When to shut up

The other day we had someone who experienced a death in the family. They were doing like most everyone does and telling themselves that they were in a better place. They kept talking about how now the deceased was now in heaven. The conversation was going and someone looked at me and asked what do you think?

AT this point i raised an eyebrow and turned to walk away. Well they couldn't just let it go. I told them i wanted no part in this conversation and wasn't interested. Now everyone knows that i am a Proud Catholic and i am prone to telling the truth no matter who it upsets. I knew my answer would cause grief so i decided to walk away. This was not meant to be.

After an onslaught of questions i finally said " No one on this earth can know what happens when someone dies or where they go. We can not judge people and that task is left to Jesus and no one else" It was at this point that i should have walked away but i didn't.

So they said " Well how can we know if anyone ever goes to Heaven?"

I replied, "The same way you prove the wind blows, you watch the leaves move. I happen to know the requirements to get into Heaven. If you live your life correctly and follow God's laws, your a shoe in."

They asked " what are you talking about?"

I said " The Big Ten. If you are Baptised, accept Christ as your Lord and follow the Big Ten, its a slam dunk. " This is where the can of worms get opened. The Big Ten. No one wants to believe in the 10 Commandments any more. This blows my mind.

So i pose this scenario. Lets say that every week this guy climbs a tower in the city with a deer rifle and randomly picks out some person and shoots them. This guy does this every week just for the fun of it. What are the chances of this guy going to Heaven if he were to die right now? Everyone gives the obvious answer. Not a good possibility. I ask why not? They say you can't just go around killing people. So i said you mean 'Thou shalt not kill" still is in effect? they say sure. I ask what about the 4th commandment, Keep holy the sabbath? So if every week someone breaks this commandment by staying in bed and never going to church can they get into Heaven? This causes some discussion. No one wants to accept this reality.

I ask, what makes you think you can break one commandment all the time and stop you from getting in Heaven, but break another one and you can still go?

Then the whole subject of Forgiveness comes up. Finally i say, "You know, forgiveness is there for those who ask for it. It is a free gift. You have to ask for it. Did this person ask for forgiveness for not doing the right thing? We will never know. You just tell yourself what ever you need to to make yourself feel better." Then i walked away.

This is a very painful and delicate topic. I will not refuse to talk about it because it may offend someone. If it offends you, you may very well need to be the one i need to talk to about it. We need to spread the word, and the word is good.