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From: hutch@dadla-b.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.religion
Subject: Re: What if...
Message-ID: <460@dadla-b.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 8-Jun-83 17:26:44 EDT
Article-I.D.: dadla-b.460
Posted: Wed Jun  8 17:26:44 1983
Date-Received: Sat, 11-Jun-83 08:25:41 EDT
References: unc.5335
Lines: 34


Mark Twain is hardly a believable source for information about the
Christian beliefs about Heaven, Tim.

In fact, when he was being sarcastic (most of the time) he tended to
present anything at all in the most acidic fashion, which some folks
imagine is funny.  I used to think so too, until I learned how much
pain an effective sarcasm can unleash on another person.  Hence my
much toned down and mellowed out approach.  Anyway, to answer your
semi-rhetorical question:

	The understanding I have gotten from my own biblical
	studies is that a Christian can be said to be a miserable
	creature of two "selves", one alive in Christ, the other
	dying of its own festering poisons.  The goal of the Christian
	in life is to become more and more the living self, while
	becoming less and less the dying self.  Therefore, when the
	"old" self is sloughed off, the identity and "free will"
	remain, newly freed of the dead corpse of the old self.

	As for "free will," well, I have a different concept of that
	than many folks do.  It looks to me as if the man (generic)
	who is a slave cannot be said to be free willed, rather having
	to be bound to the will of his master.  If my master were the
	habits of rebelliousness and self-destruction (sin, in interpretation)
	then I would certainly not have free will.  If my master were a
	benign and loving master who chose to free me from bondage in
	every way (as I believe God does) then I might be said to have
	free will.  But as a slave to sin, I cannot even choose to be
	freed from that master.  I have to be purchased to be made free.
	I am given the choice then of accepting the gift of a real self,
	the right to really choose.

Hutch