I don't believe the length of Christ's earthly ministry was pre-ordained, or that any of the principals (including Christ Himself) simply played out a pre-written script. There are countless points of choice in the story, and for me, that is one of its most powerful elements. Everyone from Joseph to Herod had choices in the matters before them; even Christ Himself had to choose to submit to the Father's will. Right was before them all the time. Sometimes they saw it, sometimes they didn't. I've always thought Herod a particularly interesting case, since he did everything he could to distance himself from what he was choosing, and his subconscious--his dream--warned him to beware the choice. Christ preached at a particular historical moment, and the times were right for him to gain a following and be perceived as a political/social threat. But whether the set of circumstances that led to His death took three or five or ten years to develop...that, I think, was a combination of chance and choice--as is all history. Also, it should probably be remembered that those three years were very much the prime of life at that time.
I guess it all boils down to what one believes about free will. God may know our hearts, but does He dictate our actions? He may punish those who do not recognize and accept Him, but is that punishment the active infliction of pain or simply the knowledge that we have chosen wrong and it is too late to repent the choice? If Heaven is the bliss of union with the creator, could Hell really be more than eternal separation?
As much as I've thought this through for myself, I believe that God created man free to choose, and that this has always been so. I believe that Judas himself could have repented--he was eternally condemned only because he denied God's mercy and condemned himself by committing suicide.
Which leads me, oddly enough, to the question of N's. How culpable is a true narcissist for hurting others, when it is the very nature and definition of narcissism to be unable to recognize the pain of others? I have wondered if narcissists don't meet the definition of criminal insanity--they are incapable of discerning the consequences of their actions. This doesn't mean they get a free pass through life, in my opinion. It simply means, as so many of us have learned, that it is fruitless to expect or ask for repentance, let alone contrition. They cannot repent of sins they do not see. True, they have free will and could choose to behave otherwise. But to do so would require a level of recognition that I'm not sure they can achieve.
Anyway, I'm very far from the original question. Interesting observation, rM. Thank you for it.
daylily
