Ah! Once again, my friend, I see you've nothing better to do than to make your way to my lair to see what's going on here. Unfortunately for you, you've caught me in a surly mood.
I've just been insulted because of my point of view on an issue that is not, in my opinion, relevant to salvation, by someone who apparently thinks everything is a salvation issue. And as if this weren't ugly enough, this person can offer absolutely NO biblical support for their point of view. And when I asked for a scriptural basis for this person's beliefs, they could offer nothing except more disparaging remarks.
Wow. How does that happen? What kind of person will attack your opinion about something, just because it differs from their own? An even better question is, what kind of person believes what they've always been taught without having checked out those beliefs by testing them against scripture? Sadly, I think this is a case of confusing scripture with tradition.
The exact issue at question isn't relevant to this particular rant, but it is a rather hot topic and I'm sure I'll have much to say about it in a future post, but for now the question I put to you is:
Where does your faith come from?
Is it truly yours, or are you simply a parrot repeating what you've always been told? I don't know of anything more depressing, frustrating, and infuriating, than to meet someone who believes what they believe because it's what they've been told to believe. If you find yourself guilty of this, dear reader, I can not encourage you strongly enough to study! Read your Bible! Question your beliefs! Your parents are human! Your sunday school teachers are human! Your pastor is human! Your Elders and Deacons are human! So what? So they are every one of them flawed. None of them are perfect. And everyone of them have their own bias and opinions which they are all too happy to spread to others.
Now this is NOT to say that I don't advocate listening to the advice or opinion of wise and godly men and women. And I'm not saying we shouldn't listen to our parents. The Lord knows I expect my children to listen and to believe what I tell them. But as they get older, I will expect them more and more, to take my advice, or my teaching, and compare it with what they read in their Bible. Believing what your parents tell you is fine until you become an adult, but by the time you get there you should have learned how to think for yourself! Or at the very least, how to read! So I encourage you my newly found friend, question everything. Ask yourself why you believe what you believe. I encourage you to read your Bible, to read books by christian authors, and to pray, asking God to reveal His Will to you through your study of his Word. Grow out of your parents' faith. Make your beliefs, your Faith, your own!
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Why the Hell?
This posting is an excerpt from an email I sent to a friend of mine at church. He thought it was interesting enough to share. If you agree, great. If not, sorry for taking up your time.
Jeremy !!
Been thinking about what you said Saturday, and just wanted to share some thoughts with you in hopes of starting a discussion that we both might find illuminating or, at least, interesting. You ask, "How could a loving God send individual parts of His creation to hell? Especially if hell is as described, a place of darkness and fire that will cause those sent there to feel agonizing torment for ever and ever?" Hmmmm. Well, the obvious answer is one that you touched on already. The ever popular, "God doesn't send people to hell, people send themselves there." When I was a member at RHCC before (back in the early 90's), Rick taught a lesson in which he postulated the idea that when it comes to our eternal destination, God simply honors the choice we make in life. If we spend our life loving Him, chasing after Him, trying to learn more about Him, then in the afterlife He'll grant our wish. If, on the other hand, we spend our life disbelieving or, at the very least, not really caring one way or the other, basically spending our life outside of God's presence, there again, God will give us exactly what we sought in life: an existence outside His presence.
Something else I wonder: Is it possible that there is something that's impossible for God? Could it be that because of God's very nature, it's impossible for anything impure or unholy to be in His presence? That would pretty much include me, you, and everyone else we know. That's where the Good News comes into play. Check this out, what if . . .
1) God is Holy
2) God loves His creation and wants us to spend eternity with Him
3) Nothing unholy can exist in God's presence
4) Man is fallen, inherently sinful, unholy
5) Man can never enter God's presence
6) Jesus' blood can cleanse us and make us holy again
7) Anyone who wishes to spend eternity with God can be made holy, per #6.
See? I wonder if the people who will end up in hell will do so simply because they failed to make themselves holy? And, perhaps sending people to hell is not a decision God makes out of wrath, or to punish, or for revenge. Perhaps hell is simply the only alternative to heaven? We believe our souls to be immortal, right? What if that immortality is not an intrinsic attribute, but is contingent on God's presence? As long as we're alive, we are in God's presence, eh? God is omnipresent, so he's present in wedding chapels, church buildings, hospital rooms, funeral homes, at the top of the highest mountain, and in the deepest ocean. Then he's also on Death Row, in the crack houses, in the meth labs, and in the alleys with the pimps and the hookers. His creation is infused, saturated, with His being, His presence. As long as anyone, no matter where they are, is alive then they have an immortal soul, and God yearns for them to love Him, and get to know Him. As long as there is life, the opportunity to become holy through Jesus' blood exists.
BUT
Once it's over, it's over. Once you've reached the end of your Life, it's too late. Sin's stain becomes permanent. Matthew tells us (chptr 22, v32) that God is the God of the living, not the dead. Jesus' blood only cleanses the Living from our sins, our stains, our darkness. That gift is not offered to the Dead. So if our souls' immortality is contingent upon being in His presence, and nothing unholy can exist in God's presence, then maybe what happens is that all the souls that are outside His presence lose the ability to remain viable, to exist? Hell has been described as "everlasting" punishment. As in punishment that never ends. But perhaps instead of never ending, the word "everlasting" should be interpreted as "permanent". Perhaps hell is the final, irrevocable, and permanent destruction or dissolution of souls that are outside of God's will? From what I understand, the word "hell" in the original bible texts is often actually the word "sheol", which means "grave". So maybe when we die, those souls that are holy (through Jesus' blood) are capable of entering into God's presence, and those not covered (therefore, unholy) can't and so end up dying, and because of God's very nature, He can't, or maybe won't, do anything about it.
Whether any of this makes sense, or is scripturally accurate, I don't know. But the one thing I do know, is that I don't know everything. When these kind of subjects get too deep or complicated, I always come back to this thought: There's only one God, and He ain't me. His ways are not my ways. Besides, if it was possible for us to figure out everything, what would we need faith for?
Jeremy !!
Been thinking about what you said Saturday, and just wanted to share some thoughts with you in hopes of starting a discussion that we both might find illuminating or, at least, interesting. You ask, "How could a loving God send individual parts of His creation to hell? Especially if hell is as described, a place of darkness and fire that will cause those sent there to feel agonizing torment for ever and ever?" Hmmmm. Well, the obvious answer is one that you touched on already. The ever popular, "God doesn't send people to hell, people send themselves there." When I was a member at RHCC before (back in the early 90's), Rick taught a lesson in which he postulated the idea that when it comes to our eternal destination, God simply honors the choice we make in life. If we spend our life loving Him, chasing after Him, trying to learn more about Him, then in the afterlife He'll grant our wish. If, on the other hand, we spend our life disbelieving or, at the very least, not really caring one way or the other, basically spending our life outside of God's presence, there again, God will give us exactly what we sought in life: an existence outside His presence.
Something else I wonder: Is it possible that there is something that's impossible for God? Could it be that because of God's very nature, it's impossible for anything impure or unholy to be in His presence? That would pretty much include me, you, and everyone else we know. That's where the Good News comes into play. Check this out, what if . . .
1) God is Holy
2) God loves His creation and wants us to spend eternity with Him
3) Nothing unholy can exist in God's presence
4) Man is fallen, inherently sinful, unholy
5) Man can never enter God's presence
6) Jesus' blood can cleanse us and make us holy again
7) Anyone who wishes to spend eternity with God can be made holy, per #6.
See? I wonder if the people who will end up in hell will do so simply because they failed to make themselves holy? And, perhaps sending people to hell is not a decision God makes out of wrath, or to punish, or for revenge. Perhaps hell is simply the only alternative to heaven? We believe our souls to be immortal, right? What if that immortality is not an intrinsic attribute, but is contingent on God's presence? As long as we're alive, we are in God's presence, eh? God is omnipresent, so he's present in wedding chapels, church buildings, hospital rooms, funeral homes, at the top of the highest mountain, and in the deepest ocean. Then he's also on Death Row, in the crack houses, in the meth labs, and in the alleys with the pimps and the hookers. His creation is infused, saturated, with His being, His presence. As long as anyone, no matter where they are, is alive then they have an immortal soul, and God yearns for them to love Him, and get to know Him. As long as there is life, the opportunity to become holy through Jesus' blood exists.
BUT
Once it's over, it's over. Once you've reached the end of your Life, it's too late. Sin's stain becomes permanent. Matthew tells us (chptr 22, v32) that God is the God of the living, not the dead. Jesus' blood only cleanses the Living from our sins, our stains, our darkness. That gift is not offered to the Dead. So if our souls' immortality is contingent upon being in His presence, and nothing unholy can exist in God's presence, then maybe what happens is that all the souls that are outside His presence lose the ability to remain viable, to exist? Hell has been described as "everlasting" punishment. As in punishment that never ends. But perhaps instead of never ending, the word "everlasting" should be interpreted as "permanent". Perhaps hell is the final, irrevocable, and permanent destruction or dissolution of souls that are outside of God's will? From what I understand, the word "hell" in the original bible texts is often actually the word "sheol", which means "grave". So maybe when we die, those souls that are holy (through Jesus' blood) are capable of entering into God's presence, and those not covered (therefore, unholy) can't and so end up dying, and because of God's very nature, He can't, or maybe won't, do anything about it.
Whether any of this makes sense, or is scripturally accurate, I don't know. But the one thing I do know, is that I don't know everything. When these kind of subjects get too deep or complicated, I always come back to this thought: There's only one God, and He ain't me. His ways are not my ways. Besides, if it was possible for us to figure out everything, what would we need faith for?
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Welcome!
Greetings, Dear Reader!
I'm sorry you're so bored today. How's that? Oh, well, simple really.
I simply can't fathom a scenario in which someone of your wit and intelligence would find themselves in a situation where you end up asking yourself, "I wonder what Ken is thinking right now?"
Let me try . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . nope, can't see it.
I must conclude therefore, that you are reading this out of sheer boredom, or perhaps simply a morbid curiosity that would cause you to wonder what goes on inside the mind of a wyrm.
Specifically, the Drumwyrm.
Fear not, for I will never fully reveal that to you.
(You're welcome.)
However, like Dumbledore's pensieve, there are some thoughts rattling around in my cranium which might manage to escape, and end up in here.
Why "Breath Weapon"? Hmmm, that seems rather obvious don't you agree? My words can sometimes be inflammatory.
And for the uninitiated,
Wyrm (wurm), noun: a type of dragon with a long slender body, often able to breathe fire.
Alrighty then?
I don't know how often I'll post, nor can I promise that any of it will be worth reading, so just remember - You can always click the "back" button, and navigate to a worthier blogger's post.
For those of you who choose to read on: You have my apologies, and my gratitude.
Thank you for the amount of time, however short or long, that you choose to spend with me!
I'm sorry you're so bored today. How's that? Oh, well, simple really.
I simply can't fathom a scenario in which someone of your wit and intelligence would find themselves in a situation where you end up asking yourself, "I wonder what Ken is thinking right now?"
Let me try . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . nope, can't see it.
I must conclude therefore, that you are reading this out of sheer boredom, or perhaps simply a morbid curiosity that would cause you to wonder what goes on inside the mind of a wyrm.
Specifically, the Drumwyrm.
Fear not, for I will never fully reveal that to you.
(You're welcome.)
However, like Dumbledore's pensieve, there are some thoughts rattling around in my cranium which might manage to escape, and end up in here.
Why "Breath Weapon"? Hmmm, that seems rather obvious don't you agree? My words can sometimes be inflammatory.
And for the uninitiated,
Wyrm (wurm), noun: a type of dragon with a long slender body, often able to breathe fire.
Alrighty then?
I don't know how often I'll post, nor can I promise that any of it will be worth reading, so just remember - You can always click the "back" button, and navigate to a worthier blogger's post.
For those of you who choose to read on: You have my apologies, and my gratitude.
Thank you for the amount of time, however short or long, that you choose to spend with me!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)