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That's correct. My literal father is a human male.
I am not of the same substance as God, nor did I proceed from Him biologically.
So, figuratively, you are a child of God based on believing and doing certain things, which gives you the right to be adopted, spiritually as a son or daughter. And, if you fail, then you are destine for purgatory or a place of correction, unless you fail miserably and are sent to a permanent place. Where you will have to endure a life of pain and suffering (gnashing of your teeth) for all eternity. That's if, you don't balance the scales by confessing your sins, while in this physical world? Perhaps, I have over simplified it, but if this is the jest of it. Then, I would skip the adoption process, and find a better role model for a father. One who doesn't send you to the woodshed - indefinitely for the errors of a finite life. Especially, for merely not believing that which you cannot see, according to most fundamentalists. It sounds like a human construct (belief) predicated on fear, power and control. Of course, you first have to be convinced that you are a sinner in need of a cure - before it is effective.
It cannot be just or fully deserved! You completely misunderstand the actual significance of Jesus's words on the Cross when He said we should be forgiven because "we know not what we do." This is known in law as "Mens Rea" or "guilty mind." In our unavoidable and complete ignorance of God, we can not have a guilty mind. It is our state of mind that convicts or condemns us, NOT God.
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Originally Posted by EscAlaMike
You're wrong. Plenty of us know exactly what we're doing. It's true that some of us don't. We will all be judged accordingly.
God is All in All. If we are condemned, God plays a part in that, though repentance is our responsibility.
Our ignorance of God is neither complete nor unavoidable. God is not so cruel as to leave us in hopeless ignorance.
No one KNOWS anything about God, Mike. We all BELIEVE things but we do not KNOW anything making us completely and unavoidably ignorant about God. Punishing us in any way for that ignorance would be preposterous and contradicted by Jesus's agape love and forgiveness on the Cross. We are forgiven because we KNOW NOT what we do.
You have swallowed the "precepts and doctrines of men" hook, line, and sinker. The punitive human justice you use blasphemes God's Holy Spirit and Divine Justice. You deny that God has made us in His image and likeness when you deny that we are His children.
So, figuratively, you are a child of God based on believing and doing certain things, which gives you the right to be adopted, spiritually as a son or daughter. And, if you fail, then you are destine for purgatory or a place of correction, unless you fail miserably and are sent to a permanent place. Where you will have to endure a life of pain and suffering (gnashing of your teeth) for all eternity. That's if, you don't balance the scales by confessing your sins, while in this physical world? Perhaps, I have over simplified it, but if this is the jest of it. Then, I would skip the adoption process, and find a better role model for a father. One who doesn't send you to the woodshed - indefinitely for the errors of a finite life. Especially, for merely not believing that which you cannot see, according to most fundamentalists. It sounds like a human construct (belief) predicated on fear, power and control. Of course, you first have to be convinced that you are a sinner in need of a cure - before it is effective.
There is a deep seated delusion that permeates broken sinners, The delusion = I can contribute to my salvation.
He saved us. It was all his doing; we had nothing to do with it. He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit. ~MSG
There is a deep seated delusion that permeates broken sinners, The delusion = I can contribute to my salvation.
He saved us. It was all his doing; we had nothing to do with it. He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit. ~MSG
I find No delusion in Jesus' words of Matthew 12:32 that there is NO forgiveness for committing the unforgivable sin.
So, it is No wonder that 1st Corinthians 10:12 warns to beware......
If one can't contribute, then there would be No point to Jesus' words found at Matthew 24:13
I find No delusion in Jesus' words of Matthew 12:32 that there is NO forgiveness for committing the unforgivable sin.
Apparently, you have no idea concerning the age or the ages to come, where all thing are forgiven, so there is no unforgivable sin in the ages to come.
The proconsul then said to [Polycarp], "I have wild beasts at hand; to these will I cast you, unless you repent."
But he answered, "Call them then, for we are not accustomed to repent of what is good in order to adopt that which is evil; and it is well for me to be changed from what is evil to what is righteous."
But again the proconsul said to him, "I will cause you to be consumed by fire, seeing you despise the wild beasts, if you will not repent."
But Polycarp said, "You threaten me with fire which burns for an hour, and after a little is extinguished, but are ignorant of the fire of the coming judgment and of eternal punishment, reserved for the ungodly. But why do you tarry? Bring forth what you will."
The concept of eternal hell is one of the two main things that made me question the whole Christian thing . The idea of never ending purposeful tormenting any living being for eternity shouldn’t make sense to any thinking person . We wouldn’t treat a stray cat this way .
The Jewish hell, which Christianity gets the idea from , is one of limited durathat corresponds exactly to the harm caused by the person while alive . The maximum time one can spend in hell in Jewish thought is 12 months . A much more mature concept of punishing humans .
The final straw for me was when an evangelist at church addresses the comment about those who never here about it simply because of an accident of birth . His remark was “ What about those Chinese that never hear ? Well, that’s just their tough luck .” I thought, if this is the best they can do , something is definitely wrong here . Just their tough luck shouldn’t be a theological position .
Hell is the outer court and there is still salvation in the outer court. The problem with Christianity is that they do not know the temple and its comings and goings.
The final straw for me was when an evangelist at church addresses the comment about those who never here about it simply because of an accident of birth . His remark was “ What about those Chinese that never hear ? Well, that’s just their tough luck .” I thought, if this is the best they can do , something is definitely wrong here . Just their tough luck shouldn’t be a theological position .
It's certainly not a valid position.
If anyone is in hell, it is fully deserved.
God judges each according to what he has been given.
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