Thanks for the update SWord. I'll be going through these all day. A few disturbing quotes right off the bat:
From "A Gun to Your Head"
The gun of God's righteousness is pointing at your head right now. You will pay for your greed, your selfishness, your pride, your laziness, your stubborn refusal to change. God is lovingly and patiently waiting for you to come to your senses and repent. But he will not wait forever. Each time someone dies, it is a reminder to the rest of us that we could be next. Loving God or not, death is out there waiting for us. It is real and it is inevitable. And after death comes the judgment.[
jesuschristians.net]
From "The politics of Suicide"
Political regimes face overwhelming frustration when they impose one punishment after another onto dissidents, but all to no avail. Their frustration can easily get out of hand. If torture fails to achieve submission, then dictators often find themselves pushed to the point of murdering their own people.
This willingness by dissidents, to die before accepting defeat, is a powerful political tool amongst the oppressed peoples of the world. When the oppressed do not have the military might or will to destroy their enemies, they are often able to achieve more by destroying themselves. Their willingness to die, and even to push the button or pull the rope themselves highlights the ultimate powerlessness of their opponents.[
jesuschristians.net]
From "Deathbed Conversions"
It is only in the face of death that we are able to truly appreciate God and Truth. Most, if not all, of our lives are lived in a prison called life. All our talk about God is so saturated with thoughts about life, about the people who inhabit this world of time and space, and about what they think of us, that we rarely ever escape from that prison into the arms of God, where mortal life is seen for what it really is.
When we stop running away from death, and reach out to it as one of the most important experiences of life, we will start to change in powerful and dramatic ways. Daydreams about dying and facing God are probably the deepest form of prayer that we can experience, and they should highlight every day of our lives. Work at it. And when you do, you will see what true "conversion" is all about.From "No Pain, No Gain"
In the midst of all this, we seem to have forgotten that suffering is an inescapable part of life in the real world. Many of us continue to search for a world where there will be no pain, no suffering, and no death. We run away from and rebel against anything that seeks to bring us back to this reality.
Learning to suffer starts at birth (the baby's first test of endurance), and it should continue throughout life. Everyone must learn to cope with little pains in positive ways when they are young, so that they can manage greater sufferings later in life. Parents who overly protect their children hinder their children's maturation process. We all need to learn how to deal with pain in order to become adults. We need to make mistakes, and learn from them, in order to become stronger and wiser. Avoiding mistakes and the pains associated with them (by withdrawing from the battle) keeps us forever immature.There's a real undercurrent of negativity in these writings, and this subtle assumption that life is all pain and suffering. Allusions to death, suffering, self-mortification all over the place. Thius stuff ias just replete with subtle references to death, martyrdom, suffering. I read no joy, or optimism in this stuff, only cynicism and a condescending attitude.
From a Reachout Trust pamphlet from 2002:
"A further area of concern is the constant references to their willingness to die for what they believe. Examples include:
We see that the answer lies in personal attitudes... individuals with a commitment to fight hate with love, and fight fear with faith.
People who want to learn more than they want to get an education.
People who want to be productive more than they want a paid job.
People who want to grow daily in self-discipline, in sensitivity to the needs of others, and in a willingness to lay down their lives to see God's government changing the hearts and lives of others around them.
Would you like to be a part of this? If so, please contact us today.It used to say, "...a part of this army of martyrs, then please write to us today." DM must have edited that volatile reference to martyrdom out.
[
jesuschristians.net]
Another reference to death:
"Fear of death is what gives the bosses their power! How long do you think you can survive without eating? Maybe a month or two! OK, would you rather have one month of freedom or a lifetime of slavery? Anything that isn't worth living for isn't worth dying for!"[
www.comcen.com.au] "
I'll keep working on this this afternoon; these are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/12/2007 04:40AM by zeuszor.