Zone1 Religious question

[Carl in Michigan]

The short answer is that allegory or parable does not worry about unimportant details and may or may not care about technicalities, artist renditions usually come from personal vision/perspective/bias and may or may not be even close to accurate, and there was no artwork or photographs or video of the events in the Biblical creation stories.

Jesus agreed the creation story is fact. You want to make it something less

 

[Carl in Michigan]

Spirit beings have a shape and form.

Are there any Bible verses that tell us that Go has no physical shape or biological characteristics such as sex/gender? If I recall, the Bible seems to refer to God as a He or Father and that mankind have been created in the very image of God.

Spirit beings have a form and shape. Man was created in that same shape

 

[Foxfyre]

If God made us and we are impure, than that is God's doing and we aren't at fault or to be blamed for it.
Unless God is crazy and schezoo ...

I recall God's conversation with grocer Jerry Landers in the old movie "Oh God" (George Burns played God - John Denver played Landers.)

When Landers asked why there was sin/evil in the world God responded:

I never figure out how to make an up without a down
How to make an in without an out
There can be no good without the possibility of bad.
There can be no love without the possibility of being unloving.

I think God created us and gave us free choice and will so that we could experience all the wonders of goodness even though that free choice and will allows us to make choices that have spoiled God's perfect Creation. Sin is bad and God is against it because it does spoil His perfect Creation, hurts those he loves

The movie was terrible theology but did have some good lines:

• Jerry Landers: How can you permit all the suffering that goes on the world?
• God: Ah, how can I permit the suffering?
• Jerry Landers: Yeah!
• God: I don't permit the suffering. You do! Free will. All the choices are yours.
• Jerry Landers: Choices? What choices?
• God: You can love each other, cherish and nurture each other or you can kill each other.

 

[Foxfyre]

You call having students memorize Bible versus in Public Schools not indoctrination of them?

BTW that one sample you provided wasn't the last it was the first.

Did I say Bible verse memorization in public schools? I'm quite certain I did not. Should I refer you to the remedial reading comprehension course I have recommended to so many others?

 

[onefour1]

I recall God's conversation with grocer Jerry Landers in the old movie "Oh God" (George Burns played God - John Denver played Landers.)

When Landers asked why there was sin/evil in the world God responded:

I never figure out how to make an up without a down
How to make an in without an out
There can be no good without the possibility of bad.
There can be no love without the possibility of being unloving.

I think God created us and gave us free choice and will so that we could experience all the wonders of goodness even though that free choice and will allows us to make choices that have spoiled God's perfect Creation. Sin is bad and God is against it because it does spoil His perfect Creation, hurts those he loves

The movie was terrible theology but did have some good lines:

• Jerry Landers: How can you permit all the suffering that goes on the world?
• God: Ah, how can I permit the suffering?
• Jerry Landers: Yeah!
• God: I don't permit the suffering. You do! Free will. All the choices are yours.
• Jerry Landers: Choices? What choices?
• God: You can love each other, cherish and nurture each other or you can kill each other.

Good post but I think that free will was essential so that God could have his creations choose freely to become good beings in and of themselves. If God were to force his will upon us, then we would not be good beings of our own free will and choice which is what God himself is. But with free will we can become like God in becoming truly good beings of our own free will and choice. God wanted it this way so that we would truly become true good beings in and of ourselves.

 

[Carl in Michigan]

my father worked for the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Illinois. H started off as a Linotype Operator and moved to typeset with a Mainframe Computer when they were invented. They sold him a 3 bedroom house with a basement across the street for 30k and he and I had access to the place 24/7. They printed all the Pamphlets for most of the Denominations in the US and some magazines including the Model T Magazine. Back in the 70's I had access to their Library and everything on the Faith of Christianity and I studied them on my free time.

There are more Books of the Bible then they put in the King James version. He didn't like them and chose not to include them. And there were many books of explanations of the Bible and other Religious texts. I got my information from them.
True some stuff I elaborated myself using logic and common sense.

Everyone in Heaven are Brothers was in one of those texts

Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven because God can't accept the impure and we are all impure. Since even the memory of a sin is a sin that has to be removed. And memory of thing you are proud of or accomplish are sins. Yelling at a rainstorm is a sin. Everything is a sin so the only way you can get into Heaven is to strip all memories of this life.

Follow the light and the spirit is always interpreted as a light so we are all little lights joining the big light.

Our reward is eternal bliss or ecstasy. ie. you will spend all eternity in pure ecstasy unable to think of anything else.

Nothing we did in life will matter in Heaven once forgiven. Even those in Purgatory gets a second chance at accepting Christ, even Hitler and Gandhi.

Lucifer was from a fictional series.

The rest are just theories of mine.

Much of what you've posted here is theory you've accepted as fact

 

[Foxfyre]

Jesus agreed the creation story is fact. You want to make it something less

Did he? I have taught my personal belief that the one true God created the universe and all that is in it. I teach that the Genesis stories clearly illustrate that. If I believe the stories are teaching tools not to be taken absolutely literally does not change the fact that Creation happened and God did it.

If you don't share my belief that is fine. I don't expect or require my students to share it but rather to use logic, reason, critical thinking to understand it. Some choose to believe the accounts literally. And some are confirmed or relieved to appreciate that they don't have to believe them literally in order to acknowledge God's mighty power and what He has done.

 

[Slyhunter]

Did I say Bible verse memorization in public schools? I'm quite certain I did not. Should I refer you to the remedial reading comprehension course I have recommended to so many others?

whatever school it is still indoctrination.

 

[Foxfyre]

Good post but I think that free will was essential so that God could have his creations choose freely to become good beings in and of themselves. If God were to force his will upon us, then we would not be good beings of our own free will and choice which is what God himself is. But with free will we can become like God in becoming truly good beings of our own free will and choice. God wanted it this way so that we would truly become true good beings in and of ourselves.

And with your post here congratulations. Another one who is capable of critical thinking instead of just reciting what they have been taught they must believe is true.

Logic and reason informs us that with no free will we are nothing more than mindless puppets manipulated by some unseen force in the universe. And there would be no purpose for humankind to go through all this. All the horrors humankind has inflicted upon themselves and the world would be God's choice and that would make him a capricious and sadistic god. The God I have a personal relationship would never have wanted or caused that for any of us. But He allows us to sin in order for us to also be able to believe, love, choose good over evil.

Sin is bad because of the short range and long range effect that spoils God's perfect Creation. And God's Law comes with reward, blessings, miracles, wonders as well as consequences for sin in which the rain falls on both the just and the unjust.

 

[Foxfyre]

whatever school it is still indoctrination.

I am so sorry you think that because you are so wrong. But have a wonderful day.