Kindest Regards, shadowman!
I am not francis, but I would like to touch on some of this if I may.
also, where do you draw the line between who burns and who is good enough? isnt that why christianity has the "All are equally condemned" doctrine, to clear up any confusion?...
We don't. That is not our job. We have a judge, and He is not human. And He certainly is
not self.
I dont see why god has to condemn in the first place. I can see the point in corrective punishment. but condemnation with no hope of salvation for eternity always has seemed too harsh for my tastes. it just doesnt seem godly enough, too barbarianish and childish. I find it hard to intellectually relate to such a god...
Rightly you
should find it intellectually hard to relate to. It is not ours to consider a person as condemned by their actions or words. What of the "condemned" who repents on the death bed? What of the saint who dies uttering curses? What of the mentally challenged person who kills another person in an accidental fit of rage? These are legal issues I prefer to leave in the hands of the Almighty Judge. Hypothetically, at the White Throne Judgement, if one is condemned it will be for just and righteous reasons.
In other words, you are tormenting yourself with questions you cannot answer. No one knows for certain, all we have is hope. If we live our lives in the faith of knowing that we must one day answer for our activities and words, then we will conduct our affairs in a fair and rightful manner, with love and consideration towards most if not all others. At the same time, we are human and subject to error. We
will sin. It is inevitable. We make mistakes. If we were infallible, we would have no need for religion, morality, faith or G-d. Those of us who recognize our shortcomings, realize we need faith, morality and G-d, even if not religion. Some of us look to G-d by other names, but the underlying intuition of something greater than ourselves is still there. Still others seem to think that all of this is "hard to intellectually relate to," yet still strive to conduct their affairs in some form of equitable and moral manner. All will be judged according to their understanding
and application of the laws of G-d written on our hearts.
In my humble opinion, speaking only hypothetically, it is those who renounce and deny and subvert these laws written on their hearts, who conduct their affairs without regard for morality and equanimity, who disown G-d in any fashion, who will be discarded in the lake of fire.
It is somewhat off topic, but I feel bears mention briefly here, that the cleansing lake of fire is not perpetual. G-d will separate the silver from the dross. The impurities will be destroyed. Not eternally, but in what time it takes to be consumed. The
smoke from that consumption is what will ascend eternally.
I also dont see the point in condemning imperfect humans for being imperfect... It seems ridiculous. The old testament is clear on how insanely bad humans are at keeping gods covenant. how is he gonna expect us imperfect humans to all accept jesus. its obvious that punishing imperfect beings for being imperfect is more than a little off...
If I might add a bit of comfort, dear friend, please learn the lesson of forgiveness. Start first with yourself. So you are imperfect. I am not judging you in saying this, I too am imperfect. But I have learned to forgive myself and learn from my mistake and move on. Some lessons are more difficult to learn than others, some we may never quite get right. The thing is, we must keep on trying. We will fall short, we will miss the mark. If we didn't, why would we need G-d, or Jesus, or any recognized teacher of wisdom? It is because we fall short that we have been given teachers like Jesus, teachers who teach us to forgive. Forgive ourselves, and forgive others, so that we may be forgiven when the time for judgment comes.
You are far too hard on yourself. Don't be, or you will miss this very important lesson. I am not the teacher, Jesus is. I am only reminding.