There are rare occasions where I wish there really was a "hell."

Every time something like this happens, the issue of "survivor's guilt" comes up. I am SO FED UP WITH THIS. That little girl who was the sole survivor, what's it going to do to her self-worth when she learns her mother has "guilt" that she survived? Is she going to think, "My Mommy must not love me that much"? "Why is Mommy guilty I survived? Doesn't she love me?"

A strong mind doesn't have guilt your child survived. Man!! Just thank your God, hug your child and chuck the survivor's guilt. Otherwise you'll screw up your child's sense of self and she'll grow up feeling guilty over every breath!! If my kids survived a massacre, I'd be so grateful and not feel an ounce of guilt. Sure, I'd feel bad for the other parents, but GUILT? I'd put my child's feelings first by not making them feel guilty for breathing.

I'm not really much of a religious person since even as a child, I rarely was taken to church and I have recently become interested in the teachings of Buddhism. However, it appalls me that so many jump on anyone of faith who so much as mentions God in a post. What's wrong with everyone?

Right on Rick! It's not even logical. Divine intevention....how about better treatment for mental health and responsible parents!

Prayers go out to this little girl. She did a smart thing. I believe there are big things planned for her. Good luck baby girl. You have the support of your loving family and community...plus your little friends will always be looking down on you.

If there was a God, this wouldn't have happened...Adam would have just offed himself and left all those small innocent children alone. This survivor was just very smart and brave.

I don't care whether it was quick thinking, dumb luck, God, Guardian Angels or Santa that saved her life; I'm just glad that she survived. My heart goes out to all that lost children or other family members and also those that did not as I don't think I'd be able to let my child out of my sight again without panicking.

Which remarks posted here are appropriate ? One test of appropriateness I would propose would be this: Would you be OK with your remarks being said or read directly to any of the parents of any of the slaughtered children? Would the remarks that you may have posted here cause either pain or healing to any of the parents of the Sandy Hook ? Before posting your remarks, pause and picture first what effect your remarks would have on those (the Sandy Hook parents) reading them. Out of compassion, decide to postpone any remarks that you know would stand to hurt or cause emotional pain to another venue and time to debate but not here. Please, people, think and consider before you post.

Healing first. Debate later. Thank you.

As a person who lost someone in an incident very much like this one, I can tell you it's not out of the realm of possibility for a parent to turn to their faith in a time like this. The pastor said it, yes. But he's a pastor. What did you think he'd say? Nobody has the right to slam the way a person handles grief. My fiancee's parents didn't rail at God for the loss of their son. They didn't turn to a believer and say, "Your belief is bs." That's not to say all people don't do that. But who is anyone to judge how a person does or does not grieve? You don't agree with the choice of words from the pastor. That's fine. You do agree. That's fine too. But there is a way to communicate disapproval of a comment without poking holes in somebody's faith. My fiance's parents turned to God when he was one of the ones lost in the VA Tech rampage. So did I. I've heard the sympathy followed by the way I should take to grieving. Well I say how they get through the seemingly endless days is not for anybody to criticize.

I am aware these are just the pastor's comments. But I hope everyone else is aware that there ARE parents that seek some sort of refuge in their faith, whatever it may be. Is anybody going to tell them that their wrong? We, myself and my fiance's parents, don't believe that he was unworthy of saving. We don't begrudge the survivor's of the school shooting for their life. I've seen the 27 angels erected in their memories. Are you going to tell the parents, spouses, friends that no kind of divinity is involved? Indeed, that there is no divinity period?

My heart goes out to everyone that was touched by this tragedy. And I pray they can find some sort peace, which will not be for a long time coming. Whether it's through religion or not, so be it. But none of us, not a one, can tell someone how to grieve.

You already have religious nutjobs pulling verses out like "the children saved were God's children" and the rest weren't devout enough I guess...I doubt if many of you guns and religion crowd really care that much about these little kids as you shop at another gun show for weapons of death...

There is serious mental health care in this country. This is an affluent young man from suburban CT; not a poor man in a remote area.

There are many things we don't know about the case. Did the mother's paranoid prepper behaviors and sensibilities feed in the anti-social/schizoid/avoidant/PDed son's psychosis? Or was it even psychosis?

He was homeschooled, didn't leave two rooms of his home and isolated from his father and brother. His mother allowed anyoone into the home. All serious red flags. Mental health care will NEVER work if you don't receive any of it.

As I said. I have the faith. My fiance's parents are devout, as was he. Unfortunately, there was no stopping Chen that day in April of 2007. Just like there was no stopping Lanza. So in effect, what you have just told me is we, a family that deals daily with the loss of our heart, are ignorant? That's what got me through those days, when I didn't want to even get up in the mornings. When I just wanted to sleep so I didn't have to remember I was breathing, hoping those dreams of him would finally kill me, but so angry when I woke back up and realized I still was alive. To be a parent of a tiny child and going through it? Even those words don't adequately express the utter loss of everything. Whatever their choice of grieving, I don't begrudge them one iota. Nobody should. Just say, "I can't imagine what you're going through," and move on.

Whatever happened to sending out condolences, compassion? I don't know about anybody else, but I just want to hug the little girl as tight as possible and tell her she's loved and she's safe now.

Divine intervention. What a way to make these poor families that lost their children feel even worse. Way to go pastor! for real how can you say something like this and think you are doing the right thing.

You know what I am sick of and others I know as well is all you people who critique every last word or statement someone has said! Especially when a tragedy happens. Normal people do not care if they mention God or Divine intervention or Allah for that matter! Go get a life already or look in the mirror and see you are NOT perfect not even close!These people are devastated and all you judgemental freaks can do is judge them. Just shut up already! Have some respect and let these poor people grieve! Nobody cares what you think they should or shouldn't have said! With all you perfect people out there I'm surprised we still have tragedy in this country! Idiots!

I've spent quite a bit of time today reading your posts and weighing the varying opinions and thank you all for taking the time to do so whether I agree with you or not. My opinion, sadly, has not changed. The belief in any God or religion is in and of itself a form of mental illness, nothing more than the manifestation of ones fear of their own mortality and insignificance. A coping mechanism for the trauma known as Life. I understand that is harsh, no one likes to think that once you die that it ends right their. We want to think that our life was more than some random cosmic anomaly, that it had purpose and meaning, that it mattered and if having been done 'right' we will live forever in paradise with the people we cared for and loved during our time on Earth. It's a nice sentiment. But, alas, I am a realist, therefore I can't buy in. To the 'believers' I say I cannot reconcile all the death and destruction committed in 'His' name throughout human history and then be told it's not for me to wonder why for 'He' has a plan that is beyond my, or your , ability to comprehend. That is a very convenient 'out' so to speak, and you have to admit there are more than a few of those in the literature. And yet having said that there are still times, in quiet moments, when my aforementioned opinion wavers. I want you to be right, for it to be true, to be a part of some grand plan. But something like Newtown happens and I think it just couldn't be so but if it is then why would I want anything to do with any 'God' who allows it to be so irregardless of 'His' plan. So I find myself straddling the fence today, absolutely sure that my opinion is correct and hoping I am wrong, that I'm missing something, that my eyes are telling me lies.

As far as gun violence is concerned, abolish the 2nd Amendment, anything short of that is just band-aids. I say go after the guns, it will take generations I know, but it has to be done. As far as the 'cold dead fingers' crowd is concerned I say that their proposal is acceptable and to oblige them post haste.

Sorry, I'm not buying it. Law enforcement was very specific that there WERE no survivors. The only child they found alive died on the way to the hospital. This guy skeeved me out during the vigil, and continues to do so.

I wonder how big that child's therapy will will be or what psychological problems she will have later in life.

I PROPOSE A NEW LAW OR ACT CALLED "TASERS FOR TEACHERS" ALL TEACHERS SHOULD BE EQUIPPED WITH A TASER THAT SHOOTS OUT THE PRONGS. They also should be properly trained on the use of such devices, this would stop a lot of senseless deaths. Who is with me on this?

Quit with the stories on this. #1 using the death of these little babies to sell stories. #2 giving other idiots out there ideas, it should be against the law to run stories on things like this at all. Even though he is dead he has gotten the world to hear about him for almost a week now. #3 gun control is not the answer. Fools lke this will always have guns and if he didn't he would have killed his mother with a hammer and then drove is car thru a school yard and killed kids. Guns don't kill people kill. #4 it all starts in the home teaching kids what is right and wrong. obvisiously this kids had a screw loose for a long time.

I don't see any contradiction between the concepts of "free will" and "God's Plan." Think of it like this -- as parents, we might have a plan for our children to finish high school and go to college. We might save thousands of dollars to send that child to a first-rate college, with the hopes that after graduation, that child will become a doctor. But, because that child has free will, that child might, instead, choose to run off with her boyfriend, or succumb to the lure of drugs. So there goes our plan!

But the real issue here is the tragedy of 20 beautiful little children getting slaughtered in their own classroom. My heart aches for their families as well as the families of the teachers that were slain. I can't begin to imagine the anguish they are experiencing.

Satan did not win that day. Only God knows why this one little girl was spared or even the rest of the school children that day after all the guy could have used a bomb if he had chosen. One thing is for certain, these children that died are in God's care now and are not feeling any pain and I'm sure their only wish is the rest of us down here turn to God vs. the alternative.

Only time will tell but I think God has a special purpose for this little girl and she may reach one or thousands with her testimony in the future for good not evil as this young man had done. He chose evil as we all have a choice in this life.

Bless this young girl, her family, and those that lost their children that dreadful day.

Two decades ago there was a plane crash that killed all but one on board and he was my grade in high school but at another school in St Paul,MN. Some 170 others perished including his dad. Everybody talked about how God must have some great plans for him. That is a tremendous burden to lay on anyone, especially young people. He became a serious wreck and had depression issues/suicidal thoughts and basically became very unstable. I hope that the lone survivor in this story doesn't get bogged down with the "what's God's plan for you" thing when the lucky tike is going to have enough issues getting thru this crisis. Smart kid! Brave as hell too. I salute her. Don't know if I could have kept my cool in what must have been the ultimate school hell.

"divine intervention"?? Seems to me that if you give "God" credit for saving that ONE child, you gotta give him/her/it blame for killing 20 children and 6 adults in this brutal and heinous manner.

No, "God" was not any place NEAR Newtown CT on that day. Either that or he/she/it is one sick piece of excrement.

Pastor Jim is in the business of religion. Naturally, he will express his belief about the lone survivor only having survived because of "divine intervention". You can't blame him for that. But I wish he had been more sensitive, and thought about the parents, families and friends of the 20 dear souls who will read his comments and wonder why their loved one was somehow less worthy of God's grace or "divine intervention". How about "We're beyond fortunate...we're beyond lucky...we're beyond grateful this child survived this horiffic event". That comment will not leave anyone wondering why God would favor one child, while allowing 20 others to tragically perish. May God bless the departed and their families.

I'm sorry, but god didn't have anything to do with this. Whether you believe in it or not, something wasn't right with this guy's wiring. His parent new that and should never had loaded weapons in the house, specially more than 1. But short of requiring a psyc evaluation on every application, there's nothing you can do about it.

I think the president should've stayed away from this, had nothing to do with national security or other crap. Just another politition using the situation to gain some support for something he's about to screw up royally (not sure what else is left, but i'm sure he'll find something).

This is something that could have easily been prevented though and that's the sad thing. If the school had metal detectors or school cops on the premesis, then he would've probrably never have gotten past the front doors. I hate to say it, but its come to that. No one should be able to just walk into a school without first going to the main office. But the office is always on the side or way down the hall somewhere. It needs to be front and center with no other secondary ways around it. Put a guard in there with a metal detector and there you go - fool proof way of preventing this tragedy again.