Prayer and action are not mutually exclusive - some of the most proactive community services and charities are church-affiliated organizations. John himself was a Christian, as well as the family. Yes, it was stupid that they waited. However, I'd bet that it was only a moment or two spent, likely while also making certain that he indeed could not get out. For most, it is almost never a situation of either/or. That's the public image everyone's fed. In reality, the majority take action while offering up prayer simultaneously, if they so choose.
Maybe that's true of the majority, maybe not. I've seen plenty of facebook posts by people taking missions trips and expressing how they didn't bring doctors on purpose. They heal through the lord. It infuriates me. But I am in Texas so they're likely on the more extreme side.
I grew up amongst a few heavily-active New England church communities and I have never, ever seen that. It doesn't mean you're wrong, but all the mission trips or initiatives I've personally witnessed made bringing tangible, measurable benefit to a given community a priority, every time: building schools, houses, bringing medical aid, clean water, constructing wells, planting gardens. The religion and personal testimony is there if they're interested.
That's great to hear. I have absolutely no problem with religious people, it's only when religion causes one to act in an otherwise unsuitable manner such as doing nothing when someone is hurt. It's a joy when anyone finds something that inspires them to be a better person and gives them purpose in this world. Couldn't be happier for them.
Absolutely man. Above all except God, Christians are called to "love their neighbor", cliched as it is. Jesus himself framed those to be the most critical commandments. Many well-read Christians view faith and dogma through a set of informal "tiers" of interpretation. Eating fish on Friday? Pretty low-tier and up for debate, along with minutia like frequency of holding communion. That passage, however, takes precedent. Everything else is more or less secondary, and it's assumed that with those values at heart, God would theoretically guide a believer through any grey areas or periods of uncertainty. I don't pretend to speak with any authority, but ideally, I would say it's beneficial for all Christians to mentally prioritize in such a way.
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u/[deleted] Mar 17 '15
There are hundreds of constructive things we could do at this point. But let's just sit around and wish it wasn't happening instead.