Posted on 01/03/2002 11:19:13 AM PST by ArGee
A very rich man decided that he wanted to show kindness to the people of the fair city where he lived. Since he was very rich indeed, he decided to throw a banquet for the entire city. He rented the largest sports arena in the city and began his plans. He planned for huge amounts of the best food possible, making allowances for every religious and medical diet. He advertised the banquet in every possible manner - television, radio, billboard, door-to-door canvassing. Considering that there might be some who could not travel, he arranged for free bus transportation to and from the event, and some special-needs vehicles for all who could not ride busses. He even scheduled the banquet to run for 24 hours a day for several days so that everyone could be sure of being served.
He planned long and hard and finally the big day came. The rich man ate quickly and then went about wishing all his guests well and personally making sure that all had every need met. After a while he went outside to tour the grounds and talk with those who had not yet gone in, and those who had already left. Everyone was happy. Many were profusely thankful. It was a glorious occasion.
At one point the rich man noticed a group of people sitting outside a locked door with most unpleasant looks on their faces. Sensing they were not happy, he went over to them. He did not introduce himself but simply asked them if he could be of service.
"We want to go in through this door," one of them replied.
The rich man explained to them that the hall was arranged to feed a large number of people as quickly and effortlessly as possible. This required order inside, and the entrances and exits had been carefully planned to be as efficient as possible. He then offered to go call one of the golf carts that were avaialbe to help people who could not walk far to take them to the entrance. But the man replied, "We do not want to go in the entrance. We want to go in this door. We don't understand why we can't go in any door we wish. We think the man who set this banquet up is mean and hateful for insisting we go in through the entrance. He has tried to bill himself as a very kind man by offering this banquet, but he is not kind at all if he will not indulge us and let us go through this door.
The rich man was distressed at these words, but still attempted to please these people. He tried once more to explain to them what was behind this particular door, and how if they went in this door they would disrupt the meal service being offered inside. He offered to drive them himself, not only to the door, but inside the hall to their tables if they would only go through the entrance to enjoy the meal. Again the man said, "No, but only a hateful man would keep us from going through the door of our choosing. And we will sit here and tell anyone who will listen to us what an awful man he is until he lets us in."
At that the rich man was enraged and he shouted, "Enough." Then he called a police officer to have them thrown off of the property and ordered that they not be allowed to return until the banquet was over and all the scraps had been hauled away. Then, mourning for their loss, he turned to visit with other guests.
Just like that chair you are sitting on has not collapsed. It ALWAYS held you up before, and you have 'faith', not PROOF, that it always will.
Four were killed. Only the smallest girl survived, with mere scratches.
That is good. Very good.
What do either you or I care about what other men say about G-d.
The issue is what He says about Himself.
Do you know Him? Are you willing to know Him? He is not far from you. He is standing outside your heart asking to come in.
Open your heart.
Shalom.
Well, the topic area said "Religious." If Jim Robinson has said otherwise, I missed it and apologize. In that case, this thread won't last long.
Shalom.
Would the proofs of divine biblical inspiration be what you personally desire? Or perhaps the evidence for the resurrection? Or perhaps miraculous deliverances? Or would anything besides your personal desires be enough to demand from your Creator?
Luke 16:31 - If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.
Yep. I knocked. Nobody answered.
I'm happy that you picked up on it!
How funny is it that RnMomof7 didn't get it and chose to insult me over that bit of theological play!?
Q.E.D
The basic atheist complaint your talking about is the good life complaint. Where-in we ask why the important part is which building we entered once a week and what name we invoked when asking the devine for guidance and assistance (or whether we even did that). When I read the Bible (which I still do periodically inspite of being an atheist) I see a lot of good advice on how to be a good person, most of which has absolutely nothing to do with the act of worship. The actual worship strikes me as a very small portion of the Bible. So then our question why is the most important thing how we follow a small percentage of the Bible.
On the other side there's the confusion matter. There are dozen of religions (and sects of religions) in the world, hundreds if you dig into the historical record. All of them claim to be the one true religion. All of the apparently miraculous happenings of the world could be just as easily attributed to any of the religions, none of these things ever have signatures. People of 4 different faiths can see the same thing as clear proof of the correctness of their faith. When you're looking from the inside out there is great sureness in the correctness of your visions. But when you look from the outside in all religions look equal. Some might appeal more than others, but those are largely for asthetic reasons.
Maybe that is the big gap in your parable. You have the richman himself come out and tell the seakers which door to take. But that's not how it works. God Himself has never told me which sect of which religion to follow. I've read significant portions of the Bible, the Torah, the Koran, the Eda and the Bagahivata (I'm sure that's spelled wrong but my spell checker has no clue). I've spent serious time studying Budhism, Shintoism and some of the Indian religions. I've learned the differences between the main sects of the major religions of the world. I even learned a bit about what Babylonians and Summerians worshipped. I've peaked in all the doors I could and didn't see anything that said "yep this is the door".
In the process I have learned that most of the religions in the world have the exact same lessons at the core. Lessons about honesty and honor, and how to deal with your fellow man. Most of the 10 Commandments are included, in some way, in every religion I've studied. Most of the Seven Deadly Sins are warned against, in some way, by every religion I've studied. Of course these things are also taught by many philosophies that are completely seperated from religion. Because these things are good solid advice, if those rules are followed by everyone, regardless of any person's individual reasons for following them, the world would be pretty close to perfect.
So, to bring it into the parable, our question isn't: why can't we go through this door? It's why aren't there signs on the doors saying which one to use?
If the rock worshippers are correct then what will I, as a Christian, have lost out on when I die?
On the other hand, if Christianity is correct then the rock worshipper will have lost everything when he dies.
-ksen
Let yourself in then. Someone will be by shortly...
Hey, buddy. You better not say this too loudly at the banquet in the arena or else one of those big bouncers will come and throw your butt out.
No god ever said anbything to anybody. People say that god says things to them. Bill Clinton said he never had sexual relations with that woman. People are fallible and proven liars. I don't trust people. Trot out your god and I'll believe it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.