The weak and the unsuccessful must perish: the first point of our love for man. And it should also help them in this.

What is more harmful than any vice? "Active compassion for all losers and the weak" (Friedrich Nietzsche. "Antichrist"). Modern occultists also love this expression. They assert that the magnet of the "strong in spirit" magnetizes the weaker auras.

The phrase "strong in spirit" is not found either in the Holy Scriptures or in the writings of the Holy Fathers. The biblical language is figurative, poetic, but at the same time very accurate. Concepts and expressions characterize spiritual realities in the most definite way. The Lord says to the children of Israel: "Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid, and do not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God Himself will go with you [and] will not depart from you, nor forsake you" (Deut. 31:6). God commands Moses' successor Joshua: "Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or terrified; for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9). Courage means inner strength (as opposed to lack of will, confusion) and the ability to act confidently in difficult circumstances. In the righteous men of the Bible, and later in Christians, courage has always had, and still has, a deep and strong faith: "I have not enough time to tell of Gideon, of Barak, of Samson, and of Jephthah, of David, and of Samuel, and of the prophets, who by faith overcame kingdoms, and did righteousness, and received promises, and stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, and were strengthened by weakness, were strong in war, drove away the regiments of strangers;" (Hebrews 11:32-34). St. The Apostle exhorts: "Consider Him who has suffered such reproach from sinners, lest you faint and faint in your souls" (Hebrews 12:3). The concept of courage was used by the holy ascetic fathers: "Therefore, beloved, having cast off all prejudice, negligence and laziness, as children of God, let us try to become courageous and ready to follow in His footsteps..." (St. Macarius the Great, Spiritual Conversations, Discourse 4).

In the New Testament texts, the concept of courage is close in meaning to "boldness" ("And now, O Lord, look upon their threats, and let Thy servants speak Thy word with all boldness", Acts 4:29), "courage" (2 Corinthians 10:1; 11:17), "boldness": "The Lord appeared to him, and said, 'Be of good cheer, Paul; for as thou didst bear witness to Me in Jerusalem, so it behooves thee also to bear witness in Rome" (Acts 23:11).

Cowardice is a lack of courage and determination. This concept is found in biblical texts: "And the people became faint-hearted on the way" (Numbers 21:4); "We beseech you also, brethren, to admonish the disorderly, to comfort the faint-hearted, to support the weak, to be long-suffering towards all" (1 Thess. 5:14). Faint-hearted is the one who loses firmness of spirit and loses heart during persecutions, sorrows, illnesses, trials. In the biblical understanding, faint-heartedness, first of all, is a manifestation of unbelief or lack of faith. "The lack of enlightenment makes the soul cowardly and timid" (St. John Chrysostom, On Courage and Bravery. — Poln. sobr. tvorenii, Moscow, 2004, vol.12, book 2, p.774). By the word enlightenment, St. John calls the illuminating power of Divine truth. Christians perfect in the faith were not afraid of the cruelty of the persecutors, nor of the deceit and malice of the demons. "Once Abba Macarius was walking from the skete to Terenuf, and on the way he stopped at a pagan temple to rest. In the pagan temple there were ancient pagan mummies. The elder took one of them and put it under his head, like a pillow. The demons, seeing such boldness of him, envied him and, wishing to frighten him, called out as if it were a woman, calling her by name: "So-and-so, come with us to the bathhouse!" But the elder was not afraid, but boldly struck the corpse and said: "Arise, if you can, go into the darkness!" The demons shouted loudly: "You have defeated us!" and fled in shame" (Memorable Tales of the Asceticism of the Holy and Blessed Elders, Moscow, 1845, p. 145).

If death is a consequence of human sinfulness, then why do the righteous die faster than sinners?

Hieromonk Job (Gumerov)  

Christianity is a religion of salvation. Therefore, the question of death is inseparable from the main question of every person – the attainment of eternal bliss in the Kingdom of Heaven. The Word of God speaks of life on earth as a blessing, so longevity is understood as a gift from God. Choose life, that you and your descendants may live, that you may love the Lord your God, that you may hear His voice, and that you may cleave to Him. for in this is thy life and the length of thy days, that thou mayest dwell on the earth (Deuteronomy 30:19-20). However, in the Bible, life expectancy is evaluated as a relative good. Life is valuable only when a person fulfills his God-determined purpose on earth. When he, following the will of God and fulfilling His commandments, has turned earthly life into a grace-filled salvific labor and gradually prepares himself for the transition to eternal blessed life. And if he is spiritually mature for the Kingdom of Heaven, then not only does he not look at the length of his life as something desirable, but on the contrary wants to unite with the Lord, for, living in the body, we are like strangers in a foreign land. Our home, our Fatherland, is not on earth, but in Heaven – where the Lord is. St. The Apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians: "By dwelling in the body, we are separated from the Lord, for we walk by faith, and not by sight, then we are pleased and desire better to leave the body and dwell with the Lord. And therefore we zealously try, whether we are entrenched or going out, to be pleasing to Him; for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive [according to] what he did while living in the body, good or evil (2 Corinthians 5:6-10).

People who live by earthly interests are sometimes tempted by the death of a righteous man, not understanding that his death is good for him. The righteous man dies, and no one takes it to heart; and godly men are raptured [from the earth], and no one thinks that the righteous are raptured by evil. He departs to the world (Isaiah 57:1-2).

In the "Confessions" Blessed Augustine tells about the last conversation with his mother Monica: "The day of her departure from this life is already approaching; this day Thou didst know, we knew not of it. It happened, I think, by Your secret care, that she and I were left alone; leaning on the windowsill, we looked out of the window at the inner garden of the house where we lived in Ostia. Tired from the long journey, at last, alone, we gained strength for swimming. We had a sweet conversation together