Pastor John Piper did an amazing interview for NPR after the tsunami tragedy in 2004. He deals sensitively and forthrightly and powerfully and biblically with the really hard questions surrounding tragedies of this kind. I highly recommend it:

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Interviews/1678_The_NPR_Tsunami_Interview/

Erin, please accept my condolences at the loss of Eve. I understand your confusion and can assure you that you are correct; God does weep for the fallenness of this present evil age.

Concerning why this happens, we do know...we may not want to because it hurts our perception of a me-shaped god, but it benefits our eternity to understand the Living God and his purposes. I wrote this for a completely separate tragedy, but much of it applies:

My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Not Forsaken me?
C.B. Shearer (c) Sept 2007

Where was God on 9/11? Saving the lives of over 48,000 people, using the devastation that we bring to this world to turn it for good, that many are saved, as they are today. On a normal Tuesday morning the Twin Towers contained roughly 50,000 people, not counting surrounding buildings and people on the street. That day 48,000 of them were running late. 96% of people that were supposed to be at work were not.

Abraham pleaded with God, if you find 50 righteous people, please do not destroy Sodom.

God agreed, if I find 50 righteous people, Sodom will be spared.

God lowered the number so that if He could find only 10 righteous people in Sodom, the city would be spared.

We know today from archaeological evidence that Sodom was destroyed by a simultaneous meteor shower, earthquake, and volcano. Where was God on that day? He was raining shrapnel down on Sodom.

"God, if you find 10 righteous people in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, please do not destroy it."

The question here is whether or not you think you are righteous.

Have you ever told a lie? God says that lying lips are an ABOMINATION, that all liars will have their place in the lake of fire.

Have you ever killed anyone? Jesus said that if you hate someone or call them an idiot, you are in danger of judgment as a murderer.

Have you kept the name of God holy? Calling out, "Oh My God!" in a callous and flippant way is called blasphemy and the Bible says that God will not hold him blameless that takes His name in vain.

The one that got me, Have you ever committed adultery? Jesus said, "Whosoever looks at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery already with her in his heart." God is concerned with the intentions of the heart and not just when you act on them.

There was not a righteous man found in New Orleans, not on the Gulf Coast, not in the Twin Towers, so we should not be surprised at all that God did not divinely stop those catastrophes. We should rather wonder why we don't see more, why we have been thus far successful in thwarting the major terrorist plots of the world, why natural disasters don't occur every where, every day.

I am comforted that not a single person died in these events that would not die eventually. It is appointed once for a man to die, and then the judgment.

If you face God today, would He be justified in sentencing you to Hell? The Book of your Conscience has recorded every thought, word, and deed and it will be opened as you are prosecuted. What will you offer as defense?

God knew that there was no loophole or attorney you could find to save you, but because He loved you, not that you loved Him, He became manifest in the flesh as the man Jesus Christ, where He lived a perfect, sinless, blemish-free life and offered Himself up as the payment for your sins on the cross at Calvary. You broke the law and He paid your fine.

When you stand before the Judge of the Universe, you can be absolved of your transgressions because your fine has been paid. The only requirement is that you repent of your sins, in other words turn from sin and thirst after righteousness. Once you have done this you will know that you are forgiven, you will be born-again into the family of God, an event as substantial as the first time you were born into the world.

As death and destruction come your way, you will not wonder why God allows it to happen, but rather why He has postponed the inevitable and most importantly, why He would see fit to save a wretch like you, that while many were dying you were given the opportunity to repent or perish.

I have looked all over the Internet seeking information about Eve's faith/religion and can find nothing. Does anyone know?

Erin,

Your writing continues to move me; your voice continues to resonate. Thanks for using your gift to address this tragedy.

Erin:

You always find a way to remind me how fortunate I am to know you. This was wonderful and healing essay.

Erin, do you believe in the Devil?
Also, in my freshman year religion class my teacher posed the super-obvious "God" problem on the first day: God is supposed to be omniscient, omnipotent, and all-good (omnigood...), right? So in your post you say he's all good, that he wouldn't have let someone as beautiful (inwardly and outwardly) as Eve die. Doesn't that mean he's not omnipotent? And if so, isn't that incredibly disconcerting? It's like having a kindly but ineffectual sheriff in a town: his intentions are good, but that doesn't mean you won't die on his watch.
I hope yall are having fun in Texas. See you Monday.

Erin, do you believe in the Devil?
Also, in my freshman year religion class my teacher posed the super-obvious "God" problem on the first day: God is supposed to be omniscient, omnipotent, and all-good (omnigood...), right? So in your post you say he's all good, that he wouldn't have let someone as beautiful (inwardly and outwardly) as Eve die. Doesn't that mean he's not omnipotent? And if so, isn't that incredibly disconcerting? It's like having a kindly but ineffectual sheriff in a town: his intentions are good, but that doesn't mean you won't die on his watch.
I hope yall are having fun in Texas. See you Monday.

LDS Mark, you say: "If living on this earth was easy, our reason for coming here would be moot. If it were easy we could not prove ourselves worthy to return to his house."

For some people, life on earth is very easy - they're born rich, smart, talented, even tempered, good looking and healthy and then have good luck on top of all that.

Are those people "worthy to return to his house" even though they don't suffer on earth?

HD, You say: "...that uncertainty is why libraries have been written about bad things happening to good people...."

I'm not so sure about that. I think it may be because people want to believe in God even though events strongly belie his existence.

Erin, I am really enjoying your posts. GREAT JOB!! I think Eve's murder is one of those mysteries of life; that uncertainty is why libraries have been written about bad things happening to good people and it is why so many people feel the need to respond so vehemently to your post and to each other. Thank you for sharing your faith journey with us.

That was me at 5:15 p.m.

LDS Mark, I was addressing Faithful Servant's comment that "if you believe that God is omnipotent then He is responsible for everything." I had understood the Christian definition of God to include control over every event in the universe outside of human control. Is that not the case? If you believe that God does not cause natural disasters, then what do you believe causes such disasters, and what do you believe God have control over?

The presupposition of an omnipotent god creates a moral quandary. It is morally wrong to cause needless suffering, and I emphasize the needless part. Because human power is limited, we often must make moral choices to cause some suffering to prevent much greater suffering. But an omnipotent god would be able to accomplish any goal without causing any suffering. So by definition, any suffering created wholly by such a god without human involvement would be needless suffering.

"If living on this earth was easy, our reason for coming here would be moot. If it were easy we could not prove ourselves worthy to return to his house."

The whole point of this thread is that we cannot assume that suffering has any purpose. I suspect that such assumptions actually hamper the grieving process.

Tonio:

You said:
“Hesthe, the concept of free will does not take into account any suffering that does not have a human cause, such as earthquakes or hurricanes. Assuming that Christians like Faithful Servant are correct, that would place sole responsibility for causing such suffering on God.”

You fail to realize something.
God the father is not the type of father that “child services” was invented for.
He does not cause natural disasters any more than you would for your children, but does watch what choices we make.
If living on this earth was easy, our reason for coming here would be moot. If it were easy we could not prove ourselves worthy to return to his house.

Mark

i cant believe some of the things i have read on this page. i hope LIZ AND DARRELL for 2. do not go to UNC. they have so much growing up to do. i stopped reading after i read those 2. comments like " you are a waste" and "the only shame is that we dont loose ,more people like you" were so uncalled for. a lose of inteligence. if something were to happen to that lady you guys were speaking about)kate) i think it was. then both LIZ and DARRELL would be here in a week saying such sweet things about her. YOU PEOPLE NEED TO STOP THE DRAMA. AND GROW UP. IM SURE EVE WOULD LIKE THE IDEA THAT YOU GUYS SIT HERE AND TOOK TIME FROM YOUR DAY TO SAY SUCH TERRIBLE THINGS. EVERYONE HAS THERE OPPIONS ABOUT EVES DEATH. AND EVERY OPPION SHOULD BE RESPECTED.MINE...........MAYBE GOD DID AND MAYBE HE DIDNT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT. NO-ONE WILL EVER KNOW. THATS THE BOTTOM LINE. JUST THINK OF EVE AND CON. TO DO YOUR SCHOOL GOOD. STOP ALL THE BAD TALKING ABOUT EACH OTHER...

Bill – the “On faith” forum is not “obviously” for people “of faith” it’s for anyone who wants to comment on issues pertaining to faith.

Rob Pike – I find it fascinating that you say with such certainty that “God will bless Eve, and God will heal the pain her family feels” and that you express “hope [that] God brings Eve's killer to justice” but presume that God was completely without any power to keep Eve’s murder from happening in the first place.

How do you know so much about God’s abilities and limitations? How is it that God is responsible for the good things that happen to us, but has no control over the bad things? What kind of mental contortions are needed to arrive at that conclusion?

I understand that people are looking for comfort in a situation like this and think it would be easier in the long run if they weren't also struggling to figure out the motives and behavior of an invisible supernatural being for whom there is no evidence.

I suggest accepting the comfort that we humans can offer each other.

In reference to "Kate's" post:

Erin is not promoting religious beliefs.
She's expressing her thoughts and feelings and she has every right to do so.

You need to seriously get over yourself and let human beings be human beings. Shame on YOU!

Do you mind if I heave?

A lovely person was murdered by thugs. Period. No God. No reason.

Religionism only dims the brain. Tragedy is tragedy -- and let's not look for a "happy ending." There is none.

Erin:

I've been thinking about my earlier post, and I have a few things to add.

I have only the vaguest notion of who Eve was or what her life was like. But this is certain; she had the opportunity to achieve more in her short life than most could ever dream of.

There are some who don't have God-given intelligence. Others have the brains but not the wherewithal to use them. Still others are disabled by physical or mental ailments. Not to mention those who don't have the good looks that you mentioned.

If she were born in another country, say the developing world, she could have lived to be a hundred and never experienced some of the things that we take for granted every day.

So, was her death and the fact that she didn't get to finish what she started really such a tragedy, or was her life a blessing?

A Refusal to Mourn the Death, by Fire, of a Child in London

by Dylan Thomas

[stanza one]

[stanza two]

The majesty and burning of the child's death.
I shall not murder
The mankind of her going with a grave truth
Nor blaspheme down the stations of the breath
With any further
Elegy of innocence and youth.

Deep with the first dead lies London's daughter,
Robed in the long friends,
The grains beyond age, the dark veins of her mother,
Secret by the unmourning water
Of the riding Thames.
After the first death, there is no other.

I respected this woman. She didn't coast on her looks like 99% of women who look like her could and do. When I saw her videos I could tell she could still connect with her heart like a child, yet command meetings, make tough decisions. This is an amazing combination that is rarely seen.

Eve was one of my peeps. I was like her when I was younger. Hyper involved, tried to be a good person. It is a hard road with heavy expectations. She would have made it and would have shone so bright.

Her spirit lives a little bit in me from now on. I think today I will do something nice for someone in her memory. If she can't live, then maybe what she stood for can live through the rest of us in little ways here and there.

I used to have a poem about God's Tapestry. If you have seen something embroidered, as an example, and look at the backside you will see a tangled mess of threads, even though the front side is a beautiful work of art. The gist of the poem, is God sees the upper side and we the under (or back side with the tangled mess).

God created maggots, for instance, leeches, worms, ants that had intended purposes~being it tilling the soil or disposing of dead bodies of animals. So it could be possible this sad death was part of God's plan.

People have always robbed and murdered. Religions are not doing their job, if citizens of the world are not improving, but getting worse. Cluster bombs in civilian areas, for instance, kill and maim innocent children. Yet, our supposed Christian country condones them in their support of our illegal invasion in Iraq. It is better, to kill, then to find alternative sources of energy, that are already available: wind and solar power are two better alternatives to killing for oil.

Perhaps, that too, is part of God's plan. To separate the sheep from the wolves. Bill Clinton and Neil Bush, for instance, are only two who profit from the destruction of Iraq due to the build up of Dubai. They earn their millions in Dubai on the backs of human suffering and labor. The workers that built up those luxury Palm Islands and tall towers, are often not paid, live in squalor and are given rancid food to eat.

Our government elected officials have been profiting in Iraq due to having US friendly Saddam in power; once he wanted to switch to the Euro he had to be killed and a US friendly government put in his place. Yet millions of Christians are hooraying our corrupt government.

As our young see how the adults do things, they grow up to walk into a store and kill for material things. If they are picked upon in school, they bring a gun and start shooting. I will pick upon Bill again, because his list of pardons is readily available for view online. Going back to Viet Nam war days, our high ranking military found they could earn some under the table profits with drug smuggling~trading drugs for weapons.

Without users of drugs, they would not be getting richer. There is no profit from drugs if no one buys them. Rich people easily afford them (like movie stars) and the poor rob to buy them.

So, yes, the senseless death could be part of a much larger picture that only God can see.

Correction: I put Erin where it should have said Eve.

Does anyone remember that God gave satan the earth to roam and corrupt? here is an example of his work. Eve was a threat to him as are all in Christ. his power is here. God is good all the time. all the time God is good.
My son was a victim of a violent crime and has permanant brain damage because of it. God just does not do bad. Man does.

I think everyone is confused. Humans are animals and there is an old brain and new brain (physically and psychologically). Humanity is a devine concept that we have outgrown the old brain and become something higher than an animal. And for some, this is true and for others they are still animals. Few of us reach the truely devine, but most of us try. Even though I never knew Eve, I believe Eve was among the devine from all that I have read. I have been touched just from the accounting of her.

The killer is still an animal and should be treated as such.

I am constantly challenged by God and Science, but more challenged by God and Religion. Religion is a creation of man and is often misused as any political creation. But to doubt that some higher form of being does not exist, is to doubt the devine and the faith to be better than mere animals. So I must believe. It is faith.

To Erin, beautifully written. To Kate, pray - even if it is to yourself for the answers that you are seeking and for the patience to tolerate others so that you might become one of the devine and not just another animal lashing out at what it fears.

Why ask Why?
God doesn't take anybody away from this earth. So let's just clear that up right now. Things happen because of sin in this world and notice I didn't say Erin sinned. I said because of sin.

What I try to get people so hard to realize is why do we only ask why when someone gets killed that we love? Did you ask why when a teenager gets shot on the corner? Probably not becuase it wasn't your teenager. Don't you think God is asking why are the people denying me before an event and question me after the fact?

God is real
God doesn't kill and for those that go to the OT that doesn't count because they didn't have a saviour at the time. That's why Jesus was to come to earth. To pay the price for you and I. So let's not ask why God did or didn't do anything. Let's ask why you aren't saved.

Gloria, thanks for the information about Ehrman's book. I have read "Misquoting Jesus," a great book with an unfortunate title.

"he eventually came to realize that God was either compassionate yet not omnipotent and unable to change things on this Earth or could change things and didn't care about our suffering enough to change it."

Excellent point. While that calls Christian doctrine into question, it doesn't eliminate the possibility of the existence of gods that do not fit Christian doctrine. If gods do exist, they very well might fit Ehrman's realization. Or they might be indifferent and not omnipotent. Or they might not have emotions such as compassion or indifference. Or they might have little or no role in the universe at all.

This subject was just addressed by a UNC-Chapel Hill religion professor, Bart Ehrman, in his book "God's Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question-- Why We Suffer."

I actually bought it in the Bull's Head the day Eve died... but no one knew she was dead until the next day.

Professor Ehrman used to be a pastor and a true believer in God, but he eventually came to realize that God was either compassionate yet not omnipotent and unable to change things on this Earth or could change things and didn't care about our suffering enough to change it. Free will doesn't explain hurricanes and tsunamis. Ehrman became an agnostic because of these questions. I sometimes think that I feel the same way as well... it's an open question for me.

I agree that this is the hardest question involving a kind God who cares about us and can change things.. why does He let these things happen, then?

While I agree with Becker's point about "there is no answer," I'm surprised to hear it from a Christian. Until now I had only heard it from Buddhists or atheists or others outside Christianity. If Becker believes that God is not responsible for the events in the universe, what role does she believe God plays?

Hesthe, the concept of free will does not take into account any suffering that does not have a human cause, such as earthquakes or hurricanes. Assuming that Christians like FaithfulServant are correct, that would place sole responsibility for causing such suffering on God. Becker's "Why?" question would be better directed at natural suffering instead of at human-caused suffering.

Erin:

Your minister was wrong. If you believe that God is omnipotent then He is responsible for everything. Sometimes there is a message in tragedy; sometimes it's just His will.

And of course He feels our suffering. Suffering is part of life. God comforts us when we endure it so that we can in turn empathize and comfort others who suffer. The experience is meant to breed compassion (2 Corinthians 1:3-7).

If you believe in God and the bible you must believe in a hereafter. Once the mourning is over, we must accept that life, here on earth, is for the living.

Otherwise, we reject the teaching "do not be conformed to this world" (Romans 12:2), and we embrace the material over our faith.

All of the things that you said Eve might have accomplished can be accomplished just as easily by others. None of them really amount to much, though, when stacked up against eternity amidst total love.

Believe. Have faith, and lay up your treasure in heaven.

The following post touches on some related issues that are relavent to this discussion:

http://www.carlrollinsblog.com/id30.html

Eve's soul has returned to the G-dhead, her destiny in this life fulfilled.

Justice must now be done by us: for her as for the 3,000 Bush and Cheney killed on 9-11 and the thousands more of ours, and hundreds of thousands of other innocents, in their false war; for John and Martin and our 58,000 in Vietnam by the hand of Bush's father, Nixon and the Roman Catholic CIA; and, the Six Million, and our WWII dead, at the hands of his grandfather Prescott Bush, the American Fifth Column and the Roman Anti-Christ through their transparently obvious, and proven, Nazi catspaws.

The Creator, in this Divine Manifestation, grants each of us choice for good or evil. Going back to G-d, from this planet so obviously ruled by Satan until the Sovereign People, with their Righteous Elect, arise once more and cast the Tory back into the Pit, is no bad thing. We who remain must seek to know, in Truth.

Read Jefferson, America's Founder and Prophet, for solace. Then go out and work for Justice and Truth, and never sell out.

May each person's soul be at peace - prepared for Judgment every moment.

Death for Treason that G-d bless America, once more the Land of the Enlightened Whig Righteous.

But in a sense, it was a part of God's plan. He endowed us with free will. If he approved every act we do, there would be no such thing; and as long as there is free will, some will choose what we call evil, or acting in ways we don't expect from God.

My problem with Christianity (as practiced) is that too many Christians expect God to intercede and set everything right, and to reward and punish in the next life. On the contrary, I believe one of Jesus's messages was that we should constantly strive as individuals and as society to have God's kingdom come to earth. That includes being better citizens, better stewards, and spending our time on better things than most television shows.

I am not a Christian (by any traditional sense).

Nevertheless, this article is perfectly representative of the goodness that can come from faith.

Thank you for writing it, and let us look forward to the Heaven that Eve and God are building for us right now!

I am not a Christian (by any traditional sense).

Nevertheless, this article is perfectly representative of the goodness that can come from faith.

Thank you for writing it, and let us look forward to the Heaven that Eve and God are building for us right now!

I am not a religious person and quite frankly am unsure about my personal relationship with god, but as a senior in college, I have to say that I cannot agree more with the sentiments and genuine grief that you have displayed.

One thing I might add is my slight disappointment with the focus the media has placed on Eve Carson's beauty. From what I have read of this woman, her accomplishments were positively incredible, and she seemed to center her life around ameliorating the lives of those not fortunate enough to be born with privilege.

That in itself makes her a person worthy of the vigils, the memorials and the grief of a nation. She was not only born beautiful on the outside, but truly epitomized what it means to be a genuinely good person.

5 young men kidnapped and murdered my son on this day 4 years ago. This is God's creation, so I hold him responsible for creating a world where such suffering and evil exist. I'm not saying he desired such a thing, but he made the setup where such things happen.

I am not a church going person but this is a lovely statement about a person you cared for. Don't pay attention to those who mock what they don't get.

"The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity... it defiles the whole body.. and it is set on fire by hell". An innocent and obviously heartfelt lament for a duly respected peer becomes fodder for satan's hatred. How utterly sad, and increasingly predictable. Though I too mourn the premature loss of this beautiful life, perhaps Eve is the winner.

Erin:

Thank you.

This was an exquisite essay. It brought me close to a event far away from where I live. I am truly saddened by her loss.

I am also heartened by you theological beliefs. They are important to me.

I am an extremely liberal Christian. So often I feel marginalized. This has offered me now hope that someone can so eloquently mourn a loss.

my prayers are with you and allothers who grieve loss.... i dont know why certain things happen in our world and what place is Gods will and actions and which is the actions of misguided human beings who have been granted the gift of free will by God. i guess if one believes in God they also have to believe in the propasition that God is beyound human understanding. i guess if we accept the reality of peace bestowed upon us beyound human understanding the idea that there is a plan and a purpose that we dont comprehend because we cannot see the ... big picture.. so to speak. the one thing i do know is when tragedy happenes and losses occur people have the oprotunity to let God build something great out of something sad and tragic. whether this is part of Gods plan or that he makes good what fallable people have render tragic.... i have no answers just hope and faith that when good people stand up for goodness and peace in the face of hate and brutality then God has expressed himself in an understandable way

Erin-

In a time like this, we all struggle for answers. I don't have answers, but I do know that this tragedy has made me realize that each day we need to do our very best to reach out to others and appreciate the gifts that we all have to offer.

Kate-

I find it curious that you are reading a forum designed for young people to express their views of the world based on their faith. We are all searching, and perhaps your are searching as well. I boldly pray that you find light and comfort in your search. Peace be with you. Amen.

For those of faith, "On Faith" is obviously a religious forum for people who choose to believe in a higher power, however that is pursued. The best way to deal with the crass and baiting commentary of those seeking to degrade your choice to exercise faith, is just to ignore their comments much in the same way that they profess to ignore the finger print of the creator that we see and they claim they can not.

For those not of faith, I do not suppose then you will mind if I show no forgiveness to the perpetrators in this case (or other similar ones) and treat them as other animals (bears, lions, alligators, dogs, etc.) that have killed a human (homo sapiens species) and hunt them down and kill them before they can kill again? I hope not, as would seem contradictory to what you profess.

One is of the nature of God and one the nature of this world. Choose, but choose wisely.

Kate, you've missed the whole point. But it sounds like you're used to that. If there's any shame, it's that we don't lose more people like you.

Eve was a victim of someone else's reprehensible free will. I agree, we shouldn't try and make this event some transcendental plan of God or other deified rational.

sorry kate
i'm no christian but scolding the writer
for her personal feelings is not appropriate
on this comment page.
she wrote from the heart
ridicule the zealotry somewhere else.
this is not about our emotions.
respect the person who was lost.
we as humans lose every time there is a senseless killing.

The
bell doth toll for him that thinks it doth; and though it intermit again, yet
from that minute that that occasion wrought upon him, he is united to God. Who
casts not up his eye to the sun when it rises? But who takes off his eye from a
comet when that breaks out? Who bends not his ear to any bell which upon any
occasion rings? But who can remove it from that bell which is passing a piece
of himself out of this world? No man is an island, entire of itself; every man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a
manor of thy friend's or of thine own were. Any man's death diminishes me
because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the
bell tolls; it tolls for thee. . . .

from John Donne
1624

Hey Kate,

You are a waste of a person. I know that you are not mad at Christians... You are mad at your father.

Erin,

I know there are more questions than answers at this point. Eve was special. I think it's important for all of us who are suffering to focus on what Eve accomplished here on this earth in the 22 years she lived. Look at the countless lives she touched in all the places she had been. She accomplished more in 22 years than some people do in their entire lives.

I lost my son Aaron age 19 back in 2004. Sure I am sad and heartbroken at the loss but I am so proud of what he accomplished in 19 short years.

This is only my opinion of course but it is also one way to help cope with the tremendous void that is left when we lose our loved ones. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us today Erin.

Expressing sympathy about a friends death is a beautiful way to remember your friend. God didnt have anything more to do with her death than with her birth but that doesn't change how we feel about each other. Shame on you Kate for making this about religious debate instead of about the loss of a friend.

Kate, would you rather the author promote your agenda?

I think the mention of God in the Post's "On Faith" section isn't exactly out of place. Given the fact that Eve Carson was apparently a Christian, I would think discussion of God is rather wholly appropriate and the anithesis of "cannibalization."

I'm sorry you hold such contempt for Christians. I'm sure much of it is deserved, but I pray that you'd rise above them and be respectful of those who mourn Eve's death.

Erin
It is a blessing that people, such as yourself, have the courage to speak their thoughts openly so others can feel. You did good girl! KC

No Kate, shame on YOU.

Dear Erin:
Like you I was utterly empty and unable to comprehend the enormity of this act. I felt like someone had just done this terrible thing to one of my sons or my daughter. I would like to express my thanks to you for saying in words, so eloquently, all the things that everyone has felt since this terrible news was announced. God will bless Eve, and God will heal the pain her family feels. I only hope God brings Eve's killer to justice-- not only has he harmed her, he has harmed all mankind. So sad.

Using a tragedy to promote your religious agenda is simply heinous. It seems to be the habit of Christians to cannibalize anything and everything to make points for Jesus.

Shame on you.

Jesus said something about being as little children. you did good here erin.