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From: cc100jr@gitpyr.UUCP (Joel Rives)
Newsgroups: talk.religion.misc
Subject: Re: Hell (An Alienation from God?  No.)
Message-ID: <2251@gitpyr.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 13-Sep-86 22:53:13 EDT
Article-I.D.: gitpyr.2251
Posted: Sat Sep 13 22:53:13 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 15-Sep-86 05:34:40 EDT
References: <322@mc0.UUCP> <977@unirot.UUCP> <973@hoptoad.uucp>
Reply-To: cc100jr@gitpyr.UUCP (Joel Rives)
Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia
Lines: 50
Keywords: Heaven, Hell, and Revelations


In article <288@isieng.UUCP> kiki@isieng.UUCP (Kiki Herbst) writes:
>
>There are a lot of books in the new testament that make me feel "warm and good"
>and others that scare me because they show the power or the "fear" of God.  God
>is definitely a powerful and just God, and I think it is important to recognize
>that fact.  The Bible is instruction for man.... 

Kiki, I would be the last person to deny you your right to tell your fellow
netters about your personal beliefs. Insisting that others accept your beliefs
as fact is another matter all together. Why should I recognize that - in you
own words - " God is definately a powerful and just God,..."? The bible may 
be instruction for you. It may, in fact, be instruction for a large number of
people - I don't know. That, in no way, assures that it exists as instruction
for all of mankind. However, to be fair, I must admit, I have read various
versions of the Christian bible and found some sound advice in it. The Golden
Rule is one such piece of advice that I feel very strongly about. I was first
introduced to this concept through my Christian upbringing. I have since     
discovered that this concept is not unique to the Christian faith. It crops
up along many different paths. 

>
>                        Billy Graham in a recent book wrote: "The torturing,
>tormenting fear of death is a condition that is perfectly normal for anyone who
>has never come to Christ.  Death is an experience from which people 
>instinctively shrink.  Yet for the Christina the fear is removed.  He has the
>assurance that the sins for which he would be judged have been dealt with,
>whereas the non-Christian has no such assurance.  I do not look forward to
>the prospect of dying, but I do look forward to death itself.  It will be a 
>glorious release.  It will be the fulfillment of everything I have ever longed
>for.  The Scriptures says, 'In Thy presence is fullness of joy.  At Thy right
>hand there are pleasures evermore' (Ps. 16:11)."

Obviously, Billy Graham knows not of what he speaks. The millions (perhaps
billions) of Buddhists in the world share just as great an opportunity to
face eventual physical degeneration and death without fear. In fact, many
Christians that I know harbour an inordinant amount of fear of death. This
is largely due to the fact that they view this life on earth as a one-shot
chance to make into heaven. Not only that, according to the Christian
concept, an individual starts out with a stain on his or her respective 
score card - so to speak.                                                 

-- 
Joel Rives

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