These Are My JOTtings, Part #2

Prepared for the Future

"The future starts today."

This catchy thought, in its original and other forms, has launched multiple advertisement campaigns that have supported the advancement of various products and viewpoints throughout history.

Good shoes support the spinal column.
Good food supports the sustenance of the body.
Good glasses help me to see what I am writing at Writing.Com.

When our favorite sports team wins a game, that supports our mental and emotional health. However, that begs the question, "Does the mental and emotional health decline for the fans of the team that lost the game?"

As the son of a Baptist preacher, I have been reared to believe I have the personal responsibility to "lead people to the Lord," preparing them for their eternal future. However, the amount of pushback I've gotten from the people I've encountered in my life has led me to believe that the Good News I'm trying to share is not always received as Good News by the people I'm talking to.

Preparation for the future among the various belief systems seems to have only a handful of goals and outcomes. I've never met anyone who knows that he or she is going to Hell and is okay with that. Therefore, it would seem that the bulk of Humanity, if not every human, believes in the bright afterlife of the cessation of pain and everlasting joy.

Yet, I have encountered varied beliefs about what is required to be part of this "happily ever after," assigning those who eschew their particular requirements to an existence of everlasting pain and sadness.

My logical brain gets quite the workout, trying to justify all the pluses and minuses of these various systems.

1. Probably the easiest belief system to express is atheism. There is no afterlife in this belief. This life is all the atheist has. The conundrum for me is this. "Where is the hope in an existence that when I am past existence, I will no longer know that I ever existed?"

2. The vast majority of religions in the world seem to tell me that if I am more good than bad when I die, then I will have joy forever, avoiding the Hell of eternal punishment. The conundrum for me is this. "How will I ever know if I have done enough good to outweigh the bad of my life, with which I am all too familiar? Is Purgatory a real place? Where is the proof that it actually does what I am told that it does? Is there some document or testimonial from Heaven, regarding a person, who 'was burning, but now I am at peace'?"

3. Christianity tells me that I can have peace with God through the Merits of God's Son, Jesus Christ. However, among Christian belief systems, there are two very different viewpoints that tell me how the Merits of Jesus are applied to my life.

A. Arminianism - "a theological movement in Protestant Christianity that arose as a liberal reaction to the Calvinist doctrine of predestination. The movement began early in the 17th century and asserted that God’s sovereignty and human free will are compatible. The movement was named for Jacobus Arminius, a Dutch Reformed theologian..." https://www.britannica.com/topic/Arminianism

This view emphasizes the responsibility of a human to choose to "trust Jesus Christ as one's own personal Savior" in order to "avoid going to Hell when you die." The conundrum for me is this. "If I can choose to trust Jesus Christ as my Personal Savior whenever I want to trust Him, what precludes me from ever getting tired of being a Christian, choosing not to trust Him for the rest of Time and Eternity? Thus, losing my Salvation."

B. Calvinism - "a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and teachings of John Calvin, emphasizing the sovereignty of God, the doctrine of predestination, and the necessity of grace through faith."
https://fiveable.me/key-terms/ap-world/calvinism

This view emphasizes the absolute Sovereignty of God, regarding the Salvation of any and all saved humans. This means that no human can come to God by whim or volition, without a summons from this One Everlasting Judge. (John 6:44, KJV) The conundrum for me is this. "If God Alone calls, regenerates, and gives the faith needed to trust Him, what motivation is there for me to 'call on His Name,' (Romans 10:13, KJV) or to evangelize? (Matthew 28:18-20, KJV)

I have spent my entire lifetime, thus far, looking for Occam's Razor as it pertains to the afterlife. What is it that causes me to be saved? What is it that causes me to want to be saved? Is God as wholly in charge of the new, spiritual birth (John 3:3, KJV) as He was in the old, physical birth? Am I still required to call upon the Name of the Lord? (Romans 10:13, KJV) Why do I want to call upon the name of the Lord? (Philippians 2:13, KJV) What characteristics prove to the satisfaction of my soul that I have been "born again?" (Ezekiel 36:26-27; Galatians 5:22-23, KJV)

Is the Occam's Razor the Truth, that God and His ways are inexplicable by human reasoning?

1. The Trinity is One and Only One God. Three Unique Persons are Each God, yet at the same time These Three Unique Persons together comprise Only One God.
2. The Salvation Call is issued by God Alone at the moment of His Own Choosing. (John 6:44, KJV) At the same time, the coming of each believer is according to his or her will as tuned by the Lord (Philippians 2:13; Ezekiel 36:26-27, KJV) with the promise that God will turn away none of these who come. (John 6:37, KJV)
3. Is it possible that Calvinism and Arminianism are the two perspectives of a holographic image? From the right side, we see the Sovereignty of God, and from the left side, we see the responsibility of Man.
4. The Bible is the Absolute Word of God. In the process of creating His Word, He did not use automatic writing, but He breathed His Word through the framework of human personality. In the Bible, we see the personalities of Paul, Peter, Daniel, David, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Moses, Joshua, and every other man who penned the words of Scripture, while at the same time, we have the confidence that every word of The Holy Bible is the exact word that The Lord wanted written.

None of this makes human sense, but every bit of it makes Divine Sense.

Occam's Razor = God is above everything in the physical Universe in every way, including Man's ability to comprehend God.

Some god we can understand is no god at all.

by Jay O’Toole
on September 23rd, 2025