Religulous v. The King of Kong

I guess he's making Pascal's Bet, Jones. Nothing wrong with that.

 

Agreed. Unlike the political threads, this one is going fine. Nobody has told anyone to masturbate to their posts.

Yet.

 

Get you facts straight! It was Obama's DNC speeches I asked Dickens to, well, you know.

 

guess some of you will want to lock me away in a padded cell, but here's this from my childhood. actually, have only told a handful of people this story ever.

I'll keep it shortened as much as possible, but this is going to be longish.

the short of it was that my dad got in a major mountain climbing accident when I was a baby. this set of a chain of events that turned into a plethora of health problems that get worse yearly. it's been almost 30 years, and he's still in pain from various things that would take far too long to accurately explain. anyway, because of this, by the time I was in high school, it got bad enough that he was being pressured out of his job. insurance costs for him, basically, were too high. there was the thought of moving to get a new job, and as a high school kid, that's not something that sits well. it was a rough time. medical bills were huge and piled up and there wasn't much money at all left over.

it was Christmas, and there was literally no money. nothing to buy presents for me or my brother and sister, no money to buy a real family meal ... it was bad and we were pretty low at this point. through it all, we had faith that somehow things would improve.

several days before Christmas, the realization of how bad off we really were started to sink in. and then some folks show up at the front door late that morning. honestly, don't remember much at all about how they looked, other than there was a man and a woman, dressed in what were kind of average, if not a little dated, clothes. they each had two huge boxes overflowing. one was full of food. the other, presents. wrapped and addressed to each of us, by name.

I actually saw them coming up the porch, but didn't answer the door. I have a really hard time with charity because of my pride, and that's what I saw coming. so my parents take these boxes and bring them through the living room into the kitchen to set on the table. I walk back with them to, a little begrudgingly, thank them, and they're gone.

when we took the boxes from them, I do recall my mom asking who to thank for this, and they just said to thank God. at the moment, thought they just were trying to be anonymous and all.

the part that jones will want to lock me up for saying/believing: probably 2 or 3 inches of snow on the ground and there were steps leading up the front porch to the door, but none past that coming in or going out. the front of my parents' house is pretty open, and you can see down the drive and down the sidewalk both ways. no tracks. (it was early and had snowed overnight, as I recall).

to this day, I swear to you that these were angels. I know it sounds nutty. it does. but those are the facts and I have never forgotten that moment and never will. I'm often a see-it-to-believe-it kind of guy, and this was pretty amazing. (one of the things addressed to me was a little sign that said 'have no fear of what the future holds, for God holds the future.' it was a message I needed to hear at that time in my life.)

I know, I know, I'm nutty and that's a hella long post. but, yes, I do believe in heaven, hell, angels, God and the Devil.

 

I think it's wrong ... and nothing I can do or say, honestly, can change anyone's mind on beliefs. they are things held dear. I don't believe I'm wrong. so, honestly, am not concerned about that possibility. I believe this is what is.

 

helluva story, jps.

I have a few stories that make me feel the opposite.

But I respect your beliefs.

 

thanks, foaf. same on this end ... but don't take it as an insult that I'll pray for ya. the world needs more nuts.

 

Not insulted at all.

 

Whoah whoah WHOAH. Forget this meaning of life nonsense -- Jones, you did not just accuse JLH of having fake tits. Those things are natural, heavenly and the among the only reasons I'll even consider that there might be a god.

 

For the record, the Bible is pretty clear that no one gets into Heaven or is kept out because they didn't genuflect on Sunday.
We all deserve to go to Hell because of our sin (myself as much or more than most). The only thing that allows us to avoid that fate is accepting the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
That's it.
I always say it's digital -- you have 1 Christ and get in or you have 0 Christ and don't.
I didn't make the rules. I hope they are actually more relaxed than I understand them, but that's what the Bible says and that's what I believe.

 

wfw