Hi, James,
Judgement day is one aspect of many Christian sects that I have real trouble with.
I believe in a vengeful and wrathful God but I also believe Him to be of endless and patient love.
The God I believe in could not possibly condemn anybody to eternal suffering or even non-existence. The idea of a Judgement Day is quite a unique concept but clashes, totally, with the basic Christian belief that our loved ones who die enter into the presence of God and are welcomed by his angels and archangels.
On the cross, Jesus did not say to those crucified with Him that they would, one day, face judgement. He said, "Today, you will dwell in the house of my father."
Judgement Day also precludes the possibility, which so many of us treasure, that we will be re-united with our loved ones upon our own death.
This is quite a large and fundamental breach in the fabric of what Jesus taught in his ministry on Earth. He did not mention judgement except as an on-going and current process by which God knew each of us.
While Luke speaks of the resurrection of the Just, he does not say when or how that shall occur.
Matthew, in the parable of the talents, speaks more of an earthly justice and rewards in this realm but, even if you transliterate what is said, there is no indication at all of a final Judgement day.
The Old Coot
|