17th Angel
לבעוט את התחת ולקחת שמות
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There is no punishment. Just reward.
I don't get it lol... Are you a christian?
There is no punishment. Just reward.
I don't get it lol... Are you a christian?
That's just it, though. Many are searching the scriptures and interpreting what resonates as truth. They are leaving behind those things that don't jibe with their understanding, or that contradict what they wish to believe. We all have what Jesus declared, and almost two thousand years later, we are still arguing over what He said with no end in sight. And none of us is worthy to speak for the spirit of G-d.Many are searching the scriptures and are pulling out what resinates as truth, and leaving what goes against the very spirit of God, as Christ declared it.
You are correct, love is not complicated, and neither is the Bible. When one gets done sifting through the Bible, they will actually find it reinforces itself. What contradictions there seem to be, are there for a purpose. So, "sifting" should leave the text intact, even where there are verses that sting to the core and to the marrow.Some Christians are taking great strides towards the light, and away from the darkness. I can see it; I see it almost everyday. These are the ones accused of "changing" Christianity in OP. I say some [many actually] have found a simpler way of approaching, finding, and accepting God through Jesus, and the Bible.
The all or nothing attitude is dangerous; we can verify this by taking a look at Christian history, yes?
What is wrong with sifting through the Bible, and accepting that which is good, and rejecting the wrong...The things that contradict the way God is presentd by Jesus, and his followers?
Love is not complicated, imo...
"Behold I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give to every man according as his work shall be." Rev 22:12
LOL...I guess one could take into account the proceeds from prostitution towards the gross local economy...Please point me to the verses that expound upon this economic injustice. Considering that Lot offered his daughters in lieu of the two male "guests" he was hosting, to satisfy the cravings of the crowd in front of his home, that sounds like nothing economical that I'm aware of.
So you obviously don't believe in the hell concept?
Regardless of Bible version, there is a very important point being overlooked: one *must* be in the will of the Father...without it, the binding and loosing (or permitting, if you prefer) are meaningless.And if you read the Hebrew meaning of Binding and Loosing, it means Forbidding and Permissing. So, what you just said was: 'what you forbid on Earth, shall be forbidden in Heaven, and what you permit on Earth, shall be permitted in Heaven.'
So God isn't the one that makes the choice.
We are.
According to Jesus.
I'm not sure how to quantify "Hell".
I believe that the earth is cleansed (of evil) by fire.
I don't believe that people are tormented forever.
You will not find me dispute this, if you notice: "apple" is in quotation marks. My point was that Adam had a choice, to follow after his mate and share her fate, or not. We know the story from there.I think the point of the story of eating of the fruit was that Adam and Eve ate the fruit of knowledge of good and evil. They chose to know good and evil.
Yet, if I read this correctly, the implication is that this world is "evil," which I find difficult to fathom. The further implication is that G-d created this world evil, and I do not see G-d doing so. Nature is nature, neither evil nor good (in the religious sense of those terms). I do not see dogs and cats, squirrels and canarys, waterfalls and giant trees, as evil. Try as I might, it doesn't register. Eden may well have been a place of *total* beauty, purity and serenity, then again, we may not ever know what Eden really was like. Perhaps it was another plane or sphere of existence. Perhaps G-d covered it all up and now we are pumping the resultant fossil fuels into our gas tanks, I don't know, all we can do is speculate.The Garden of Eden, though, was a place of peace and harmony. A place of perfection. A place of innocence. A place of purity and serenity. Adam and Eve were innocent before they ate the fruit. They knew good, but knew no evil. Their minds before then were focused on the good things. Evil was beyond anything they had ever seen, felt, experienced or anything they could ever have known or imagined.
The Garden of Eden and this world could be said to have been two separate, parallel universes.
But when they tasted the fruit, they didn't belong in the universe of Eden anymore. Eden was for the innocent. But with their knowledge of evil, they were no longer innocent. They could imagine, create and invent evil. They had the creative ability to do evil -- to scheme, machinate and conspire. To deceive and beguile.
Their loss of innocence was the reason why they were expelled from the Garden -- they didn't belong.
They no longer fit into a place of beauty, purity and serenity.
An interesting thought...A thought...
It was merciful for God to kick Adam and Eve out of the garden since the tree of life was still there.
They could have lived forever in misery.
True. Yet, without a rudder, paddle, keel and helm, one is at the mercy of the wind and tides. While I understand the wisdom in not being certain, of one thing I am most certain...without a foundation, all the rest is subject to structural failure.I thought I would chuck this into the debate.....
"What is wisdom? It has little to do with beliefs. These change year by year from person to person. Only one who does not dare give up beliefs because he has no wisdom will insist that others believe as he does. Cleverness learns something, but wisdom gives up some certainty every day."
There is no punishment. Just reward.
By chance, is this the reference then to living forever in misery, that had they gained access to the tree of life...that somehow that state would be perpetuated? Through their progeny, which includes us, it has been perpetuated.
Of course, part of the initial warning G-d made, was that to eat of the fruit of knowledge would be death into their lives. Sometimes I have seen this interpreted as meaning like a poison, killing them instantly, but I don't think that is what was meant even initially. I think the implication was that their physical bodies which were meant to last forever, would break down and wear out and come to an end. If the stories can be read literally, it took quite awhile for Adam's body to finally wear out, and only Methuselah lived longer among the patriarchs before the flood. But the entrance of death into the human life...and there are those working with the genome that believe they have uncovered the ageing gene.
Even this "fallen" state of Adam and Eve is idyllic compared to what comes after the flood of Noah, so...![]()
True. Yet, without a rudder, paddle, keel and helm, one is at the mercy of the wind and tides. While I understand the wisdom in not being certain, of one thing I am most certain...without a foundation, all the rest is subject to structural failure.
In YOUR opinion... Choose a better path. It isn't a prooven fact that what you do is better from say what I do.
It is only proven in the hearts, and minds of those who live that path, 17th Angel. I could never make you understand that path, nor could I convince you that path is greater than any other; it is something people must experience for themselves before it can be understood/felt/known.
Is it greater than other paths? Yes, in my opinion it is the one, and only righteous path.
This is just how I have come to see things, 17th Angel; free to disagree, as that is completelty your choice. I won't judge you for it, nor will I try to change you mind; I only wish to plant seeds.
Much Love,
Because we are not water. If we were water, what you say would hold merit. But we are not. If we trust the combination of wind and water, then what protects us from the waterfalls, whirlpools, hurricanes and tsunamis? Our own common sense and good judgement, a bit of guardian angel watching over us, and a good boat with a rudder to steer it with (or a solid foundation underneath us). Not much sense, or wisdom, in being up a creek without a paddle... And while I have heard the adage of "going with the flow" or "let go, let G-d," I have issues with that line of thought. Perhaps it works for others, the more trusting lot. It doesn't work for me, I have to steer my path as Spirit leads, even if that means tacking against the tide and the wind...Why not trust the wind and the tide? After all they are simply doing what they must. By just being what they are... :\