And, to keep with the theme for the day, here's a quote I thought perfect-
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. -Mark Twain
5 comments:
Funny you chose to quote Twain, see another of his quotes below. He makes a point though, humans didnt ask to be born, nor did we have a choice in our sin nature, so how can such a loving God condem us for things with which we had no choice? i am thrown into the world, and then condemed for being influenced by it?
"...a God who could make good children as easily a bad, yet preferred to make bad ones; who could have made every one of them happy, yet never made a single happy one; who made them prize their bitter life, yet stingily cut it short; who gave his angels eternal happiness unearned, yet required his other children to earn it; who gave is angels painless lives, yet cursed his other children with biting miseries and maladies of mind and body; who mouths justice, and invented hell--mouths mercy, and invented hell--mouths Golden Rules and foregiveness multiplied by seventy times seven, and invented hell; who mouths morals to other people, and has none himself; who frowns upon crimes, yet commits them all; who created man without invitation, then tries to shuffle the responsibility for man's acts upon man, instead of honorably placing it where it belongs, upon himself; and finally, with altogether divine obtuseness, invites his poor abused slave to worship him!"
- No. 44, The Mysterious Stranger
Anonymous,
why do you think it funny I would quote a great author? I know he was not a believer, in fact quite the opposite. That saddens me as it should every Christian, but it doesn't keep me from reading his work and taking the best of his thoughts. The quote you posted is a sad and wrong understanding of everything the bible teaches, sad or Twain for sure. May I ask your reason for posting this?
I dont' want to distract, just to say I agree, it does sadden me. And I love many of the works of Twain. He was a wonderful writer.
Sure, you can ask why i posted this about Twain. Because you posted a quote from him that led me to look him up, read his material, and ponder his points of view.
I find it funny because you are quoting someone who is obviously anti-christian. And since you are a christian pastor, i found that funny in an ironic sort of way.
I had no idea until i read your post and looked him up that he was so against Christianity. Good to know though, thanks.
His quote is one that typifies many poeple who try to rationally and logically understand the God of the Bible. Since you quoted him to begin with, i thought you might have an answer to his rational. He does make some good points there, whcih i alluded to. We didnt ask for this, we had no choice in this, so how can we be condemed for this?
Anonymous,
Ok, thanks for the clarification. Twain was not a believer, but as you noted was a verbal non-believer. His points have been repeated by others in our day, but only indicate a lack of understanding of the God of the bible. It's sad for me that they speak so boldly and with hostility about someone they don't even know.
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