i don't think they're divine..i don't seek to worship the created, but the Creator. yeah, i know that relies on the assumption that it was created. but God said His creation was good. we're not dualists like Taoism. in fact, that was regarded as heresy by the early church. we don't believe that creation is bad, spiritual realm is good. i think we can make this place more like what it was intended to be. by treating each other and all of creation with the respect it deserves.
If your culture says that you don't care about Karma and culture is tied to religion why should I as a non-Christian care about Hell? I grew up in America but my own spiritual beliefs have led me apart from the majority. Now culturally perhaps it would be offensive for a Christian to tell me I'm going to Hell but that is a curse / threat with no meaning for me spiritually. My argument is that its a matter of how much fealty you have to your spiritual beliefs. The threat of a damnation from another religion shouldn't matter no matter what the culture. For instance if we were in Thailand would it matter if a Thai told you will be reborn as a chicken?
It's not as much a spiritual belief as it is cultural. The idea of heaven/hell/soul is ingrained in this culture more than anything I can think of. It's hard to explain. People assume there is a heaven like they assume water is wet. They could have never have gone to a church in their life. It's just one of those things.
and whether their view on that comports with anything from the Bible is pretty questionable. though i'm sure most people think that it does.
to be clear...i'm not suggesting that i don't believe there is an eternity with or without God. i'm suggesting i don't know exactly what that looks like. that i think God has it figured out. but that Christianity doesn't confine it to being merely a spiritual realm....flying around from cloud to cloud with a harp.
i'm not sure. i believe it has a physical reality, though. not just spiritual. and its most important feature is the presence of God.
then i think it's kind of ridiculous that christians are kept in the dark about what heaven looks like.
still not sure i understand. i don't believe they're kept in the dark. it's just that our culture has consumed so much of christianity. and sorta changed it. that actually started happening pretty early in Christianity as it made its way through the western world. i think to understand Christianity at its core you need to understand first century Judaism and the context that Jesus lived and spoke in.
what i really want to say is that there is a cultural assumption, based on mob rules, that christians have the moral high ground.
ok..i get it now. yeah, i agree with that assessment. and it builds resentment that i certainly feel directed at me quite a bit. if christians truly sought to follow Christ and love with a sense of authenticity and humility, i think that would be alleviated. that's why i try (with a horrible record) avoiding theological arguments. because they bring with them a sense of us vs. them that the church should not be about. it's one thing to explain what you believe...another to ridicule someone who doesn't believe that...or respond too defensively.
see, i don't have a problem with you, even if it doesn't always look that way i have a problem with christianity. when any religion divides, it is more harmful than good in my opinion.
in my view...you have a problem with what you think is Christianity. my bet is the more you understand Jesus, what he said and the context within which he said it...the more you'd dig him.
nope, that's not it. i have no problem with jesus, he seems like a great guy/god. i have a problem with how christianity is practiced by the majority.
so do i. because "practiced" has come to mean, show up at church on sundays...occasionally drop some money in the basket...do bible study. the end.
