Heavenly Pilgrim
New Member
It was a dark night in August when a man, steeped in depression due to both marriage and financial woes, decided on a path that would end his misery, or so he thought. He knew that at 11:00 this very evening a train would be making its trek close to his home down the track right outside of town. The crossing was well lit with flashers, even having bars that come down intended to stop any cars from passing into danger.
As the hour approached, he got into his car and drove to the crossing, and waited patiently for the approaching train. At just before 11:00 he saw the headlights of the train in the distance approaching. Momentarily the lights on the cross bars began to flash and the bar lowered itself to keep any motorists from trying to cross the crossing while in danger of being struck by the train. The driver of the car waited until the train was near, and swerved around the crossbars and stopped his car on the tracks in the direct path of the oncoming train. The engineer saw the car in the dark of night pull onto the tracks and stop, applied the brakes of the train but to no avail. It would take almost a mile for the train to come to a complete stop at the rate the train was traveling.
Needless to say, the man in the car was successful in his attempt to end his life, dying instantly that night at the crossing.
It is obvious that the cause of death was due to the train’s impact. The question is, was the engineer of that train guilty of this mans death? Why or why not? Where do you turn for a solution to this question? Do you find yourself forced to turn to Scripture to make a proper judgment?
If this scenario was explained to a heathen, is it possible that he could judge this situation fairly? What gives the heathen and others alike the ability to judge such cases? Can you discern any intuitive principles of justice that might be used to find out who is at fault in the death of that man? Does the possibility exist that you can be wrong in your judgment, if the facts of the case are positively just as stated? Can you be absolutely sure that you are judging according to wisdom and truth?
As the hour approached, he got into his car and drove to the crossing, and waited patiently for the approaching train. At just before 11:00 he saw the headlights of the train in the distance approaching. Momentarily the lights on the cross bars began to flash and the bar lowered itself to keep any motorists from trying to cross the crossing while in danger of being struck by the train. The driver of the car waited until the train was near, and swerved around the crossbars and stopped his car on the tracks in the direct path of the oncoming train. The engineer saw the car in the dark of night pull onto the tracks and stop, applied the brakes of the train but to no avail. It would take almost a mile for the train to come to a complete stop at the rate the train was traveling.
Needless to say, the man in the car was successful in his attempt to end his life, dying instantly that night at the crossing.
It is obvious that the cause of death was due to the train’s impact. The question is, was the engineer of that train guilty of this mans death? Why or why not? Where do you turn for a solution to this question? Do you find yourself forced to turn to Scripture to make a proper judgment?
If this scenario was explained to a heathen, is it possible that he could judge this situation fairly? What gives the heathen and others alike the ability to judge such cases? Can you discern any intuitive principles of justice that might be used to find out who is at fault in the death of that man? Does the possibility exist that you can be wrong in your judgment, if the facts of the case are positively just as stated? Can you be absolutely sure that you are judging according to wisdom and truth?
