Re: Making money from Java


"Judson McClendon" <judmc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:Nyyof.30471$Y72.1143@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> "Howard Brazee" <howard@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> "Judson McClendon" <judmc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>>
>>>Wow, Howard, I get the impression that this "burning in Hellfire forever"
>>>thing is really getting to you.
>>
>> If we had such torture here on earth, would anything else be as
>> important as stopping it?
>>
>> Of course, that is a big issue to people who dislike torture.
>>
>> It doesn't make sense to me that so many people accept it as right and
>> proper.
>
> God has given us the evidence of the entire creation.
>
> He has given us the Bible as evidence, in which God clearly warns us about
> the coming judgment. For every word of mercy and grace in the Bible, there
> are three words describing the judgment. The Bible declares that only a
> fool says there is no God.
>
> He has given His only Son to die for our sins, to save us from that
> terrible judgment.
>
> He has given us the evidence of the testimony of millions of Christians
> who know Him.
>
> We accept or reject these evidences as we choose. A holy and just God who
> has done all these things to save a sinful and rebellious people, then
> sees those He created, who depend on Him for their every breath, reject
> His evidence and His sacrifice, is going to do what? Give those who reject
> Him a gentle reprimand? Listen to those who reject Him for advice? He
> offers us the choice of following Him or rejecting Him. He clearly spells
> out the consequences of each choice in His Word, the Bible. Each of us
> gets what we choose. Those who reject a merciful God Who has sacrificed
> His Son to save them, get no say in the matter of consequences, nor should
> they. Do criminals get to decide the punishment for their crimes? Should
> they? Do they typically think the punishment is fair, or even admit their
> guilt? Such is the human heart.

There are a few important differences between
criminals-versus-democratic-government and sinners-versus-God. I'll list a
few, but surely people can come up with others:

* In most democratic governments, you aren't considered a criminal the
moment you are born, and are forced to actively rid yourself of your
criminality. E.g. you aren't a criminal because someone, a very long time
ago, commited "the original Crime" for which all citizens must now pay for.
* In most democratic governments, you DO have the option of changing the
laws. You can vote for representatives who support the laws you agree with,
and not vote for those that support the laws you disagree with.
* There are checks and balances in place specifically to ensure that the
government does not have "too much" power, because it is widely believed
that absolute power corrupts absolutely.
* The members of the government exists in the natural world. That is,
there is scientific evidence for the existence of the government. There are
experiments that anyone can conduct to convince themselves of the existence
of the government.
* In the same vein, the enforcers of the law (i.e. police officers)
exists in the natural world, so you can witness them too. You can ask such
an enforcer if you will be punished for such a crime, and not only you will
hear the answer, but everyone around you will again. It is not a case of "I
*know* in my heart of the enforcer's existence", but rather, multiple people
have all witnessed the same event, and thus can vouch for the same
interpretation of "what actually happened".
* Most punishments that the government issues are not "for all
eternity". Most of them are not even "for your entire life". If you don't
believe that you will get punished for breaking a law, you can try it, and
when you get punished (assuming the existence of the government here),
you'll learn your lesson, and then are re-released, and now you know better.
* If you don't like the government, you are free to leave for a country
where another government is in power. You have choices.

- Oliver


.

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