If your Heaven is to be populated by you and some of the posters on this thread who proclaim their piety and righteousness and ability to discern such stark lines of existence as they claim, then I am sure I would be happier in the company of Carlin wherever he is then in theirs... and yes I mean you, as one such case in point.
What does your scripture say about judging? About rampant hedonism such as exists in this country and in many of the Church's that claim to represent his Word? What does scripture say about the killing of another human being? War? Welfare for the aged and poor?
God says you know nothing of his ways.
I don't doubt that your idea of God has a place prepared for such as you.
My God is a God of love and forgiveness(the new covenant)...your's a God of Hell FIRE BRIMSTONE. Keep your God. I'll keep mine.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, 2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? 3 Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. 4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. 5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
Pray and meditate...but do not presume to know the ways of God.
To do so is heresy. And there is a mighty beam in the eye of the self rightous of this Nation.
27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, 28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. 29 And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also. 30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. 31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. 32 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. 33 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. 34 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. 36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: 38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
Your protest is so loud, I wonder if you don’t recognize yourself in the selfsame condemnation that Scripture lays out.
First, I do not claim piety, righteousness, and ability to discern whether or not Carlin was saved. I have merely restated what Scripture EXPLICITLY says and that is that no man comes to the Father except through Jesus Christ. And that he who does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the only begotten Son of God. That’s a follow on to John 3:16, if you’re looking it up.
Second, I am glad you differenciate between your god and mine because mine is the God of ALL of the Bible. You wouldn’t have a new covenant without the old and you wouldn’t have the mercy grace and forgiveness you see without wrath and justice. You may say you want a world in which God is only forgiving, but you really don’t mean that. You want a world where God looks at the rapist, the child molester, the terrorist thug and says “I’m okay with that?” Do not presume to think that just because you aren’t offended by it, God isn’t. He lays out the way to salvation in Scripture very clearly. You may not like the exclusivity of it, but we don’t get that vote.
Third, your touting of judge not lest you be judged suffers from a lack of understanding of the context of that statement. Scripture says by their fruits you shall know them, which certainly indicates a certain judgment call. Job was questioning God regarding the pain he personally experienced - not exactly relevant to this particular conversation. And it isn’t presumption to quote what God Himself says about Himself and His ways. I didn’t write the book.
Now, if you are done judging ME with a certain amount of self-righteousness, reread the passages on what Jesus and the Apostles said was necessary in order to get to heaven and see if Carlin, as we knew him, fit that bill. If he repented, I rejoice. I don’t want to see anyone go to Hell. But if he truly believed the garbage he spouted to the end, then he is in Hell today because He rejected the Lord of salvation.