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From: trash@oliveb.UUCP (Tom Repa)
Newsgroups: talk.religion.misc,talk.abortion
Subject: Best for Others?
Message-ID: <51@oliveb.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 1-Oct-86 16:56:09 EDT
Article-I.D.: oliveb.51
Posted: Wed Oct  1 16:56:09 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 11-Oct-86 07:38:30 EDT
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Xref: linus talk.religion.misc:349 talk.abortion:59


n.b. > = Kiki Herbst
     >>= Tom Albrecht

>>>The unique contribution of the Christian gospel is that it makes us a
>>>people who are more interested in your rights than in my rights.  We should
>>>all be as the Samaritan who was willing to risk life and property for the
>>>sake of another.
>>>
>>>Tom Albrecht
>>>"Reformata, semper reformanda"

>When one becomes a Christian many changes occur in his or her life.  
>The biggest change is that God becomes the center of the person's life 
>rather than self being the center.   ...
>
>    ...  Now imagine the ideal situation where everybody reacted to life 
>in this way, wanted the best for others.  If everybody lived their lives 
>in that way, I think we'd have a pretty good idea of what heaven is like.
>Kiki
	Pardon me if I like my afterlife in a different flavor.

"Wanting the _best_ for others"??? Who decides what is best? Me? You?
Your God? My Gods? Your *interpratations* of what your God wants?
My *interpratation* of what my Gods want?   Who decides?
Does "wanting the best for others" mean forcing  your opinions of what 
is best  for them on them?  If it does how do you know if what you're  
forcing on them is really the best? i.e.: She would have gone to Med
school, met the perfect man, and together they discovered how to
cure cancer, AIDS, and a host of degenerative neurological disorders
collectively known as "Reagan's Syndrome." Instead she had to stay out
school one semester to give birth to a child and give it up for adoption, 
didn't take the class with the brilliant researcher who directed her 
interest to research, and the perfect man with whom she would have had 
such brilliant rapport. So she just became a good M.D.

	The answer is, of course, you don't. No one can. Except of 
course your God and a host of my Gods. But my Gods aren't telling
and I don't trust your God. Which is why I think you should be 
concerned with your life and leave mine alone. Each of us are 
personally responsible for doing the best we can in this life and
no one else can live our life for us. So each of us must determine 
what is best for ourselves. If you would like to inform me, go 
ahead, but please don't try to legislate it. 
	Your idea of heaven sounds to me a lot like the one
Robert Heinlein wrote of in "JOB: A comedy of Justice". 
If you haven't read it, try it.  
			Tom Repa (trash@oliven)