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If the whole theory of heaven and hell is true... How can hell exist? The bible tells us that God is forgiving to everyone and does not hate anything. He loves us all and does not want us to suffer. If it's true that God is forgiving and always wants us to be happy and in good health, how can he send anyone to hell? Is God a profiling deity?
And if heaven exists, what does everyone look like in heaven? Do they default to a certain age? Is everyone just a blob of glowing spirit?
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If the whole theory of heaven and hell is true... How can hell exist?
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1. the retelling of the creation of hell was set forth because satan was vain and thought himself better than god. satan rebelled against god with some other angels and after that confrontation they were thrown down to hell below the earth so the story goes. "hell" exists much like other metaphorical places of punishment in other religions to give us an incentive to be a good and decent human being. i was catholic for a long time and the "purgatory" philosophy always bothered me as it had an eastern feeling to it which was surprising due to the fact that catholicism is a sect of a profoundly based western religion. think of "hell" less of an actual place and more of a mindset. "hell" is supposed to be a metaphor for what it would be like to a spirit not being able to spend eternity with the father, our creator.
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The bible tells us that God is forgiving to everyone and does not hate anything. He loves us all and does not want us to suffer.
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2. the bible also tells us that yes, god is a forgiving god. but the bible also tells us that god is a wrathful and jealous god. specifically this can be found simulatenously in the books of exodus and leviticus. god does love all his creations. if you look back to the story of moses god loved moses and entrusted him to lead his people out of egypt. but moses had murdered someone and in doing had a mortal sin on his heart so god would not let him into the holy land. this is another philosophical difference b/w catholicism and the other protestant sects of christianity. catholics believe that if you confess your sins on your death bed to god before you die you can go to heaven. other protestant sects believe you must be "saved" otherwise you must have accepted christ into your life. the issue of purgatory in this regard is shady as it was used a corrupted means in the middle ages of a way to garner donations/favors from parishaners and nobles to serve the church. today its seen as a "waiting room" among lots of catholics where if their soul is prayed for enough it will eventually be redeemed and be sent to heaven...
A) my problem with this philosophy--no biblical support and/or foundation at all. none. continuing..........
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If it's true that God is forgiving and always wants us to be happy and in good health, how can he send anyone to hell?
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3. god wants all of his creations/children to be happy much as any good parent does for their child. and as i have referenced before, biblically the "idea" of "hell" is more of a eternal torture that a spirit feels not being able to be with the father in heaven. in the bible it states, i do believe, in one of pauls of letters, not sure if it was to the corinthians or the romans that when we die we will join god, the father, in heaven with all of the other angels and spirits who have died before us. so in this regard, god doesnt send people to "hell" its a mindset or a feeling that plagues the spirit for eternity.
B) this is where my problem with "spiritual reincarnation" or as it was mentioned earlier the "recycling" of souls comes in. how can i possibly be reincarnated "another eastern philosophy prevailing upon a primarily western based religion" when my soul is seated with all the other angels in heaven at the right hand of the father?
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Is God a profiling deity?
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according to websters: a set of characteristics or qualities that identify a type or category of person or thing.
does god "spiritually" profile a person when they die and decide whether or not they get into heaven? no. the apostle peter who jesus declared as the cornerstone of early christianity and besowed upon him to build the new early christian church decides who gets into heaven as this was told upon him on his death by jesus. to answer you're question. i would not used the word "profiling" as i think it is out of context but yes god is judgemental. this also touches on a subject that i brought up in the moses story of a mortal sin. there is also a basis of catholicism in here as well that i have been unable to decide upon as i havent found a concrete explanation for outside of exodus. that our god placed upon our spirit a clean slate "a tabula rasa" when we are baptised that erases original sin and leaves a foundation for a good and moral life. with that idea of a clean slate comes the introduction of the "seven deadly sins" sins that once committed will keep you from getting into heaven unless forgiven. this is a primarily catholic belief that most protestant sects dont hold to be true but it appears repeatedly throughout the old testament hence leaving a credible foundation for this teaching to be true.
C) the christian based belief aside from catholics is that when you die if you are "saved" by jesus christ then you will go to heaven and if not then you will spend an eternity in "hell"-reference back to previous paragraph. the catholic basis upon death has already been discussed.]
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And if heaven exists, what does everyone look like in heaven
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4. ahh finally an easy question..we would look like we look now. we were made in gods image and all of the descriptions of the archangels available in genesis, pauls letter to the romans and pauls recollection of the revalation all provide evidence and in my heart proof that the angels and us and jesus and everyone else in heaven would like as they do now "made in his image"
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Do they default to a certain age?
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5. there has been debate on this question but there has never been any passage in the known bible or in any of the not used "non-canonical" gospels to give us a certain age that our spirit defaults to upon death-please reference sub-passage E
D) gospels written by people that followed jesus other than disciples and were deemed to be unfactual and therefore unusable after the great schism in the early 1300's and still to this are included in the catholic version of the bible but all protestant bibles aka NIV, NCV, etc do not include them. also included in this list are the apocrypha, letters from ruth and a few others that i cant recall.
E) there is a growing basis among many theologians that many of the sightings of the arch angels; such as paul in his vision of revalations, adam and eves sighting of the arch angel gabriel guarding the garden of eden and the archangel that joseph the carpenter wrestled with "once again gabriel" that they all appeared to be in their early 30's. keep in mind that jesus died at the age of 33 as well leading to the idea that people in heaven would appear to be in their early 30's.
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Is everyone just a blob of glowing spirit?
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6. the idea of a "glowing ball of spiritual energy" is a hollywood idea and effect. there is no biblical foundation or recollection to support this question-reference previous paragraph.
7. yes heaven exists, the "place" of heaven, has been mentioned in the bible hundreds of times across both the new and old testaments as both a place to strive to get to after our death and as an idea, "a heaven on earth" referencing the garden of eden that man first dwelled in.
-->the link between heaven, the garden of eden and the promised "holy" land all have one thing in common. heaven is where christ, the garden of eden is where god first appeared to man after creation, and the promised "holy" land is where jesus first appeared to man. these are all holy locations and metaphorically are unattainable without divine intervention. as jesus said in the new testament in the gospel of matthew 19:24. And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. what this translates into-> we must be rich in spirit and rich in our love for christ before we can enter the gates of heaven.
anymore questions?
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