This is http://www.essayz.com/a9510281.htm         
Previous-Essay      <== This-Essay ==>     Following-Essay
Click HERE on this line to find essays via Your-Key-Words.
{Most frequent wordstarts of each essay will be put here.}
==========================================================
   %GOD'S GROUND RULES SALVATION SURPRISE INCLUSIVE 951028

     God's  ground-rules for human salvation  are  usually
surprising to humans who  repeatedly approach the dilemmas
entailed  in  understanding them with many reflexive human
pre-judgements; prejudices.    The words on the left below
are   suggestive  of  many  reflexive  prejudicial   human
inclinations  while  the  words  on the  right  below  are
suggestive  of  the nature of God's gracious  inclinations
for human salvation.

     HUMAN PREJUDICES                GOD'S NATURE
     ================                ============

     Exclusive                       Inclusive

     Objective                       Reflexive

     Systematic                      Spiritual

     Judgmental                      Charitable

     Excommunicative                   Reconciling

     Disintegrative                  Integrative

     Angry                           Forgiving

     Perfectionistic                 Tolerant

     Conformation                    Creativity

     Impressionistic                 Authentic

     Rewards/Punishments             Descriptions

     Limiting                        Liberating

     Prescriptive                    Descriptive

     Proscriptive                    Facilitative

     Commandments                    Invitations

     Should                          Could

     Must                            May

     Duty                            Opportunity

     Discipline                      Disciple

     Obedience                       Role-model

     Human  inclinations  are to expect God to  behave  in
keeping  with  human inclinations---rather than to  expect
humans to behave in keeping with God's inclinations.

     Humans  expect  that  God in in a heaven  that  is  a
closed place with a secure lock on the door---like a human
mansion.  They  expect  that it will take a special key to
open  the  door  to heaven,  and so humans are  constantly
seeking to find  the key to salvation.   God's surprise is
that not only  is there no lock on the door to heaven, but
there is no door.  The doorway is open, but it is hard for
humans to find the open doorway  to heaven because  humans
expect  heaven to be behind a shut door.    Due  to  false
expectations many humans cannot  find  the open doorway to
heaven.

     Reflexive  prejudices  are particularly difficult  to
let go of,  because they have to do with how we regard our
own flaws,  weaknesses,  mistakes,  errors,   failures and
prejudices.

     Our reflexive  prejudices  blind  us to our reflexive
prejudices and make  our reflexive  prejudices  seem to be
objectively  validated---through  our collusive  games  of
mutual  self deception.   We are prone to conceive God  in
our own image, rather than to conceive ourselves in  God's
image---as God would that we would do.

                                                                                                                               
                         (c) 2005 by Paul A. Smith in      
                    (On Being Yourself, Whole and Healthy)  
                                                                                                                               
==========================================================