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  1. M

    Fire in Heaven

    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...
  2. M

    Fire in Heaven

    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...
  3. M

    Fire in Heaven

    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...
  4. M

    Can God change his mind? in otherwords do things like christianity and Islam make sense?

    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...
  5. M

    Fire in Heaven

    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...
  6. M

    Can God change his mind? in otherwords do things like christianity and Islam make sense?

    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...
  7. M

    Fire in Heaven

    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...
  8. M

    Can God change his mind? in otherwords do things like christianity and Islam make sense?

    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...
  9. M

    Can God change his mind? in otherwords do things like christianity and Islam make sense?

    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.
  10. M

    Can God change his mind? in otherwords do things like christianity and Islam make sense?

    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...
  11. M

    Without Faith it is impossible to please God

    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...
  12. M

    Do What You Will

    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...
  13. M

    Can the dead be contacted according to your tradition?

    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...
  14. M

    Can the dead be contacted according to your tradition?

    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.
  15. M

    Can the dead be contacted according to your tradition?

    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...
  16. M

    Can the dead be contacted according to your tradition?

    A very hard question to answer. Yes and no. The Divine Spark can lose awareness of itself. Then it doesn't appear very divine. I'd say this was Jesus meant when talking about the "salt of the earth." These Divine Sparks are scattered throughout the world and found at different levels...
  17. M

    What's God's Big Hangup With Homosexuality?

    The Old Testament says many things are abominations as I pointed out. Eating pork or clams for example. So what is the hang-up of people wanting to discuss only one thing on the list? Why pick out homosexual behavior? The way I read the word, it means "disgusting" -- meaning you turn away...
  18. M

    What's God's Big Hangup With Homosexuality?

    The question doesn't make sense to me. Before you ask why God has a hangup about homosexuals, you need to demonstrate He has such a hangup. It's like asking a man, "Have you stopped beating your wife yet?" When he protests he never did that, you say, "Please answer the question."...
  19. M

    Can the dead be contacted according to your tradition?

    Decidedly many in the Abrahamic view would disagree. but some Jews would agree with the Hindu position. I as a Christian agree with it. When I read the parable by Jesus about the mustard seed, I see a seed of divinity taking "root" in the earthly body. I see it also in the story about the...
  20. M

    What's God's Big Hangup With Homosexuality?

    I don't agree with the premise contained in the question -- it's begging the question. All I can do is present how I believe God looks at homosexuality and tell you why he did abhor it in Israel and why Paul said the things he said. Generalizing from the Old Testament and saying God abhors...
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