Strengthening families through biblical principles.
Focus on the Family addresses the use of biblical principles in parenting and marriage to strengthen the family.
Read daily articles from Focus on the Family in the Marriage and Parenting Resources forum.
golfjack said:I believe we are spirit, soul, and body. An animal has a soul, but no spirit. So when an animal dies, that's it . Because we have a spirit because this is what God did when He created man, we can have eternal life either in heaven or hell. It's our choice. Those in heaven will have a brand new glorified body, and those in hell will have a body that will be tormented day and night. They will have a soul that can feel the pain of hell. Their spirits are separated from God forever. So, what is the solution for mankind?
Man cannot stand in the presense of God as he is, because he has the nature of his father, the devil in him. If man is ever saved, he has to be saved by someone paying the penalty for his sins, and by someone giving him a new nature.
You might take a flop-eared mule and try to make a racehorse of him. You could file his teeth and polish his hooves. You could feed him the finest food, run him around the track every day, and house him in the finest stable. But on the day of the race when the gun sounds, all he'll do is lope off the track, because he is a mule. It's just not in him. Yet you can take a racehorse, and not give him as good as care, but when you put him on the starting line, and the gun sounds, he's gone. It's his nature. He's born and bred that way. In order for that old mule to be a racehorse, he would have to be re-born and that's impossible.
Man, however, who is a spirit living in a body, can be re-born. His nature can be changed. He can become a new creature in Christ Jesus, Man is lost today, not because of what he does, but because of what he is ( what he does is the result of what he is). Man needs life from God, because he is spiritually dead. Thanks be to God, Christ has redeemed us from spiritual death.
May God bless, golfjack
Jesus never paints a picture using lies depicting truth.
I find it difficult to imagine how this could be a valid argument. It seems to use the "Jesus would not lie" truth (which none of us would dispute) tolovely said:Okay, I would like to continue on with this topic by taking it to the next level, but first I would like to highlight something solo said that I think is overlooked very often.
solo wrote:
Now, I have seen some say that the parable of the Rich man and Lazarus did not actually happen, but solo's point is accurate. Christ does not mix lies in with the truth, as the spirit of the antichrist does (1 John 2:20), and the pictures that are painted with such parables are probably more true that we can really even realize. So, would Jesus say phrases like..."And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments.." OR "...that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame." unless it created a an accurate (TRUTHFUL) picture for our human understanding?Jesus never paints a picture using lies depicting truth.
Solo said:Jesus never paints a picture using lies depicting truth.
I find it difficult to imagine how this could be a valid argument. It seems to use the "Jesus would not lie" truth (which none of us would dispute) to
draw the conclusion that everything that Jesus would say must be true in a literal sense. I assume that no one would be willing to defend that position, given the clearly allegorical nature of his teaching elsewhere (e.g. the other parables).
Is this what you are really saying lovely?
This is simply an incorrect and misleading characterization (maybe not intentional, but wrong nonetheless).Jesus never paints a picture using lies depicting truth.
What happened to the rich man's soul and Lazarus' soul after they died and were buried according to Jesus?SputnikBoy said:In all fairness to others on this forum, the question of the OP HAS already been put forward several times already. The problem with this question is that unless one says "Yes, humans DO have an immortal soul (the common belief of mainstream Christianity)" they will be assigned to the ranks of the 'cult'. The question is slanted toward the "yes" response from the start. Whoever may be brave enough to say "No, humans do NOT have an immortal soul" will be regarded with suspicion (and fought against) from then on. It's a 'no win' situation for the "Nos".
And, the parable of the Rich Man & Lazarus has been explained SO MANY times previously that it should make one realize by now how people will only hear what they WANT to hear. As long as Christians have no understanding of what that parable is all about (but they THINK they know what that parable is all about) we will be at loggerheads over this issue until the cows come home. The parable of the Rich Man & Lazarus does NOT concern itself with the 'state' of the lost. It's a parable that has a greater meaning than that most Christians want to give it.
This topic, as with many others, brings out the ignorance in so many. The old adage, 'ignorance is bliss', certainly applies to much of mainstream Christian teaching. Unless one conforms to traditional (but often erroneous) thinking (much of which comes from RCC theology), then one is doomed to failure as soon as they open their mouths (or tap away at their keyboards). What is the point of discussion as long as the discussion is slanted in favor of the one thought?
By the way, humans DO NOT have an immortal soul. Adam BECAME a living soul (a human being) and the soul that sins will die.