Hey, I was just writing to a friend and thought I would post it here and see if you all can refine it a bit. Here it is.......
Would you say this is 'the Gospel' according to most of our friends and family........
Jesus, in the form of Christians, is walking up to people and saying "You have total free will and here are your two options, love me with all you got or burn in a hell of fire forever while I watch."
I think of the Inquisitions where a similar thing took place in Jesus' name. In trying to convert the Muslims, 'Christians' also gave people an opportunity to use their free will. They told the Muslims to choose Christianity or be tortured and killed. Quite the choice!
I think of Hitler. Not the Jewish people but those who sympathized with the Jews. They were also given an opportunity to exercise their free will. They were given the choice to serve Hitler and kill or torture Jewish people or be tortured and killed themselves.
Do you see something not quite right in all these instances? I mean how does one just up and love someone with all their being and what kind of a 'free will' exercise is it giving someone only two very limited options?
With the kind of choice given above a person will either end up being a false worshipper who is scared to death of being tortured forever or he or she will just reject the offer as insane. Yes, there are people who truly love God and have come to this love through this quagmire but I believe they really love God not because of the threat but because they finally saw the ridiculousness of it.
Doesn't the above sound more like a threat than a loving and fair invitation? Instead of calling it 'The Gospel', maybe we should call it 'The Threat'? And what is a person's natural reaction to a threat? Bingo! They are repulsed and turn away. What does Satan want people to do with The Gospel? Bingo again! And are most people repulsed by the 'Gospel' they hear or do they cling to it? Bingo again, again!
I mean, can you imagine meeting a loved one for the first time and (let's say 'he') and he says that he wants you to love him or you will be tortured forever? Would this make you want to really get to know him and spend the rest of your life with him?
What good is 'free will' if we only get a very minimal and impossible offer?
I mean is God really going around threatening people? Is He saying to love Him or else?
Or is the whole message of the Gospel of God that He does let us use our wills and then He saves us from the consequences? He lets us taste darkness and death and then saves us from these? We are all in Adam, we all used our 'free will' in Adam, we all died in Adam according to the Scriptures. Jesus is said to be the second Adam. If we are all in the first Adam then we must all be in the second one for Adam is Adam and, in the second Adam (Jesus) we are all crucified and resurrected. It is not an easy path but isn't this clear?
I am writing because I really think at some point falsehood will break down in people by having it revealed. It's got to. When exposed to the light, darkness disappears. Do you think the above will help to expose falsehood or do you think it will just give others opportunity to fortify their walls? If you think the latter, how do you think it will? What reasoning will they give?
cp
Hi Claypot,
I think you lay it out very well, exposing the absurdities of how the "gospel" has sometimes been falsely presented.
I wish I'd found some kind of challenging leaflet like this one tucked somewhere as a "tract" long before I came to hear of God's true plan and purpose.
There are a lot of people out there who simply have never been told anything other than the absurd version of the gospel. To those whose hearts are
hurting because of it, such a message might find fertile soil. And of course it will also fall on some hard hearts with heels dug in as well. Our part is
to sow and water. God gives the increase whenever He will.
I like it.
Anne
Thanks much RA. Your input means much.
So you don't think it's a potential wall builder or wall strengthener, if you get my drift?
cp
I find the main thing is not so much where people stand in their beliefs; differences or personal choices. But in what direction they are moving. To reach a certain point we need only to sail with the wind, under the guidance of the Spirit for the wind blows wherever it pleases.
The SPIRIT will direct us, but we must be prepared to listen and not harden our hearts.
peacemaker
Quote from: claypot on November 18, 2009, 03:54:02 PM
Thanks much RA. Your input means much.
So you don't think it's a potential wall builder or wall strengthener, if you get my drift?
cp
CP - As I said, I think it depends on the condition of the soil and the will of God.
Funny when I came to truly believe and understand UR and see it in the scriptures, I thought I could just explain it to all the Christians I knew and they would all be excited like me and understand it and embrace it with joy. I sure was surprised when I realized that was not the case! For a good while, I was really fired up about sharing the message of UR in Christ. But after a while, I came to understand that the vast majority of Christians I know are in layers of religious bondage and they cannot hear me nor do they want to. Even now, it shocks me how different the believers in America are, how very divided they are, the level of tension and division is astonishing. I think it has been a great time of revealing the secrets of the hearts of many people though. I mean, how can one truly believe UR and yet still despise those of other faiths? It makes no sense to me.
Bless you -
Anne
Quote from: Raggedy Anne on November 19, 2009, 07:08:28 AM
Quote from: claypot on November 18, 2009, 03:54:02 PM
Thanks much RA. Your input means much.
So you don't think it's a potential wall builder or wall strengthener, if you get my drift?
cp
CP - As I said, I think it depends on the condition of the soil and the will of God.
Funny when I came to truly believe and understand UR and see it in the scriptures, I thought I could just explain it to all the Christians I knew and they would all be excited like me and understand it and embrace it with joy. I sure was surprised when I realized that was not the case! For a good while, I was really fired up about sharing the message of UR in Christ. But after a while, I came to understand that the vast majority of Christians I know are in layers of religious bondage and they cannot hear me nor do they want to. Even now, it shocks me how different the believers in America are, how very divided they are, the level of tension and division is astonishing. I think it has been a great time of revealing the secrets of the hearts of many people though. I mean, how can one truly believe UR and yet still despise those of other faiths? It makes no sense to me.
Bless you -
Anne
You also sum it up nicely, RA. My story is exactly the same. I am now at peace with the sharing of the things of God. It has taken a long time and many hours of debate, plain old arguing, much frustration (given and received I might say), and so forth.
We are individuals with wills and mindsets that are unique to each one of us. There are no 2 snowflakes alike! We each give AND RECEIVE in our own unique way.
cp