Truth really can be stranger than fiction.
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La verdad puede ser más extraña que la ficción.
First Page - ¡Ya está en marcha! Todas las historias son verídicas, o están basadas en hechos reales. Lectura ilimitada por $4.99 / mes. No hay que descargar nada. Lea en su teléfono, tableta u ordenador.
Manna Minutes Podcast: Eye-opening Bible study in less than five minutes! Access all episodes here.
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Estudio bíblico que nos hace abrir los ojos en menos de cinco minutos! Acceda a todos los episodios aquí.
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Augenöffnendes Bibelstudium in weniger als fünf Minuten! Alle Episoden finden Sie hier.
Was There A Curse On Helen's Romantic Life?
The Third Man by Angela Sheffield is based on a true story. Read chapter one now!
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¿Qué tiene que ver conmigo? por Teófila Gottfried
Lo que leemos en la Biblia tiene que ver con todos los seres humanos, sean cristianos o judíos, ateos o agnósticos, budistas, musulmanes o adherentes a alguna de las filosofías o nuevas religiones que surgen en el mundo. ¿Por qué? Ver mayor información sobre este interesante libro.
Scripture of The Day - St. John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Escritura del día - San Juan 14,6
Jesús le dijo: Yo soy el camino, y la verdad, y la vida; nadie viene al Padre, sino por mí.
Bibelstelle des Tages - Johannes 14,6
Jesus spricht zu ihm: Ich bin der Weg und die Wahrheit und das Leben; niemand kommt zum Vater, denn durch mich!
Should The Mentally Ill And Criminally Insane Ever Be Executed? What Does The Bible Say?
In our article, Does Jesus Teach Against The Death Penalty? we learn the biblical proof that God's Word clearly sanctions capital punishment for murder, rape and other crimes of violence. But what about the mentally ill who kill, and rape, and torture? We know that many "justice" systems take into account their mental illness, make exceptions for them, and do not hold them responsible for their actions, however heinous they may be. But does the Bible indicate that God takes into account their mental illness? Does the Lord make exceptions for the mentally ill and the criminally insane? Does the heavenly Judge hold them responsible for their violent acts?
In God's Word, we read, "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, MURDERS, drunkenness, revelings, and such like; of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." (Galatians 5:19-21).
We capitalized "murder", because all earthly justice systems are supposed to severely punish acts of violence against others, NOT acts that are only immoral or sinful. This is a biblical truth dealt with in our article, Does Jesus Teach Against The Death Penalty? Murder is violence. And, what does the scripture we just read say? "That they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." Do we read in the Galatians passage that any exceptions or special considerations are to be made for the mentally ill who do those things? No, we do not.
The Galatians passage makes it is clear that ALL who do the things mentioned are guilty in the eyes of God, because we read that they will not inherit the kingdom of God. Now then, it is extremely important to understand what it means to not inherit the kingdom of God. It does not simply mean that we miss out on going to heaven. It does not mean that we miss out on living eternally in the new Earth or in paradise. It means something much worse.
If we do not inherit the kingdom of God, we are in serious trouble. There is no neutral place for people who were neither "good" enough to go to heaven nor "responsible" enough for their evil deeds to go to hell. If we do not inherit the kingdom of heaven, there is only one other place to inherit. And that place is not a good one. It is a place of punishment. This is exactly what the Bible reveals.
We read, "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. And the books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged out of those things, which were written in the books, according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And WHOSOEVER was NOT found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:12-15).
No part of the above passage says anything about the Judge of judges taking mental illness into account. The ONLY thing that determines where those souls will go are their WORKS. In no uncertain terms, the passage says that ANYONE who is not written in the book of life, is cast into the lake of fire. There is only the kingdom of heaven, and there is the lake of fire. Nothing in between. And, it is illogical to think there were no mentally ill among the souls being judged according to their works. But, do we read that any exceptions, or special considerations, were made for their mental illness? Not at all.
Now then, could it be that God makes an exception for the mentally ill, but simply does not indicate such in His Word? We have no biblical basis for accepting such a theory in light of the fact that when God makes exceptions, or tells His people to make exceptions, those exceptions are clearly specified in Scripture, so that there is no doubt in our minds. Let's look at a real example of this in the Bible:
"And I say unto you, whosoever shall put away his wife, EXCEPT it be for fornication..." (Matthew 19:9).
In Matthew 19:9, the Lord Jesus Himself is speaking. He clearly indicates the exception that He takes into consideration when it comes to divorce. So, we cannot say that the Bible leaves out exceptions. If God made exceptions for mentally ill murderers, rapists and torturers, we would see it in Scripture, just like we've seen the exception in place for divorce. The genuine believer does not take away exceptions God has placed, nor does he add exceptions God has not placed. We read, "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it..." (Deuteronomy 4:2). At the end of the book of Revelation, we have another solemn warning along these lines: "...If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book. And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." (Revelation 22:18-19).
But Why Would God Not Make Exceptions For The Mentally Ill?
First, the violent behavior that psychologists label as mental illness is not a mental condition at all in the eyes of God. It is a condition of the HEART. We know for sure that the mind and the heart are not always in agreement. This is why we hear things like, "You heart's in the right place, but I don't where your mind is." Translation: Your intentions are good, but your thought is stupid.
There are millions of people with some form of mental illness who are never violent. Their mind might not work correctly, but their intentions towards others are not evil. They cause no harm to any living creature. The heart represents intention. It is the seat of our intentions. Now, let's read what the Lord Jesus said about the role of the heart in our behavior:
"For out of the HEART proceed evil thoughts, MURDERS, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies..." (Matthew 15:19).
No one has murdered simply because he had a bad mind, but rather, because he had an evil heart. And how did he end up with an evil heart? Answer: He chose to ignore his conscience. He chose evil over good.
The scripture of Romans 1:28-32 says: "Even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient. Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, MURDER, debate, deceit, malignity, whisperers... Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death..."
In the above passage, we learn how the so-called mentally ill who are violent come to have a reprobate (evil) mind. They chose to reject God. In fact, the Bible reveals that some people who persist in disobedience and sin are struck by God with madness. Yes, scripture actually reveals that some people went crazy, because they stubbornly persisted in evil (Deuteronomy 28:28). And, according to God, they are responsible for all the violence they do in their insanity that they invited through their stubbornness against God. They should not be sparred from the death penalty based on mental illness.
Let's keep in mind that modern psychology is in sharp disagreement with biblical teachings. And there are well-documented cases and tests in which insanity was successfully feigned. In other words, the so-called psychological experts could not detect the clever tricks of the subjects who pretended to be insane. While man might make excuses for evil and violence, God does not. And while we can deceive man and escape man's punishment, no one deceives God, or eludes the punishment He pronounces.
Based on true events, The Third Man by Angela Sheffield, brings the Bible up close and personal as the characters face real issues of life: Betrayal, deceit, romance, bitterness, anger against God, hopelessness, will power, perplexity, triumph, unforgiveness, mental illness, and the "Alcohol made me do it" excuse. Read chapter one FREE now.
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