questions pt. 2

Mag and I had a long discussion last night which kind of resolved question numero uno for me. From what we deduced, the motivation to live a good life is the same as the reason for going to Heaven.

Correction No. 1: I made the error where I assumed that all Christians immediately go to Heaven. We gathered that God ultimately judges which Christians go to the Holy Land, and that if you are a flaky Christian but still say you believe in Christ without truly, with-all-your-heart believing, God can see through that and will place you unfavorably. I made the mistake of thinking God is a blithering automaton that just places you in Heaven or Hell. God is actually very, very smart and knows, just like Santa knows, if you've been good or bad. Correction No. 2: We also came to the conclusion that truly believing that Christ atoned for your sins and honestly accepting God's love means living a life by Christian principles and subsequently by the Bible. These two principles are mutually inclusive.

While Mag disagreed with the notion that God thinks in dichotomies ("God is not black and white. I don't care if God is a deontologist - that means nothing to me. God is God"), I still see the ultimate goal for Christians is going to Heaven as opposed to going to Hell. The difference for me now is that living a good life does have meaning. Why should you live a good life? Because living a Christian life is a good life.

So be good.