Would you give up your place in heaven...

Why?

Or maybe they don't want to accept a reward they don't deserve. Maybe they don't want to see you punished for what they did. Maybe the "bad guys" are actually nobler than you and your god. What a horrible place.

You're misusing the quote.

quote:

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No man is an island entire of itself; every man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
well as any manner of thy friends or of thine
own were; any man's death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
-- John Donne

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It's not about an alien overlord. It's about taking care of each other."Any man's death diminishes me." If anybody goes to hell, I'm being punished too.If God offers you ten souls for yours, the proper thing to do is negotiate, like Abraham did for the Sodomites. Ask for ten billion.

I think the implication of the story is that the shepherd leaves the 99 in a safe place while he searches for the lost one. That's the opposite of your logic. The question in the OP asks if you would, not if you "could".

If that was true, there would be no topic. Jesus sacrifiiced His life -temporarily - only for those of us who accept Him. The topic's question is: Would you sacrifice your life permanently for others? If you don't have the love that He TOLD you to have, why would He want you?

You keep saying that AND you keep refusing to answer the question: Why is it that those who claim to have the impartation often don't show the love? We're all broken and imperfect. That's not an excuse for doing nothing. Even Noah was responsible for his own salvation.(What he should have done was jam a bunch of his broken and imperfect neighbours into the ark.)

Clearly not, since those who are supposedly in communion are no better than those who are not. But we're the only ones we can count on to do anything. Remember what the thread is about: exchanging what He does for us with what He does to others. Then what's the point of attributing anything to God?

Well, let's not waste too much time trying to make sense of the Flood story. In the Flood story, God chooses who will live and who will die. Apparently, the criterion he used was that "Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God." (Genesis 6:9)Later on, apparently of their own initiative, Noah and his descendants descended into the same reprobate behaviour, making the whole Flood exercise a failure. We have to wonder about God's ability to choose. We have only God's Word for it that He chose the right ones to save. We also have His Word for it that it didn't work.

quote:

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"I think that this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture be done on somebody's part!"-- Animal House

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Sometimes you gotta do what's right, even if it's pointless.

Our consciences. That depends on the circumstances. Personally, I don't like lavish parties so I'd do anything to avoid it. If I thought somebody else might "benefit" from the party more than I would, it would make sense to send them. If the host objected to me sending a substitute, he's no friend of mine.

If you try to make sense of the Bible, you wind up with nonsensical conclusions, such as birds riding on the heads of dinosaurs. So if you can take something useful from a Bible story you should cut and run before you get mired in the details.The Flood story might tell you that God will save you if you trust in Him. Or it might tell you that you have to build your own ark. What it should NOT tell you is that it really happened.

I also have problems with Long John Silver. Well, he'd have to mend his ways if he wanted any respect from me, YES. You're being dishonest. Most of them don't curse him to his face. Many of them follow him. But it isn't his actual followers that he embraces, according to your theology; it's only those who profess, "Lord!, Lord!" I don't mind giving jar the credit. But believe it or not, a thought or two did cross my mind before I joined EvC. If he really wanted to draw humanity closer, there wouldn't be much room for rejection. Isn't that what Jesus said? Didn't he tell a story about a Good Shepherd who went out to find the one sheep who had missed the cut? Since we have the Knowledge of Good and Evil, yes, we do have to "play God" in the sense that we have to take responsibility - and that includes being our brother's keeper. Why not give us the right to decline the invitation? If my brother isn't invited to the party, why would I want to go? Yes. I don't mind being unworthy.