Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.
Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!
It's a hell of a lot better than Hell, the only other alternativeIf the Christian heaven is not perfect, then why should man desire to reach it?
It's a hell of a lot better than Hell, the only other alternative
But in more seriousness, I think we need to modernize our thinking beyond ancient biblical scripture. The Bible does not stand up well to deep analysis of all the ramifications of what it says in my opinion.
Hi Buddhist,... then why does the Christian Bible say that the angels, who supposedly reside in heaven, find the need or want to mate with human women (Genesis 6:1-7)?
Where did you get the notion that the heaven is not perfect? I believed that heaven is a perfect place to live because God resides in heaven. Man's desire to reach God or heaven is the cause of sin, a corrupted mind and heart which started in the Garden of Eden by the serpent.If the Christian heaven is not perfect, then why should man desire to reach it?
... then why does the Christian Bible say that the angels, who supposedly reside in heaven, find the need or want to mate with human women (Genesis 6:1-7)?
If the Christian heaven is not perfect, then why should man desire to reach it?
The problem was not with heaven, but the wrong desires some angels allowed to grow within them. Adam and Eve enjoyed perfect life on earth (which I believe is really our everlasting home) but threw it away for the same reason, wrong desires that were nurtured into sinful actions. (James 1:14,15) The same steps lead people today to commit grevious sins, IMO.... then why does the Christian Bible say that the angels, who supposedly reside in heaven, find the need or want to mate with human women (Genesis 6:1-7)?
If the Christian heaven is not perfect, then why should man desire to reach it?
This above is a pretty good understanding. My point was that if people were to sit down and just read the Bible, they would not get this clear picture you present.Like what for example?
Heaven has often been described in terms of degrees.
More heavenly realms tend towards perfection,
whereas other planes of existence tend towards more hellish extremes.
These two directions have often been described as existing in terms
of a 4-d directional plane of reference. A purely mathematical concept.
Various states of perfection and imperfection are true even within
the lives lived within our ordinary 3-d world.
So the Christian god, who is often depicted as perfect, cannot exist without imperfection?perfection can only exist within a context of imperfetion
In the Christian tradition, heaven is described as a state of perfection. However, if that it so, then angels, who supposedly reside in heaven, must have found it imperfect if they had other desires that exceeded that which was provided by heaven.Angels desiring human women and man desiring to reach Heaven... I don't see those arguments mean Heaven is not perfect. Please explain.
You're right, it is not suitable for deep analysis ... reminds me of the saying, "the best cure for Christianity is reading the Bible" - in my case, that was true, after reading the Bible in depth.It's a hell of a lot better than Hell, the only other alternative
But in more seriousness, I think we need to modernize our thinking beyond ancient biblical scripture. The Bible does not stand up well to deep analysis of all the ramifications of what it says in my opinion.
I agree regarding degrees of heaven, as that is found in early Buddhism. But where are degrees of heaven written about in the Bible?Like what for example?
Heaven has often been described in terms of degrees.
More heavenly realms tend towards perfection,
whereas other planes of existence tend towards more hellish extremes.
These two directions have often been described as existing in terms
of a 4-d directional plane of reference. A purely mathematical concept.
Various states of perfection and imperfection are true even within
the lives lived within our ordinary 3-d world.
Angels apparently took on human form and ate with Abraham (Genesis 18). God apparently took on flesh as Jesus. If Gen 6 refers to the sons of Seth, then why would they produce offspring that were described as different from other men?Hi Buddhist,
If we look at Gen. 6:2, that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose, some said that the sons of God are referring to angels, but how come a spirit being took wives for themselves? An angel has no body (flesh).
Another thing is the sons of God are the family of Seth who took wives with the family of Cain. I believed this is far more likely that those two families were intermarried if we will based on its context.
If heaven is perfect, then its inhabitants would have all their needs fulfilled, correct?Where did you get the notion that the heaven is not perfect? I believed that heaven is a perfect place to live because God resides in heaven. Man's desire to reach God or heaven is the cause of sin, a corrupted mind and heart which started in the Garden of Eden by the serpent.
So, when men and women reach heaven, they have the potential to fall again, correct?The problem was not with heaven, but the wrong desires some angels allowed to grow within them. Adam and Eve enjoyed perfect life on earth (which I believe is really our everlasting home) but threw it away for the same reason, wrong desires that were nurtured into sinful actions. (James 1:14,15) The same steps lead people today to commit grevious sins, IMO.
In the Christian tradition, heaven is described as a state of perfection. However, if that it so, then angels, who supposedly reside in heaven, must have found it imperfect if they had other desires that exceeded that which was provided by heaven.
I agree. Which means that men and women who achieve that heaven are also subject to another fall.Doesn't that mean the angels (in the Christian tradition) are the ones not perfect instead of Heaven? I think desires have no limits, so being somewhere believed to be perfect is not what controls desires, but the being having them.
I could be wrong, but this is the only way I can see it at the moment.
I agree. Which means that men and women who achieve that heaven are also subject to another fall.
... then why does the Christian Bible say that the angels, who supposedly reside in heaven, find the need or want to mate with human women (Genesis 6:1-7)?
If the Christian heaven is not perfect, then why should man desire to reach it?