...Why I should love God and Jesus ?

...Why I should love God and Jesus ?

Good morning fellow USMers!

I hope you all won't begrudge me your time wasted if I start by laying down a bit of background.

Never an ardent believer in the church or it's tenets, I find myself, as I grow older,
pondering over my path through life and wonder if I have taken the correct route.

Hardly a day passes by without me considering whether or not I might have been happier,
smarter, more tolerant of a fine Scotch whiskey or possibly be driving an expensive Italian sports car,
had I given myself to the church at a much younger age.

Now, that being said, I let my mind roam down another branch in the road and begin to
question myself about the fate of those souls living prior to the advent of Christianity and
the belief in one true and universal God.

As of late, I have been doing a little bit of dabbling about with a genealogical record of my family.
my roots and origin - the Hekler family tree.
I never did get back much further than the late 1700's but I have to believe that my ancestors
weren't just dropped out of a cloud by aliens to begin procreating in an effort to eventually bring me into being.

The line has to go back to a much more distant past.

Now, presupposing that I'm NOT extraterrestrial jetsam, I still deeply query as to where I have come from.
Does my genetic makeup (not Maybelline) go back to the first man and woman - Adam and Eve?
Is this not what the Bible would have us all believe?

At this point, I would heartily welcome anyone with a good biblical knowledge to intervene
and set me straight on any misconceptions I may have as my only dalliance with those writings
extends to waiting in the dentist's reception area when I was only about seven years old and
the only thing remotely interesting in that waiting room at that time was a set of volumes of
"The Illustrated Children's Bible", which, aside from pictures of sundry sinners being smitten,
held my attention about as well as the Glamour and Good Housekeeping magazines commonly found
in the haircutting salons of the world or the Martha Stewart Living offerings kindly set out by my probation officer.

My point being; I just don't know a heck of a lot about God and his rule book.

Okay then, where was I going with this???

...right...So, if my heritage goes back to the beginning of man and womankind and, I really don't have a clue as to
how long ago in the past that was, considering that Christianity and it's mission to turn us all into believers,
whether by kind word or torture and death, ostensibly began around the year 6 BC if I am to trust Wikipedia.

Now, here is my main question:

If Christianity didn't really get kick-started until that late a date and if we are to hold as true
that non-believers burn in the fiery pits of Hell as many have often told me was to be my fate,
where does that leave all those people that were alive and floating around more than 2,200 years ago?
Are they in Hell or did God create some kind of "Grace Area" somewhere in the middle?

I don't know if there is still a chance that I might get past those pearly gates and find myself welcomed into Heaven.
I've done a lot of different things in my time but none of them involved playing a musical instrument.
I have always liked the sound of a harp and I'm kind of thinking that I'd like to give it a go.

Granted, a trip the alternative destination would have some interesting aspects to it as well if the total
of pre-Christian humanity is to be found in that sulphurous domain.
Just imagine if you will, the ability to scout out the ancient Egyptians in an effort to appease your curiosity
regarding the building of the pyramids, maybe track down some Druids and ask what Stonehenge was all about
or even, if you're really lucky, get the lowdown on Atlantis from Plato himself. WOW!

Apart from the oppressive heat which I would not care for too much at all, there is much to be said for an excursion
to that place although one significant drawback would be the stench of Dubya and Cheney's carcasses roasting.
That would probably be enough of a deterrent to make folks want to be elsewhere.

In ending this wandering musing, I would like to thank you all for reading and sincerely state
that this posting was not intended to be a mockery of any sort.