Quote:
Originally Posted by elainevdw  Thanks for the detailed response and Wiki article. I could have used that when I was 19!
Another question regarding your particular belief -- more of a claification: Christians are resurrected to live eternally in a world cleansed of suffering, but non-Christians are deleted from existence? Therefore, they're not doomed to eternal suffering; they just no longer exist in any form, neither body, spirit nor dormancy? |
Sorry, I'm just on my way out so I need to keep this brief..I'll try to write a more detailed response later tonight.
I don't think that ONLY Christians will be given eternal life, I believe that people of many religions and beliefs will be in heaven. Why? Because if they are believing and doing what they believe as right, God will understand. God isn't going to destroy people for being ignorant.
For example, medieval Christians were not capable of reading the Bible themselves, so they had to listen and believe the local priest/bishop/leader's interpretation of it. If the priest led them the wrong way, is it their fault? No. They were only doing what they thought God told them to do.
What about an African bushman? If he has never heard about Christianity, is he going to ultimately die? I don't think so. Like I said, God doesn't punish people for being ignorant.
So then, I said that those who accept Jesus will be given eternal life. How can you do this if you've never heard of him? Jesus says that,
"The King will answer them,'Most certainly I tell you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me." -Matthew 25:40
Meaning that how you treat people on earth is how Jesus feels you treat him. I believe that you can "accept" Jesus by how you treat people, even if you don't know him, as you are (or are not) expressing his qualities, his kindness, understanding, and generosity. You can actually have faith in him, even if you haven't "met" him.
And yes, as I said earlier I don't believe in eternal suffering. I like to base all of my beliefs on God's word (not man's), as I feel that's the only safe way to go. There just isn't evidence in the Bible to support an eternal hell.
Just one quick support for this. Immortality is a gift from God, a "reward" I suppose. Humans, are ultimately mortal--body, consciousness, spirit, etc. Once humans die (as all humans do), we remain completely dormant (sleeping) until the return of Christ, which is when the "righteous" are resurrected to live with Christ.
As for the "wicked", there will not be an unending hell or torment. I said that immortality is a gift from God to those who in the end believe and accept him. Therefore, the others do not receive such a gift (and remain mortal), and then do not exist--in any form.
Some more reading:
Views on heaven More Wikipedia Even more Wikipedia
(more to come when I get home)