Why not just make them appear in heaven? Why did he need them to feel the terror and the pain of death?
You know, this brings to mind a dream I had about a year back, that had me pretty upset, and pretty confuzzled. But mostly upset. I was raised in a christian home, in a christian town, in a christian state in the south. I was once a fairly hardcore christian. Things happened, and I decided not to be anymore. I decided that of my two choices...believe in God but accept that he is a saddistic tyrant, or don't believe in God...I'd rather NOT believe in an all powerful tyrant, because that would just make me suicidal.
Fast forward to about a year ago, and I had this dream, I was in school, in FL, with, like, a glass roof, for whatever reason...but that glass roof allowed me to see a HUGE tidal wave coming out way. And there was nothing I could do. And I tell you, this was hands down, the most realistic, frightening dream I've ever had. I could hear the roar of the water, feel the wind, I was sweating, it was all so real. When the shadow of the wave fell over me, just before it crashed, in my dream, I called out to god, pleading. Just...."Oh god, oh god, oh god". Wave crashed, blackness, I woke up in a cold sweat, and angry that, when it really came down to it, I still believed, and that I would still be weak enough in a moment of testing, to give in to that belief.
My point? In their moments of terror, how many of those people who would not have otherwise, cried out to god, and found themselves suddenly believing, either again, or for the first time?
