What do you believe? (paradise, souls, Jehovah, hell)

[tennesseedreamin]

Do you believe that All Scripure is inspired of God, that the Bible is the word of God and that as such it is truth? (2Tim 3:16-17 / 1Thess 2:13 / Jh 17:17)

Do you believe that a God that could make the complex and perfectly organized/function of the universe, living organisms, seasons and functions of earth etc, could and would keep serious flaws or mistakes out of the book He gave to mankind for our guidance, knowledge and preservation of life? (Deut 32:4 / Job 12:13 / Isa 46:9-10 / Jh 17:3)

Do you believe men wrote only what they understood of a subject or that the 2 above are correct? (2Pet 1:20-21 / Acts 3:21)

Do you believe that God is loving, merciful and just? (1Jh 4:8 / Ex 34:6 / Ja 5:11)

Do you believe that all things are known by Him? (Heb 4:13 / Prov 15:3)

In light of all of this, do you believe that God would allow the soul of a dead person to wander about the earth either angry that they were dead or unaware that the were dead?

Do you believe that He would prevent a dead soul from peace after they were acquitted of their sins? (Rom 6:7)

Do you believe that He would allow the death process to be so disorganized as to have thousands of dead sould trapped on earth for hundreds of years? (1Cor 14:33)

When Lazarus died, did he go to heaven?

If so why did Jesus mourn his death?

If Lazarus was enjoying heaven, why would Jesus bring him back to life in a feeble mans body only to die again?

What did Martha mean when she said she knew Lazarus WOULD be resurrected on 'the last day?' (Jh 11:23:24)

What did Jesus mean when he said he would resurrect at 'the last day?' (Jh 6:39:40)

Do you believe that death is the punishment for sin? (Gen 2:16-17 / Gen 3:17-19 / Rom 5:12-19 / Rom 6:23)

Do you believe that the word of God which says the dead are conscious of nothing at all, that they cannot think, work, hope, love, be jealous or praise God? (Eccl 9:5-10 / Ps 146:4 / Ps 115:17 / Isa 38:18)

Do you believe every man sins? (1Cor 15:22 / Rom 5:12 / Rom 3:23)

Do you believe that the soul that is sinning it itself dies? (Ezek 18:4 / Isa 53:12)

If the dead are dead, can they be tormented? (Ps 31:17)

[Padgett2]

I think I will just answer NO to the first question and that pretty much eliminates all the rest.

[desiree253]

In that same vain....

I think I will just answer YES to the first question and that pretty much answers the rest.

I believe God was wise enough knowing we would need them, that he gave us instructions (The Bible) that were either : A.) EXACTLY what He said verbatim... or B.) close enough that it's been acceptable to Him to keep it around for this long, without a need for Him to intervene in creating a new "rule-book".

[tennesseedreamin]

Hmm... Ok then.

[I LOVE NORTH CAROLINA]

Originally Posted by desiree253

In that same vain....

I think I will just answer YES to the first question and that pretty much answers the rest.

I believe God was wise enough knowing we would need them, that he gave us instructions (The Bible) that were either : A.) EXACTLY what He said verbatim... or B.) close enough that it's been acceptable to Him to keep it around for this long, without a need for Him to intervene in creating a new "rule-book".

I agree, my answer is yes to the first question. The Bible is our instruction book for living
Basic
Instruction
Before
Leaving
Earth

[jeffncandace]

Originally Posted by tennesseedreamin

Do you believe that All Scripture is inspired of God, that the Bible is the word of God and that as such it is truth? (2Tim 3:16-17 / 1Thess 2:13 / Jh 17:17)

Yes.

Originally Posted by tennesseedreamin

Do you believe that a God that could make the complex and perfectly organized/function of the universe, living organisms, seasons and functions of earth etc, could and would keep serious flaws or mistakes out of the book He gave to mankind for our guidance, knowledge and preservation of life? (Deut 32:4 / Job 12:13 / Isa 46:9-10 / Jh 17:3)

By that logic there are lots of things that have happened that God could have stopped or changed or kept serious flaws or mistakes out of...and didn't. Why does God allow anything bad to happen? Why did He allow the Holocaust, for example? Why did God allow the Christians to slaughter innocent people in the Crusades? Why did God allow the Israelites to fall to Baal worship and sacrifice their children in a fire? I'm NOT gonna hijack this thread but I KNOW what I have studied and continue to study...it is a flat, non-negotiable fact that the Bible has, at the very least, been seriously mistranslated and misunderstood in parts.

So...I tend to think God God allows human beings some degree of free will to make their own choices about what to believe and what to do. God allows free will because He wants us to choose what is right and true rather than what is wrong and false, so that we may truly grow spiritually rather than be mere automatons. Sometimes people make bad choices, believe the wrong thing, teach erroneous doctrines and take actions that lead to a horrible outcome.

[tennesseedreamin]

Originally Posted by jeffncandace

Yes.



By that logic there are lots of things that have happened that God could have stopped or changed or kept serious flaws or mistakes out of...and didn't. Why does God allow anything bad to happen? Why did He allow the Holocaust, for example? Why did God allow the Christians to slaughter innocent people in the Crusades? Why did God allow the Israelites to fall to Baal worship and sacrifice their children in a fire? I'm NOT gonna hijack this thread but I KNOW what I have studied and continue to study...it is a flat, non-negotiable fact that the Bible has, at the very least, been seriously mistranslated and misunderstood in parts.

.

Read my post about why there is suffering in the world.

Also, it isn't God that makes mistakes, it's men who mistranslate.

[goodytwoshoes]

Yes and what does the Bible say at Proverbs 3:5, "Trust in Jehovah with all your heart, and do not lean upon your own understanding."

[tennesseedreamin]

I would have preferred to make this a new thread because of the following added content on study, but since it's of the same vein I will post here and just hope it will be looked at by all as if it were a new post.

.................................................. ..............

As a teacher, I put questions to my students because I want them to think about the implications of what they are being asked. This challenges their understanding of matters and opens up possibilities in knowledge that they did not previously have. While it is easy to take the easy road with a catch-all answer, this lends nothing to the learning a person could have had they taken the time to examine the questions, and the implications of them. In this case the questions came with Scriptural reference that I encourage you to take advantage of. (1Cor 2:10 / 1Tim 4:15 / Prov 18:15 / Prov 2:4-6)

Remember, the people of Beroea. They were given the priviledge of being recorded in the Bible as being "noble-minded." What gave them this distinction was that upon hearing a thing they went to the Scriptures and examined them to make sure that those things were so. (Acts 17:10-11) John admonishes us "Beloved ones, do not believe every inspired expression, but test the inspired expressions to see whether they originate with God, because many false prophets have gone forth into the world. (1Jh 4:1) So look at the Scriptures, see if what you believe truly comes from them or if they have come from somewhere outside of God's word. If God's word is truth, then as it says, no lie originates with truth. (1Jh 2:21)

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1. Do you believe that All Scripure is inspired of God, that the Bible is the word of God and that as such it is truth? (2Tim 3:16-17 / 1Thess 2:13 / Jh 17:17)

....Yes, the word of God, the holy Scriptures, he Bible is truth.

2. Do you believe that a God that could make the complex and perfectly organized/function of the universe, living organisms, seasons and functions of earth etc, could and would keep serious flaws or mistakes out of the book He gave to mankind for our guidance, knowledge and preservation of life? (Deut 32:4 / Job 12:13 / Isa 46:9-10 / Jh 17:3)

.... Absolutely

3. Do you believe men wrote only what they understood of a subject or that the 2 above are correct? (2Pet 1:20-21 / Acts 3:21)

.... It has often been accused of the Bible that men wrote what they themselves understood of any given matter, therefore, as in this particular question panel, they would have written only what they believed death was and not what death actually was, thereby making the Sciptural explaination of death, invalid.

4. Do you believe that God is loving, merciful and just? (1Jh 4:8 / Ex 34:6 / Ja 5:11)

.... Yes


5. Do you believe that all things are known by Him? (Heb 4:13 / Prov 15:3)

.... Yes

6. In light of all of this, do you believe that God would allow the soul of a dead person to wander about the earth either angry that they were dead or unaware that the were dead?

.... Popular belief, even among those in Christendom, is that many disembodied souls (particularly children) wander about earth unaware they are dead, unable to go to heaven. But if the above Scriptures are correct and God sees them lost and allows them to continue as such, this makes Him neither merciful, just nor loving. The Scriptures point to the only answer then, death is death.


7. Do you believe that He would prevent a dead soul from peace after they were acquitted of their sins? (Rom 6:7)

.... Death acquits a man of his sin because death is the "punishment" for sin, the only punishment thus needed.

8. Do you believe that He would allow the death process to be so disorganized as to have thousands of dead sould trapped on earth for hundreds of years? (1Cor 14:33)

.... If it were His intention that a person live on as spirit after death, it would be a flawed and imperfect system if the dead became lost, making God Himself imperfect. But as the second question here brings to light, nothing God makes is flawed and He Himself is perfect. The dead do not become lost "ghosts" on earth.

9. When Lazarus died, did he go to heaven?

.... No. He was dead.

10. If so why did Jesus mourn his death?

.... Jesus mourned with the family, acknowledging the condition of death as death, nothingness, sleep.

11. If Lazarus was enjoying heaven, why would Jesus bring him back to life in a feeble mans body only to die again?

.... If Lazarus was in heaven, it would have been an unmerciful thing to call him back to suffer the sins and trials of earthly life, but he was not in heaven. Lazarus, along with all who lived before the outpouring of Holy Spirit, had no heavenly calling. His reserrection would have been earthly into the world of God's promise. By raising Lazarus from the dead, not only was Jesus showing God's power, but this made it possible for Lazarus to live until Pentacost when the Spirit anointed the Christian congregation, putting them in line for heavenly life.

12. What did Martha mean when she said she knew Lazarus WOULD be resurrected on 'the last day?' (Jh 11:23:24)

.... Martha, like all who listened to Jesus, understood that the last day did not mean the last day of a person's life, for Lazarus was already dead and she was speaking of a future event. She knew there would come a day when Christ would raise the dead to life, either by heavenly calling, or by earthly and that this day was yet far off. It would come during the 1000 year reign of Christ. Until that time, the dead would be as if in an unconscious sleep state, aware of nothing and able to do nothing, just as God's word of truth said.

13. What did Jesus mean when he said he would resurrect at 'the last day?' (Jh 6:39:40)

.... Answered as above. Jesus knew his time for the worldwide resurrecting of the dead was not yet come.

14. Do you believe that death is the punishment for sin? (Gen 2:16-17 / Gen 3:17-19 / Rom 5:12-19 / Rom 6:23)

.... Yes. A punishment would not be so if death meant nothing more than continued life as a spirit. The punishment of death meant the losing of "life."

15. Do you believe that the word of God which says the dead are conscious of nothing at all, that they cannot think, work, hope, love, be jealous or praise God? (Eccl 9:5-10 / Ps 146:4 / Ps 115:17 / Isa 38:18)

.... Yes, this is the state of death.

16. Do you believe every man sins? (1Cor 15:22 / Rom 5:12 / Rom 3:23)

.... Every man sins, every man suffers death, the punishment, a nonexistant state.

17. Do you believe that the soul that is sinning it itself dies? (Ezek 18:4 / Isa 53:12)

.... People tend to overlook the meaning of this text, it ITSELF will die. It leaves no room for the belief that it lives on.

18. If the dead are dead, can they be tormented? (Ps 31:17)

.... No. Hell itself is thrown into the lake of fire, showing that hell is not a place but a condition, the condition of death, the common grave, and death will be ended.

19. If the dead are dead, can the 'live' in heaven? (Isa 26:14 / Ps 146:4)

.... No. Those who will live in heaven are of a "little flock" who have been approved for heavenly life. This is not a prospect held out to all. For the great majority, the dead are dead, in the ground, dust, awaiting the resurrection when Jesus will raise them to life everlasting in the world of God's promise, the world ruled by God's Kingdom.

The idea of an immortal soul does not originate with Scripture, it is rooted in pagan and mythological belief.

[GreenTeaCRV]

I believe the Bible is inspired by GOD, contains his words and truths... I don't believe in Inerrancy though...

Yes the 1st part and No to the 2nd part... The LORD used fallable humans to write the books of the Bible... Humans make mistakes and sometimes misunderstand things...

I believe that they wrote it with understanding to the best of their ability

Absolutely...

Yes, when he chooses too...

In my understand, No...

No

No

He went to Paradise...

Because of his Love for Lazarus

Good Question... Any answer would be pure speculation...

Judgement Day

Sometimes

No

Yes

Eventually

Spiritually yes