The Last Kiss

            In the early sixties, a song came out by J. frank Wilson
            and the Cavaliers; "The Last Kiss."
            The song is about a couple out on a date when they have
            a car accident. The girl dies in her boyfriend's arms.
            He mourns her death singing:

                    "Oh, where, oh where can my baby be?
                    The Lord took her away from me.
                    She's gone to Heaven so I got to be good.
                    So I can see my baby when I leave this world."

            The song sums up the belief that merit will lead to Heaven.
            But, there is no way to prove this and the Bible does not allow
            anyone to earn their way into Heaven.

                    "For by grace are ye saved through faith;
                    and not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
                    Not of works, lest any man should boast."
                    (Ephesians 2:8, 9)

            The soul is a simple creature in the Bible. It comes from God
            and is acted upon by God's grace.
           
                      "If we have received good things at the hand of God,
                      why should we not receive evil?"
                      (Job 2:10)

                      "Shall there be evil in a city, which the Lord hath
                      not done?"
                      (Amos 3:6)

            Recently, on the news there was a report of a drunken man falling
            off a pier. Several bye standers leapt into the water to keep him from
            drowning. Another good Sumaritan pulled his motor boat up to drag
            the man on board. Was this the grace of God?

          The drunken man was rescued, but what value does that have?
          It is not a stretch of pretext to say that a drunken man is not worth saving.
          Perhaps, the good Sumaritans believed they would be rewarded?
          It is also possible that this was a socialized conditioned response.
          Some people are raised to feel a social obligation for strangers.

          Imagine, how the Japanese Americans felt during World War II.
          Many served in the United States military, while their families were
          imprisoned in American Internment camps.
          The reasoning behind Japanese Internment camps was that the Japanese
          could not be trusted to remain loyal to the United States after Pearl Harbor.
          So, many Japanese Americans tried to prove their loyalty by serving
          bravely in the United States military. But, that did not end prejudice against
          Japanese Americans.

          Why did God allow it?
          Ultimately, "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God."
          (Romans 3:23)
          But, "The children shall not be punished for their father's sin."
          (Deuteronomy 23:16)
          Original Sin is not only a mystery: Romans 5;18,19, but also a Biblical
          contradiction.
          As geneticist find more bench marks for our personality; the idea of
          predestination becomes more plausible.
          All of which raises questions about intelligent design.

                      a) DNA is too complex to have happened randomly.

                      b) Why would God create evil?

          Perhaps, God is not moral.
          After all God does not have to answer to a higher authority.
          But, would that undermine the tradition of moral codes in human history?
          Maybe not. If God allows it, then it is good, i.e., permitted.
          This line of reasoning can lead to much evil.
          But, why would a good God create evil?
          And then again why would God contradict His evil through His grace?
          This might negate Divine Intervention.

          I am perplexed.


            ~~~
              <^>