Ho hum. I still like to think my points still stand.

Something tells me there are definitely two flavors of Christianity. One Jesus beats the crap out the other one and the other one takes it because he is a pacifist. So who again, is the real article? Is there no gray area? Is there no room for peace? Or are we all so certain that we will willingly worship a god that is at least, not the god of my adversary?

Christ is not in the disagreement, he is in the agreement between enemies that they shall be enemies no longer. Peace is peace only because peace has been tacitly agreed on. This is the only way to spread the message of Christ. The only route to salvation.

The existence of now is an infinite one. It spreads and broadcasts in all directions away from us, enveloping those and that we keep near. The infinite now, being infinity, to always, infinitely strive for, is one that calls for love. For if love is not present now — unconditional love — than our eternity both now and in the future shall be measured by the amount of regret that shall weigh us into believing further battles neccessary. Jesus Christ says “Right Now!”.

This is it. If there is a Christ who carries a hammer and a can of mace well then fuck him. He’s not my god. I have a better god. Whether or not I have self created this god is of no import. My god is better, because I refuse to do what you and he do. Which is hate. Which is engaging in emotion deleting cruelty. I believe in a Christ that will save me from you and save me from a hate that always must begin and end with me.

Christ or no. My god is now much bigger than yours. My christ would never knock on a door to even frighten someone else with a mask, let alone carrying a clawhammer and a can of mace. Hell, I wouldn’t even do that myself — even to those I do hate. And I hate because I am imperfect. I love because I want to be perfected. Therefore I try not to hate, as Christ would do the same himself.

Jesus will be knocking at your door tonight with a clawhammer and a can of mace.

One of the things IQ testers do when testing children is to test their grasp of delayed gratification. They ask the child if they would like some candy. If the child accepts, the tester then asks if they would want the candy now, or an entire bowl/bag of candy after the test.

The ones who waited for the big payoff were supposedly the ones who scored higher on their tests than the ones who wanted the candy right then and there. I don’t know if I agree with that assessment, but it reminds me of the Jesus-Satan-soul thing you’ve brought up.

The ones who want their candy now (instant gratification) make deals with the devil; the ones who want more candy at a later time (delayed gratification) make deals with Jesus.

For the record: when I was asked if I wanted the candy now or later, I refused both and explained that my mother didn’t want me to take candy from strangers.

I wonder where the idea originates. Maybe it can be found underneath a bridge, alongside the trolls…

This question makes me think of another parable, lifted shamelessly in its entirety from Steve Lagavulin:

A dervish was sitting by the roadside when a haughty courtier with his retinue, riding past in the opposite direction, struck him with a cane, shouting:

‘Out of the way, you miserable wretch!’

When they had swept past, the dervish rose and called after them:
‘May you attain all that you desire in the world, even up to your greatest wishes!’

A bystander, much impressed by this scene, approached the devout man and said to him:
‘Please tell me whether your words were motivated by generosity of spirit, or perhaps out of revenge because the desires of the world will undoubtedly corrupt that man even more?’

‘O man of bright countenance,’ said the dervish, ‘has it not occurred to you that I said what I did simply because people who attain their real desires then do not need to ride around striking dervishes?’

i think the majority think they have traded their souls to jesus to spare them from the fires of hell. not such a different deal. jesus gives you heaven, the devil gives you worldly success, both in exchange for your soul.

An excellent point I that I should have addressed. The only difference for most people is the time element of the gamble: get rich now or get “rich” in heaven later?

Jokes nearly universally involve Revelation. They may lead one down a garden path and then suddenly change direction by developing the idea in an unexpected direction. Puns are like this, and all jokes with explicit punchlines.

A more subtle kind of joke forces the listener to complete the jump themselves; there’s no explicit punchline. Here’s one i saw on a commercial:
[quote]“What’s a four letter word for a woman ending in UNT?”

“AUNT.”

*crossworder pauses, erases his previous answer* “Ohhhhh…”[/quote]

I like that because it forces the audience to do the work. The comedian doesn’t have to swear if he can get the audience swearing in their own heads. They didn’t know they had this word so close to the tip of their tongues… it is a revelation about themselves, and they laugh. When a pompous man is made to look a fool, we all laugh; the illusion of his grandeur has been dispelled.

Jokes are patterned on the great pattern, the only story. A falsehood is willingly bought into, and it is joyous to see it destroyed.

Anyways, Satan and Christos are both metaphysically identified with the Logos. I have not read enough to understand this idea fully (Pike is so boring), but it seems that the lesser self could view the Christ as an enemy; the Christ ultimately undermines, destroys, and supertranscends the old body.

In the final episode of the Narnia series, The Last Battle, there is a guy who serves Aslan’s evil counterpart Tash with honor and valor. A really good guy who serves evil. Aslan claims all honorable actions as serving him regrdless of who’s name they are done in and the guy is saved.

My guess is that there is a hell, but it is only for those who are so composed of (not just filled with) hate for themselves or others that they would find heaven even more objectionable.

SIKE!!! Keep up the good work Tim!

I wholeheartedly support this idea and I’m sure Jesus would, too.