I'd like to ask one question that has been bothering me about recent history.
As I've understand it, cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki committed suicide at August 6. and 9. 1945 by exploding some sort of nuckilar devices. Their motives for it has always puzzled me, main conflict in my mind is that was it act of cowardice or act of bravery.
Of course Christian can't do suicide as 1 Corinthians 3:16–17 says “
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that jthe Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”, but these are Buddha-statue worshiping heathens we are talking about here, no spirit of God has ever been in them.
They will go to hell for Idolatry (1 Samuel 15:23
For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.) among many other things anyway, so is killing yourself any more sinful for them, than their life in sin is anyway.
I also understand that old Jap tradition for suicide, Seppuku is honorable thing to do, and it as common to them as say hunting is for us. Still, gathering all your people voluntarily around some bomb just does not sound right.
On bravery side, it may have been just too humiliating for them suffer living seeing their emperor, and rest of the country, surrendering and begging for mercy from their sworn enemies. As they were ignorant pagans, they may have even be under delusion that it was Chinks invading their country(we all know Chinks sacrifice POWs to their false gods and even cannibalize them) , instead of Godly Americans who had came to set them free from evil tyranny.
However they may have been just so sluggish and leading self-indulging life in their arrogant pride, that they rather decided to end their own lives, than see the trouble of rebuilding country after war. Besides, if they REALLY were so concerned and honor bound by shame, why did they took the easy way out by using these high-tech suicide machines, instead of doing proper traditional Seppuku by gouging their intestines out with spoon.
So could you please help me here brothers. My heart says that they were spineless cowards, but I can't seem to place good True Christian™ facts and reason together to convince my mind to see it the same way.
Yours in Christ,
Alphonse.