It is the desire to go on living that is genetic....the resurrection is how it is achieved when death is our reality. How else would we know that death will not defeat God's purpose to have humans live on earth forever?
I honestly wouldnt know. Christianity (however defined) doesnt make sense to me at all. The concept and meaning behind why people believe after awhile I catch on.
I know that people have various ideas about life, and upbringing can have a big influence on what we come to believe. What religious beliefs were you raised with?
I was just talking about this with my mother earlier. We were rehasing our experiences before and today about different things like communicating with spirits, feeling peoples auras, and diferents most my immediate family (though skipped my sister..for now) see things in relation to what many call the supernatural. I never thought it off, or extreme, until I came on RF. I never really talked about it. It wasnt taught just been around it its like second nature stories.
I did took after my mother with her interest with witchcraft because of her experiences. Parents being military, they were influenced by other religious practices that in the States would be considered demonic. We have a lot of minorities seen in that light.
As for christianity, I studied it because I took comparative religion in high school. I left it. Was influenced by catholicism when I moved since there are many catholics. I wasnt raised catholic or anything like that.
Thats basically my background in a nutshell.
The teachings about spirits are almost universal....often with good spirits and evil ones. These spirit entities are not connected to humans in the Bible but are spirit beings created to live in the spirit realm. As free wiled beings, they too have a choice to serve their Creator obediently. A rebellion in the spirit realm is the cause of all our problems, solved by God with a long range plan to come full circle and achieve his first purpose whilst eliminating those who refuse to comply with his requirements for life on this planet.
All he ever asked of us right from the beginning, was our willing obedience. It's all he asks now.
Well. Believing in spirits, gods, goddesses, etc were around way before christianity. In my academic studies, christianity is pretty political rather than spiritual. Nowadays, the politcal, at least in the States, are watered down a bit. It still influences us and our governent. Long story.
What you are saying sounds like something I would see on t.v. or movies. Thats how foreign it is to me. But, no, spirits arent universal. I dont have a religious-reality; so, its easier to entertain two and two is five without being uncomfortable that I know it is four. Different worldviews.
No....it will be part of the experience of those who lived and died before his purpose was complete. I believe that God accomplished so much by taking the long term benefits into consideration rather than the short term fix of simply eliminating all rebels just because he could. Giving us all the same choices, puts our eternal future in our own hands.
Hmm. On this forum, I do ask a lot what the definition of god is. Im not sure how JW define it. I think thats a good foundation to start with the definitions (yes...with scripture
) then go on what god says, does, and what you believe about him.