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| Such a loving, affectionate couple, even in death. |
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Student Joe replied:
I find the invitation idea very strange, and stupid too - i.e. giving an invitation to someone whom the Jesus Himself had already said is absolutely UNABLE to respond to the invitation!
Jesus said, "Except a man be born again, he CANNOT SEE the kingdom of God... Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he CANNOT ENTER into the kingdom of God."
A man who does not have eternal life (i.e. not born again by God) cannot see, and cannot enter. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. And spiritual things of the gospel of Jesus Christ are spiritually discerned. A man who is not born again, without eternal life, is utterly incapable of discerning nor perceiving spiritual truth, apostle Paul stated that fact somewhere.)
The invitation idea is very foolish and almost blasphemous. And the reason is this. The idea makes Jesus sounds stupid and confused. We are in effect making Jesus say contradictory things in the same breath. On the one hand, He stated and repeated in a categorical term, 'Except a man be born again, he CANNOT see... he CANNOT enter.' There is no spiritual life to perform those spiritual activities! Life must precede the activities of that life - it is that elementary. Then we go on and make Jesus say that He invites those who are not born again, i.e. those without eternal life, to see and to enter (to believe) IN ORDER to have eternal life!
I think only a very confused and silly man invites the dead men to eat the world famous Penang char koay teow, especially after he has made the plain declaration that 'except the dead be made alive he cannot smell nor eat anything!'
The superstitious and idolatrous Chinese offer roast pigs and flied lice to the dead that cannot eat. They often end up consuming the food themselves! This really amounts to mockery and taunting the dead! The so-called enlightened Singaporeans do the same here, like the folks in Penang also. It seems that this invitation to offer eternal life is no different!
And the worst of it all is that this idea attacks the very person and integrity of Jesus Christ. It contradicts His plain statement. It portrays him as a confused and illogical God/man! It makes Jesus a mocker of dead men - inviting the spiritually dead to perform a spiritual act in order to become alive spiritually, all the while knowing that they are spiritually dead and are utterly unable to do respond to such invitation. I shudder at such an idea.
I find such idea so illogical and grievous... despite the fact that the Bible says, God's children have been given sound mind.
