We seem to be in agreement. Fire should be seen as purifying.
Let me discuss now the other part of your opening post about God being an all consuming fire.
Nothing impure can exist in the immediate and full Presence of God. Any impure thing would vanish. Poof, up in smoke.
Habakkuk...
Jesus came after the Babylonian captivity. And when Jesus quotes the Talmud, I tend to give the Talmud or Oral Torah credence. Paul also commended the Talmud saying the Jews had the advantage of having the "oracles" -- oracles meaning something oral.
I'd say the real confusion entered the...
I see the difference as being self-imposed. In a way, we place ourselves in these places ourselves.
The rich man in "hell" was continuing to be selfish. He wanted Lazarus to enter the flames with a little water. In other words, he wanted someone else to suffer to bring him a little...
I have a little time, so let me add this.
I happen to believe that while there are many gods, they are all part of the One True God.
As in this passage from Micah:
Micah 4:4 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the...
The word Gehinnom/Gehenna meant more than one thing. The word is still used by Jews to mean a spiritual place of purification. They also still use the word "Garden" to mean Paradise. Jesus was a Jew speaking to Jews using the language of the day.
GEHENNA - JewishEncyclopedia.com...
Let start by apologizing that I lack the time right now to respond to all the passages you cite. Let me start with this one.
First, you have not given a passage which supports your previous statement. On the contrary, it contradicts it. You wrote earlier, "The Bible says that salvation is...
Have you ever done something wrong to someone and he didn't know about it? When you meet him, he's nice and pleasant. You want to get away. Ever get that burning feeling?
The expression "hot and bothered" probably has a lot to do with feeling guilty when you know others are innocent and...
Why do you use the word "randomly"? Are you saying it looks random to you?
If you read the Bible, you can find out see why Moses wrote the Torah. The Jews do not believe their Written Torah was or is some sort of final truth. The Torah itself says it isn't. The Written Torah and the...
It would be helpful if I knew what passage or passages in the Bible you mean. You talk about the "teachings of the orthodox Christian faith," but I don't know what you're basing that claim on. I know of no passage that says what you say the Bible says.
I sometimes say that if you could fully understand one religion, you would understand the rest. The person who thinks his religion is right and the only valid one suggests to me he doesn't understand his own yet.
The misunderstandings within various religions can be ironed out, I think, if...
The chapter begins: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. What evidence?
I say it is the awareness or conviction that something is wrong here, something could be better, something should be better.
Once we see this craving for something better in...
I believe I have the right to do what I want -- as long as I'm not interfering with your freedom to do what you want.
That means my "faith" does not give me the right to interfere with your freedom. The person who claims his faith or religion gives him the right to interfere with the...
I would think in a similar way Brahma dreams the universe into being. Are not all conditional things illusion?
I noted the similarity. The Hindu version is older than the Hebrew version, so I would not attempt to say the Hindu version was about Adam and Eve.
No, it must be inferred by the...
Why would that imply an enduring self? Reincarnation doesn't imply it. The soul doesn't achieve enlightenment when the physical body dies. The illusion of some permanent self and perhaps the craving of the soul for such permanence can persevere for a long time, spanning many lifetimes.
These experiences make sense to me. Chasing demons! Ha, that was probably the kind of critter that gets cheap thrills by scaring people in the dream world -- but if you aren't scared and start going at it instead of running, it will run away. I've done it. My guess this kind of demon is...