There are no such things as "ghosts". The word "ghost" does not come from the Bible, it is taken from a German word "geist". We have all heard of the word "poltergeist". According to Merriam Webster's Dictionary....
."One of the tricks a poltergeist is known for is making "knocking" noises, so it will come as no surprise to learn that the word "poltergeist" translates literally from German as "knocking spirit." The German verb "poltern" means "to knock," and "Geist" is the German word for "spirit."
But Christendom's version of a "ghost" is a person's spirit in conscious form entering another realm upon death. It is also where we get the notion of a "Holy Ghost" as a person in spirit form. This is NOT a Bible teaching. When death overtakes a "soul" they are simply dead. Nothing leaves the body except their last breath. The word "spirit" translates as "breath" in many verses.
They have to be given new bodies in order to be resurrected. For those with a "heavenly calling", they will be given spirit bodies so that they can dwell in the presence of God....no human would survive the experience.
Jesus promises to resurrect all the dead who are worthy...even the unrighteous ones who will undergo a period of judgment whilst learning about Jehovah. So many never got to hear the Christian message before they died in times past...they will be given that opportunity. Those who were incorrigibly wicked will never see life again because God does not count them worthy of a resurrection. He is the judge of who is wicked and who is unrighteous though.
Its about serving the true God and loving the truth, not embracing a lie because it appeals to us personally. Satan is "the father of the lie", so anyone who loves lies are demonstrating who their god is.
That is just the point...they are human evaluations based on what? You think personal preference determines God's will?
Unless we base
all of our beliefs on what Christ taught, holding onto a few whilst rejecting or ignoring the rest will not suffice. We have to love God with
all our heart....not only a convenient portion of it. There is only one way to serve God....HIS WAY.
There are many salvational issues....the trinity is just one of them. Can you tell me where in the Christian scriptures it describes Christian worship as liturgical? That was Jewish worship under the old covenant.....Jesus instituted a new covenant and a new way to worship God....one NOT governed by a written code, with animal sacrifices and rituals....but one now written on hearts, governed by a conscience. Sadly these days people are allowing their moral compass to point them in the wrong direction.
When you understand that hell is simply the common grave of all mankind and that all the dead are sleeping in one enormous 'dormitory' you will understand that death is like sleeping without dreaming. No one knows how long they have slept unless they look at a clock. There is no consciousness of the passage of time because when we sleep time disappears. In the resurrection. it won't matter if someone has slept for 5 days or 5 thousand years....they will wake up just being themselves and will experience some very tearful reunions I imagine.
That is not what is in the human heart. Most people with a good quality of life have no desire for this life to end....all they want is for the pain and suffering to end. If all our troubles were gone and we returned to the life God first offered Adam and his wife...why would we reject that? Everlasting life in paradise sounds good to me...regardless of how I get there. "That" I get there is my main concern.
Beliefs govern your actions and thought processes. If you believe in God it will show in how you live your life and how you treat others. Non belief doesn't mean that people are automatically wicked...it just means that they are not spiritual. Some of the best humanitarians in this world are atheists. Many of them are nature lovers but not believers. Giving "Mother Nature" the credit for all that is on this planet basically denies that the Mother needed a Father to produce life. She didn't do it by herself as a series of fortunate accidents.
You see God requires obedience from his worshippers and those with no beliefs about God are hardly going to factor in obedience to someone they don't believe exists...are they?
Whoa....are you saying that adoptive parents do not love their children as much as if they gave birth to them? It takes more than biology to be a parent.
We know that the Bible says that God is a spirit. The most powerful spirit in existence...one who can create matter from his energy....one who can create the sun that gives life on this planet but whose creation can harm us. (the sun for example, can blind us or burn us if we are not careful)
"God is Love"...what does that mean? The Bible says that he has many fine qualities.....he is "merciful, gracious, slow to anger and abundant in loving kindness"...he is also just and fair in his treatment of sinners, yet his justice is not based on sentiment, but always tempered with mercy. There is only one Creator...no other being is capable of doing what he did. So no, he is not just a god among many.
Where do you think the idea of false gods like Zeus and and Athena came from?
Humans are made in God's image so they naturally enjoy creating. But man's creations pale into insignificance when compared to the creative abilities of Jehovah. His spirit creatures praise him as worthy of all credit....they should know, because they were there.
"You are worthy, Jehovah, even our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power, because you created all things, and because of your will they existed and were created.” (
Revelation 4:11)
If you remember, it was the "traditions" of the Pharisees that Jesus said invalidated God's word. If traditions agree with the Bible, then fine, but when they negate God's word, then alarm bells should go off in our minds and hearts. (Matthew 15:3; 6-7)
Do you know how tradition invalidates God's word?
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