Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!cca!decvax!harpo!floyd!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!tektronix!tekmdp!dadla!dadla-b!hutch 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