Thanks for the post Nephilim. I will try and answer some of your questions.
Going back to the hell fire thing I am still getting stuck (just wait until I start asking somebody to explain the Trinity to me)... Okay so you mentioned that if a person commits a crime in a land that they don't know the law of they still have to face the penalty. I agree this is true. Is it just? I can't say so entirely, it depends on the crime. Some laws are completely wacky.
It is clear that any JW (or ex) will likely have some difficulty with understanding the second death or the plurality of "one God". That does not mean that it is any easier to understand other's interpretations either, including the WT! Sure, their reasoning might look plausible but for the average person who has just read the bible for themselves are likely to find the WT at odds with what is written on the page. That is why the WT want to keep you away from reading the bible on its own i.e. without their interpretation. Their reasoning is one cannot understand the bible without their "help". However, I just think that what the WT preach and the message of the bible are totally at odds with each other.
Furthermore, this is just an analogy for us floating around earth taking in knowledge and trying to figure out what laws are important and which ones are not important. I prefer (note I said prefer) to believe that if there was a God that he would realize that things in the world are so confusing today with so many different religions, and in each religion a sub-division of religion... But focusing even more so from just a Christian point of view there are even a lot of different versions of the Bible itself which is not cool.
OK, for the born again Christian, no laws are important! Romans 8 Galatians 3
However, if you want to know what sin is (that is what the law is for) then check out the ten commandments Exodus 20
If you are like the dude who claimed to have kept all the commandments Matthew 19:19-21 then you better check out what Jesus had to say about the commandments Matthew 5
The is one message in the bible, God is not double minded. Sure, trying to understand the fullness of some of the details can be pretty hard. However, the message itself is nice and simple, even children can grasp it Mark 10:14
God is holy, man is sinful. God loves man and sent His son to die for us all so that whoever believes in Jesus might be reconciled to God. That is not through our own merit or "works" but by accepting the free gift of Jesus who has paid our 'fines' and taken our punishment in advance. Accept this gift and you get another free gift! The Holy Spirit comes to live within the believer and help us live, not by rules but by His guidance.
Granted, there are a plethora of false gospels and false messages, twisted, corrupt and fake to the core. You need to look carefully, most fakes look like the real thing. However, test them out and you will see they don't live up to expectations. Beneath the thin veneer they clearly aren't the read deal.
If God put the Bible as his word on earth then there should be just one version with a fairly obvious depiction of what we should and shouldn't be doing. I would say that it's God's responsibility to maintain that. Perhaps though the persons who purposely change the writings of God's word for whatever reason bear the hugely massive weight of responsibility for that confusion. BUT I AM GETTING SO WAY OFF TOPIC.
I would say there is one person Hebrews 1:1-3 , one vision Ephesians 2:15 Ephesians 5:23 Ephesians 1:22-23
Sure, we still have some issues, see about half way through this chapter 1 Corinthians 12
Some Christians believe in Hell. Other Christians who seem to be reading the same book don't believe in Hell. Does it really come down to the symantics? Why do all these important things have leeway for interpretation. Any good lawyer knows how to bend the law to make it work for him/her. I say this, yet I'm not saying this because I fear hell and want to symantically get my way out of it.
Well just read the book and ask God, He wrote the thing! Unless the Holy Spirit is your guide, it might as well be in Chinese John 14:26 1 Corinthians 2:14 1 John 2:27
Point being - we are simple people and life is very, very confusing at times. With that particular analogy I see a foreigner in court facing a crime that he was not aware of and I'm the judge... And I ask the foreigner "did you know about our obscure law?". He just looks at me because he doesn't speak the same language... and I ask for a translator and they get me one... (I just saw this happen in traffic school btw)... Anyhow, I can tell the person's heart was in the right place and meant no harm. What am I going to think is justice? I sure as hell (hahaha) am going to give him a second chance after he knows what's right and good.
That's justice to me, I think.
You understand the ten commandments right? Most people all over the world wouldn't argue with the majority of them, even atheists.
Blessings,
Stephen
