Hi Thomas, You have stated most succinctly that in order to be accepted in what seems (at least to me) to comprise a very exclusive membership for acceptance to The Rapture one must:
> Believe, be baptized, follow the 10 commandments, love your fellow man > as your self. That is the minimum. Another distinguished Vort member, Leak, has already responded with what Jesus had to say on this subject. As for my personal thoughts on the matter I would like to point out a few things you previously stated: > A Holy G-d is obligated, because he is holy, to bring about > the expiation of sin from the world. I'd love to do something > about this, but it's not my place. More to the point, this > expiation will require blood shed, if I were to do that, I > would be a bigger murder than Joseph Stalin. I assume that > Joseph believed that he was making the world a better place, > ditto for Hitler, Mao, Pol Pott, Castro. Perhaps I misunderstood your use of the wording here because I find it odd to claim G-d is "obligated" to do anything. If he/she is omniscient why in all the infinite heavens above would such a powerful being feel any sense of obligation whatsoever. If it is presume She created all the rules that run our miraculous Universe, who is She beholding such an "obligation" to??? Someone higher up the chain of command? And who might that be? But that's really not what I want to discuss. You state: "... this expiation will require blood shed, if I were to do that, I would be a bigger murder than Joseph Stalin." Those are heavy words, Thomas. Such a statement causes me to wonder how you are able to personally reconcile what is considered to be one of G-d's most important commandments, which you clearly state is, "love your fellow man as your self?" along with what I gather you seem to perceive is the ultimate requirement of "blood shed" in order to set things right in this world. Is it the point that you obviously know it would be wrong of you to personally carry out such "blood shed" - such as what the Nazis attempted to do to the Jews during WWII? If this is a fairly accurate assumption on my part I find myself wondering how you seem to presume that G-d CAN get away with committing such "blood shed", but not only that, that such "Divine" action would not be called an atrocity? Is it because He is the ultimate Boss, and what the Boss sez and wantz ...the Boss getz? The way you seem to be describing G-d's mysterious ways, I can't help but point out something obvious: What kind of example is G-d setting for his beloved creations if it is so written that he so commands his subjects to "Love thy neighbor as thyself", but then, G-d is allowed not only to ignore but blatantly break his own rules and perform the necessary "...blood shed" himself - presumably to set things right in this world. To me, such divine privilege does not come off as a perception of an all-knowing, wise, and loving G-d. Certainly NOT a Role Model to emulate! Rather, it seems more to be the perception of egotistical hypocrite known to have proclaimed: "BELIEVE IN ME!!!! And while you are believing in me: Do as I say, not what I personally do." Jed, I ain't no atheist myself, but right now I do think I would prefer the company of a gathering of atheists. Would you please put in a good word for me? ;-) Regards Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com www.zazzle.com/orionworks
