Something I dont get in Revival concerning the church reaction and Charlie Jacobs

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urrutiap

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Jan 19, 2009
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If I were in Charlie Jacobs's shoes, I'd go off the rails and rant and rave in church too after my wife and kid died from a gruesome accident.

So why would everyone else in church act all shocked etc? Im sure they would do the same thing and get away with it
 

Doc Creed

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Nov 18, 2015
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I feel like church is a reverent place for a lot of people and maybe not the best place to have a meltdown (or perhaps the perfect place) and I think the congregation wasn't prepared for his reaction. I think, regardless of his emotional right, his response was a bit extreme for any place. Just my opinion. His anger was justified but he was out of order.
 

blunthead

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Aug 2, 2006
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If I were in Charlie Jacobs's shoes, I'd go off the rails and rant and rave in church too after my wife and kid died from a gruesome accident.

So why would everyone else in church act all shocked etc? Im sure they would do the same thing and get away with it
He wasn't just another parishioner, he was the pastor, and the things he said were not just pain-induced ravings, he was renouncing his faith. I think the story is written accurately in terms of how a congregation might be expected to react under the circumstances.
 

Cowboy

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Feb 17, 2007
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From my experiences in a similar situation, the surviving person usually clings to their belief more. I have never seen a rant or 'going off' like Charlie did. That is what made it so unusual. Christians, especially pastors, typically realize the importance of "the Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord"
 

blunthead

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Aug 2, 2006
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From my experiences in a similar situation, the surviving person usually clings to their belief more. I have never seen a rant or 'going off' like Charlie did. That is what made it so unusual. Christians, especially pastors, typically realize the importance of "the Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord"
One would hope, but not everyone's faith is well-founded, not every so-called Christian is all that sincere, and many are weak and easily discouraged. The death of one's family would be enough to shake any of us to the core.
 

HollyGolightly

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Sep 6, 2013
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My memory is not the best, but did he totally lose his faith? That kind of rant? I read it a while back - loved it, but read it fast. Anyhow I mean, that's not faith really. There's nothing about faith that means bad things won't happen - but if you're willing, faith navigates you through those times. So to see your pastor abandon faith, that would be shocking. He's seen bad things happen to others but how dare God give him some pain? I think I'm remembering a bit. Anyhow, that's the Catholic nutjob's take on it :0:
 

Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
May 24, 2012
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If I were in Charlie Jacobs's shoes, I'd go off the rails and rant and rave in church too after my wife and kid died from a gruesome accident.

So why would everyone else in church act all shocked etc? Im sure they would do the same thing and get away with it
Perhaps they expected more from a man who was a leader in their church - he is someone to look up to and emulate - so if your own preacher loses his faith, where does that leave you?

Those who had strong faith probably felt sorry for him, but those who were not as strong were left feeling lost, I suppose. Plus there were rumours that his wife had been drinking before the crash but I think those were just malicious tales told by people in an effort to find some sense in it or to pin the blame on someone.
 

blunthead

Well-Known Member
Aug 2, 2006
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Atlanta GA
My memory is not the best, but did he totally lose his faith? That kind of rant? I read it a while back - loved it, but read it fast. Anyhow I mean, that's not faith really. There's nothing about faith that means bad things won't happen - but if you're willing, faith navigates you through those times. So to see your pastor abandon faith, that would be shocking. He's seen bad things happen to others but how dare God give him some pain? I think I'm remembering a bit. Anyhow, that's the Catholic nutjob's take on it :0:
Though I don't recall the "sermon" in detail my memory is it being a basic rebuke of God.

Perhaps they expected more from a man who was a leader in their church - he is someone to look up to and emulate - so if your own preacher loses his faith, where does that leave you?

Those who had strong faith probably felt sorry for him, but those who were not as strong were left feeling lost, I suppose. Plus there were rumours that his wife had been drinking before the crash but I think those were just malicious tales told by people in an effort to find some sense in it or to pin the blame on someone.
More is expected from a pastor because more is given him. Indeed, a congregation feels much loss when a pastor leaves, even when he leaves in good faith.
 

urrutiap

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Jan 19, 2009
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I dont think the wife and her gal pal were drinking. They did say that the one old man in the combine tractor or whatever he had health issues or whatever where he shouldnt have been out on the road in the first place.
 

Mocos

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Mar 6, 2016
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There is a lot I do not get from Revival.
I always feel that way after a good SK story. Like, why did so many of the cured people suddenly start killing themselves after Jacobs died? Was his life somehow instrumental in them keeping their sanity (or, at least, enough of it to keep themselves from suicide)?
 
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Dana Jean

Dirty Pirate Hooker, The Return
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Apr 11, 2006
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I always feel that way after a good SK story. Like, why did so many of the cured people suddenly start killing themselves after Jacobs died? Was his life somehow instrumental in them keeping their sanity (or, at least, enough of it to keep themselves from suicide)?
Welcome to the board Mocos.
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
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I always feel that way after a good SK story. Like, why did so many of the cured people suddenly start killing themselves after Jacobs died? Was his life somehow instrumental in them keeping their sanity (or, at least, enough of it to keep themselves from suicide)?
...I never thought along those lines...they seemed to die in a linear fashion from older "cases" to more recent....
 

Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
May 24, 2012
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Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
I always feel that way after a good SK story. Like, why did so many of the cured people suddenly start killing themselves after Jacobs died? Was his life somehow instrumental in them keeping their sanity (or, at least, enough of it to keep themselves from suicide)?
Maybe because even though he temporarily cured them, he did it in such an unusual way that the end result had to have 'side effects'. It is like he was tampering with Mother Nature or the natural course of things. (Just my take on things).
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
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Did they? Astrid did her murder/suicide as soon as Jenny got home, approximately 2 hrs after Jacobs' death (assuming a calm, leisurely speed after a ho-hum night at work)
...during the prolonged conclusion to this novel, yes-that how it appeared to me and of course, there were exceptions-but as a rule, they seemed to expire/kill along a moderately predictable time line.....however, it's only my interpretation....