Family dies holding hands, praying

[_Hoops]

You might not want to know what I am praying for right now...

Lol. You're wonderful. I'll be on the lookout for tornadoes coming my way.

[_Fence Sitter]

You might not want to know what I am praying for right now...

So now I'm praying for the end of time
To hurry up and arrive
Cause if I gotta spend another minute with you
I don't think that I can really survive
I'll never break my promise or forget my vow
But God only knows what I can do right now
I'm praying for the end of time
It's all that I can do
Praying for the end of time, so I can end my time with you!!!

[_Sethbag]

Hoops, why do these people bother praying for God's help at all?

That is a good question isn't it? What is prayer for? I can tell you this: God is not held to the whim (or the cries of despair) of us. Prayer doesn't change Him, it changes us.

So what did this family's prayer for God's divine protection change them into? Misguided fools?

I can't argue with that, actually.

I don't know what you're trying to get out of us here.

I have been quite direct. at the point that one is staring down a tornado and one prays for God to save one from it, what would you have God do?

Why, save one from it. Duh.

In the Bible, God stopped the rotation of the Earth ...

Those are an entirely different subject.

Right. How stupid of these people to read the examples of God's intervention on behalf of the faithful as an example to them that God could, or would, uh, intercede on behalf of the faithful.

Are you saying God could do all this s***, but couldn't divert the path of a tornado by, say, 100 meters so that it missed this particular mobile home and thus spared this faithful family,

He certainly could. Are you prepared for God to act upon creation in such a profound way at the behest of our prayers? I doubt it.

I don't believe that a God exists at all. But most faithful people are prepared to believe that God acts upon creation in such a profound way at the behest of the prayers of the faithful. I think that arguments such as yours are more a defensive apologetic than a constructive faithful approach - you acknowledge that there's no evidence that God does in fact intercede at all, and you seek to find a way to explain God such that this is precisely what we should see.

[_Hoops]

Yep, you've got it. Well done.

[_ludwigm]

In the Bible, God stopped the rotation of the Earth to give the Israelites more time in the day to finish the slaughter of their enemies. God caused the waters of the Red Sea to part so that the Israelites could cross over it on dry land. God caused the walls of the city of Jericho to collapse catastrophically after the Israelites shouted and blew their shofar in unison.

Are you saying God could do all this s***, but couldn't divert the path of a tornado by, say, 100 meters so that it missed this particular mobile home and thus spared this faithful family, and that we're all being unreasonable to expect that he do it?

God could twist any tornado around his/her/its finger.

Apparently he/she/it was busy with playing the role of a bolt loosener spray.

From Jan 2012 Liahona:

...
To change the battery, I had to disassemble and move several car parts, including the windshield washer reservoir. I soon found that my tools would not fit all of the metric-sized bolts and several screws would not even budge. I used different tools and tried different positions, but nothing moved. The temperature outside was around 5 degrees Fahrenheit (-15°C), and the semitrucks whizzing by created wind gusts that were bitter cold. I had reached a cold, frustrating impasse.

I turned to the only help available. I prayed earnestly, explaining my need to Heavenly Father and asking if He would either loosen the bolts and screws or help me find a way to do it. Finishing my prayer, I again grabbed a pair of pliers and grasped a resisting screw. It was already loose! Silently and fervently expressing thanks, I removed the screw and continued.

Soon I found a frustrating, resisting bolt deeper in the car. Again, completely stymied, I prayed more earnestly for help, doing so with growing trust. This time I felt directed to remove some deeper bolts first and then twist the battery brace, which I did. The resisting bolt moved easily. In a few moments I pulled out the old battery.
...

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[_Drifting]

In the situation described in the OP we are left only with three possibilities regarding Gods involvement in this situation that resulted in the death of a family.

1. God is powerless to intervene physically in this life of ours.

2. God chooses not to intervene physically in this life of ours.

3. God did intervene physically but we just don't know how.

Hoops,
If you are so fond of getting answers to questions which one of these three options do you think applies in this case? Or do you think another option exists? (speaking of physical intervention NOT spiritual intervention which is a different thing).

[_Hoops]

4. God chose to not move this particular tornado to save this particular family.

[_Hoops]

Hoops,
If you are so fond of getting answers to questions...

How profoundly stupid of me to have this expectation on a discussion board. I'll do better.

[_Hoops]

I'll give it one more go to take you seriously.

So what did this family's prayer for God's divine protection change them into? Misguided fools?

Prayer changes our spirit, our relationships, and our potential.

Why, save one from it. Duh.

I didn't ask what the consequences would be, I asked what specific, direct action are you expecting from God.

Right. How stupid of these people to read the examples of God's intervention on behalf of the faithful as an example to them that God could, or would, uh, intercede on behalf of the faithful.

Most Christians recognize a difference between the history of Israel and the church age. Don't blame us if you don't.

I don't believe that a God exists at all.

So?

But most faithful people are prepared to believe that God acts upon creation in such a profound way at the behest of the prayers of the faithful.

At times, and according to His Providence, yes.

I think that arguments such as yours are more a defensive apologetic than a constructive faithful approach

Your free to believe what you want. However, you have already shown that you have no desire to understand and consider what Christians believe. So what you believe about what I believe is immaterial to me. Unless you want to actually engage the positions one takes - which clearly you do not.

- you acknowledge that there's no evidence that God does in fact intercede at all,

I don't recall doing that.

and you seek to find a way to explain God such that this is precisely what we should see.

I seek to explain God using His Self revelation.

[_Drifting]

4. God chose to not move this particular tornado to save this particular family.

I'm glad to hear you are going to try harder.

Now, am I correctly interpreting your answer (don't want to put words in your mouth) that you believe God picks and chooses when to intervene physically? So for this family He didn't, but under a different set of circumstances, or for different people, He would?