A question on Christian Scripture.

Another way to grasp what I am trying to say is to ask; what is the opposite of death?

If you answered, life. Sorry that is incorrect. The opposite of death is birth.

Life is eternal.

Understanding that does not negate the creative power of god, nor disavow that god strives with us.

I have often heard it expressed that Christianity is not a religion; but if you can only accept the stories as the literal truth; then how does that not place them on the same level as all other mythologies? There are numerous creation stories, stories of the flood that predate the bible; stories of saviors with circumstances nearly exact to the story of Jesus. Krishna for instance was pinned to a tree with arrows; how many times have you heard the cross referred to as a tree?

Perhaps I should not have taken Jimmy's words and used them as I did? It was a hope to give pause for genuine contemplation not cause a reaction. I am sure it is not all Christians. As far as trying it myself the things that I have tried to express; love for friends and enemies, neighbors; forgiveness,
surrender to what is, being a servant- this is what I try to do.....

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

+1. God works in mysterious ways.

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Ah yes, the age old copout. :)

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Originally Posted by kevint

As far as trying it myself the things that I have tried to express; love for friends and enemies, neighbors; forgiveness,
surrender to what is, being a servant- this is what I try to do.....

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Do unto others as you would have them do unto you is an ideal way to live if we can. Sounds like you are doing better than many people who never even think in those terms. As far as creation stories and whether our myth is truth or their myth is. That is where faith comes in AFAIC.

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Originally Posted by kevint

Another way to grasp what I am trying to say is to ask; what is the opposite of death?

If you answered, life. Sorry that is incorrect. The opposite of death is birth.

Life is eternal.

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Sorry, but that is not exactly correct. Life and death are states, i.e. you ARE alive, or you ARE dead. You cant BE birth. Birth is simply a mechanism to move you from non-existence to a STATE of life.

I should also add that human life is not eternal according to the bible. Genesis 2:7 indicates that God put the breath (or spirit) of life into man. Then at Psalms 146:4, regarding death, “His spirit [Hebrew, from ru′ach] goes out, he goes back to his ground; in that day his thoughts do perish.”

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Originally Posted by wedwards

Sorry, but that is not exactly correct. Life and death are states, i.e. you ARE alive, or you ARE dead. You cant BE birth. Birth is simply a mechanism to move you from non-existence to a STATE of life.

I should also add that human life is not eternal according to the bible. Genesis 2:7 indicates that God put the breath (or spirit) of life into man. Then at Psalms 146:4, regarding death, “His spirit [Hebrew, from ru′ach] goes out, he goes back to his ground; in that day his thoughts do perish.”

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Thoughts; yes, they perish. Because thought and the various aspects of the personality, are not real; they only exist in the mind. Or maybe I should say thoughts are part of our "life experience", for we do not have a life; we are Life. (There is only one Life.) Death is the transmutation of life into another form. If it were not for Consciousness there would only be vibrations of energy, a bunch of atoms exchanging particles. Human Beings have an awareness of this Consciousness. Which is that same, I Am, that arises beyond thought that says I am this, or I am that....

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Originally Posted by kevint

Thoughts; yes, they perish. Because thought and the various aspects of the personality, are not real; they only exist in the mind.

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I think you will find modern science has proven beyond doubt that thats actually not correct - thoughts are real, and stored in the brain, and can be accessed by external sources...although interpretation of the data obtained from the brain is still unable to be coherently deciphered (so to speak).

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Death is the transmutation of life into another form.

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I assume you are referring to the commonly held belief of christians that involves so-called going to heaven. Unfortunately, the bible is very clear as to the number of those going to heaven (144,000), so the "transmutation" as you put it, is not for everyone.

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If it were not for Consciousness there would only be vibrations of energy, a bunch of atoms exchanging particles. Human Beings have an awareness of this Consciousness. Which is that same, I Am, that arises beyond thought that says I am this, or I am that....

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dude.....what?? no offence, but is that even english?? the truth in the bible is clear, concise, and easy to understand. what you just said is about as far removed from that as one can get. it sounds like you are more confused than anything.....

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Originally Posted by wedwards

Ah yes, the age old copout. :)

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Ahh, the devil's advocate shows up. We made it through 162 posts with no one showing outright disrespect for other's beliefs. That was pretty good I think.

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Ahh, the devil's advocate shows up. We made it through 162 posts with no one showing outright disrespect for other's beliefs. That was pretty good I think.

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My apologies if my comment appeared disrespectful - it was not intended that way. I firmly believe that the "god works in mysterious ways" adage is so wrong, and is perpetuated by those who do not read and/or understand and/or are deliberately misrepresenting scripture. Simple as that. All the answers to mankind's questions and problems are contained in the bible for those who care to investigate.

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Originally Posted by wedwards

My apologies if my comment appeared disrespectful - it was not intended that way. I firmly believe that the "god works in mysterious ways" adage is so wrong, and is perpetuated by those who do not read and/or understand and/or are deliberately misrepresenting scripture. Simple as that. All the answers to mankind's questions and problems are contained in the bible for those who care to investigate.

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Thanks for clarifying that and it is I who owe you an apology. The phrase comes from a beloved Christian hymn written by William Cowper (1731-1800),

God moves in a mysterious way
his wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
and rides upon the storm.

In Revelation 7, there is a listing of what make up the 144,000. In addition to them, there is a reference to:

"9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

10And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.

11And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,"

This great multitude, is it not comprised of the rest of the world who was saved?