Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Where do people like Jesse Helms go when they die?

I'm a baby boomer woman who believes in God. I believe in Heaven and hell. I believe in the Ten Commandments---one being “Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself.” Now I’ll be the first to admit that’s not always easy to do because there are some people who do everything in their power to get on my last nerve. But then I think they probably don’t know any better so I just forgive them and move on.

So here we have former North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms who died on July 4 at the ripe old age of 86. He spent his entire political career as a hate monger and he was never ashamed or apologetic about it. He was a master at creating fear in the hearts and minds of white, rural North Carolinians by pointing out the fact that if he weren’t in Congress to fight for their “white rights” black people would take over and take away everything they rightfully owned.

Many of the people he catered to were white baby boomers and seniors.

Today, as I watched a portion of his funeral on TV, I heard the minister called him a good, decent man who loved God and loved the people he served for thirty years. But what about the people he didn’t love?

Does loving God—but hating minorities—give him a free pass into Heaven? My pastor always says “How can you love a God whom you never see and despise your fellow man here on earth?” That’s what Jesse did all of his life.

And no, he didn’t have a come to Jesus moment right before his death---where he apologized for any past sins he may have committed. He didn’t come out and issue a statement saying he loved everybody and was just playing the political game of the times.

So tell me, where do people like Jesse go when they die? Does he think he’ll enter a segregated Heaven? Oh, and wouldn’t it be something if God didn’t look anything like some churches paint Him out to be?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, Bev, this is one of those "unanswerable" questions . . . at least until we get "there," and get a first-hand answer.

I've been reading "The Shack." It's a book that can't really be defined but manages to somehow -- & I still don't know how -- put a truly special light on what it means to be a TRUE believer, & all that entails, as well as all the "What if" & "Where?" questions.

mek said...

Who knows what is said between God and man when man is making the transition from life to death. We all have something to ask forgiveness for every single day that we live and even as we face death. Prayerfully, Jesse did...

Anonymous said...

Hey, it ain't all that hard to clean up stuff and make things look good in public. We see it all the time. What matters are the private moments with God. Maybe Jesse Helms said what he needed to say to God during such times.

Besides, what about the money Jesse Helms helped raise to fight AIDS in Africa? He hooked up with the singer Bono -- uh, Bono? -- and did that.

And what about the deceased scoundrels both in our families and among out friends we put in heaven in the name of comforting one another when we know they lived like the devil? Let's not just see race, people.

Anonymous said...

I have to believe that the pastor was saying those things for the benefit of his family or the pastor is a hate monger as well. I hate to say it but there are so many Christians that are hypocrites. I believe no matter what is said by ignorant people praising him God will give him what he deserves. Not sure how but he has a price to pay.

Anonymous said...

Debbie,

Sadly there are people who think just because they go to church that makes them a Christian. But as my mama and big mama used to say, "Everybody talkin' about Heaven, won't be there!"

Mitch said...

First, this was a wonderful post. Second, being a non-Christian, I can't say whether there's a heaven for him to go to or not. So, instead, I'll say that his overall legacy here in America speaks for itself, and for the people of North Carolina who kept voting him in time after time, and it's not a pretty legacy. I wouldn't even waste the time to go spit on his grave. He doesn't get a pass for helping to get more money in Africa to fight Aids when he worked just as hard to keep blacks here in America from having equal opportunities and equal access. A good man; I heard someone say that about Timothy McVeigh once also.

Anonymous said...

I do not beleive in heaven or hell.

But...there is always a but, with me! (smiles)

BUT...I do believe that how you live your life, your actions and those who follow you, are what you truly are.

I will not speak ill of the dead as they are not here to defend themselves.

BUT, defending himself is something that Jesse Helms rarely did.

Release the hate and and anger this man spread. He can do it NO MORE.

He died as bitter as he lived. This was his life. Do not make it yours.

Remember to know your enemies better than you know your friends.

We all knew what Jesse Helms was. And what he was NOT.

He was NOT in our realm, our circle of friends or even an acquaintance.
THAT was and is his greatest loss.

Southern smiles and world peace,
Sharon
~The Baby Boomer Queen~
Author of BabyBoomerAdvisorClub.com

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