I'm a little confused about this whole forgiveness thing. Consider 2 examples, (Although there are countless others). Jeffrey Dahmer and Mahatma Ghandi. You couldn't find 2 more opposite individuals.
First we have Jeffrey. He was a homosexual, cannibalistic, necrophiliac serial killer. I know they like to say he was sick, but that's simply not the case. There was no history of mental illness, no delusions, no voices in his head. Nothing. He knew exactly what he was doing and did it by choice. In other words, he was evil. Plain and simple. He knew it was totally wrong, but he didn't care.
The thing is, shortly before he died in prison, he was baptized. The pastor who ministered to him in prison is completely convinced that he was truly remorseful. He wanted forgiveness. After all, his sentence was life with no chance of parole, so he really had nothing to gain by lying or pretending. He felt guilty, and wanted absolution. According to conventional Christian thinking, he is in heaven now. After all, he asked Christ to forgive him, didn't he?
Now, on the other hand, consider the Mahatma. Here was a man who dedicated himself to helping others. Whatever wealth he had, he gave to the hungry. He taught a nation to resist without shedding blood. He was the living example of "turn the other cheek". And he didn't belong to a religion. He never accepted Christ, or any other God as his savior. He believed we are judged by the life we live, not the religion we join. According to conventional Christian thinking, Ghandi didn't make it into Heaven. He wasn't a Christian.
If you take the bible literally, Jeffrey Dahmer is in Heaven, and Mahatma Ghandi isn't. And they say that He is a just God. Where the hell is the justice in that?
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