Jesus is God, God is Jesus, and Both are the holy spirit.
I think Jesus was an unlpeasant person, he knew what the future held, he knew that Judas would "betray" him. So, he knew that one of his disciples would end up being a byword for betrayal for 2000 years after his death, and did nothing to stop him. What happened to Jesus and his idea of forgivness and love?
If Jesus knew he had to die in order to cleanse mankinds sins, then Judas did him and Everyone before and after a big favour, so Should Judas not be given respect?
Also, Jesus only wanted to save his own kind.... Jesus was a Jew, so the Jewish are the chosen people of Christ and God, the Christians,Catholics and Muslims etc, are all heretics and beyond saving simply because they are not of the same belief as christ.
God give us free will..... that's true, we're free to live as we want, but if we don't believe in him/her/it then we will be punished for eternity.
As Martin luther said "Faith must trample under foot all reason, sense, and understanding" ( quote for all you Medieval Total war 2 fans )
As Patti Smith said "Jesus died for somebodies sins, but not mine"
So, to the author of this post, I thank you for trying to save me, but as I don't believe in your god,or anyother one for that matter I don't need it... but I suggest you become Jewish before you face the judgement at the end.... Jesus only wants to save his own people.
Wowza.
Where did you get this stuff?
Jesus reached out to everyone, the Samaritans, the Romans, everyone.
Even those considered "traitors", IE: The Tax Collectors.
If Jesus only wanted to save his own people, why then would he reach out to all?
Paul, a Jew, was commissioned to reach out to the Gentiles.
The Old Testament says Christ would come to save all, not just the Jews.
You know this stuff only works if you are prepared to take the bible as the creditable word of god. I personally dont, I may have too high expectations but I always immagined the word of god being somewhat more... coherent.
Well, if anything seems incoherent to you in anyway in the scriptures, then tell me, lets look at it, wrestle with it and come to find the truth of the matter.
I would gladly spend my time to do that with you.
Remember, our version of the Bible has been translated at least 5 times and is the written version of stories that were passed down by word of mouth for thousands of years. Do I believe that there is truth in the Bible? Yes - we should try to work for peace and love one another. Do I believe that every single word is the revealed Word of God? No - I don't see how that would be possible after all the translation and revision. But the basic ideas are still there.
No it wasn't.
The New Testament was written in Hebrew.
After a long while it was translated into Greek (the Septuagint).
Our current Bibles are based on the best
Hebrew texts with versions of the Septuagint for refferences.
The Dead Sea Scrolls had many copies of books of the Old Testament from long before Jesus, and they were amazingly similar to later texts.
The earliest texts are nearly word for word the same as text hundreds of years later.
As for the New Testament:
It was written in Greek, or most of it was.
It was not translated.
Our Bibles today are based on over 4,000 different copies of parts of the New Testament.
They are very accurate to the originals.
Many texts we have are in fact from within a hundred years of Christ's death, and they are virtually identical to ones hundreds of years later.
Our current Bibles are translations of Hebrew to English, and Greek to English.
1 Translation there.
And that is perfectly reliable.
Especially considering the hours and hours of rigorous study that goes into each word of each translation.
How odd that Jesus himself who had no Bible healed the sick and raised the dead and taught his disciples about a personal contact with Spirit and a witnessing of same through walking,speaking and listening to what Spirit told them.Needing a book which is wood and leather which has been translated,edited and raped by councils of fallible men with political and religous agendas, that every stich is the inviolate word of God is a bielief in magic.Such a book cannot contain a living breathing God.
Jesus tought from the Old Testament. He tought from the Torah. He did have a book.
And God is not contained in scripture. Scripture is a tapestry of things God selected to guide us. His written word.
Suffering tells us when we are off the path.A permanent hell has no purpose unless God delights in torturing people for eternity for no reason,since if you are stuck there you cannot use the knowledge gained by your suffering.AAgh but you say God just set it up and you chose hell.But big G would have known that souls would end up in there.
No there is no such thing as hell except that created by man,who condemns others far more than God ever would.
You are not describing hell. The suffering is a result of how far away from God you have lived.
Hell is seperation from God.
Eternal seperation from God in relationship, yet everlasting understanding of his existence and presence.
A Hitler-type will have a far greater and deeper understanding of how he rended himself away from God than a common unbeliever who lives a reletively moral life.
What is heaven?Clouds and harps?The only thing that would keep a souls interest in all dimensions is the continued search for the expression of Love in all it's forms,the one great overarching mystery that keeps you turning the page,to solve it,to be it and become it.
And that is what it is. Harps and clouds is a myth.
We are pots shaped by God's hand.
But we are also given the ability to decide whether or not we wish to be formed in the way He is trying to form us.
Almost always, that ends with us being distorted and twisted in ways that make us useless in relationship to Him.
Whatever form we are when we die, will be the basis of an eternity with God, or an eternity away from Him.
