to any thought or challenge of that notion.
What you describe could not be Heaven.
Proof?
Argue that!
Greg... Consider for a moment that you say that your belief is truth because it's what you were raised with.
Had you been raised in Islam, you would believe just as fervently that this whole thing about "Jesus" was false, and the Quran was truth.
I'm not saying either is or that either is not. I'm saying that it all comes back to belief. Not specifically yours, but that of anyone who professes that his own belief is truth to the contradiction of any other, is in my mind the height of arrogance and ego.
Belief does not make fact. Fact can make a belief true. Look at the stir that was caused in some minds at the idea that there is no "afterlife"; That concept scares the eternal feces out of people! So how better to control them than to claim that you have the only route to achieving that life and avoiding either oblivion or damnation? Organized religion is that tool, and it has been used for all of recorded history, and perhaps longer. It is not your "fault", if fault is to be placed, that you believe what you've been taught. It's not your "fault" that those who taught you were taught the same way. If fault is to be placed for anything, it is in closing one's eyes and plugging one's ears
To put that more personally, I'll state outright that I do not believe that Jesus of Nazerath was anyone's Savior. Not yours, not mine, not anyone's. I do understand that *YOU* believe in Him as *YOUR* Savior, and I respect that in the highest terms. I don't believe that Mohammed was any kind of prophet, but I understand that our members here who hold to the tenets of Islam DO believe in his teachings and in the God he served... which, incidentally, is one and the same, in my belief, and if you are consistent, yours as well: There is only one God, right? So to use an example I've used before, whether I call it a manzana or pomme or mela or apple, I'm still talking about the firm-fleshed fruit with the core and seeds, that we typically picture as having a red skin, often pictured as a gift to a teacher or the bane of a physician. The difference is that we humans can easily conceive of the entirety of the apple. We can hold it in our hand, turn it about, see where it dips in near the stem, and similar examinations. This is not the case with the Deity we call God for convenience, but Who has so many names. Is it unfathomable that others might have different conceptions of Him (or Her?) and we all still be right?
To take that example further, imagine the shape in the middle is a bar that has three smaller bars coming off of it, all in the same direction. Is it a W, a 3, an M, or an E?
You're not in the wrong, Greg. You're just not the only one who can possibly be right.
Blessings,
Bill
Sounds like a lot of paper work, auditing, etc. The government would love that and would certainly help create more jobs.
.Sounds like a lot of paper work, auditing, etc. The government would love that and would certainly help create more jobs.
I can guarantee you our church isn't turning a profit. Most of the time, we're under water relative to our budget. I know some people see those mega-church-behemoths out there and think there's a large, untapped source of funding for all sorts of government programs. But I'd bet 90+% of the churches out there are like mine or in worse financial situation--just making enough to get by and doing what they can to help the community.
what's their INGO username
