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Tom_Baum
Guest
Isn’t God supposed to be Omnipresent (present everywhere)?
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Tom_Baum
Guest
The “Consuming Fire of God’s Love” can burn or caress.
When it “burns”, it will burn ALL of the crud, so to speak, away and with some “the Image and Likeness…” might be the only thing left but there will be something left of ALL.
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Tom_Baum
Guest
Could be the same way or something similar that “the human ego” refuses to think/believe that the verses, “This is good and pleasing to God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.”, actually mean what they so simply say.
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Tom_Baum
Guest
Just what do you mean by “prideful stupidity”?It truly does seem as though prideful stupidity is ubiquitous in created beings.
You wrote about “prideful stupidity” in reference to “We see plenty of evidence of the lust for absolute power in this world”, could this be concerning those that want the “best seat in the house”, so to speak, rather than “everyone having a seat in the house”?
The “house” referring to the “good place”.
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Charlemagne_III
Guest
Mostly indicative and fair warning of a place one needs to avoid.
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Charlemagne_III
Guest
“Evil is easy, and has infinite forms.” Blaise Pascal
The stupid person often takes the easy way to evil and is proud of it.
Think of the apple that was stupidly and pridefully eaten.
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tonyrey
Guest
The words of Jesus are clear and precise:
Matt 5:3-10
John 17:20-26
In stark contrast to life on earth there is peace and joy in heaven because everyone is united by unselfish love.
Physical descriptions of hell overlook the fact that it is a self-inflicted state of spiritual isolation caused by lack of love and compassion:
Matt 25:42-46
If we make ourselves detestable by being selfish and callous we are inevitably ostracised and suffer accordingly.
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ThinkingSapien
Guest
Whether or not it could be said to be overlooked depends on the demonization view of hell and whether or not they agree with what you said above. Some may. Some might not.
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Tom_Baum
Guest
Quite a few refer to Matt 25 as you did, but has it occurred to you or anyone else that there is probably no one that is one or the other completely, most, if not all, are a combination of sheep and goat.
You also wrote, “In stark contrast to life on earth there is peace and joy in heaven because everyone is united by unselfish love.”
Have you ever heard it said that one of the “joys” of heaven is to see the “horrors” of those in hell and if you have heard this, do you have an opinion concerning this?
Do you consider this, what is in the above sentence, to be an aspect of when “everyone is united by unselfish love”?
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Tom_Baum
Guest
Maybe when we “Think of the apple that was stupidly and pridefully eaten”, as you put it, we should look in the mirror.“Evil is easy, and has infinite forms.” Blaise Pascal
The stupid person often takes the easy way to evil and is proud of it.
Think of the apple that was stupidly and pridefully eaten.
Personally, I look at the story of “Adam and Eve” as telling us that we have free will, in that we are responsible for our actions, whether or not we acknowledge that responsibility and that we are, definitely, not in Eden.
And as far as the “apple”, as far as I know, there is never an apple mentioned in the story of Adam and Eve.
Jesus did mention something about “evil, sin, wrongdoing” didn’t He, when He spoke of the splinter in our brother’s eye and the redwood in our own eye, my paraphrase?
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Charlemagne_III
Guest
Apple is my favorite pie, so I think the forbidden fruit was apples.
I see you are not one for judging others. I am not either, unless I am willing to judge myself by the same standard. I too have been “stupidly prideful,” so I know it when I see it in others.
The notion that we are not to judge at all is stupidly prideful too.
How can we combat stupid pride unless we call it by its name when we see it?
“Stop judging by appearances, but judge justly.” (John 7:24)
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tonyrey
Guest
I believe it is absurd and inconsistent with God’s infinite love to believe He - or anyone in heaven - delights even in the thought of hell. The harsh reality of evil is an inevitable consequence of free will but it has to be counterbalanced by the power of His love that exceeds anything we can imagine. Who could have predicted He would die for us?
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tonyrey
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GEddie
Guest
Without reference to the disallowed e-topic, biologists have suggested that there is a very important reason why negatives sink deeper into our minds than do positives, to wit:Mostly indicative and fair warning of a place one needs to avoid.
In the forests of our biological ancestry, if you missed a positive (some low-hanging fruit), there might well be another one a few trees away. But if you once failed to avoid the tiger, well that was it.
This led generationally to a human head that is spring-loaded to remembrance and avoidance of the negative.
So it makes sense that the designer of that head, when HE gave out His Gospel, would be heavier on Hell than on Heaven. He wanted to make sure we avoided the ultimate losing scenario. And fortunately, in that context, missing the negative and finding the positive go together.
ICXC NIKA.
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ThinkingSapien
Guest
Once again, it depends. I’ll acknowledge that you declare no doubts in the interpretation that you apply. But there’s variance in the interpretation of the word “father” on that context. Also some take from Rom 9:20-21 that no matter what Yahweh is thought to behave that it is always well within rights as as “pots” we are not in a position to complain.
These variances are all theological. As a spectator I’m not much interested in settling the differences in theology, though I do find the variations themselves interesting.I recognize that different groups have different interpretations of their religious texts and different justifications for their interpretation, including their visualizations of the afterlife.
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Charlemagne_III
Guest
Precisely.
Following a winding road up a mountainside to a Paradise Peak means you also have to very carefully avoid driving over a cliff into an abyss.
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Tom_Baum
Guest
I have never heard it said or written that God “takes joy over seeing the horrors of those in hell” but I have seen it said that people do and I could be wrong but I believe it is in the writings of Thomas Aquinas and maybe among others.
Someone, at least one, posted some sites concerning some people’s thoughts about heaven and hell and unless I misunderstood what I read, it said that one of the “joys” of heaven is to see the “horrors” of those in hell and this is with the thought that this hell is for ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and… , not that this hell has a reason for being other than the “horrors and the foreverness” of it.
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Charlemagne_III
Guest
Seriously doubt that God or anyone else in heaven delights in the suffering of the damned. On the other hand, they would have no reason to mourn either, because hell is a place where justice prevails (or God would not have created hell… the self condemnation of the damned is what they bargained for … a poor bargain indeed. :bigyikes:
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Tom_Baum
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Are you sure that God created hell?
Ever given any thought that God could have allowed us to build our own hell rather than God coming up with a “one size fits all” hell?
Ever thought that the “fire” of hell is the same “fire” as the “Consuming Fire of Love” in heaven, just being experienced in a different way?
Ever thought that there might be a “reason” for hell other than “punishment” for ever and ever?
Ever thought that God just might not have given up on some just because there are those that are sure that God has indeed given up on some?
Supposedly, persistence is something that can be good in a person, may very well be something that is good, very good, in God.
Could very well be that some of those that think that they have God all figured out, only have their “conception” of God all figured out, rather than God all figured out.
Do you think that the “Good News” is called the Good News because it is horrific news?
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Charlemagne_III
Guest
Yes, I’m sure that God created hell, since he created all things.
I haven’t got God all figured out, but the parts of God that the GOSPELS HAVE FIGURED OUT SUIT ME JUST FINE. Hell is in the gospels.
The “Good News” concerns heaven. Those who don’t like the “Good News” choose hell.
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