Religion Questions??

[ensbergcollector]

gatorboymike - if I can ask, what were the circumstances growing up that led to you being constantly harassed by christians? did you go to christian school or was it a family thing? I only ask because while pressure and harassment exist, I have never seen it exist to the degree you describe.

[gladdyontherise]

for starters, 2/3 of the Christian bible is the jewish bible. so we have more in common than a lot of people think.

while god created people who have committed atrocities, he didn't create people to commit atrocities. The basic thrust of hatred from christians to jews is the horrible attitude that the Jews are responsible for the death of Jesus.
All of us are responsible for his death, however. He died for our salvation so my sin put him on the cross as much as the jews who stood in the crowd and watched it.

I do apologize for the harassment you receive. There is nothing in scripture that puts any blame on the jews. In fact, in the first 100+ years after jesus, it was the jews who persecuted the christians.

I know that the nazi's crimes against the jews had more to do with darwin's theory of evolution than the bible.

i think it seems almost pratical though that a christian could hate a jew based on the information of history. some people i think may just be brain watched, views are views but what could a person living today have anything to do with now? some people need maybe a little common sense

the harassment is typical to be in high school, i dont take it to much to heart because otherwise i'd be miserable. i don't see how it can be proven theres heaven and hell, no one is perfect and everyone does good and bad stuff i think

[ensbergcollector]

i think it seems almost pratical though that a christian could hate a jew based on the information of history. some people i think may just be brain watched, views are views but what could a person living today have anything to do with now? some people need maybe a little common sense

the harassment is typical to be in high school, i dont take it to much to heart because otherwise i'd be miserable. i don't see how it can be proven theres heaven and hell, no one is perfect and everyone does good and bad stuff i think

well, heaven and hell, like anything else based on religion is going to be about faith. No one is perfect, that is why all religions, answer how we can be reconciled to God despite our sins.

[ensbergcollector]

Wow...if you guys were right in front of each other, this would be the biggest brawl on history. People are free to express whatever they want, but in doing so, we have to be careful not to hurt the other feelings and we need to respect their opinions. I think that ensbergcollector is doing a good job on trying to maintain this thread as civilized as possible.

yeah, I know religion is a hard thing to keep civil but hopefully we can do it. I think there are a lot of people with questions and misunderstandings and a lot of wrong has been done that people associate with God. Hopefully the thread can stay open and who knows, maybe we can mend some fences (which doesn't mean I am trying to convert anyone!)

thanks for your positive posts! I appreciate it.

[WilyWestbrook0]

very interested in hearing your view on this

Back to address this one: a verse that everyone has heard of is John 3:16, but little is said of the portion that goes that believers will not "perish" but have "everlasting life." The word perish, to my understanding, has always meant cessation of all existence. Many think this verse just applies to human death, but all humans, including believers, perish in that same way, so why would the verse distinguish between everlasting life and perishing? We believe it is because torment in hell is not eternal, but ceases after some time.

There is also the case of Revelation 20:11-15, which describes the judgment of the dead. Death and Hades are described thus in verse 14: "[they] were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." Death is cessation of life. If people die in this life, and then Hades (hell) dies, then it doesn't sound like it's eternal to me. It sounds like the lake of fire burns them up and they cease all existence.

Finally, there are also the concepts to consider of human evil and infinity. All human beings sin, but no human beings are so evil that they sin every second. Even if some people were that evil, their lives are finite. No human being is so horrible that it takes eternal torment to somehow equalize what they have done in this life.

[JayJagFan]

I think you may have missed my question...

[walt55054life]

Back to address this one: a verse that everyone has heard of is John 3:16, but little is said of the portion that goes that believers will not "perish" but have "everlasting life." The word perish, to my understanding, has always meant cessation of all existence. Many think this verse just applies to human death, but all humans, including believers, perish in that same way, so why would the verse distinguish between everlasting life and perishing? We believe it is because torment in hell is not eternal, but ceases after some time.

There is also the case of Revelation 20:11-15, which describes the judgment of the dead. Death and Hades are described thus in verse 14: "[they] were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." Death is cessation of life. If people die in this life, and then Hades (hell) dies, then it doesn't sound like it's eternal to me. It sounds like the lake of fire burns them up and they cease all existence.

Finally, there are also the concepts to consider of human evil and infinity. All human beings sin, but no human beings are so evil that they sin every second. Even if some people were that evil, their lives are finite. No human being is so horrible that it takes eternal torment to somehow equalize what they have done in this life.

Very interesting perhaps I will look more into this and come up with a thought....one question w/ you say it sounds like the lake of fire burns them up and they cease all existence are you saying that they die humanly go to hell then die and then cease to exist in heaven or hell?

[ensbergcollector]

What does the Bible say about the events leading up to the end of the world? My friend has told me it says (or implies) things about a one world government, a major world leader claiming to be Jesus, and other stuff.

hey man,

sorry for missing that. I knew I was gonna miss one.

What revelation talks about is a false prophet who is a servant of Satan and who will influence many people. It doesn't mention that he is a world leader or a one world government. People have stated things like that because of the influence on people that this false prophet obviously has.
If you want to read what it says, the majority is in Revelation 16. If you don't have a bible handy you can use www.biblegateway.com

[gatorboymike]

I know that the nazi's crimes against the jews had more to do with darwin's theory of evolution than the bible.

Wow. You just instantly, utterly, permanently, and irrevocably destroyed every last drop of credibility you had in my mind. I was a fool to ask you any questions in the first place. I have no desire to continue this discussion or any other with you, sir.

gatorboymike - if I can ask, what were the circumstances growing up that led to you being constantly harassed by christians? did you go to christian school or was it a family thing? I only ask because while pressure and harassment exist, I have never seen it exist to the degree you describe.

I suspect that's because you try not to see it. Try looking at things from someone else's point of view.

[walt55054life]

Wow. You just instantly, utterly, permanently, and irrevocably destroyed every last drop of credibility you had in my mind. I was a fool to ask you any questions in the first place. I have no desire to continue this discussion or any other with you, sir.



From all indications, being surrounded by people like YOU. Goodbye.

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!plus I dont konw what you did to rub him the wrong way the nazis had nothing to do w/ religion