122

Absolutely

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123

I knew there would be a verse or three supporting this! lol

Paul says foolishness, but I find cosmic humor in the idea that people think they’re going to be “walking” anywhere in Heaven without legs, or “looking” at anything without any eyes, or “singing” things without a mouth.

It gets even funnier when people think they’re still going to be able to identify as “themselves” when they die.

There is no Mr. or Mrs. So-And-So, and no “Me” once the Body/Ego dies, only the Higher Self.

The :wink:

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124

Conventional speech is okay. Still, Samsara is not just fate.

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125

I’m merely an artistic mathematician who’s been dead a few times. If you want the best wordy-words, you’ll have to go see a languager. :wink:

126

I don’t know what you mean by made of separate things than God. Human beings were made of the dust of the earth. God is definitely not.

127

We are made of the dust of the Earth (aka Mother Nature).

The dust of the Earth is the dust of stars.

The dust of stars is the exploded remnants of hydrogen fused into heavier elements.

Hydrogen is the product of the Electro-Weak Force, Strong Nuclear Force, and Gravity, also known as the Fundamental Forces.

The Fundamental Forces emerge from Space, which is synonymous with Geometry, which is synonymous with Time.

Mother Nature is secondary only to Father Time.

God is Time.

We are made of the union of Nature and Time. :wink:

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128

Interesting analysis… Never thought of it that way :thinking::thinking::thinking:

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129

LOL God does have hands, feet, a mouth, nose and ears.

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130

Heb. 4: 12For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Is God’s word divides between soul and spirit, they must be different.

131

Thanks! That should have come to mind.

132

Nah, for me that’s lowering God to a flawed human form, making Him in the image of my Ego and nothing more.

God is not some weirdo sitting on a throne meddling in human pettiness. When I die, I won’t be assigned a new body to walk around an oversized box made of gems. Non physical is non physical.

Being made in His image is as simple as being made of Him. We come from Him, and that’s exactly where we’ll all return. :wink:

133

Paul, writing to the disciples at Thessalonica. “May your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23

This letter, written by the Apostle Paul was written before Luke wrote the book of Acts.

He wrote,“…you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” Paul had forewarned them of the coming wrath at the coming which had been foretold by Malachi, John the Baptist, Jesus, and Peter.

Jesus would “deliver them from the wrath to come” at His coming. They were awaiting for His return from heaven. The disciples were being persecuted.

How were they to wait? In the grave? In hades for centuries? That would have offered them no comfort. They were expecting the soon coming of Jesus in their lifetime…while they were still in their fleshly bodies…

Paul did not say they were wrong in their thinking that Jesus was to return nor in the fact that they were expecting it in their day - while they were still living because…

Paul himself had taught them that. Meanwhile, some of them had already died.

It was in this immediate setting that Paul pronounced this … “May your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

It is worth noting that their bodies were to be “kept” in soundness rather than “restored” or "raised to it.

Paul added this in chapter 3 – still speaking to the same disciples at Thessalonica “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of man coming in His kingdom.”

This is the same event Jesus was commenting on to Caiaphas in Matthew 26 when he said: “But I tell you, hereafter YOU will see the Son of man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Did Caiaphas live to see Jesus’ coming? Yes. If not, we’d have to believe that Jesus deceived him. Caiaphas lived to see it in the literal unfolding of prophesied events even though Jesus did not return in a physical body.

“My kingdom is not of this world.” ~ Jesus

134

There is some important meaning between the lines.

Below is an example of the writings of Chih-I 538-597C.E

"Chih-i On “reading between the Lines” (Kanjin), Specific and General and the
essense of Buddhism.

Chih-i (Tien-t’ai the great writes in lesser Chapter 5 of the Maka Shikan:

"It is easy for a sticky hand to adhere, and hard to awaken from deep
dreaming. Some people seal up a text and restrict its sense, declaring their
own personal understanding of it to be right. They vie with others to seize
tiles and pebbles, thinking they are baubles of lapis lazuli.

Even the most familiar things and explicit statements they fail to
understand; how could they not but err when it comes to the abstruse
principle and hidden teaching? This is why it is necessary to discuss “the
returning to the purport.”

“Returning to the Purport,” signifies the place where the purport of
a text leads, like the sea to which all streams flow, or the sky to which
all flames point. One must learn to distinguish the hidden and arrive at the
abstruse without being stymied or waylaid anywhere. Be like the wise
minister who always fathoms the meaning of the king’s veiled words.

(from the Nirvana Sutra about reading in between the lines)

Whatever you hear from the Buddha’s preaching, know that inevitably it leads
to the ground of omniscient wisdom. Whoever grasps this point indeed
comprehends the returning to the purport to the great abode.

“Purport” means to orient oneself to the three virtuous qualities (of
Buddhahood,

  1. Law-body, 2. Pranja (wisdom) and 3. liberation) “and returning,” means to
    direct others towards them as well; this is why it is called, “the returning
    of the purport.” Again, “returning” means entering into the three qualities
    oneself and “purport,” means causing others to enter into them. It is to
    this end that the Chapter (of the Maka Shikan)is called “the returning to
    the purport.”"

Study of the Lotus Sutra is paramount for beings to even know what to talk about.

135

You’re tough, you can handle it. :hugs:

Isaiah 40:12 “Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? 13 Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or [being] his counsellor hath taught him.” ~ Hands

The earth had to be just right.

Isaiah 66:1 “Thus saith the LORD, The heaven [is] my throne, and the earth [is] my footstool: where [is] the house that ye build unto me? and where [is] the place of my rest? 2 For all those [things] hath mine hand made, and all those [things] have been, saith the LORD:” ~ Feet

Isaiah 55:11 “11 so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” ~ Mouth

Genesis 8:21 "21 And when the LORD smelled the pleasing odor, the LORD said in his heart,. . . . . " ~ Nose

Isaiah 59:1 “Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;” ~ Ear

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136

There is a lot of wisdom in your post rp5x5.

“That was the true Light which gives light to every person who comes into the world.” John 1:9 This passage should give us all pause if we have an exclusive view of what is truth.

The light that has come into the world – which the darkness could not apprehend was Christ Jesus. He is more than what we call “Christianity.” That Light – by coming into the world —apart from any human initiative – has put some light into every soul that is born into the world regardless of the title they chose to wear.

137

All metaphors written by men under the influence, translated over the course of thousands of years, some through three entire languages, with cultures biases of the given day slapped on.

If we’re in His body, we’re not even taking up a neuron’s worth of space, which in of itself just kicks the reality can down the road.

What is He standing in? Nothing, and everything. He is everything. Nothing is separate from Him, ever.

138

That is correct. It is easy to see everything in a shallow, literal or academic way, which can turn into a stopping of true awakening, based on partial teachings and end up caught in a snare that blocks further understanding.

With only a little recognition it can easily be realized that Jesus or Buddha were not restricted to teach in only one location or time or even on one planet and all with the same name

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139

The apostle Peter was astonished to see that God’s saving grace reached out to the whole world. He said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears God and works righteousness is accepted by Him.” Acts 10:34-35

Gentiles without any law were justified by following the law written in their heart – their conscience. God may not care whether people are Baptists or Buddhists if they “Do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.” Micah 6:6

140

You make a few inferrence that are not justified by the biblical text.

[quote=“Piper, post:133, topic:246104”]Paul, writing to the disciples at Thessalonica. “May your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23

This letter, written by the Apostle Paul was written before Luke wrote the book of Acts.

He wrote,“…you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” Paul had forewarned them of the coming wrath at the coming which had been foretold by Malachi, John the Baptist, Jesus, and Peter.

Jesus would “deliver them from the wrath to come” at His coming. They were awaiting for His return from heaven. The disciples were being persecuted.

How were they to wait? In the grave? In hades for centuries? That would have offered them no comfort.[/quote]

They were to wait in God’s presence. “If were leave this earthly tabernacle we are given a heavenly tabernacle”, and “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.”

They were expecting Christ to return once the gospel was preached to the whole world
They did not realise how big the world was. But they knew that “when” was not theirs to know, but in the Father’s hands.

[quote=“Piper, post:133, topic:246104”]Paul did not say they were wrong in their thinking that Jesus was to return nor in the fact that they were expecting it in their day - while they were still living because…

Paul himself had taught them that. Meanwhile, some of them had already died.[/quote]

Where?

[quote=“Piper, post:133, topic:246104”]It was in this immediate setting that Paul pronounced this … “May your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

It is worth noting that their bodies were to be “kept” in soundness rather than “restored” or "raised to it.[/quote]

The greek only says kept blameless. It does not say sound. And it says “in the coming of Jesus” not “until the coming of Jesus”.

No Paul didn’t. Jesus said that. And up to 500 saw Him coming in His Kingdom in Galilee after His resurrection. He received His kingdom on Tesurrection Sunday after His resurrection.

[quote=“Piper, post:133, topic:246104”]This is the same event Jesus was commenting on to Caiaphas in Matthew 26 when he said: “But I tell you, hereafter YOU will see the Son of man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Did Caiaphas live to see Jesus’ coming? Yes. If not, we’d have to believe that Jesus deceived him. Caiaphas lived to see it in the literal unfolding of prophesied events even though Jesus did not return in a physical body.

"My kingdom is not of this world.” ~ Jesus[/quote]

Caiaphas will see Jesus coming/appearing to him at the resurrection of the unbelieving dead. This will fulfil His prophesy to Caiaphas.

141

In today’s lingo that is often called “emotional intelligence,” (or EQ) it has to do with communication skills (in both directions.)

There is another active thread regarding IQ.
I have always scored quite high on IQ tests,
but a pile of anecdotes confirms that I have a low EQ.

I am not unlike the pencil-neck geek in high school who does very well at math,
but can never get a date and occasional says things, he thinks are funny, but saying them causes all the other kids to roll their eyes and grown and decide “he’s not one of the cool kids.”

I am not sure why I wrote this. I don’t really have a point. I just feel your post merits a response and this is the first thing that crawled into my head.