I haven't been here for a while but I would love to hear why you think it is oblivion...If true we will never know of course, but it makes no sense to me that as marvelous as this world is and as awesome as we all are in spite of our flaws, it would be ludicrous to have us disappear into nothing...
It certainly would be better, as perhaps most people think, to simply stop existing, than to suffer agony for a few thousand years non-stop without relief and without even a drop of water, and totally alone. That understanding did not come from the Creator of Wisdom (He Created Wisdom before Creating the Earth and the Universe). Since He Is without challenge the One Judge with Perfect Knowledge, Perfect Justice, and Perfect Wisdom, it is His , not ours, to decide and to declare what is just. What is fair is of no importance , per se, when perfect justice is accomplished. It (fairness) also seems to be based on emotions in the flesh, which is of no profit at all.
We are all on different paths, aren't we?? I truly believe there is no 'one size fits all' How could there be? I truly believe we are all going to the same place. At this time I am working on being non-judgmental so I believe there are many paths leading to the same destination. Peace out.. (I still like that form of goodbye/later/farewell/til we meet again etc..)
Despite my own beliefs there is no credible evidence that there is a god, a heaven or a hell etc. Psychiatry claims that spiritual beliefs are delusions. I have spent my life working at finding answers and have come up with a belief that makes sense and one that I can live with. What if god isn't what we think "he/she" is? Because there is no evidence to prove what one believes is fact based then arguing who is right and who is wrong is an effort in futility. As to the question posed I would examine why I believe what I believe, where my beliefs come from and why they exist. For myself I want something that at least opens the door to rational possibility rather than just because other people hold a certain belief. What I believe does not need validation or support from anyone. It can exist on its own merits. I can support it somewhat through science. Think about that.
For me it all revolves around what/who one thinks God is...For sure we know He is not an old man in the sky who punishes and rewards. In fact God IMO encompasses all things man, woman etc...I think of God as an intelligent energy/ a Force ..and one we can not as yet totally comprehend but will someday. I LOVED the Star Wars phrase May The Force Be With You!! There are no words to adequately explain, describe God
"Without excuse" (on judgment day, and today) Romans 1:20 - Bible Gateway www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/Romans 1:20 For ever since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through His workmanship [all His creation, the wonderful things that He has made], so that they [who fail to believe and trust in Him] are without excuse and without defense.
TY. Certainly, this is one path to understanding God. I think we run into problems when we hear people believe theirs is the only way.
The problems have existed since Cain killed Abel. "There is no other God before Me" is quite simple and truth. The problem arises whenever anyone comes up with a false god of any kind, including self, or money, or medical, or government, or a statue made of gold or silver or wood. As The Creator Says in Warning: if you follow another god, let that god you follow help you on Judgment Day if it can. (hint: it can't)
TY I respect your views. Of course, there have been and will be problems...and I do not see your first sentence as being in opposition with anything I believe. Having said that I appreciate the fact that it is really hard to express everything one believes in a few sentences and in a short time period..
How can a soul in heaven be happy with the knowledge that a loved one's soul is lost? I'd start with challenging the question and the assumptions behind it. Take away those assumptions, and the question becomes irrelevant, and thereby untroublesome. For me, souls can't be lost as they are pure energy, indestructible. One lifetime, superhuman deity, heaven and hell, reward and punishment are human made notions that defy logic but came about as a limited attempt to understand the great mysteries and eliminate existential anxiety.
It is even more simple than that. Have you seen the bombed, or earthquaked, cities with so many houses and buildings brought down to rubble, with people buried underneath, alive and dead ? This has even been broadcast various times when it occurred, live television as far as I know. The searchers, rescuers, or family or neighbors or just people present even, dig and dig, move rock after rock, move beam after beam, and dig more and more while searching for anyone.... then LO AND BEHOLD! HALLELUYAH! THEY FIND GOD ! oops... no, sorry for the little melladrama there .... but what do they find ? THEY FIND A LIVING BABY ! ALIVE ! And the joy and happiness and dancing on their faces and in the street from finding A LIVING BABY ALIVE !
Getting off point but responding to several posts within this thread, I find it disheartening that so many people base their religious values, and potential eternal souls, upon what they like or want rather than empirical evidence. While it's a common phrase among unbelievers to say that there's no evidence for God or the Bible, such is a denial of reality. One may not like the evidence or agree with a believer's interpretation of it, but the amount of evidence concerning one's religious foundations versus another is readily available, and the Bible excels in this test. The scientific evidence for a supernatural creator is overwhelming, and as Romans 1:20 suggests, no one has any excuse for denying it. Just look at the expansive night sky or amazing complexity of life around us and the conclusion is rationally irrefutable. Such design and complexity ALWAYS requires a mind. The idea that our entire universe could somehow create itself defies our strongest known laws of science - and common sense. It really does take more faith to be an Atheist (or even Agnostic) than to accept the certainty of our Creator. Once one accepts the clear evidence for a god of some sort, sorting through the various religions takes some work, but it can be done by anyone seeking truth. A preponderance of evidence will eventually separate false man-made religions from any true, Godly religion. Few it seems are willing to do this. They either blindly accept what they were taught or make up some amalgam form of their own religion - based upon no evidence. I would posit that making up one's own religious views is, probability wise, most unlikely to lead to truth, and thus is a poor method to determine one's purpose in life or fate of one's potential soul. A brief but critical study of most religions will demonstrate their flawed foundations, whereas a critical study of the Bible will demonstrate divine insight that sets it apart from all other religions. And if the Bible IS right, then it's not arrogant to reject the other false religions; it would affirm those who say there's only one way, one path, or one truth.
One point that you seem to miss is that agnostics and atheists don't believe the Bible to be factual at all, so quoting it as indisputable "proof" is spinning your wheels.
This is a wonderful point, @Beth Gallagher , and it brings up another aspect of this question. For all of the ages of mankind, people everywhere have believed in some kind of a supreme being, even if it was just the sun, moon, and stars that they were attributing everything to, as being gods. None of these people had a Bible, and even all of the books of the Bible were written over many years, so the people who had access to the first manuscripts written didn’t have anything else except that. It was many years after that , that the writings were collected into one book, and even then, there are other writings that might be just as important, but were not included by the ones who made the decision of what was holy scripture. I personally believe that this world was divinely orchestrated , in some way, by some power that has greater capabilities and intelligence than we do, and even if I had never looked at a Bible, I would believe this, just from what I can see and read about this earth, and the human and animal population that exist here. To believe that it just happened to all fall into place by accident, just seems way too far fetched for me to accept.