Got an alert which triggered an experience a few years ago. I was in Albuquerque, NM a couple of years ago. My wife and I went to the Pueblo Cultural Center. It was interesting to read the prayers of the ancient people- each one acknowledged a Creator. Makes you wonder if they knew something worth knowing. Ciao! Sayonara! Adios! Shalom!
Until anyone.... Anyone can provide definitive proof I plan on living my life to the best of my abilities. Say what you will but if this is it I'm not wasting it.
Idk, are we talking about Jesus or Horus, Mithras, Dionysis or many of the other earlier religions that mirror the new Testament in regards to a savior that was persecuted, killed and resurrected?
Thank you for the mature feedback my brothers. I know my opinion seems evil, and I apologize if I offended anyone.
I dnt think anyone is offended if they are that is ther problem Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
No afterlife does not mean death is the end of everything. That may sound like a contradiction, but it's not. The bible talks about death, and it talks about a hope after death.
I was always told....... Hope in one hand and $hit in the other and let me know which fills up first. Just saying
You might be surprised what we have in common. As far as believing what is written in the bible...I trust in that 100%. However, A LOT of traditional Christian teachings are not biblical teachings, but rather customs adopted by man to accommodate converts from other religions or to justify what they wanted to believe. As for dying and rotting in the ground...well, that's exactly what the bible says happens, so I'm going with that.
Yeah I tend to back peddle a bit sometimes. I apologized for John T, or any other minister/preacher/father/priest, for my molesting comment.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I am a Christian, the son of a pastor, and I am in church almost every Sunday unless I am too sick to go out of bed, or, on a vacation. First off, let me say that it is incredibly refreshing to hear a civilized discussion on this issue and respect being given to everyone, especially when viewpoints differ. Several others have spoken to the beginning of Genesis; the Garden of Eden and the fall of man into sin. Personally, I find the presence of vile evil such as genocide or child molestation to be one of the more challenging things to accept with my faith. However, I have reached the point where I am at peace with the necessary existence of evil, even though I hate it. Here is why: in the Bible, God is constantly portrayed as a good, loving father that forgives, corrects, and disciplines (think discipline in building a productive life, not discipline in the context of harsh punishment) those he cares about, namely, his creation. We humans are the pinnacle of his creation. What separates us from the animals is concept known as Free Will. Or, as portrayed in the Garden of Eden story, the knowledge of good and evil. Why is this important? Because, without free will, without the freedom to choose for ourselves whether or not we will acknowledge God, how can we know what love is? The God of the Bible is a god of love. How do we know this? Because is it really love if you do not have a choice to engage in the relationship? Can love be forced? If it is forced, if no choice in participation can be made, can it really be called love? In the Garden of Eden story, Adam and Eve had no choice in participating in a relationship with God prior to gaining the knowledge of good and evil. God had to allow sin and consequences to come into existence so that a choice could be freely made. With the freedom to choose, comes the freedom to reject, or accept, God's love and call to a way of living life. Evil enters the picture when one chooses to reject God's way. In the Bible, this evil is often termed "sin." Interestingly, a thorough reading reveals that it is not the acts people engage that are sinful in and of themselves, but it is that the actions represent a rejection of God. It is the rejecting of God that ultimately allows evil to exist. For this reason, the Bible says that all sin is equal in the eyes of God. Everything; murder, any form sexual depravity, genocide, stealing, lying, and anything else that someone could care to add to that list; it is all equal because it all represents a rejection of the way God calls us to live. As a side note, I think one of the most hypocritical things that many "Christians" do is act like one particular sin is worse than another and then vilify one particular group of people by acting like they are beyond God's ability to forgive.
I understand you point of view completely. I'm just saying that doesn't make a lot of sense to me. How would you quantify Ezekiel 18:20, Ecclesiastes 9:5, Genesis 3:19, etc? The bible is consistent front to back in saying we will return to the ground and be conscious of nothing. If heaven/hell is the final destination for all, we would have to be conscious in order to experience such...right? To add to a bit more to explain my point of view...what was God's original purpose for man? Was it to go to heaven? No it wasn't. God already created angels in the heavens. He intended for Adam and Eve to live eternally and "fill the earth and subdue it". God also cannot lie, which means his purpose will be accomplished. Where does people (flesh and blood humans, not Angels created as spirit beings) dying and going to a spirit realm fit in? How does that help accomplish God's purpose for man? It doesn't if you ask me.
First, death is a bodiless state in which we are present with the Lord. That means in the spirit. Second, "the dead in Christ will rise first" applies to the sequence of events at the return of Christ; namely, that the resurrection of our bodies -- those who have died -- will immediately precede the rapture of those who belong to Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). The union of glorified bodies and spirits will be forever! Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Here is my deep thought for the day Would we be having this or many other discussions if there was a deer season open right now?
Matthew 25:46- Words of Jesus "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." John 3:16- Words of Jesus "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life." To not believe in an after-life is to not believe in Jesus. Although it is true that our earthly bodies will die and go back to dust, that does not mean that our spirits will die. When we die, our spirits will leave our earthly body and God will give us a new and incorruptible body. Philippians 3:21- Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body..."
