Religion Questions Take II

[ensbergcollector]

hey guys-

thanks for the posts. running to a breakfast meeting but i will respond when i get back. thanks

[ensbergcollector]

I have a question. I'm a lifelong Catholic (not a good one) but I read the Bhagavad Gita and it address a few of my issues (problems with Catholicism).

My problems with Christianity.

1. It always bothered me that I only got one shot at life. When so many circumstances can affect a person's path to heaven. Someone who is beaten their whole childhood with no exposure to type of faith that then ends up killing a person due to these experiences...why does he get such a crappy hand dealt to him where someone who is the son of a pastor who is taught the word of God everyday gets such an easy path. The other aspect of this I had a problem with was that heaven should be difficult to acquire. I would expect to have to live 20 or 100 lives in order to get it right.

Problem: Reincarnation isn't allowed/believed in Catholicism

2. The issue that most Christians have that you must accept Jesus into your heart and fully believe that he is our savior. What about the guy who is born in Iran with no exposure to Christianity. Again he has no shot at getting to that point. Why do I get such easy access to understanding Jesus?

Problem: Jesus, specifically must be accepted into the hearts of an individual in order to go to heaven.

Summary: After reading the Gita (Not that I really understood it) which I suggest everyone to read as it is just a beautiful poem and makes you think. I would think it makes more sense to follow what the Hindu's believe. It states that no matter what you call God, it is the same entity. I think (I don't know) this is why people say they have so many gods but that can't be true if no matter what the name of the different God's are, they are the same person. I do believe there can only be one God so this doesn't dispute that. Also, I do believe that Jesus is our savior and this doesn't eliminate that possibility.

As far as reincarnation goes, it has to exist. I do not accept that I get one shot at getting there and if I don't do it right, I go to h.ell. Also, on the other side don't accept that God expects me to get such an easy path to heaven. Is it possible that purgatory is simply our lives on earth? Compared to heaven our lives on earth would be considered h.ell.

Let me know what you think.

1. Heaven is difficult for some to acheive and easy for others. Not because of getting it right, but because accepting things without physical proof is hard for some and easy for others. We can't get it right. It is true that some people have easier lives than others. However, from my conversations, it is often those who have had the hardest childhoods that become the most faithful adults. Regardless of upbringing, it is usually whether we can accept that there is something more than ourselves and something better than this life.

2. Those who have truly never heard of Jesus will be judged the same as those who lived before he lived. They will not be punished for not knowing of him (That is my opinion and not based on scripture)


there is nothing in all of scripture that would point to reincarnation except our resurrection into heaven. Also, if you study the koran, and the hindu beliefs, and christianity, they simply cannot be the same God. There are too many differences that in order to believe one you can't believe another. The idea that all religions are just different interpretations of the same God has grown in recent years. However, all through scripture God deals with the idea that there are those who worship him and there are those who worship false Gods. The same is true today.
While I do not believe in the Catholic idea of purgatory (nothing in scripture points to such a place) I do think that this life is what they say purgatory is. The catholic church basically created a 2nd life for people who didn't get it right in this one. It was a chance for them to offer hope to people and ultimately get money from them for something that isnt real. But I do agree with your sentiment that compared to Heaven, this earth is ****. Which to me, makes Jesus' coming as a man that much more amazing.

[ensbergcollector]

Two questions:

1) What denomination of Christianity are you?

2) Simply asked, what must humans specifically do to get to Heaven?

1. Church of Christ (if anyone has stereotypes of the CoC, please lmk so I can put them to rest)

2. We must accept Jesus Christ as the son of God and live faithfully to his commands.

[FootballCardFreak]

Not really a real question, but have you ever read the book of Tobit?

[ensbergcollector]

Not really a real question, but have you ever read the book of Tobit?

yeah, it has been about 8 years though, i need to read it again

[Star_Cards]

If an atheist lives a typical "good" life but does not believe in Gods of any sort, in your opinion, does he still get into heaven if in fact he was incorrect and it does exist.

I also have the same question pertaining to all of the other various religions. Do you think only one religion exists when it comes to the after life and if so do you think all are represented? As a person of faith do you feel that all other faiths are incorrect or nonexistent when it comes to passing on into heaven?

[ensbergcollector]

If an atheist lives a typical "good" life but does not believe in Gods of any sort, in your opinion, does he still get into heaven if in fact he was incorrect and it does exist.

I also have the same question pertaining to all of the other various religions. Do you think only one religion exists when it comes to the after life and if so do you think all are represented? As a person of faith do you feel that all other faiths are incorrect or nonexistent when it comes to passing on into heaven?

The only ones who get into heaven are those who have accepted Jesus. The applies to those with no religion and those of other religions.
Now, that does not mean that I, or other christians, hate, dislike, or are happy about the thought of non-christians not going to heaven.

[Star_Cards]

The only ones who get into heaven are those who have accepted Jesus. The applies to those with no religion and those of other religions.
Now, that does not mean that I, or other christians, hate, dislike, or are happy about the thought of non-christians not going to heaven.

so then by that statement is it fair to say that the belief is that everyone else goes to **** to be punished?

[piranhaenter]

and that is really my issue in regards to reincarnation. If God loves me instead of ****ing me to **** he'll put me on earth (h.ell compared to heaven) to keep having me live over and over again until I get to the point where I truly know and understand him. That seems so logical to me.

Edit: can we get the mods to turn off the filters for h.ell and d.amn for this thread. They're not swear words in this context.

so then by that statement is it fair to say that the belief is that everyone else goes to **** to be punished?

[ensbergcollector]

if god was just going to give us unlimited chances until we get it right, then he might as well just make us get it right in the first place in which case he has taken away free will. You make it sound like 1 life isn't enough to figure it out. We get to choose. If people don't like 1 of the choices, there is only 1 other.