Revelation talks clearly of torment that lasts forever, and being cast into the lake of fire is called the second death. And again Jesus spoke of and warned of Hell many times.
Do you believe in annihilation? I learned in the SDA church that there are Christians who believe in being cast into fire but the length of time a person burns is related to the extent of their sins.
How do you explain away a subject that Jesus himself talked of?
I’ll tell you why I take scripture literally. It’s because there are so many views both from a denominational level and often the individual level. With hundreds, or thousands of differing views, how does anyone ever discern truth? You say you seek the truth from scripture, yet you must step outside scripture to reach the understanding you have. To me, that’s the issue.
I take it for granted that there are a lot of people who are smarter and or wiser and or more educated than me. However, not a one of them can save me and not a one of them has a lock on truth. The one who is infinitly smart, wise and who DOES have a lock on truth is God and HE is also the only one who can save me.
When you talk of scripture, which scripture are you referring to? I’ve done a lot of study, not just in scripture, but how the different scriptures ( by scripture I am referring to the many different Bibles) came to be and I know there are thousands of differences between them.
One thing I’m confident we agree in is that God is not the author of confusion. The fact that we humans may never fully grasp or understood Gods truth(s) does not mean He doesn’t have a definitive truth.
As I believe in a definitive truth, I ask myself some questions:
Does God want his people to both learn and understand his truth?
If He does, how does he impart that truth?
Does He impart that truth only to the smart, wise and educated? And last, perhaps most importantly: If He only imparts truth to the smart, wise and educated, what happens to people who don’t have smart, wise and educated people to tell them what to believe? This has lead to the situation we are in today.
Aside from the way God answers our prayers and “leads” us in our lives, all we know of God is His word. I don’t consider it judgement to accept as fact what his word contains. A jury has to discern the truth from the facts presented, and then make a judgement of guilty or not to the judge.
That is what God wants of us- to make a judgement, NOT JUDGE. There’s a difference…
Actually, having been raised a Roman Catholic, I had rejected Christianity and had been exploring a whole smorgasbord of philosophies and spiritualities. I was not at all expecting these encounters with Jesus.
The ease with which you are triggered into anger by people not deferring to your claims of superior experiences should tell you something about how confident you really are that your particular faith is robust and real. You don’t trigger me at all.
I think the spiritual realm where God dwells is the real, reality and that makes this physical world we live in fuzzy — not sharp and clear.
Once Jesus returned to His Father, we can’t see him anymore being in this human body. That’s why the belief that He will physically return to this material world that some hold is a pipe dream. With our human eye we can’t see into the spiritually world. I believe God and Jesus are here with us, but we can’t see them with our natural eyes.
The Apostle Paul was either talking about himself here, or the Apostle John that wrote the Revelation. He said he didn’t know if he was in the body or out of the body.
2 Corinthians 12:1 "I must boast; there is nothing to be gained by it, but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven–whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. 3 And I know that this man was caught up into Paradise–whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows-- 4 and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. 5 On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses. 6 Though if I wish to boast, I shall not be a fool, for I shall be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. 7 And to keep me from being too elated by the abundance of revelations. . . . "
radical
adjective
1.
(especially of change or action) relating to or affecting the fundamental nature of something; far-reaching or thorough.
“a radical overhaul of the existing regulatory framework”
Similar:
thoroughgoing
thorough
complete
total
entire
absolute
utter
comprehensive
exhaustive
root-and-branch
sweeping
far-reaching
wide-ranging
extensive
profound
drastic
severe
serious
major
desperate
stringent
violent
forceful
rigorous
draconian
Opposite:
superficial
2.
advocating or based on thorough or complete political or social change; representing or supporting an extreme or progressive section of a political party.
Similar:
revolutionary
progressive
reforming
reformist
progressivist
revisionist
leftist
left-wing
socialist
anti-capitalist
extremist
fanatical
militant
diehard
woke
right-on
View 6 derogatory words
Opposite:
conservative
reactionary
moderate
noun
1.
a person who advocates thorough or complete political or social change, or a member of a political party or section of a party pursuing such aims.
Similar:
revolutionary
progressive
reformer
revisionist
leftist
left-winger
socialist
militant
zealot
extremist
fanatic
diehard
View 5 derogatory words
Opposite:
conservative
reactionary
moderate
2.
CHEMISTRY
a group of atoms behaving as a unit in a number of compounds.
All physical (temporary) things are properties of the nonphysical (eternal) continuum.
We are the union of (Mother) Nature (physical) and (Father) Time (non-physical).
This physical and non-physical that I describe appears to be the same basic concept as what you’re describing to me as realms/dimensions. I see nothing supernatural about this.
I see it as the way things have always been. Sometimes we are physical, sometimes we are not. That we exist means we have always and will always exist.
I expect anybody that disagrees with me to discuss it with me. What’s wrong with that? Aren’t we here to discuss and learn? I am. This is not church where we all have to believe the same thing.
I tell it like I believe it. That’s all I can do. I certainly can’t tell it like other people believes it, that’s their part.
I don’t expect anyone to agree with me, I’m still seeking and learning and I have been wrong on so many things and I’m sure I will be wrong on many more before I’m done.
ten honorable titles [十号] ( jū-gō): Ten epithets for a Buddha, expressing such qualities as power, wisdom, virtue, and compassion. Among the several versions of the ten honorable titles, one lists them as follows: (1) Thus Come One ( tathāgata). One who has come from the world of truth. A Buddha embodies the fundamental truth of all phenomena and grasps the law of causality that permeates past, present, and future. (2) Worthy of Offerings (arhat). One who is qualified to receive offerings from human and heavenly beings. (3) Right and Universal Knowledge (samyak-sambuddha). One with a correct and perfect understanding of all phenomena. (4) Perfect Clarity and Conduct (vidyā-charana-sampanna). One who understands eternity, or the past, present, and future existences, and who is a perfect performer of good deeds. (5) Well Attained (sugata), also Well Gone. One who has gone over to the world of enlightenment. (6) Understanding the World (lokavid). One who understands all secular and religious affairs by grasping the law of causality. (7) Unexcelled Worthy (anuttara). One who stands supreme among all living beings. (8) Trainer of People (purusha-damya-sārathi). One who trains and leads all people to enlightenment. (9) Teacher of Heavenly and Human Beings (shāstā-deva-manushyānām). One who can teach and educate all human and heavenly beings. (10) Buddha, the World-Honored One (Buddha-bhagavat). An awakened one, endowed with perfect wisdom and virtue, who wins the respect of all people. Other versions list Buddha and World-Honored One as two separate titles, in which cases either Understanding the World and Unexcelled Worthy, or Unexcelled Worthy and Trainer of People, are combined as one title, or Thus Come One is excluded.
“oneness of the Person and the Law [人法一箇] ( nimpō-ikka): A principle re-established by Nichikan (1665–1726), the twenty-sixth chief priest of Taiseki-ji temple in Japan, with regard to Nichiren’s (1222–1282) teaching, indicating that the object of devotion in terms of the Person and the object of devotion in terms of the Law are one in their essence. The Law is inseparable from the Person and vice versa. The “Treasure Tower” (eleventh) chapter of the Lotus Sutra states, “If one upholds this [sutra], one will be upholding the Buddha’s body.” This means that the Lotus Sutra is the Buddha’s body; that is, the Buddha (Person) and the teaching (Law) he expounded are one and inseparable.”
Nothing exists without Him, because He is existence itself. This is why I say this experience is His, not mine. This body is merely a physical vessel for traversing this aspect of it.
I also believe He will experience every possible human thing there is to experience before this species comes to an end (it’s gon’ be a hot minute!).
God created us. He shared his likeness with us. He didn’t create us to be trembling slaves to demand praise from. He gave us His nature and He accepts us as His sons and daughters. He invites us to come boldly to His throne, and He invites us to reign with Him.
“Let’s make man in our own image.” Awesome! “Let’s make them in our likeness and give them dominion over everything we have created.”
" . . . . you have made him inferior only to yourself; you crowned him with glory and honor. You appointed him ruler over everything you made; you placed him all over creation."
people are really attached to their animal bodies. Pooping and Weeing comes natural. And gobbling down protoplasm all for the sake of Sexual desire and propagating the “species.”