jambo372 said:
Steenkh
Have you never heard the expression turn or burn ?
You can be forgiven and as I've said I only did it a few times - I know lots of people who've also did it more so than myself.
Jambo, I can only assume that you're very young, and haven't had the benefit of association with genuinely moral people, whether religious believers or not (and many nonbelievers are extremely moral, by the way).
"You can be forgiven." Yes, if you truly repent. However, gleefully continuing to sin with the intention of staging a deathbed repentance is probably one of the surest roads to Hell described in religious literature for centuries. Excusing yourself by asserting that others are worse than you is another common variant. If you really had any understanding of what you were doing, you would stop, you would beg forgiveness, and you'd do it
now. You'd also try to do anything you could to repay the money you stole, either by returning it to the donors, or passing it on, with interest, to the charities who should have had it in the first place.
This is what following Christ is about. It's about trying to live a Christ-like life
now, because that's the way to true happiness and joy. And if you don't understand that, it's because you're not following Christ, whatever it is you think you're doing.
I'm not sure if I believe in a personal devil, but let's just assume for the moment that I do, because it's the easiest way to explain this to you. Tricking people into believing that they're one of "the elect", and so will go to heaven no matter what (either by predestination, or by a deathbed repentance), and then tempting them into sin and immorality, is one of Satan's oldest snares. You've walked into it with both feet.
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
Jambo, you're a tinkling cymbal. You're selfish, and the only person you care about is yourself. And you're not even trying to live a better life. Yes, the vilest sinner who truly repents will be forgiven, but to go through life sinning at will, with the little caveat that it will all be OK because I'll repent later, is a perfect recipe for being entirely unable to do that, because the very sense of morality that should have you recoiling in horror as you understand the vileness of your actions will be atrophied and useless.
Love God, and do what you like.
I don't know who said that, but it's a profound truth. If you truly love God, you can do what you like, because what you like will be pleasing to God.
You're so far away from this that I don't think you even see what the problem is. Well, think about it, before your entire sense of right and wrong is completely destroyed.
Rolfe.