Better to be Joseph Stalin or Adolf Hitler who although combined were responsible for the torture and murder 25 to 40 million people, but have died and paid for their sins and will be resurrected into a paradise earth or be the five year old daughter of an unbeliever who is destroyed at Armageddon forever because her mother and father rejected "the good news"?
Justice Question
by joelbear 2 Replies latest jw friends
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Amazing
Hi Joelbear: You hit on a core question about God that is near and dear to me; his justice, mercy, and wisdom compared to our human perspective, various religious doctrine, and unfortunately Watch Tower Biblical folly.
Watchtower doctrine also allows for the possibility that if the same little girl in your illustration died before Armageddon, she too would be resurrected in the New System, aka Paradise Earth. Or if she lived, and only one of her parents became a JW, she would be spared by extension - kind of an umbrella life insurance policy. I recall the wife of the couple that studied with me in 1968-69 made a remark about this - she said she hoped John Wayne died soon so he would be resurrected into the New System. I was shocked that someone would wish an early death on anyone - but the twisted nature of Watch Tower logic leads people to irrational thoughts.
In the last 40 years I have observed most religions head toward the mercy side of God and his grace. Thus we can't earn our way to heaven, so Jesus sacrifice covers all sin, past present and future. I thinkn this mercy development was a result of the harm and guilt from World War II forward ... the guilt and pressure on each generation due to errors in life ... and the pressure to succeed, has created generations of psychobabble babies. But, the need for mercy is real. Many in the mercy camp have also found creative ways to interpret the Bible that saves little chinese kids who have never heard of Christ.
The problem we have are the extreme cases on the other end. The Stalins, Hitlers and Child molesters too. Some may argue that these types, be they political dictators or sex offenders have something wrong with their brains; thus medical science needs to discover the cure. Other argue that such people are wicked in their hearts, and we need to fight them and kill them in self-defence; so why should these men be forgiven and go to Heaven or Paradise earth or Nervana. Why not let them rot in Hellfire - a least for a little while?
The above represents a most difficult issue to resolve. Is there a line that one can cross where God's mercy must end, and is there common sense in God's Justice that would move him to save people who never heard of his mercy? - Amazing
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TweetieBird
I, too, was a victim of that kind of reasoning. When my father became ill (he disassociated around 1986), I was relieved when he died, because I thought that now he would possibly have a chance at a resurrection. Of course, the elders did not think so, because he was considered apostate. In fact, the elders in my hall did not even console me over my loss because of that. I think that was the start of my doubting.
To see these cruel bastards at work really opened my eyes. I had suffered other unkind things from them in the past, but that was the straw that broke the camels back to me.
I'm glad I finally saw things clearly.
"By doubting we come at truth" -Cicero