, sovereign

Psalm 8 - as I pray through it.
Oh LORD, our Lord
Oh YHWH our Master, Controller of the Universe, (but not puppet master)
Your name is Majestic (Hallowed be Thy Name)
Your glory and excellence is manifested by your works. (Romans 1)
Especially the starry heavens. You know each star by name and they sing your glory. (Job 38:7)
Babies know and praise the LORD in their innocence. And the enemy is silenced.
It is amazing that the LORD is mindful of man, that He visits him.
Not in Anger, but with grace and mercy.
You made man to have dominion over Your creation
You made man to care for, be stewards (the parables) of your creation.

I have no problem accepting the Sovereign God.
Nor do I have a problem accepting the God, who, when creating the most beautiful of His creatures, that which He created in His own image and likeness (male and female He created them Genesis 1:27) He gave them ability to choose. The responsibility to choose. It was the choice of man which allowed evil to come into the world. This was not part of the perfect plan of a loving God, in whom there is no darkness. It did not surprise Him, but it grieved His heart. It was not part of His perfect plan, but He had a plan to counter act the bad choices of mankind. The cross.
I am a teacher. I make plans for my class. Sometimes those plans go smoothly. Sometimes they do not. Sometimes, mid lesson I have to adjust my plans. The plan is for the whole class. But the class is made up of individuals. Sometimes an individual is responsible for the plan to go badly. Usually, in spite of the individual, the plan works out.
I am a parent. I know my children. I can predict how they will behave in certain circumstances. Sometimes they surprise me, some times they disappoint me. I never stop loving them. I am always there to help them recover and learn from their mistakes.
I am an imperfect human being, but I understand terms like King and Lord and Father and Bride and Mother Hen. I will not say that my sin was part of God’s perfect plan. Like everyone else, I fall short of His glorious plan for me. But it is my doing not His. He did not write my pain and sorrow and shame and shortcomings into my life before I was born. Some times things that seem bad are part of his plan. Like when we have to take yucky medicine to make us well, or get a shot to prevent illness. But evil and sin are not part of his plan. When we sin, it is going against His plan. perhaps that is the very definition of sin.
He created me with gifts and talents. He created me with a purpose. He bestowed and continues to bestow upon me grace. He shows me mercy. He leads me, not into temptation. He leads me. He attempts to lead us all. But he does not force the way.
He offers all grace, but does not force feed us. Once we turn our will over to Him, He uses us to do His will.
Jesus is the Way. Faith in Jesus is the only insurance we have. I believe in Jesus.
Part of the One God in Trinity.
Fulfiller of prophesy.
Born of a Virgin through Holy Spirit.
Teacher, Savior, Good Shepherd, Lamb of God
Died on the cross for the sins of the world.
Resurrected as proof of His power and Glory
Coming again to judge…
I claim Romans 10:9-10
“If you confess with your mouth the LORD Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

Acts 17

There are a lot of “sermons” in Acts 17.
We see Paul going into the synagogues on the Sabbaths and reasoning from the Scriptures, explaining and demonstrating that Jesus was the Christ.
We see jealous Jews making the declaration that Paul and his teachings about Jesus “turned the world upside down.”
We have Berea, where the fair-minded Bereans received the Word and searched the Scriptures to find out whether these things were so.
And then Paul goes to Athens, where he is very disturbed with the idol worship he sees going on there.
And the philosophers, for which Athens was famous, asked him “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak?” (v19)
These were “religious” men. And they wanted to hear what Paul had to say.
In verses 24 to 31 Paul explains to them who GOD is. Today as I read it, I find it curious that in this presentation of his Gospel, Paul does not mention Jesus by name, referring to Him as “the Man whom He has ordained .” (the predestined one?).
Proof that the story is true - The Resurrection (which the Greeks had a hard time accepting).
Verse 30 is interesting. “Truly these times of ignorance God overlooked.” Reference Romans 3
v. 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…25 because of His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed.
My favorite part of this chapter, the part that I find very important these days, and highly debated in some circles is in verses 26 - 27
“And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings. So that they should seek the LORD in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him though He is not far from each of us.”
Do I believe in predestination? I believe that our Sovereign God has appointed/planned for seasons, times, major events. I believe that at Babel when God created different nations and cultures by creating different languages He had a plan as to what part of this vast globe they were to settle. The thing is though, that the Bible narrowed it’s focus to one nation, one people group, one family. Abraham through whom all Nations would be blessed. That doesn’t mean that God was not with the other people in the world. That doesn’t mean He was not dealing with them. Loving them. Providing for them. He was not far from any of His people, He is not far from any of His people. All people. The people He created to Seek Him.
Here is a statement that some one made somewhere, to me, because I questioned his use of the word “religion”.
“By religion here I am referring to ways man seeks (at varying levels) to become right with God because intrinsically he knows he is alienated from God and feels he must "do" something.
The Christian faith is the opposite; it is God Who sought His children, so it is not a religion. We did nothing, and the truth is we could have done nothing. Romans 5:6 tells us - You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. “
I agree with the first part, that man seeks to become right with God because intrinsically he knows he is alienated from God…I do not accept what he says about The Christian faith. We do do something. We hear the word and we choose to believe. Believing is something we do. We are saved by faith. God freely offers us salvation. He gives us grace to believe. A free gift which we are free to accept or reject. It is offered to all men because God’s will is that all men are saved. We are saved by faith, not works. But faith without works is dead and dead faith does not save. As Christians we are told to go and make disciples. We are told to teach them to obey the commandment of Jesus, to do what He told us to do. To Love.
I’m tired, it’s been another long exhausting week of traveling and training and testing. It’s a beautiful day. The trees and other green things are rejoicing because of the long steady rain that fell in this desert this week. I saw a glorious rainbow yesterday on my way home from Albuquerque. I’ve written enough today. Blessings all.
maryellen

another word on Romans 1

I re-read Romans 1 in the NIV and NAS.
I remember being very interested, many years ago, at the italized words, and that they did not actually appear in the original, but were inserted to make the sentence more grammatcially correct. Actually Ancient Hebrew and Ancient Greek are languages with very specific and unique grammar rules, much different than any of the modern languages, especially English.
A misplaced or misused article, a misunderstood tense, can alter the meaning of a sentence. Jots and Tittles were very important when a scribe did his work.
One serious example of how modern translators can manipulate the meaning of a section of scripture, that has nothing to do with predestination or election is how the word for parent is used. People who, back in the mid-80s, wanted to make God and His Word gender neutral rightly pointed out that the Greek word for father is the same word used for mother. They wrongly concluded that therefore we could legitimately say "Our Mother, instead of Our Father, or at least, Our Divine Parent. The word itself is gender neutral, but the articles used specify the male parent.
What I've discovered in recent studies as well as what I learned when I was at Roberts Wesleyan College, taking as many Bible Courses as I could fit into my schedule...indicates that when it came to choosing what form of the word, what tense, what article in English Translations, when there were many choices, the accepted doctrine affected that choice. You can even see it when you look at some of the words in Strong's concordance. The influence of the Classical Greek belief in Destiny and Fatalism could well have affected Augustine's doctrine. As could his outspoken hatred for Jews could have affectied Luther's.
What I pointed out in my last post was that while Romans 1 is often used as a point for and against the salvation of people who have never heard...I am more interested in considering just what Creation tells us about the nature of God. Today I read the chapter just to see exactly where it says no man ever does good or ever turns to God, or how ever it was put by one of my comments. Here are my observations. Was Paul called an apostle, or called to be an apostle?
Those little italized words can make a difference in what he was saying about himself. But that isn't such an important point. I see that Paul is talking to those who have already have faith, but is planning on coming and preaching the gospel to them. What gospel if they are already saved by faith? I read that the wrath of God is agains all ungodliness, not all men because all men are ungodly. Infact, as I read about those who professed to be wise, became fools, I do not see that that is all men, but rather some "they" and "them" not you all.
They reject and even try to supress the truth. So God turns them over to live the consequences of their ungodly, anit-godly choices.
Paul, in his writings seems to have 2 main themes. Gentiles can be saved without submitting to Jewish customs or rituals - so don't let them try to circumsise you. Just because you are saved by grace, not being under the law does not give you license to do what ever you want. Salvation is a gift, but one that requires the obedience that comes from faith.

Romans 1:16-22

from the Good Ol' King James
Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Rom 1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."
Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
Rom 1:19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
Rom 1:20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
Rom 1:21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Rom 1:22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
And from the Message:
It's news I'm most proud to proclaim, this extraordinary Message of God's powerful plan to rescue everyone who trusts Him, starting with Jews and then right on to everyone else! God's way of putting people right shows up in the acts of faith, confirming what Scripture has said all along:
"The person in right standing before God by trusting Him really lives."
But God's angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and lying accumulate, as people try to put a shroud over truth. But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is. By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can't see, eternal power, for instance and the mystery of His divine being. So nobody has a good excuse. What happened was this. People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn't treat Him like God, refusing to worship Him, they trivilalized themselves into silliness and confusion, so that there was neither sense nor direction lift in their lives."
So this section of Scripture is often at the center of the debate over what God does in the case of people who never had or have the chance to hear the Gospel. Most people who read these words understand that Paul is saying no one has an excuse, because the existance of God and His nature is evident in nature. (The heavens and earth declare His glory - Psalm 19:1). At the same time many say, all those millions of people are lost - destined to a devil's hell fire, because not one of them choose to worship the creator.(Romand 3:10-12)
Biblically speaking, we know that up until Babel, all people knew the story - basically all people had at least Genesis 1:1 to Genesis 11:9. Some people believe that the story of Job also dates before Babel. The great flood and the promised savior are themes present in most cultures.
In Genesis 12 we see the setting apart, the calling to holiness of Abraham and God's chosen people. With the promise that: "in thee all nations will be blessed." It is clear in the Old Testament, that every time the words elect or chosen are used it refers to the Jewish nation.
My contention is that it is the same in the New Testament. At least that is how the earliest Christians understood the words. However, most scholars who translated the Bible, whether into Latin, German, or English held strong anti-jew sentaments. From that hatred came the "doctrine" or teaching of predestination. I am not alone in this way of looking at things, but it seems that the most orthadox, born again Christians consider that a false doctrine worthy of the label heresy.
But back to Romans 1.
I've been praying through this a lot as I've driven through the desert, the dry land of New Mexico, and looked off the high places into the river valleys below, lush and vibrantly green. As I've looked at the cresent moon in the eastern sky.
Just what is it about God that can be seen, that can be known, by looking at His creation?
God is a god of infinite variety. How many shades of green? How many shades of blue?
Plants, birds, wild flowers - such a vast variety of patterns and styles. And even in dry and barren places, His creativity shows through, and there is life everywhere.
God is a god of order. Even in apparent chaos there is order. I wonder at how the most vast of His creations - galaxies, solar systems resemble the tinest of His creations, atoms. I wonder at the dance the planets make around the sun, and the dance the suns make around their galaxies, with a set rhythm and purpose. The life cycles, the water cycles, the seasons, the phases of the moon. God is a god of order. He designed it, He planned it, He keeps it in order.
God is a god of power, and His power can not be contained. We see it in storms, earthquakes, volcanos. He has allowed us to harness some of that energy. Water, fire, wind...still He demonstrates through creation that ultimate control is His not ours.
Biblically speaking God has used fires, and storms, and even insects to get our attention.
We used to call earthquakes and hurricanes "acts of God".
No one wants to think of a god who would cause/will Hurricane katrina, or the Earthquake in Indonesia. Biblically speaking, God also uses a nations enemies to get their attention. But woe to the few preachers who dared to say, even in a whisper, that 911 was a wake up call from God to a goddless nation.
I think the problem is the way human minds comprehend death. How can God allow the death of a child in any kind of catastrophy or from any kind of serious illness? How can God will it?
The Bible tells us that God is Love (1st John). So how can a loving God...
I ask, what is the big deal about death anyway? If it is a child, we are pretty confident that their entrance into heaven is guarenteed (although some say that even aborted babies go to hell because they never had a chance to be baptized - or to accept Jesus).
I'm getting off track and running out of time...
Just remember what I said about God being a god of order - that there is a pattern and a method and Nature shows us that from death comes life, the cycle continues. The death of a saint, or an innocent child is often an act of mercy...of God's allowing them to move on to the next phase, and they go to a place that they would not wish to return from. Why do people go hungry, suffer from disease, live in poverty? Aren't we as Christians commanded to feed the hungry and clothe the naked? God has a plan to take care of those masses. We are His plan.
but that is another post
blessings