What do you think the Good News of Jesus Christ is?

[Saint Frankenstein]

The idea that a child is a sinful and immoral creature not worthy of god's love is actually quite sickening to me. The mere idea that god itself is responsible for such a thing and creates his own legalistic framework for his own behavior makes it more sad.
Jesus is all loving yet concludes that people innocent of evil behavior should be condemned to a lake of fire to burn forever in eternity is as frightening as possible and not even logically consistent.

The good news that I hear is to love a bipolar metaphysical entity that desires mobster like love. I cannot even dare let a child be told this by a person. It is frighteningly harmful and nightmarish

That sounds like extremist Calvinist fundamentalist nuttery. Mainstream Christianity - Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Mainline Protestantism (excluding Calvinism) - teaches no such things.

 

[Sha'irullah]

Ever hear of the Apocalypse of Peter?

Not familiar with it

 

[Sha'irullah]

That sounds like extremist Calvinist fundamentalist nuttery. Mainstream Christianity - Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Mainline Protestantism (excluding Calvinism) - teaches no such things.

That is refreshing news but it only serves to question the authenticity of such denominations

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

That is refreshing news but it only serves to question the authenticity of such denominations

No. Rather, you should question the soundness and authenticity of the loons who taught you that hateful extremist hogwash. It's even blasphemous because it makes God out to be some monster Who hates humanity when that's as far away from the truth as you can get.

 

[Sha'irullah]

I'm afraid that your definition of Christianity is tainted by Christendom. Please don't confuse the two. Your sole reason for being on this earth has nothing to do with going to heaven. In fact when God first placed mankind on earth, no one was going to heaven and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was not even in the equation.

You are only making things worst with that statement. Now I can bash Christianity for worshiping a confused deity.

Man's permanent home was meant to be in paradise on earth, with no sickness, ageing, suffering or death. When the kingdom has accomplished all that it was sent to do, then everything will go back to the way it was.

This would make my life utterly meaningless then.

If man had never disobeyed the only command to carry the death penalty, Adam and his wife would still be alive today with all their offspring. No savior would have been necessary and no kingdom would have been needed to reconcile fallen humanity back with their Creator. What we lost in Genesis is given back to us in Revelation. (Rev 21:1-5)

So god is no all powerful, not omniscient nor is he capable of producing anything sustainable. If he failed with Adam and Eve how can he have a success with the current breed of skullheads on this earth today. You are just setting things up to make an incompetent deity.
I can see no other way around this conclusion honestly and the only way to get rid of it is to simply abandon a lot of Biblical source material.

 

[Sha'irullah]

No. Rather, you should question the soundness and authenticity of the loons who taught you that hateful extremist hogwash. It's even blasphemous because it makes God out to be some monster Who hates humanity when that's as far away from the truth as you can get.

I thought Yahweh hated humanity this whole time. He loves genocide and now wants to make up for his wrong doings but does so in a mobster like fashion.
"If you do not accept my love I will burn you forever."
To this very day Christians seem as more confused as ever

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

I thought Yahweh hated humanity this whole time. He loves genocide and now wants to make up for his wrong doings but does so in a mobster like fashion.
"If you do not accept my love I will burn you forever."
To this very day Christians seem as more confused as ever

No, God is love. Hatred is contrary to His nature. If you're talking about the stuff in the OT, much of that didn't happen in the first place. Those genocides didn't happen. Much of the OT is basically tribal propaganda and their view of God evolves over time as they receive more revelation. Those stories have worth in other ways, however. In fact, the Jews have a bad track record with God and He chastises them many times for failing to do His will and they also killed the Prophets. Jesus harshly rebuked the Jewish leaders of His day and taught us what God really expects from us. Of course, we return the favor by torturing Him to death.

God does not threaten us. In fact, I quite like the Eastern Christian view of hell as the result of rejection of God's love and the suffering comes from experiencing God's love as pain and torture due to it being inverted into a negative in their minds.

 

[outhouse]

What exactly did you find not credible about it when you took it and came to that conclusion?

It teaches apologetics, that promote pseudo history.

What about the subject question in this thread? Care to contribute?

Jesus said no such thing, the unknown author made that claim, writing far removed from Jesus actual life.


Not one word in the NT was from someone who witnessed or heard a word Jesus said.


Your just proselytizing.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

You are only making things worst with that statement. Now I can bash Christianity for worshiping a confused deity.



This would make my life utterly meaningless then.



So god is no all powerful, not omniscient nor is he capable of producing anything sustainable. If he failed with Adam and Eve how can he have a success with the current breed of skullheads on this earth today. You are just setting things up to make an incompetent deity.
I can see no other way around this conclusion honestly and the only way to get rid of it is to simply abandon a lot of Biblical source material.

Just so you know, Jehovah's Witness theology is incredibly different from the theology of pretty much every other denomination of Christianity. They're like Mormons in that regard.

 

[psychoslice]

For myself when I finally realized what Christ was about, was a fantastic transformation, I finally realized that what he was saying was that we are all the Christ. Jesus the man came to the realization that he was the Christ, but he couldn't just come out and say that, so he spoke in parables and metaphors, these were confusing to the ignorant listener, but they had the power to make the one who is searching for truth, realize what he was saying.

The whole story of Jesus is our story, if we don't see it like this its all a wast of time, those who put Jesus on a pedestal will stay at the level, forever worshipping an idol. Those who see beyond the words will be in heaven, here and now, not in the future as so many believe.

 

[Riverwolf]

Not familiar with it

During the period that the Apocalypse of John was written (the canonical Book of Revelations that concludes the Christian Bible), there were several other Apocalypse books in circulation. One of the more popular ones was the Apocalypse of Peter, which actually almost made the canon.

While only fragments of the text survive now, a very interesting passage has remained. In context, Peter is standing next to Jesus and they're observing the sinners suffering in Hell. Peter is greatly saddened by the sight, and asks Jesus to have pity on them. Jesus responds, with the prefix that what he's about to say is a secret that nobody should know:

"My Father will give unto them all the life, the glory, and the kingdom that passeth not away, ... It is because of them that have believed in me that I am come. It is also because of them that have believed in me, that, at their word, I shall have pity on men... "

 

[s2a]

Jesus said to his disciples in Matt. 10:7 "go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near." You may think this is the Good News of Jesus Christ--the Gospel, but is this the same as the Good News that saves?

I firmly believe that when God wants to emphasize a matter in his written word such as in John 1:3, Colossians 1:15-17, and 1 John 4:8, He so inspires it that it is difficult, if not impossible to mistranslate.
Learn about the Bible by mail or online-for free!

You asked:
What do you think the Good News of Jesus Christ is?

Kinda simple, is it not?

That promise of ever-lasting life after death, is it not?

Am I missing something greater in that simple proclamation?

 

[Sha'irullah]

During the period that the Apocalypse of John was written (the canonical Book of Revelations that concludes the Christian Bible), there were several other Apocalypse books in circulation. One of the more popular ones was the Apocalypse of Peter, which actually almost made the canon.

While only fragments of the text survive now, a very interesting passage has remained. In context, Peter is standing next to Jesus and they're observing the sinners suffering in Hell. Peter is greatly saddened by the sight, and asks Jesus to have pity on them. Jesus responds, with the prefix that what he's about to say is a secret that nobody should know:

"My Father will give unto them all the life, the glory, and the kingdom that passeth not away, ... It is because of them that have believed in me that I am come. It is also because of them that have believed in me, that, at their word, I shall have pity on men... "

Hmm, so pity seems to be despised by the church. I have never read into every last noncanonical text for the Bible. I am just familar with a lot of the Gnostic ones.

 

[Riverwolf]

Hmm, so pity seems to be despised by the church. I have never read into every last noncanonical text for the Bible. I am just familar with a lot of the Gnostic ones.

No, that is not at all what is going on, and in any case, untrue in the vast majority of cases that I've seen.

 

[Sha'irullah]

No, that is not at all what is going on, and in any case, untrue in the vast majority of cases that I've seen.

I know that is not what you meant. I was having fun with what you cited.
Bible verses mean so little to me since their ability to be interpreted serves no value. Hermeneutics do not serve scripture any favors.

 

[sojourner]

You're certainly entitled to your opinion! What exactly did you find not credible about it when you took it and came to that conclusion?

What about the subject question in this thread? Care to contribute?

41 English-speaking students worldwide? Teachers don't have to know anything about the bible? Really? Srrsly?

Who administers the courses? What is the curriculum? What is the mission statement? The core values? WBS has a web site, but it doesn't tell you anything about the organization. Under whose auspices does it operate? Is it accredited? Answer me those questions, give me a core curriculum and let me meet the qualified professors, and it'll be credible. Maybe.

Compared to accredited bible colleges and seminaries, this isn't very credible.

 

[sojourner]

Jesus said to his disciples in Matt. 10:7 "go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near." You may think this is the Good News of Jesus Christ--the Gospel, but is this the same as the Good News that saves?

I firmly believe that when God wants to emphasize a matter in his written word such as in John 1:3, Colossians 1:15-17, and 1 John 4:8, He so inspires it that it is difficult, if not impossible to mistranslate.
Learn about the Bible by mail or online-for free!

Good News doesn't save. God saves.

The gospel message, though, is simple at its base: "Turn your lives around, for God's kindom has come near."

 

[Redemptionsong]

jah59,
Like you, I find God's Word to be faithful and true.

In response to your opening question, there can be no doubt about what constitutes the kingdom of God, and the Gospel, so well documented are these themes.

In Ephesians 3: 1-12, Paul says, 'If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:.......That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:....According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: in whom we have boldness and access with confidence by faith in him.'

In other words, the good news is that Gentiles, along with Jews, are offered salvation from sin and death through faith in Jesus Christ.

This is further explained in Galatians, where it says, 'That the blessing of Abraham [by faith] might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.'

So the good news is that we can receive the baptism of Christ ( the Holy Spirit) through faith in Jesus as the sinless Son of God.
'For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.'

The kingdom of heaven, or kingdom of God, is the kingdom that a person enters when they place their faith in the king, Jesus Christ. The kingdom is INVISIBLE AT PRESENT, being the body of Christ on earth, but on the return of Christ the kingdom will have a completion on earth.

This means that the kingdom of Heaven and the Gospel have FAITH IN JESUS as a common element. The missing piece of the jigsaw is Israel. Scripture seems to indicate that the remnant of Israel have yet to face their day of repentance, when they too will take their place in the kingdom on earth. This will not be until the day of the Lord, the return of Christ to earth. 'And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.'

 

[Riverwolf]

I know that is not what you meant. I was having fun with what you cited.
Bible verses mean so little to me since their ability to be interpreted serves no value. Hermeneutics do not serve scripture any favors.

Far as I'm concerned, the more ways something can be interpreted and applied, the better. In fact, the Adam and Eve story is one of the deepest condensed stories out there, because of how many ways it can be seen.

 

[Katzpur]

Just so you know, Jehovah's Witness theology is incredibly different from the theology of pretty much every other denomination of Christianity. They're like Mormons in that regard.

You know, I bet that if you and I were to sit down and discuss the similarities between Mormonism and Catholicism, you would be astounded about how much we actually agree on.