What if no religions are correct, but there still is a God?

@InfraBlue,

InfraBlue wrote:

Ecclesiastes 9:5 says, "For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even their name is forgotten."

It doesn't say, "when you're dead, you're dead.

I took a liberty of interpretation here. Sorry, it didn't meet your standards.

neologist wrote:

Nor, is the resurrection of John 5:28,29 to be considered anything beyond a second chance.

InfraBlue wrote:

Why?

Those who may be judged as wicked are not mentioned, for one. Also, those who are resurrected will have free will.

1 Reply

@neologist,

neologist wrote:

InfraBlue wrote:
Ecclesiastes 9:5 says, "For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even their name is forgotten."

It doesn't say, "when you're dead, you're dead.

I took a liberty of interpretation here.

Oh, interpretation.

neologist wrote:

Sorry, it didn't meet your standards.

Heh, I guess Colossians 4:6 applies to Squeakybro but not you, huh?

neologist wrote:

InfraBlue wrote:

neologist wrote:
Nor, is the resurrection of John 5:28,29 to be considered anything beyond a second chance.

Why?

Those who may be judged as wicked are not mentioned, for one.

John 5:29 talks about those having done evil rising again to judgment: "and they shall come forth; those who did the good things to a rising again of life, and those who practised the evil things to a rising again of judgment."

neologist wrote:

Also, those who are resurrected will have free will.

It doesn't mention free will.

1 Reply

I would suggest that this thread is going off topic, but it seems as if the author is one of the two parties going off on a tangent. So, I suppose I'll just settle in for another scripture interpretation battle...

1 Reply

@InfraBlue,

InfraBlue wrote:

It doesn't mention free will.

Some believe. Some don't.

1 Reply

@najmelliw,

Blue and I have a history of overlapping arenas.
It's fun.

0 Replies

@neologist,

It doesn't mention belief, either.

1 Reply

@neologist,

Quote:

@Leadfoot,
There is no guarantee of an afterlife. When you're dead, you're dead (See Ecclesiastes 9:5)
Nor, is the resurrection of John 5:28,29 to be considered anything beyond a second chance.

Let's assume for the moment that the bible tells a coherent and true story.

Paul in the NT wrote " I would not have you be ignorant concerning the dead. They sleep." If you accept the legitimacy of the book, any interpretation that makes it contradictory is simply wrong. So if you insist on your interpretation of Ecclesiastes, you must come up with an explanation of how it does not conflict with the NT. and if the dead's very name and memory are gone, how will their name be found in the 'book of life'? And what good would it do if you found it there but they were truly dead?

Soloman's writing spans his whole life and the various stages he went through. The book you cited was during his despondent phase where he was totally bummed out and saw nothing worth while in life. He summed it up by saying "Vanity, vanity, ALL is vanity", so **** it all and just eat, drink and be merry right now because in the end, we're all fucked, and by the way, all women are a bunch of deceiving bitches.' That last part was paraphrased but the meaning is exactly as I said. Do you really want to portray that as the bottom line of what the bible says?

Context is everything and I don't think you or religions have presented it that way.

1 Reply

@InfraBlue,

InfraBlue wrote:

It doesn't mention belief, either.

Just a personal opinion, you know how I am.
The fact that Western jurisprudence relies on the presumption of free will is just a coincidence.

1 Reply

@Leadfoot,

I see no disparity between the soul's mortality and the concept that the dead are sleeping. Do you need scriptural citations? Surely, the God who created us in the midst of his colossal universe would have the power to remember our ancestors and awaken them as they were

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@neologist,

neologist wrote:

InfraBlue wrote:
It doesn't mention belief, either.

Just a personal opinion, you know how I am.
The fact that Western jurisprudence relies on the presumption of free will is just a coincidence.

So, what does this have to do with your assertion that, "when you're dead, you're dead"?

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@neologist,

I know what you mean. What if every religion all believed in the same God?
I believe in God but am not religious.
Religion was created by Man. Man was created by God.

2 Replies

@KoreanGodBeliever,

KoreanGodBeliever wrote:

I know what you mean. What if every religion all believed in the same God?
I believe in God but am not religious.
Religion was created by Man. Man was created by God.

Please describe your concept of God.

1 Reply

@KoreanGodBeliever,

Welcome to a2k. You say you have no religion, but your profile quotes the Confiteor. Are you ex Catholic? Why have you forsaken religious membership?

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@rosborne979,

My creator.
I was a born christian so my philosophies are construed towards christianity but there are parts of the religion I don't understand and don't agree with. God gave us free will. Meaning I'm not bound to stick to a certain religion, I have the power decide what I want to believe in. I believe in God, the Holy spirit, Jesus Christ, the forgiveness of sins, Jesus's sacrifice to mankind, the resurection of the body, and Heaven.
The parts I have a hard time agreeing with are those times when they say do this or youre going to hell or do that or youre going to hell in the old testimate but in the new testimate all is forgivable. Where's the silver lining? And not a single pastor I've spoken with can assure me anything when it come's to the differences. All they say is "before we believed this and now we believe that". Another part I don't agree with is in the Bible it says to love thy neighbor. Treat others as they treat unto you. Yet in another part in the bible it says God created many nations. Yet we are all supposedly equal? Why create many nations unless you prefer one to another. But that may be ignorant human thinking.

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@KoreanGodBeliever,

KoreanGodBeliever wrote:

. . . Why create many nations unless you prefer one to another. But that may be ignorant human thinking. . .

Do you prefer one to another?

Just askin'

1 Reply

@neologist,

No. As a young child I never did. Society taught me to judge some races than others but still, I don't agree with that either. I believe that we all look different because we all live in different climates and different altitudes and we eat different combination of foods, the Sun and how it affects actually everyone differently. There are millions of possibilities. Since I believe in God, to me we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. Jew, Black, Asian, Communist, Capitalist, Terrorist, I don't discriminate. I can't. God created me and i'm 1/7bn yet the universe is that much larger than hundreds of billions maybe trillion times the size of Earth.

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@KoreanGodBeliever,

My advice my friend is if you are that way inclined, to find your answers at the source. Study the bible and you might well find that the reason you have had difficulty with certain teachings are because much of what is taught in churches today is adopted from Greek, Roman, Germanic and Pagan influences and traditions, rather than scripturally based. Hellfire teachings are the purest example of this.

Keep searching chap,

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@KoreanGodBeliever,

Quote:

The parts I have a hard time agreeing with are those times when they say do this or youre going to hell or do that or youre going to hell in the old testimate but in the new testimate all is forgivable. Where's the silver lining? And not a single pastor I've spoken with can assure me anything when it come's to the differences. All they say is "before we believed this and now we believe that". Another part I don't agree with is in the Bible it says to love thy neighbor. Treat others as they treat unto you. Yet in another part in the bible it says God created many nations. Yet we are all supposedly equal? Why create many nations unless you prefer one to another.

You raise some very good questions.
My understanding of the Old Testament is that the choice to be guided by a rigid set of rules delivered by priests rather than direct interaction with God was man's choice, not God's. Man thought that would be easier, simpler and less frightening than dealing with God directly and God granted man the free will to chose that way. But it was never God's intention to have that separation, he wanted his way written in the heart of man, not on tablets of stone.

When it was clear that man's choice was not working, God sent his son to make his intentions clear and his spirit to show man where to find God's true will for him, which has never changed.

As for many nations, I think God likes variety as much as we do. If it were not so, why would God have even bothered creating us? He already had the Angels and his only begotten Son for company. Why were they not enough?

1 Reply

@Leadfoot,

Quote:

When it was clear that man's choice was not working, God sent his son to make his intentions clear and his spirit to show man where to find God's true will for him, which has never changed.

You might be surprised to know that Jesus first appearance on earth was booked well before the Hebrews asked for a mediator from God.

Quote:

God's true will, which has never changed.

I think this is a very important topic for any Christian, what do you suggest Gods will has been all along?

1 Reply

@Smileyrius,

Quote:

@Leadfoot,

You might be surprised to know that Jesus first appearance on earth was booked well before the Hebrews asked for a mediator from God.

Leadfoot Quote:
"God's true will, which has never changed."

I think this is a very important topic for any Christian, what do you suggest Gods will has been all along?

I'm sure it was. God knew the law carved in stone was a lousy idea and wouldn't work, so I'm sure the plan to send his son was in the cards from the
beginning. But he still wanted us to learn it for ourselves.

At the risk of oversimplifying, God's will was always that he would dwell with us. He wanted our company and earth is where we learn to be good company. Or not.

2 Replies

What if no religions are correct, but there still is a God?

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