Atheos
Veteran Member
Speaking of not reading the story carefully I might add that it doesn't mention a King at all .I don't think you read that story very carefully. What is the sin for which the rich man was condemned?
He was damned for not caring. Not for failing to believe. He likely went to Temple every Sabbath day, much as do the Christians you describe. His doom was written in his cruelty and apathy towards the suffering that was literally laid at his feet. Hence the King's doubtfulness in the lsst line that it would matter in the slightest whether he came back from the dead to warn people. You cannot convince someone by fear alone to truly value the life of another. At best, you can talk them into pretenfing to care.
Believe me, I've read the story many times and quite carefully.
The nature of the sin for which the rich man was condemned is irrelevant. People put into Jesus' mouth the words in Matthew 7:13-14 which clearly indicates that the vast majority of humanity are going to suffer a similar fate for whatever the reason(s).
I was such a christian as I described for many years. I believed in God, Heaven, Hell, Jesus, an inerrant bible (which I know you don't) and all the fundamentalist trappings. I spent over 16 years of my life earning a living by preaching it from pulpits. In spite of all that I didn't give the salvation of souls the urgency it would have deserved if I truly believed in the eternal torture I preached. Why did I have a television set? Why would I have ever wasted my time with hours of mind numbing entertainment when thousands of people were dying every minute all over the world unprepared to meet their God? The answer is that I really didn't take it seriously. I kept rationalizing that one day I would give it the attention it deserved. But not today.
Edit: I see you edited the "king" out of your post while I was posting my rejoinder. I'll leave what I wrote anyway