I look forward to reading your blog Shulamite.  I never understood the whole trinity thing either.  J Witnesses do believe that Jesus was the mesiah though.  Boy, I would love for a J Witness to come here and give their take on Heaven and Hell.  I just remember a bit about 144,000 being chosen for immortal life, ones who accpet the J Witness way will enjoy everlasting life on Earth and the rest just cease to exist.

Ok, the weirdest thing- I had a Jehovah's Witnesses "Awake!" publication in my door when I got home today.  I found it quite odd because I was just discussing our cleaning staff that leaves one of their "Good Word Weekly" publications on my desk every week one of the guys at work who is a Jehovah's witness.  The publication is actually kinda' interesting because it covers more than just religious stuff and it tries to put it into a current day setting.

There is a good article on the "Watchtower" site that explains their relationship with Jesus: http://www.watchtower.org/library/ti/article_06.htm

It's amazing how a book can be interpreted so many different ways.

 

Jill, I don't know you but I have no reason to doubt what you say, that compared to many others you are indeed a good person. But the Bible warns us that "when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding." (II Corinthians 10:12). It's dangerous to measure ourselves against others because, while by contrast we may look pretty good, the standard by which God eveluates us is not the morality of the people around us. Instead, God measures us against His own perfection and declares that we "all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God." That's why we are all in danger of going to hell no matter how good we try to be. Try as we might, we can never measure up to the holiness of God. And so that's why God sent His Son Jesus Christ, who by His perfect sacricfice on the cross fully paid for our sins. And because our sins have been paid for salvation is a free gift of God's love to all who will receive it by faith in His Son (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Kill the Lizard, might I say that is a disturbing handle you have.  Anyway, your "measuring up to God's perfection" stuff is exactly the kind of thing that turns me off about Christianity.  The whole "perfect sacrifice" thing makes no sense to me either.  I just can't by the thought that aacepting Jesus is the pivotal, no exclusive point on what eternity will mean for any given person.  That is just how I feel but I appreciate all who have tried to show me otherwise.

The biggest problem with people today: they do not have a developed doctrine of soteriology. In theological terms, the doctrine of salvation. I would also add that people who claim to have knowlege of what the 2 billion or so Christians in the world believe to be erroneous, and a downright fool's errend. I doubt many people have actually even looked at modern third-world theologians. I also doubt if most people have read St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, Barth, Edwards, Tertillien, Origen, or whoever.

Just some rambling thoughts...

Jiggles, I am not saying that what Christians believe is erroneous.  I am however saying that it can neither be proven nor disproven.  I do think I will do some more reading on theology.  I currently feel you have to have faith in order to see the validity.  That could change.  I am not closed minded about it.  I am just saying it doesn't currently make sense to me.

I do not know who said it, and I read many of the comment, but when people say "according to Christian theology," which denomination though? Pentecostals are different from Anglicans, who are different to Baptists, who are different to Orthodox, who are different to Catholics. And need I add the current crisis in the Anglican commune to portray the false belief that there is a homogenious belief system to Christianity.

Jill, I feel that being a good person is more important than anything to do with what you believe in. Everyone has their own point of view of what right and wrong is and of what they believe in.
The thing that you should most keep in mind is that, all those people who are telling you that "You're going to hell" are, more than likely, just saying that so that they will not have to think about themselves. I'm 100% positive that they have all done some bad things that they wish they never had. By pointing the finger at you, they take the finger away from themselves.
As a matter of fact, a "true" Christian would not point the finger at you in the first place. Somewhere in the book of Mathew, Jesus states not to be judgemental (I just started reading the bible a bit). I can't remember the exact part though.
By the way, this can be said about anyone who blaims another for their faults; not just Christians.

Hey Jill
If heaven is where all the people who damned you to hell then would you really want to be there for the rest of eternity? I think that would be hell.

Good point PB.  I guess it would depend on the alternative.  The thought of just blinking out of existance isn't scary to me, sad, but not scary.  Eternal suffering though, I just can't even wrap my brain around what that could mean.  Eternal anything is a difficult concept for me.

Hombre, thanks for breathing new life into this blog and thanks for the kind comment.  I try to treat others with respect and kindness.  I love my family and friends and cherish every moment with them.  I look at each new person as a potential friend.  I don't know if that qualifies me as a "good" person or not.  I am just living within my own definition of "good" and am hoping I am judged fairly if I am ever judged by a higher power.

Since I gave up religion, as well as other harmful vices, my life has been much calmer. Seeking to treat others with kindness and respect not for hope of any reward nor fear of punishment, but just because it's the right thing to do has been very liberating. I find myself having much less resentment in the way I act toward people, because when I'm kind to them, I am kind for their sake and mine, not because of any outside influence. Many have said that I'm hell-bound for this type of lifestyle, but I don't see why. Good luck with your soul searching, as this is a path each of us ultimately walks alone -- but sometimes with friendly voices along the way.

Good luck with your soul searching, as this is a path each of us ultimately walks alone -- but sometimes with friendly voices along the way.

You sound like a wonderful person.  Thanks for the kind words.

Don't you guys think there might be spiritual laws as well as physical laws? Like gravity. If you throw something in the air, it doesn't stop at the top, pause, and think, "it's kinda nice up here, maybe this time I should linger a bit." Heh. It falls, because gravity is a stronger law. Karma. If you give, it WILL come back to you. That's a law. Sin. If you have even a smudge of it, God..in his perfection... will not look at you. I don't think it's like he stops and thinks, "oooh, who am I sending to Hell today? Timmy didn't do enough good things today! Zap!" Don't you guys think God is on your side?

I was surprised to see this one resurrected (no pun intended).  It was good timing though since this is a very religiously reflective time.  I went to a Christmas program at a nondenomiational church with neighbor friends recently.  I really enjoyed the program and the people involved.  The pastor was very well spoken but when it came to the part where he tried to explain the relationship with Jesus, I had the same old reaction.  I celebrate the birth of Jesus because I appreciate him as a very important teacher who is responsible for the morality in the society I enjoy.  I still don't know in my heart that he is my saviour and the whole dying for our sins thing makes no more sense than ever.

The pastor said that he was certain that those of us in the audience who hadn't accepted the gift of Christ had an emptiness we are always trying to fill with that next job, next house, next whatever.  Well, I can very honestly say I don't have that emptiness.  I don't feel compelled to "find Jesus".  I am a very happy, fulfilled person surrounded by love.  I am still not dismissing anything, I just don't feel like there is anything missing.  I believe in God, I just don't have a belief in perfection or a grasp of eternity.  I do have a desire to continue learning as long as I am conscious.

think it is silly to not believe Jesus existed. There is plenty of evidence that he did. However, you are arrogant if you think you can prove to anyone that he is the son of God. You are also arrogant if you think you can prove to anyone that he isn't the son of God. This subject is all about faith. The bible doesn't prove anything to anyone who doesn't first accept that it is the word of God. It is nothing more than an old book of stories that reflect the time otherwise.

Bravo!!