What if Jesus really does come back?
By II2aTee
@II2aTee (2559)
United States
January 14, 2008 1:44pm CST
-This is a very touchy subject for many people so here is my disclaimer. When I talk about "Christ Religions" and the like, I mean -most-... not all christians/catholics or thier many offshoots. I have met many delughtfull christians and catholics, but I am sorry to say that in my experience, most have been very judgmental and condescending. This does not go for EVERYONE of course.-
Ok here goes.
Many sects of the Christ Religions believe that one day Jesus will return to Earth from a platform of clouds to collect all those faithfull and take them to paradise. Depending on who you talk to, that time is coming soon, but thats a whole different discussion.
I was pondering this idea, and as a gay man who considers himself neo-pagan... I got really scarred. What if the bible was right, and Jesus comes back and sees inside my heart and soul? He will know that I rally against the corruption of his church and the tides of brainwashed followers. (I do not mean to offend... it is only my opinion that the church has turned the beatiful message of Jesus into a tool for domination and control ever since the bible was written).
I know I would be one of those left behind because I have not accepted Jesus as my personal savior, and I never will. I follow a path much older and more personal, and its MY true beliefe. The path my heart tells me to follow. I am a good person, I am kind, I am generous, and my life is full of love that I recieve as well as send out in infinite directions.
It dosent seem fair that everyone else gets to experience paradise just because they claim to have let Jesus into thier heart.
So.... perhaps I should change. Perhaps I should go against everything I have ever stood for all my life and convert. Who would want to miss out on a chance for eternal life in paradise??
........ then I though about the kind of people I would be spending that eternity with.
Jerry Falwell.
Ann Coulter.
George Bush.
Pope Benedict.
My boyfriends Mother. *shudder*
Suddenly the idea of Jesus coming back and taking all these people away sounds like exactly what I have been waiting for. Ever since the first time someone waved a Bible in my face and told me I am abomonation and going to Hell. Every person who judged me not by the content of my heart, but by the content of my bed. Every person who told me I am gay because the Devil is in me, and every person who told me I will burn in hell with all the witches who came before me... druids, wise women and gypsies.
Suddenly the idea of eternity with these people sounds more like Hell than anything I can think of.
I'm sorry Jesus, I think your a great guy. If it was just you I was running away with, I would SOO ditch this popsickle stand.
But the people you will be taking with you leave much to be desired... I'll stay behind with all the other Pagans, Scientists, witches and free thinkers.
What about you? If Hesus came back would you want to go with him, or stay?
10 people like this
16 responses
@Pose123 (21635)
• Canada
14 Jan 08
Hi 112aTee, Thank you for this post, I need a good laugh once in a while, and you sure know how to provide it. I agree, there are a lot of Christians, I wouldn't want to spend eternity with either. The teachings of Jesus Christ, and I doubt if we have anywhere near all of them, are good except where they have been distorted. Many Christians pay little attention to his teachings but change things to suit themselves. I must hasten to add that there are many good Christians out there, and I have the pleasure of knowing a few. They do not judge others, nor do they condemn. I'm sure if they spend eternity in Hell, they will make it into a heaven. Blessings.
2 people like this
@flowerchilde (12529)
• United States
31 Jan 08
P.S. To explain, I say the day of judgment lasts 500 years because the ancient hebrew SPRING holy days perfectly prophesied the first coming of Jesus, therefore (surely) the ancient FALL holy days of Israel perfectly prophecy his second coming and LONG second advent of 1000 years. In the fall holydays, you have trumpets, then 10 days later the day of atonement and 5 days later the celebration of tabernacles.. Now trumpets prophesies his coming (and the "first resurrection") "on the 'LAST' day" (and not before) and is followed by the 1000 year "kingdom" of Jesus where paradise and all things are "made new", then after the 1000 years is the resurrection of "ALL" nonbelievers - so if here the 10-days prophesies the 1000years, then the 5-days between the "day of atonement" and "tabernacles" refers to 500years between the "day of judgment"/examination/(surprise! "atonement") and the coming of God to the earth to "tabernacle"/live with man upon the earth in a now UNbreakable paradise, will be 500years (prophesied by the 5days between holy day 2 and 3, as 10days between holydays 1 and 2 prophesies the 1000years between the "last trump"-et and the "day of atonement/judgement"
:)
@II2aTee (2559)
• United States
14 Jan 08
Your most welcome Pose, and yes... I know many Christians, and even a FEW Catholics (haha) who are just wonderfull and accepting and open minded... Thats why I put the disclaimer. They are unfortunatly in the minority, though, it seems. Or at least they are the least vocal.
If you really want a chuckle this whole question formed when I read a bumper sticker the other day that said "Jesus is coming! Quick - everybody look busy!"
Then it just snowballed from there.....
2 people like this
@joyceshookery (2057)
• United States
15 Jan 08
I want to go with Jesus. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him shall have everlasting life. (John 3:16).
I believe the Bible is true.
I am a sinner, saved by grace. I'm grateful to have Jesus as my higher power.
You asked. I've responded. I hope you find a way to believe in Jesus. If you don't, it's your choice.
Did you ever read the book More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell? He was a non-believer who tried refuting the Bible and its teachings, and got turned around. Interesting how things work out.
@II2aTee (2559)
• United States
15 Jan 08
Thank you for your message, and I want you to know I hold your dedication to your beliefs in the highest respect.
I wish more people shared your opinion of homosexuality. If that were the case, millions of kids, myself included, would not have gorwn up full of shame and self loathing. I made it out alive... a friend of mine was not so lucky. I fight with him in my heart.
I honestly dont know how homoesxuality could be wrong. I was born with this quality inside me... like I was born with red hair and brown eyes. Whether it was God, Jesus, or whatever... its a part of who I am, and it took a long time for me to accept it. But when I finally did, I finally knew peace.
Thanks again for your sentiments, and I wish you nothing but the best.
Tee
1 person likes this
@joyceshookery (2057)
• United States
15 Jan 08
About being gay: To the best of my general knowledge about being gay, you did not make a conscious choice. The Bible speaks against being gay, but since you didn't choose it, I don't know why it would be held against you. I'm confused on the issue.
God made hermaphrodites, also. Why? I'm not God. I don't know.
I have heard during Bible study and in church that being a good person and doing good works doesn't get you to heaven. Accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then following His word to the best of your ability, is what gets you to everlasting life in heaven. Whatever you do, it has to come from the heart.
1 person likes this
@msqtech (15073)
• United States
15 Jan 08
When we get to spend time in Heaven I think that God's judgement and compassion will create a place where there is no room for the kind of things you get from those people. I think also it would be important to know that there would be no need for any of that type of behavior in heaven. I think you are using others bad behavior to give you an excuse for not following Christ.
I will pray for you as I pray for them and it is my fervent hope we all meet in Heaven as devoted members of God's family.
@nuffsed (1271)
•
15 Jan 08
I really do not see what you are worrying about. Remember, Jesus did not write the Bible. If you live a good and moral life, chances are you are more likely to have a ticket to Heaven should such a place exist, than many so called Christians or practitioners of other Judae-Christian religions. Jesus surely would not condone the one-upmanship practiced by competing religious idealists. He would not even I suggest, approve of locks on Churches.
That you have faith, and a good heart is far more revealing than what you call yourself.
They say he is all seeing!
1 person likes this
@cyntrow (8523)
• United States
29 Jan 08
Schilds, I soooo agree. I do consider myself a christian woman. I follow jesus' teachings. But I will not believe that an athiest who does great works for human kind will go to hell and a Christian who does nothing will go to heaven just because of his beliefs. If I believed that i would hurt in my heart.
@II2aTee (2559)
• United States
15 Jan 08
I truely hope you are right, friend, and thank you for your kind words. It's so easy to get confussed and conflicted in this world. I respect the fact that religious people can cling to thier ideals as a way of being guided through the storm.
I plan on coming to the same end as they, albeit by a different path. My own.
Thank you so much,
Tee
@cyntrow (8523)
• United States
21 Jan 08
It's a no brainer. Jesus rallied against the religious establishment of old and would do the same today. he would be apalled at how the religious reich..I mean right was using his words as a source for hatred and violence. He would be crucified by the very people who claim to follow him.
None of the people you mentioned with their hate filled and bigoted attitudes would ever be welcomed into eternal paradise. Furthermore, Jesus did not mandate that we must worship him in order to have everlasting life. He maintaned that we as human beings need to seek further enlightenment. We need to treat all with decency and respect. These are the words that are and were hidden by the "Church." If I thought for a second that good people were going to hell and bad people to heaven, just because of what they believed, I couldn't continue to believe as I do.
However, seeing my viewpoints, the religious reich..err right would condemn me to hell anyway; as a heretic and a believer in all that is immoral. I think they have a warped view of morality. My brother is in love for nine years and raising three kids, and his lover is a man. Yet, he is immoral; but this war is not immoral. Poverty is not immoral. People on the gulf coast who still do not have permanant homes; that's not immoral. I wouldn't want to see the likes of Falwell in heaven. But if he does get there, he's going to be in for the shock of his life. The number of gay people in heaven will rock his world to the very foundation.
"I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints, cause sinners are much more fun....Only the Good die young." Billy Joel, 1978.
@cyntrow (8523)
• United States
22 Jan 08
But the bible has been altered, spring, many many times. We've gone back and forth about this a number of times and we have hit the wall. I'll see you on the other side, sweetie, and so will my gay brother and my gay uncle and my gay great uncle and my gay son. Then we'll see. Until then, we can and must just agree to disagree. I like you and respect you. I won't down you for what you believe. Stand strong and So will I. We'll both see in the end.
And I'll see you in June; for coffee and maybe lunch. We'll chat as people and not mylotters. Only a bit of debate for I might have to bring my two youngest with me, but I'll bring my bible.
take care and God bless.
@Springlady (3986)
• United States
22 Jan 08
I would pray a little bit more about that, Cyntrow. We are to preach the Word of God. I know you and I have different views on things like homosexuality, but I believe the Bible to be the Word of God and it cannot be altered. I believe all of it to be true.
Yes, Jesus Christ loves every single one of us. We are all sinners and all are in need of His forgiveness.
I do not agree with the Billy Joel song at all. The sinners will not be laughing for very long. The saints...those who love the Lord Jesus and seek to follow Him will be the ones with joy for all eternity. They will have Eternal Life. The sinners will perish. So I would rather cry with the saints than laugh with the sinners.
God bless.:)
@johndur (3052)
• Pasig, Philippines
23 Jan 08
hi,they may have changed some words in the bible but the messages and the teaching and everything about God and how to worship him is still intact.so there is no reason for it to change in time.its teachings is eternal,but people differs in interpreting it for their own purpose and gains.the more important commandment is LOVE,love the God with all your heart and all your strength and all your soul because he is a jealous God,and the second most important is LOVE your neighbor as Jesus Christ have said it.....
@johndur (3052)
• Pasig, Philippines
22 Jan 08
as a born again christian,we cant decide if we will go with him or not.because it is Jesus who will decide for us who will come to him or who will be left behind.as i see in your topic you hated religion because they think being gay is an abomination.but to tell you the thruth which a lot would say that its not me who is talking.God wont be looking thru what you are or who you are but what have you done on earth and what have you done for him.its not religion that would save you but you yourself alone.but if he doesn't see in heart your faithfullness to him then he wont be picking you to come with him.personnaly i think some of the personalities you have said will not be even worth looking for God.because one of them is the anti Christ that will fight him.if you wanted to serve God,try to look for the Church that glorifies him and dont look at the people in it because all people are sinners.look on his teachings and do it in your life.and when the end comes i hope you will be the chosen by him to come to the heavens.try to read the stories in the bible and you will see how good the real people of god unlike the so called god people now which is very far from the real god people of the old.
@humbleme (1004)
• India
18 Jan 08
Hello II2aTee,Thanks for the discussion.I am a Hindu but I have deep respect for each and every religion and beliefs
and I have read all the major books and have real life friends of all religion all over the world,I am not a gay man but according
to me with my experience dealing with knowledgeble friends
of all religion I have found out that religious books and concepts has been distorted repeatedly by few people and the gay/lesbian=sin,killing innocent humanbeings=Jihad etc issues cant be commands of any prophet, so I think God judge humanbeings
with humanbeings performance on earth ie how we live our life on earth with truth and honesty or as a dishonest,cheater ie good karma or bad karma and therefore
being a gay or a lesbian is not sin but if someone harms
unethically to his partner or people to realise his/her own interest is considered sin in the eye of God .So I bet
when Jesus or Allah or Lord Krishna willcomedown from heaven they will take you along with them if you have spent your life with honesty and truth.See you in heaven
hahahahahaaaa
@humbleme (1004)
• India
23 Jan 08
Hello dickushickus,I can understand your frustrations,I saw
your profile you are 58 and some senour people suffer
from this so why you take pain to confirm from me when you know yourself also you seem be an atheist so you dont need to keep faith on any God/Prophet just have faith on your doctor .Take care.Thanks.
@lecanis (16647)
• Murfreesboro, Tennessee
14 Jan 08
Your thoughts are much like mine! When I was younger and being told I was going to hell, I would say "Will you be there?" to which the person asking would of course reply no, and then I would say "That's okay then." Because honestly I have no desire to spend eternity with a bunch of people who hate me for no reason than that I follow a different path, or fall in love with people of either gender, or just don't fit in with their idea of what's proper.
As far as I'm concerned, Jesus could come and stand right in front of me and ask me to follow him, and I would say "I have a prior commitment" because... I do. It's not anything against Jesus, he said some really cool stuff. But he hasn't been the one who has been with me through all my problems, and he hasn't been the one who gave me strength when no human had yet been kind to me. So he has no claim on me. *shrugs*
@II2aTee (2559)
• United States
14 Jan 08
My boyfriend and I just had a really long discussion about this because I was truely conflicted. I know I was born gay... be it God, Jesus, Nature, or the Flying Pizza Monster that made me gay - thats what I am am.
I was really conflicted because according to the bible, God sees my way of life as sinful. I still havent heard a valid reason why its so wrong... but I'm sure that call is coming down the tubes. *wink*
I was really afraid because I dont want to be damned for all eternity... and I would be sad if I missed the boat if everyone went to paradise without me.
But then my boyfriend said "Matthew - my mother would be there. You really want to spend eternity with her?" His mother has been rabid and hatefull towards me for "turning" her some gay. She takes every oppurtunity to tell her son how dissapointed she is and how its not too late to come back to God... in the same breath she tells him how wicked he is. Talk about unconditional love....
It seems to me that all the best people in History would be end up in hell. I would love to meet Leonardo DaVinci, Albert Eintein and Gandhi... and they sure as sugar didnt end up in heaven.
4 people like this
@lecanis (16647)
• Murfreesboro, Tennessee
14 Jan 08
My dad went through that whole conflict with why God would create him to be gay and then punish him for it. He was actually a minister before I was born, and was deep in the closet for years because of his religious beliefs. He tried so hard not to be gay... and of course that's not how it works.
I was lucky to have a different religious influence from the beginning, my pagan great-grandmother. I knew that a lot of people around me thought my bisexuality was evil, but I never had to worry about thinking that about myself.
A lot of the people I have really loved most certainly wouldn't wind up in heaven if it worked that way, and like you I think of a lot of the great people who wouldn't be there. :P
1 person likes this
@headhunter525 (3548)
• India
31 Jan 08
If Jesus re-appears He would deal with evil and put the world to right. Then there won't be anything that is evil. And I would argue that judgement/justice is necessary or else all the murderers will make merry, and the victims cry.
There are Bible thumping Christians who are racists, who are sexists etc. And Jesus would not approve the attitude of those people. Jesus would definitely not approve of those actions/attitude which He had said not to but people do.
@CherylsPearls (1269)
• United States
27 Jan 08
The time has been coming soon for a very long time now. lol I always figure that people who dwell on Hell and the end of time have just misunderstood all of Jesus' teachings.
First of all, yes, I would want to go with him to learn all the things I didn't understand the first time on earth! Second, even though I am a Christian, I do NOT attend church because I never found Jesus there. There are Christians and there are church-goers and there is a wide chasm between.
One day at work, I said "Oh, God!" about something. My supervisor (a woman), said, "I didn't think you believed in God." I said, "No, it's your church I don't believe in." Nobody can screw up the Bible like a good church-going Christian. Most of them don't even bother to study the Bible...oh, they may read it here and there, or even the whole thing, but they don't really study it. I am sure I am touching a lot of nerves here.
Believe me, you will not be spending eternity with Jerry Falwell, Ann Coulter and especially not George Bush (no matter how many churches he belongs to...6 or 7 isn't it)? I once sent Falwell an email about some ugly thing he said and told him that I would pray for his very soul because I thought he was in danger of losing it. lol He never answered.
What most people can't wrap around their closed minds is that Jesus/God does not judge us like we judge each other. His commandment is that we love each other. Do we? How can we when we are so judgemental of each other. The commandment is not for one Christian to love another Christian. I think this is forgotten by most.
God will know you by what is in your heart. All else is nothing. Whatever you practice, God loves you. And I do, too! Just like you are.
@skinnychick (6905)
• United States
29 Jan 08
Returning Jesus? Was he ever even here? I think people should probably start saving themselves first instead of waiting on a story to lift them up to some paradise. Forgive yourselves for your sins your the ones who did them, no story is going to save you if you don't save yourselves first by working on the kind of hate and nonsense that drives people away from Christianity in the first place. I'll stay with the witches and free thinkers at least the conversation would be intelligent and open to all possibilities instead of just one!
The story of Jesus is well written and a nice uplifting one though..
Missed you my Tee, hope all is well..Why is that song Controversey in my head?
@II2aTee (2559)
• United States
29 Jan 08
I have missed you as well my sweet Skinny Chick! I have not been on MyLot much lately. I work at a college and this first month of the semester is hectic, especially in my department. By the time I get home I am so burned out that arguing religion and social issues is the farthest thing from my mind.
Give me a couple weeks and I'll be back in full swing robo-gay mode once again.
Untill then take care.
XXOXO
Tee
@skinnychick (6905)
• United States
29 Jan 08
I'm with ya my dear- I go back to school next Monday and life has just been going by with not much time myself! But until then I will wait for you to come back- robo-gay mode and all! :)
XOXOXO back at ya!
@Linda4ualways (2282)
• United States
31 Jan 08
Hello! First of all you have to be you and follow your heart. I believe in Jesus and have accepted him as my personal savior and that is my choice. Life is all about choices and we will deal with those choices, whether there good ones or bad. I have also noticed how very judgemental so-called christians tend to me, which to me is not being christ-like at all. You have Scientology? I don't follow, don't know much about it but i'm not going to judge you if you follow it, why? because once again, it's about choice. You can be a straight man who rapes women, or abuse children sexually but just because your straight doesn't make you better than the man who is gay simply because he's gay. Continue to be you, whether people accept it or not and you have to follow your own spiritual path however which that may be.
@artemis432 (7474)
• Abernathy, Texas
15 Jan 08
I'm all for eternal life - but here - so I'd stay. Ever hear the Concrete Blonde song Wendy "...I told the priest, don't count on any second coming. He got his a&& kicked the first time he came down here slummin'He had the balls to come, the gall to die and then forgive us!
No, I don? wonder why, I wonder what he thought it would get us?"
Yep "Lets blow this popstand!" But go to someplace interesting like MArs.
