Posted on 02/28/2023 1:43:08 AM PST by spirited irish
Long ago there lived by the banks of the Great River on the edge of Wilderland, a clever-handed and quiet-footed little people, said Gandalf to Frodo,
“I guess they were of hobbit-kind (and) the most inquisitous and curious-minded (of them all) was… Sméagol.” (The Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien, p.65)
(Excerpt) Read more at patriotandliberty.com ...
bkmk
Worth a read. Tolkein was a ward of a Birmingham Oratorian after his Father died, and so had a very deep grounding in the depths of Catholic culture and tradition from early on. The article draws on much more than Tolkein, who is not its focus but jumping off point and leit motif.
Tolkein, Newman, and Father Morgan (who strongly linked the two) would all approve.
C.S. Lewis says that Hell is of the choosing of the walking dead:
“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’ All that are in Hell chose it.”
......................................
These days many proudly announce their choice in rejection of God.
END TIMES!
"The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." - 2 Cor 4:4
"Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” - Luke 23:34
"As Saul drew near to Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?” “Who are You, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” He replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless. They heard the voice but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could not see a thing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was without sight, and he did not eat or drink anything. " - Acts 9:3-9
For me, the above verses raise questions about God's grace and judgement.
What are the questions?
Thanks!
I'll talk about one of the things that I've pondered.
It would seem that the Lord goes out of way to reach certain souls but not others. Paul's Damascus road experience comes to mind. The man hated Christians. The Lord decided to knock him down, blinded him and spoke and directed him audibly. The question I ask is this: If every person would be knocked down, blinded and spoken to and directed by Jesus, would they still reject Christ? I ask this in light of the fact that Paul hated Christians before his Damascus road experience and became an apostle afterward.
"It would seem that the Lord goes out of way to reach certain souls but not others."
The answer to your question resides in Paul’s confession of “being zealous for God, which also indicates that Paul's will was turned toward God and not away, toward 'self' and unbelief”
In Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers he affirms Paul’s heart for God:
"Was zealous toward God.--The Apostle (see Note on Acts 21:20) claims their sympathy as having at one time shared all their dearest convictions. There is, perhaps, a touch of higher enthusiasm in the Apostle's language. He was a zealot for God: they were zealots for the Law.”
Among synonyms for zealous are ardent, impassioned, dedicated, fervent, burning, devoted, and even fanatical.
Only the Lord knows our thoughts and motives and whether our wills are turned against Him or toward Him, hence the Lord knew/saw both the devotion burning in Paul’s heart and his will turned toward God. Thus it was a matter of demonstrating to Paul on the road to Damascus that the One he was zealous for was Christ Himself, after which Paul's will turned toward Christ and he became zealous for Christ and his new found Christian brothers and sisters.
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