Danno's Religious Questions

[SaltwaterSlick]

There are folk on ever end of the spectrum, many of us here though sinners, have always known there is a God. Others, come to the vineyard late but the pay is still the same.

The biggest hurdle for many Christians is accepting the ones that come late will get the same pay.

Johnny, a "new" Christian/believer would likely not know what your reference is here, but you are somewhat right in that is is sometimes hard to understand the concept of our rewards in heaven and such...


One time in a Bible study had a guy ask our leader about that... said man, that thief on the cross and Billy Graham.. they both goin to the same place? The both gonna get a "cup" that will be overflowin' with joy???


Guy said yessir, they both gona be rubbin' elbows with each other... both gonna be COMPLETELY content, happy and FULL of joy... Yes, both their cups will be overflowing... they just won't both have the same size cups... Best explanation I ever heard of that concept...

[4dog]

consider the ant you sluggard..she...when i read that it was a big eye opener..how did solomon know that tgose ants were all female...God knows but how did solomon1 queen ant and the rest female workers except for breeding time...that blew me away.

[ThisLadyHunts]

I grew up in it, in a way few will ever know anything about.
I believed it all without question until about the age of 10.
At that point I could not, and still can't find any reason I ever believed other than I was indoctrinated in it, it was all I ever knew.
It start a lifelong journey of seeking without ever finding anything that made sense.
It's all too much to type or explain in a forum, but I would welcome a campfire discussion anytime.
It is something that has always fascinated me.

I greatly enjoy philosophical discussions in the spiritual and metaphysical realm. Let me know when the fire gets lit!

[LWC]

I greatly enjoy philosophical discussions in the spiritual and metaphysical realm. Let me know when the fire gets lit!

Ahem

[Playa]

Hell is the Germanic word for the afterlife. All the dead go to Hell. Good or bad, Hell is not a bad place, just where the dead reside until they are ready to be born again.

God is also a germanic term for the Allfather. Woden/Odin/Godan (shortened to Wod or God). The Goths were the first Germanics to produce a bible and do so in a Germanic language (English is a Germanic Language). the Bible at that time was Latin and other languages before then. Deus is the name given to "god" in the Bible before the Allfathers name was given as the Christians just swapped out their main deity for ours and also absorbed all of our holidays. Christianity came to our people a thousand years after Jesus. Jesus was born sometime in the summer months according to the Bible but our people celebrated the Winter Solstice as the Haligaz (Holy) Holiest day of the year so Christmas was moved to then, the end of December at the solstice aka the Yule. That is why children still sing of Yuletide greetings.

There is a Germanic God (forget the name) that was the creator of all man. He upset the other gods and was banished to the North Pole. Once a year he was allowed to visit all his children and did so on the Yule bringing them gifts and riding in a chariot pulled by Reindeer from Northern Europe of course.

Add Easter to that list also.

To each their own, I just never understood the disdain towards others that don't believe what you do or the belief that you are going somewhere good and they will burn in hell. Or that children that are too young to know god will also burn in hell. Sounds lovely. Judge not is the lesson yet I hardly ever see this lesson learned.

Not being disrespectful, this is my ancestors religion, not Christianity. For those that don't like it, trust me that IDGAF.

I made many of these same arguments to my kids “Christian” daycare because they would lt let the kids wear anything “Santa” related at Christmas, yet celebrated Valentine’s Day. A Roman holiday that originated as a day of auctioning off virgins to the highest bidder. I just got stares, blank looks and then was excused because “that’s their policy”. I said what’s that celebrating the sexual slavery of women? May as well have pooped on the alter after that. My kids were eventually booted, surprisingly by my lovely wife’s antics, not mine.

[Johnny44]

Thats covered elsewhere, his house has many rooms. Some might not be bunking together. I’ll be happy on the porch.

Johnny, a "new" Christian/believer would likely not know what your reference is here, but you are somewhat right in that is is sometimes hard to understand the concept of our rewards in heaven and such...


One time in a Bible study had a guy ask our leader about that... said man, that thief on the cross and Billy Graham.. they both goin to the same place? The both gonna get a "cup" that will be overflowin' with joy???


Guy said yessir, they both gona be rubbin' elbows with each other... both gonna be COMPLETELY content, happy and FULL of joy... Yes, both their cups will be overflowing... they just won't both have the same size cups... Best explanation I ever heard of that concept...

[CentralTXHunter]

Danno, thank you for asking such questions. Even on a forum where you can be as public or anonymous as you want, it takes courage to ask these questions. You are seeking and asking. I pray that you are lead to the answers needed to satisfy the void in your heart.

I have been “in church” most of my life. Like many others, I was indoctrinated in the Baptist church (no offense to any baptists) and baptized at 8 years old. That was mostly my Nana’s urging. We lived with her for a few years while my mom went back to school after her and my dad divorced. When we moved to central texas, my mom bounced around to several churches. Being a single mother of two, she busted her butt, but we never consistently went to church or talked about religion openly in the home. I joined FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) in high school. My denomination depended on the girl I was dating at the time. I was Methodist, Baptist, Episcopalian, Evangelical, whatever the flavor or the month wanted me to be. I strayed in college and most of my 20s before I reconnected with God and found a great church home. I now co-lead a men’s Bible study on Tuesday nights. I don’t claim to be a biblical scholar or to have all the answers. I will, however, say that if you find a group of men to share in talks about Christ and the Bible that is free of shame and full of trust, you’ll be amazed at what the Holy Spirit will do in your life and the lives of others.

As far as your questions go, this is my understanding from what has been taught and revealed to me.

God’s initial creation was full of what you want this world to be, but He gave man free will. He wanted us to love and worship Him of our own free will. That is the only way the love and worship would be true. However, our free will allowed man to be tempted by Satan and introduce sin into the perfect world God had created. That fall not only created this rough world we live in today, but gave us the need to be redeemed by Jesus.

Jesus could have just been a man with a vision. That is if you don’t have faith and belief that he is your redeeming savior. Back to free will. God has given you the free will to put faith in the Bible and believe that Jesus was born the Son of God, lived a sinless life, died on the cross for your sins, and was resurrected assuring your eternal life.

My understanding of Heaven isn’t that God removes our free will once there. It’s that he removes all the other sin in our worldly lives once we arrive. No stress, no shame, no crime, no desires of the flesh, no worry. On and on and on. If all that was removed from your daily life, what else would you need? That’s Heaven.

All of man in history has talked of a creator. Some worshipped one creator. Some worshipped many, but all recognized a grand design to the world they lived in. That grand designer is God. We don’t have the knowledge to comprehend all that God is. That makes Him hard to explain and fully comprehend. You can’t put Him into a box, but you can recognize His existence.

Keep asking questions. Keep seeking. I’m still learning and changing as I grow closer to Him. I want to thank you again for creating this thread. One thing that I have been witness to numerous times in my men’s group is that when one man gets the courage to share or ask a question, there’s numerous other men present with the same struggle or thoughts, but shame keeps them from speaking up. The conversations that follow help the entirety of the group. That’s what you have done here.


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[Hunteraudit]

Looks like god is hard at work on ya Danno, embrace it. You’re doing the right thing in asking questions. You’d be surprised how many folk come up very similar to how you described, religion and family situation both. You’ve received better theological advice above than I could offer. But having been there I’ll tell ya this, that feeling you got really is what you know it is. Find someone to talk to. Someone that knows what the Bible says and not Oprah’s latest book. Don’t get complacent or lazy in it. Pull that string and find your answers.

As far as what will we do in heaven? I got dibs on being god’s bloodhound.

[ThisLadyHunts]

Ahem

I was being serious.

Don’t make me wash your mouth out with soap!

[Native Texan]

I was shocked, confused, bewildered
as I entered Heaven’s door,
Not by the beauty of it all,
by the lights or its decor.

But it was the folks in Heaven
who made me sputter and gasp–
the thieves, the liars, the sinners,
the alcoholics, the trash.

There stood the kid from seventh grade
who swiped my lunch money twice.
Next to him was my old neighbor
who never said anything nice.

Herb, who I always thought
was rotting away in hell,
was sitting pretty on cloud nine,
looking incredibly well.

I nudged Jesus, “What’s the deal?
I would love to hear Your take.
How’d all these sinners get up here?
God must’ve made a mistake.

And why’s everyone so quiet,
so somber? Give me a clue.”
“Hush, child,” said He, “They’re all in shock.
No one thought they’d be seeing you.”

[rtp]

You know I have avoided this thread until just now because of who the OP is. I figured it was going to more useless arguing. What a surprise. Danno I wish you the best and hope you find what you are looking for in God. He obviously has your attention which is a good start. A lot of good information and answers here. Im glad I finally opened it.

[txhunt7]

I was being serious.

Don’t make me wash your mouth out with soap!

That's a fascinating topic, wonder how many on this forum had a bar of soap in their mouth one time or another. Now days a mom go to jail for that. But speaking from experience, it was good for me, gargle gag guck ...

This is a great thread. Love hearing testimony of others, sharing of Word, seeking to help others. keep it going

[AZ&F'sDaddy]

Absolutely possible. Christianity is 2000 years old. What happened to all of the sinners before him? Did they all go to hell? According to the bible, they must have, as they would not have accepted Christ. What about all of those that were born Hindu thousands of years before Christianity even existed? What about all of the native Americans that worshiped the sun and moon? I have a hard time believing that the path to salvation is through accepting Jesus Christ as your savior, when so many will NEVER even have heard the name.

The God of the Bible judges and will judge rightly. The New Testament itself does not automatically disqualify those who lived before Jesus. Hebrews 11 is just one example that would illustrate. What about the North Koreans who never get an opportunity to hear about Jesus? Again, the God of the Bible judges and will judge rightly. He will not automatically condemn someone if they never had an opportunity to hear the gospel, let alone reject it. He will look at their heart and their life-lived. And if they are the type of person who would have accepted Jesus had they been given the opportunity, God will know it and grant them life.

[Playa]

The God of the Bible judges and will judge rightly. The New Testament itself does not automatically disqualify those who lived before Jesus. Hebrews 11 is just one example that would illustrate. What about the North Koreans who never get an opportunity to hear about Jesus? Again, the God of the Bible judges and will judge rightly. He will not automatically condemn someone if they never had an opportunity to hear the gospel, let alone reject it. He will look at their heart and their life-lived. And if they are the type of person who would have accepted Jesus had they been given the opportunity, God will know it and grant them life.

So JESUS isn’t the only way? A person isolated from the gospel can enter heaven a sinful person having never confessed their sinful nature or calling upon the name of the lord to save them, all based on how they lived on earth? Is that what you said? Can you back that up with scripture?

[c3products20]

Here's some scripture for you guys that think God isn't going to judge people "who never heard about Him".
Romans1:18-21
18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

We got caught up in people needing to be taught about God. Like He needs us to save people for Him!! His spirit does His work and will reveal himself to the people He chose from the beginning of time. God is going to win no matter what you and I think or say! Job is the best book to help us understand who God is and what He's all about.

Romans 8:29-30

29For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.