MrDarwin

I often hear God answers all prayers or sometimes God answers all prayers, but the answer can be "yes", "no", or "not now". But nobody seems to want to touch the sad case of Lesley Ann Downey:

So just a couple of quick questions:

1. Did God answer Lesley Ann's prayers?

2. If Lesley Ann perceived (rightly or wrongly) that God had not answered her prayers--and because of that she came to disbelieve in God before she was murdered--is she damned to suffer eternally?

Captain Pedantic

I'm no Christian, but I have a feeling that any Christian might say to that "Ah, yes, she may have been killed, but she prayed and is thus in heaven with her all-loving God, whereas the late Myra Hindley is in Hell, despite being a bit of a holy-roller herself."

Actually, Hindley was a Catholic, so some Protestant will say "Oh, well, that was her problem."

MrFrosty

Fundies would probably say that the girl suffered during the final moments due to human evil but gained entry into Heaven, so a good result was still achieved (try telling that to the relatives of the girl). Or, the lame "Gawd works in mysterious ways" retardation, that we are not meant to know Gawd's mind, which is a definite frontrunner for being the #1 cop-out phrase. Or the fundies might proclaim prayer does not work in all dire situations -- and your example most definitely qualifies -- due to free will. So Gawd cannot personally intervene even in the face of such manifest human evil. Or any other number of excuses, oops I meant reasons, why Gawd fails to intervene through prayer.

The death of Hindley received a fair bit of coverage over here in the UK; a stark comparison was drawn between the victims screaming in abject terror before they met their end and Hindley's peaceful passage into Death -- complete with Catholic priest at her bedside and the crappy confession / last rites.

Godless Dave

God did not help her because she sinned by having sex out of wedlock.

KnightWhoSaysNi

I would add a third one:

3. Assuming that "God" is the evangelical Christian one, and that Lesley Ann was say a Mormon, Bahai, or a Jew, would God send Lesley Ann to Hell to suffer eternally after her death because she didn't plea for help to the right particular god?

Korihor (formerly, 'Nightshade')

fatherphil

just to play the game:

1) i don't know

2) God will certainly have more mercy for her disbelief than maybe for yours.

one thing for sure, if there is no God this girl sure got a raw deal from humanity.

wildernesse

1. I don't know.
2. I don't believe in eternal damnation.

I have been reluctant to talk about this, because it disturbs me and I have been thinking about it. I don't know the answer to why bad things happen, other than people make horrible choices and are allowed to do so.

--tibac

KnightWhoSaysNi

Fatherphil,

Just curious, by your user name, are you a Catholic priest?

Also do you think that the act of non-belief in God is itself a "sin"? In other words, does doubt=sin?

Korihor (formerly, 'Nightshade')

Jamie_L

Obviously God could not answer her prayers, because that would involve violating the Free Will of her murderer.

And, as can be inferred from most Free Will apologetics, the Free Will of evil doers is more important than the free will of innocents who don't have the power to turn their will into reality.

But it's all for the greater good. You know, part of the plan.

Jamie

braces_for_impact

Of course god answered the prayer, he said "No".

Apparently He has said "no" before.