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No, we get that, and you probably won't be aware of the bad reaction I got when I suggested that (as St Paul suggested) good works won't get you saved - only faith in Jesusgod will do that, but bad works can get you unsaved. You may not subscribe to the 'always saved' dogma, but I think you are getting the dogma wrong if you suggest that good works alone will get one saved without faith (if they did why would you need faith?) and that having the faith, you can get right with God without paying your debt to society, but just by repenting - every time you do it.
You are going to say it has to genuine repentance with the intent to "Go, and sin no more"? You are going to tell me that a repeat offender Jesusbeliever has lost his salvation? I don't think it works that way.
No, mate, Christianity make a point of massively weighting the scales in favour of the believer.
So....we aren't really saved? We're just kind of in a state of flux depending on what we've done for God lately?
But Hawking was not a mental specialist but a physicist, and for my money went far, far beyond the funny feelings plus free speculation that the "Spiritual" are pleased to claim as advanced wisdom.
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Good point.
Let me please add that there is a very fine line sometimes between theoretical physics and spirituality. More so than many realize
Besides the writings of Hawking " in Search for a theory of everything" and the writings of futurist Michio Kaku, Joseph Campbell' s "The Inner Reaches of Outer Space" explore mankind's merging of science and mythology.
Excellent read btw
Yes, but you are rather subtle, too elegant by half. I'd like to flesh your idea out.
First some spiritual ground rules.
God only does for us what we cannot do for ourself.
People can place themselves beyond human aid, addicts are one group.
Science has no answer for this because it centers in the mind, its a spiritual illness.
These are the ones who , if they cross all the T and i's, can cross the gap of reason that cannot be bridged by intellect or science .
It requires a leap of faith.
And that's when they find out if there is a thing we call God or not.
I was atheist for 45 yrs and had that experience
, its not necessary to die to find out.
But spending a few decades clinging to the gates of hell does help make the stubborn teachable.
Thank you for your take. Interesting that you are among the more unique who develops their belief along these lines later in life rather than as a result of upbringing. I am always interested in these "leaps of faith" that cause people to believe so strongly what they do...
Your story reminds me of another person fairly well known but not of science, rather music, the arts, Cat Stevens. I recently read that he was in the water in Malibu, California when he began to fear he was going to drown. He claims he asked God to save him and if God did, he would devote his life to God. Next thing a wave came along that Cat Stevens credits for saving his life, pushing him toward shore.
Of course anyone who knows Cat Stevens also knows he became a Muslim soon after, leaving the music business to the chagrin of all his fans (like me) for nearly 30 years. Go figure...
So....we aren't really saved? We're just kind of in a state of flux depending on what we've done for God lately?
How is that good news?
No, on all evidence and reason, we aren't. It may not be Good news, but it is (on reason and evidence) true news. And the good news is you can make the most of this life because you don't waste it fretting about about whether you are good enough for the next.
Yes, hard truths rather than comfortable lies is good in itself, but there really is Good news in 'make the most of this life, it's the only one you get'.
Yes a beautiful wish, but come now, are you suggesting that God is going to make Stephen perfectly well and whole in heaven (and what's he doing there as an atheist?) after letting him spend half his life in a wheelchair? That doesn't make any sense.
The real Beauty is that despite the disability that was dished out to him, human technological ingenuity allowed him to do good work and achieve so much.
"Nobody is old and nobody wears glasses." (Colton Burpo, Heaven is for real)
Also google Anita Moorjani.
I can't speak with authority (not having had an NDE or been there myself yet), but I would wager that there's a significant step forward in 'health' just by being unshackled from infirmities of the material realm. The mind however, being closer to / overlapping the spirit may yet require regeneration - there are still matters that we have to exercise choice over. It's the dichotomy of "I believe, but help my unbelief.". - a broad spectrum.
Human beings are judged for sin. Things we do against the command of God, things we don't do that he commands. Every single one of us are guilty of sin, and every single one of us are deserving of being punished in hell. God has explicitly stated that. We are not judged simply because we don't believe.
Did you catch that? Would you like further clarification?
Who judges and for what is also a matter that depends on who you ask, but ask me, and I agree we are all guilty of "sin" or wrong doing, primarily in terms of how we treat one another. All too often as a result of our differences with regard to these truths as we may know them, or have faith in them, or insist upon...
I often ask others by what criteria we can all agree upon to better arrive at what is the truth for all concerned. One proof of sorts, that raises the question of God for me is Man himself. While we can rightfully credit ourselves for being able to reason, like no other creature known to Man, what we do with that ability is all too often wasteful, misguided and prone toward all manner of wrong-doing. So badly flawed in these regards, I hardly think it appropriate to credit -- blame -- any divine being with our creation.
Whether "explicitly stated" anything along these lines, I also agree we are not judged simply because we don't believe, but also because of what we DO believe and why.
Man must judge and judge wisely, certainly better than we have been able up to now...
No, on all evidence and reason, we aren't. It may not be Good news, but it is (on reason and evidence) true news. And the good news is you can make the most of this life because you don't waste it fretting about about whether you are good enough for the next.
Yes, hard truths rather than comfortable lies is good in itself, but there really is Good news in 'make the most of this life, it's the only one you get'.
My prayer is that someday you may find true salvation and comfort in knowing God, and you can trust in HIM alone for salvation.
So....we aren't really saved? We're just kind of in a state of flux depending on what we've done for God lately?
How is that good news?
No, G-d created all of mankind innocent and good. We've learned to do bad things to each other over the centuries, and must atone to the victims for those actions. But those are not sins against G-d. He loves all of us as the perfect creations that we were, and forgives us when we do wrong and atone for it to others.
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