Would You Be Interested in Reading the Story if You Saw this Blurb?
By DW Davis
@DWDavis (25797)
United States
February 6, 2022 10:34am CST
"Every soul can go to Heaven. That is if they seek redemption for their sins before they die. The Angel of Death has the power and authority to decide if a soul shouldn't get that chance. This is where the Soul Collectors come in. Soul Collectors are spirits of the dead that, while doing their time in Purgatory, are tasked with returning to Earth to ensure certain souls deemed not worthy of forgiveness never get the chance to seek it. Mort Tally was a Soul Collector. This is his story."
This is the blurb for one of my serialized novellas currently on Kindle Vella. The inspiration was a discussion during a Bible study many years ago revolving around the idea that no matter how heinous a person had been, no matter how horrendous a crime they had committed, at the last moment of their lives, they could be forgiven for every sin they ever committed and still go to Heaven. Even people like Pol Pot, Stalin, and Hitler. I got to thinking, what if there were a select group in Heaven who, on the orders of the Angel of Death, could ensure certain people whose egregious sins warranted them losing the chance at redemption never got the chance. Keep in mind this is pure fiction and not a stance on the issue of forgiveness and redemption.
What are your thoughts on the matter? Do you believe every person can ask for redemption at the last minute and receive it no matter what horrors they've perpetrated on their fellow humans?
I'll withhold my thoughts on this for now.
10 people like this
9 responses
@moffittjc (128861)
• Gainesville, Florida
6 Feb 22
First of all, this sounds like a very intriguing story that I would love to read!
I do think we all have the chance to ask for forgiveness, but I think it has to be sincere to be warranted. I've run across bad people in my life that have said that they were going to lead an evil life and then in their old age seek redemption. I don't think that is exactly what God had in mind when giving us the chance at redemption. I think we need to be sincere in that request for redemption.
And even so, the Bible tells us that each and every one of us will be judged one day. And this is where I have uncertainty in my faith. Are there different levels of heaven? Can you still get in if you seek forgiveness, but maybe are assigned to a different level based on how your life was judged? I don't know the answer to that one.
4 people like this
@DWDavis (25797)
• United States
6 Feb 22
I know Catholics believe that all who die having sincerely confessed their sins and asked for forgiveness go to Heaven but not necessarily directly. We believe in Purgatory, where a soul works out its penance for unresolved matters before moving on. Only those who are unrepentant and refuse to acknowledge their sins don't go to Heaven. They enter an eternally void space removed from God and all others to spend eternity alone.
3 people like this
@moffittjc (128861)
• Gainesville, Florida
6 Feb 22
@DWDavis Well, that certainly makes sense. So for those souls in Purgatory, how do they work out their penance? Do they get assignments to return to earth and do good deeds or help other souls still alive? Not trying to mock, just sincerely interested in what Catholics believe (I'm Protestant, so I don't know all the ins and outs of Catholicism).
2 people like this
@DWDavis (25797)
• United States
6 Feb 22
@moffittjc I was raised Protestant and converted 14 years ago after a lot of reading and praying. I haven't found anyone who claims to know just what it is the souls in Purgatory do to complete their penance. I imagine it involves a lot of praying. We are also told that we can say prayers for those in Purgatory and it will shorten their time.
If you would like to read the story, I can DM you a link. The first three episodes (what KV calls chapters) are free to read. There is a small charge for access to each additional chapter, but the first three give you a good idea of who Mort is.
2 people like this
@DWDavis (25797)
• United States
6 Feb 22
It is being published in serial form on the new Kindle Vella app. The first several chapters are already available. You can read the first three for free. After that, there is a small fee for each chapter. By small, I mean some are less than a dime, most are less than 20 cents. I can DM you the site if you'd like to check out the free chapters.
1 person likes this
@DWDavis (25797)
• United States
7 Feb 22
@just4him You don't need a Kindle. Kindle Vella is for tablets and phones, though I think you can read it on a PC.
You can go to amazon dot com slash kindle dash vella on your PC.
I'm not publishing it as a kindle book because I'm keeping the MG/YA genre material separate from my contemporary adult fiction.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (209255)
• United States
6 Feb 22
It sounds very interesting to me, and good write up. Yes, I think that idea has been floated around for awhile that some are simply "beyond the pale" their sins on earth will ensure they don't get into heaven. I would not want to be in heaven with any of those people. Also, BTK killer's daughter was on TV, and said she hopes she sees him in heaven. AHH, if BTK is allowed to go to heaven, I don't think I want to be there. What is the point of living a good life really, if any horrible person can go to heaven?
1 person likes this
@ShyBear88 (59342)
• Sterling, Virginia
6 Feb 22
Hmm it’s a good question one that takes a thought. I can wash asking for forgiveness over little things not so sure about big things like murder and such.
I’m general I usually say what if heaven is Earth and when we die if we haven’t learned our less we have to do it over again till we learned those lesson and then when we die we move on to the next planet or world, dimension or where ever.
1 person likes this
@ShyBear88 (59342)
• Sterling, Virginia
6 Feb 22
@DWDavis as I say to most people I believe every faith is correct in some way or another. What’s the point of only living once when you can’t learn everything the first time. Nobody is that perfect. Lots of story of people being someone else and remember and slowly forgetting as they age.
There is a bit of truth in everything.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (238398)
• Walnut Creek, California
6 Feb 22
Sounds like interesting stuff! I could be drawn in. The idealist in me wants to believe that we will ALL be forgiven for our sins. Even people like Adolph Hitler, Donald Trump and that Zuckerberg fella. But those idealistic thoughts trivialize what we do on Earth. And so I am conflicted. I could go on and on...
1 person likes this
@Tina30219 (82978)
• Onaway, Michigan
10 Feb 22
I would love to read it. I have read most of the books you have out that I know about anyways and loved them all
@wolfgirl569 (136091)
• Marion, Ohio
7 Feb 22
It sounds like a good book.
As for the questions I guess I never really thought about it. I was raised that you can be forgiven at any time.
1 person likes this
