(… a Biblical case for the unconditional Grace of God)
I realize that the contents of this tome’s previous pages will possibly not prove to be very soothing to more than a few of you; especially those of you who are (and who desire to remain) “steadfast Christians”.  After all, as a Christian it was probably a bit unpleasant to read in Part 1 that your “eternal salvation” will probably not be the eternal Joy-ride that your preachers have promised … And I bet as Christians that you didn’t feel too thrilled with the idea presented in Part 2 – namely, that the sermons & teachings of Jesus Christ in the Gospels were not referring to any traditional type of heavenly hereafter at all, but rather were possibly referencing the last moment of pre-death consciousness; the “eternal instant” that immediately precedes every person’s passing from this life to the next … And I am almost positive that as Christians you don’t even want to consider what was mentioned in Part 3 – that the “Kingdom of Heaven” mentioned by Jesus throughout the Gospels has nothing to do with an eternity of happiness in the future, but is rather a Bliss-full state of Being right Here&Now (see Matthew 10:7) – one that that is already available to every single sentient being, and accessible to anyone who chooses to sacrifice his or her own well-being in order to enhance the Peace or Joy of another (see Matthew 24:12-14).
No, my Friends, I realize that a sizeable portion of you probably want to remain members of the traditional Christian church, and yet I have faith that a sizeable portion of you also want to be able to do so in a way that harmonizes with your conscience – your “Advocate Within”, and that you also want to do so in a way that resonates with your Soul – your “Spirit of Truth”; the innate sense of Justice & Decency & Goodness that the conservative Christian dogma simply does not invoke and simply cannot provide.

 

In essence, I have faith that you want to worship a God who is worth worshiping; that you want to worship an all-Loving God – one who refuses to demand petty hosannas & hallelujahs from His followers, and one who refuses to condemn minor offenders of “false religions” to an eternity of torment … Though you have been told to believe that God is a “testing God”, you want to love a God of a more radical Kindness … Though you have been taught that God purposefully places painful obstacles and challenges into our lives that we may then “prove ourselves” to Him, you want to worship a God of a more awesome Grace … Though you might have come to believe that God punishes us when we sin; that God, from time to time, gets fed up with humankind and sends wrathful “lessons” our way in order to “encourage us” to be better people, you want to honor a God of a more complete Compassion.  In essence, while you have been repeatedly told that God is only sometimes all-Loving and other times angry & stern, you want to believe in a God who is consistently gentle & Loving.

I have faith that you want to worship such a God of unconditional Love, and yet I also understand that you also feel the need for Biblical confirmation in Him in order to do so.

 

For starters, while I readily admit that evidence for the more traditional “fire & brimstone” God  does abound in the Hebrew Bible’s “Old Testament”, the New Testament clearly and repeatedly states that God is both all-Loving (e.g. “God is Love, and those who abide in Love abide in God, and God abides in them.” ~ 1 John 4:16) and all-Forgiving (e.g. “I desire Mercy, not sacrifice.” ~ Matthew 9:13).  Indeed, a “God of Mercy” is clearly evident in the vast majority of the teachings of Jesus Christ – and even frequently appears throughout the Bible as a whole.   And as such, I thought it would be a Kind gesture to enable you all to more readily seek – and thereby more easily find – this far greater God; this far greater Father Above.

 

And it is with this in mind that I humbly offer the following eleven fundamental Truths about the Bible’s contents – eleven epiphanies that, when read with an open mind and enlivened with a courageous Heart, will help the Scriptures to become reborn with fresh insights & deeper meanings …

Filed under: Preserving Paradise by Scaughdt