Capernaum - A warning from Jesus
Fundamentalist Christianity teaches that there is "no excuse" for not believing that Jesus loves us and desires us to love him. The punishment is damnation. I've been discussing this on the IMDb::Boards::Saved! message boards. On central passage from the Bible is this:
"Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: Woe unto thee, Chopra! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee." [Matthew 11:20-24 KJV](You can see various translations of this passage here). Some thoughts:
- If the people who actually witnessed most of Jesus's "mighty works" first hand did not believe in him, how can we be expected to 2,000 years later?
- Jesus condemns entire cities to damnation. Surely not everyone in those cities rejected him? What about children, invalids and the like? But the text is clear - these cities are damned
- The damnation is final - and will apparently be worse than that of Sodom
- Jesus's threat is close to genocide: "The systematic and planned extermination of an entire national, racial, political, or ethnic group"
- Where a modern human authority imposes "ultimate" adverse consequences on entire cities, this is considered a war crime
- The love Jesus seeks is not "freely given", because a failure to love Him results in punishment, perhaps not only for oneself, but also apparently for innocent associates
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