God is...

[studentofthemarkets]

Another observation: If you were to ask a devoted Christian if he believes that Jesus was God's son sent from heaven to die for the sins of humanity, and that he rose from the dead after being crucified and ascended back to heaven three days later, the answer would certainly be "Yes!". And if you ask that same person if Jesus returned to heaven to prepare a wonderful place of unspeakable joy for each of his followers, that answer would be "Yes!". But if you ask that person "Then why don't you go there now? Just cut this life short and get on with your trip to heaven now." then that's when the whole belief system starts to crumble.

For example, I have a 93-year-old Christian Grandmother. I had a conversation with her not too long ago, and she said, "Baron, I wish I would have died at 83 years old, because the last 10 years have just been miserable. I've broken multiple bones from falling that required surgeries to fix, I've basically lost all of my eyesight, and now I can barely hear at all. It's just been awful."

And all I could think about is that despite her strong belief in Jesus and his promise of eternal life in heaven that's free from all of the miseries of this life, she still fights tooth and nail to not go there now.

And I see that same mental state apply to every believer out there. Despite having lives that have literally been saturated in Biblical teachings since childhood, when it comes down to it, nobody really believes what they say they believe. In fact, they do the opposite. Instead of being motivated to go to heaven asap, they will cling onto their miserable lives as if this life is heaven and what happens afterward must be avoided for as long as possible.

Baron said:
Another observation: If you were to ask a devoted Christian if he believes that Jesus was God's son sent from heaven to die for the sins of humanity, and that he rose from the dead after being crucified and ascended back to heaven three days later, the answer would certainly be "Yes!". And if you ask that same person if Jesus returned to heaven to prepare a wonderful place of unspeakable joy for each of his followers, that answer would be "Yes!". But if you ask that person "Then why don't you go there now? Just cut this life short and get on with your trip to heaven now." then that's when the whole belief system starts to crumble.​

For example, I have a 93-year-old Christian Grandmother. I had a conversation with her not too long ago, and she said, "Baron, I wish I would have died at 83 years old, because the last 10 years have just been miserable. I've broken multiple bones from falling that required surgeries to fix, I've basically lost all of my eyesight, and now I can barely hear at all. It's just been awful."​

I’m sorry to hear what your grandmother is going through. Maybe she fights to live so that she can pray longer for you! Her physical condition is nothing I would ever want to deal with!

But I wonder, isn't your grandma better off emotionally because of her hope in Jesus? Suffering without this hope would be much harder, I would think. From my own limited experiences with health issues, the hope I have in Jesus has kept me afloat emotionally.

Baron said:
And all I could think about is that despite her strong belief in Jesus and his promise of eternal life in heaven that's free from all of the miseries of this life, she still fights tooth and nail to not go there now. ​

And I see that same mental state apply to every believer out there. Despite having lives that have literally been saturated in Biblical teachings since childhood, when it comes down to it, nobody really believes what they say they believe. In fact, they do the opposite. Instead of being motivated to go to heaven asap, they will cling onto their miserable lives as if this life is heaven and what happens afterward must be avoided for as long as possible.
​

Just got word a few minutes ago that my good friend since 2005 has passed. Her husband wrote that she "is with her savior and creator."

She sounded like she was saying good-bye to me on Friday when I was texting her, and it surprised me because I didn't realize she was suddenly not likely going to pull through from covid. She comforted me by sharing that she was looking forward to heaven and I was suddenly at peace with it because she was at peace.

Here is a screenshot of our text from Friday:

There is a lot of hope that believers have because of believing the promise that we have eternal life.

My friend had a difficult time of suffering this last week, but she had hope, because of Jesus.

 

[FortuneTeller]

Baron said:
Another observation: If you were to ask a devoted Christian if he believes that Jesus was God's son sent from heaven to die for the sins of humanity, and that he rose from the dead after being crucified and ascended back to heaven three days later, the answer would certainly be "Yes!". And if you ask that same person if Jesus returned to heaven to prepare a wonderful place of unspeakable joy for each of his followers, that answer would be "Yes!". But if you ask that person "Then why don't you go there now? Just cut this life short and get on with your trip to heaven now." then that's when the whole belief system starts to crumble.​

For example, I have a 93-year-old Christian Grandmother. I had a conversation with her not too long ago, and she said, "Baron, I wish I would have died at 83 years old, because the last 10 years have just been miserable. I've broken multiple bones from falling that required surgeries to fix, I've basically lost all of my eyesight, and now I can barely hear at all. It's just been awful."​

I’m sorry to hear what your grandmother is going through. Maybe she fights to live so that she can pray longer for you! Her physical condition is nothing I would ever want to deal with!

But I wonder, isn't your grandma better off emotionally because of her hope in Jesus? Suffering without this hope would be much harder, I would think. From my own limited experiences with health issues, the hope I have in Jesus has kept me afloat emotionally.

Baron said:
And all I could think about is that despite her strong belief in Jesus and his promise of eternal life in heaven that's free from all of the miseries of this life, she still fights tooth and nail to not go there now. ​

And I see that same mental state apply to every believer out there. Despite having lives that have literally been saturated in Biblical teachings since childhood, when it comes down to it, nobody really believes what they say they believe. In fact, they do the opposite. Instead of being motivated to go to heaven asap, they will cling onto their miserable lives as if this life is heaven and what happens afterward must be avoided for as long as possible.
​

Just got word a few minutes ago that my good friend since 2005 has passed. Her husband wrote that she "is with her savior and creator."

She sounded like she was saying good-bye to me on Friday when I was texting her, and it surprised me because I didn't realize she was suddenly not likely going to pull through from covid. She comforted me by sharing that she was looking forward to heaven and I was suddenly at peace with it because she was at peace.

Here is a screenshot of our text from Friday:


View attachment 275714

There is a lot of hope that believers have because of believing the promise that we have eternal life.

My friend had a difficult time of suffering this last week, but she had hope, because of Jesus.

Sorry to hear you lost your friend. We know she is now in a good place and that is Heaven.

Looking forward to heaven is definitely a psychological positive.

 

[studentofthemarkets]

Sorry to hear you lost your friend. We know she is now in a good place and that is Heaven.

Looking forward to heaven is definitely a psychological positive.

Thank you! I'm happy for her. If she had survived, it would have been very difficult for her to recover. For her friends and family, this is really comforting, but it is still very sad. We grieve the loss, we miss her!

 

[Baron]

How are we supposed to go to Heaven right now without committing some form of suicide?

I'm pretty sure suicide is refrained upon by everyone, not just Christians.

And I am also sure everyone fights till the end of life to stay alive, it's just part of our survival instinct.

If death represents the doorway to heaven, then the cause of death should be of no concern and certainly survival instinct should have no use whatsoever in the heart of a believer, as it would only prolong suffering and delay one's entrance into the Kingdom of God.

 

[studentofthemarkets]

If death represents the doorway to heaven, then the cause of death should be of no concern and certainly survival instinct should have no use whatsoever in the heart of a believer, as it would only prolong suffering and delay one's entrance into the Kingdom of God.

I have had thoughts like this, that I just want to die right now so I can be with God… I am not suicidal, but it is certainly a thought that has crossed my mind many times. When struggling with some health issues years ago, I did some thinking about this that helped me solidify in my mind where my mental focus should be.

For me, personally, I have found several strong reasons that help me to keep my mind focused on the here and now instead of longing for heaven so much.

The first reason, is that I really want what God wants for me. It actually makes me very happy when I do things that I think are what God wants me to do, because I feel very indebted to Him for my salvation. This helps me to want the length of my life to be however long He wants it to be, as well as whatever circumstances He wants me to go through, although I do sometimes tell Him that I am not someone who wants to suffer.

Another reason is that I remember there is a limit to my days. Whatever suffering I go through, or good times, our experiences here are only temporary. This thought, coupled with the thought that God values my prayers for others, and I can do good for others by praying for them, or trying to be a blessing in other ways has tempered my desires to be with Christ.

Although, I will have to say, sometimes when praying, my adoration of Christ is so strong that I have said, “Lord, I want to be with you right now, I can hardly wait, I don’t care about anything or anyone as much as I love You and want to be with You.” I’ve said that or variations of that many times.

 

[userque]

I find it interesting that a book written by Jews conveniently calls themselves God's chosen people.

And if they are in fact God's chosen people, I wonder why he stopped communicating with them since the Bible was written a couple thousand years ago? There are so many unknown things in this world, it seems like the Bible should be continuing on and on in volumes over time, somewhat like a collection of Encyclopedias. Furthermore, I see no evidence today whatsoever that the Jewish people are any better off than any other culture.

Another observation: If you were to ask a devoted Christian if he believes that Jesus was God's son sent from heaven to die for the sins of humanity, and that he rose from the dead after being crucified and ascended back to heaven three days later, the answer would certainly be "Yes!". And if you ask that same person if Jesus returned to heaven to prepare a wonderful place of unspeakable joy for each of his followers, that answer would be "Yes!". But if you ask that person "Then why don't you go there now? Just cut this life short and get on with your trip to heaven now." then that's when the whole belief system starts to crumble.

For example, I have a 93-year-old Christian Grandmother. I had a conversation with her not too long ago, and she said, "Baron, I wish I would have died at 83 years old, because the last 10 years have just been miserable. I've broken multiple bones from falling that required surgeries to fix, I've basically lost all of my eyesight, and now I can barely hear at all. It's just been awful."

And all I could think about is that despite her strong belief in Jesus and his promise of eternal life in heaven that's free from all of the miseries of this life, she still fights tooth and nail to not go there now.

And I see that same mental state apply to every believer out there. Despite having lives that have literally been saturated in Biblical teachings since childhood, when it comes down to it, nobody really believes what they say they believe. In fact, they do the opposite. Instead of being motivated to go to heaven asap, they will cling onto their miserable lives as if this life is heaven and what happens afterward must be avoided for as long as possible.

We may be motivated by profits, but yet we still spend money on holiday presents for others. How is that possible?

It's possible because we can make exceptions.

I know/knew a person at the edge of death, and they could have died by not going to the hospital. Doctor said they likely had less than 24 hours to live when they admitted themselves had they not gone to the hospital.

They wanted death for both heaven, and the pain relief.
But they ultimately decided against 'just letting it happen' because they didn't want to leave some things unfinished/unorganized/unprepared for the family.

Just like we sacrifice financial profits for love; we can also delay entering heaven for love.

Also, we are given purposes for our existence (evangelizing, educating, etc.) . Facilitating/hastening your own death could be compared with leaving work early, without authorization.

 

[themickey]

I just can't believe in my way of thinking God created life on earth (any life including animals) so that they should be subservient and serving Him.

It appears to me a waste of resources that humans have to bow and scrape to a god all their life.
What a waste of a life that everyday for most of the day one needs to be conscious of serving a master.

Just think laterally for a minute, don't you think a real God would rather see life enjoying the environment and not fixated on being a slave.
Animals enjoying nature.
Humans enjoying nature, fishing, sailing, camping, having fun, partying, being constructive, making stuff, having relationships.....

 

[studentofthemarkets]

I just can't believe in my way of thinking God created life on earth (any life including animals) so that they should be subservient and serving Him.

God created people to live in relationship with Himself. Worship is not a tortuous ordeal as some people who haven't experienced genuine worship might imagine it to be. Worship is being enraptured with God's wonderfulness, His perfections in every aspect. He is good, He is eternal, He is all-powerful, He is loving, and only in righteousness does he judge that which is unrighteous.

It appears to me a waste of resources that humans have to bow and scrape to a god all their life.
What a waste of a life that everyday for most of the day one needs to be conscious of serving a master.

Friendship vs Tyrannical Slave Master. God is not oppressive to His own, He is a kind and faithful Friend. A father or mother should have respect given to them by their child that is different from the way their child relates to his or her peers. God expects us to relate to Him with respect to His being God. Just as parents have responsibilities to love and care for their children, God does the same for us, if we will become one of His children.

Just think laterally for a minute, don't you think a real God would rather see life enjoying the environment and not fixated on being a slave. Animals enjoying nature.
Humans enjoying nature, fishing, sailing, camping, having fun, partying, being constructive, making stuff, having relationships.....

Remember, that is exactly how God originally created the world. There was no mention of God demanding from Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden slavery as you described, "humans have to bow and scrape to a god all their life. What a waste of a life that everyday for most of the day one needs to be conscious of serving a master."

Instead there was only one commandment that required a deliberate choice on their part. They stole the fruit on that tree in direct disobedience to the only rule they had, knowing that God had warned them that "dying, you shall surely die."

So, what does a Creator, who is perfectly good and desires to live in happy relationship with beings He created, do when the creation chooses to become corrupt?

Kind of like HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HAL_9000

In the film, astronauts David Bowman and Frank Poole consider disconnecting HAL's cognitive circuits when he appears to be mistaken in reporting the presence of a fault in the spacecraft's communications antenna. They attempt to conceal what they are saying, but are unaware that HAL can read their lips. Faced with the prospect of disconnection, HAL decides to kill the astronauts in order to protect and continue his programmed directives.
​

Satan turned from God and desires to take others with him. This is eternal murder. He is guilty of deliberately enticing Eve to disobey God.

God could have banished Satan to hell for all eternity before he tempted Eve. God could have banished Adam and Eve to hell immediately after they sinned, so that no more sin would be in His universe.

Some things about God's reasons we do not understand, but there are some things in the Bible that do shed a little light on these kinds of questions. One verse that does that for me is Romans 9:22. Two translations of the verse are below:

What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? NIV

In the same way, even though God has the right to show his anger and his power, he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for destruction. NLT​

I speculate that a reason that God has allowed evil to manifest itself is so that He can demonstrate how just how evil evil really is. Maybe it's kind of like He has said, "Fine, you want it your way, you don't want Me to be involved, so I'll leave you alone."

In allowing evil to reveal itself for the horror that it is, He can one day judge all evil, separate that which is evil from that which is good, banish the evil forever from the presence of what is good, and be a completely righteous and good God to do so. No angels or people in heaven will have a doubt that evil should be banished.

In His mercy, God is patient with sinners, just as the verses above state. The heart of God toward sinners can be seen in this verse, "I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling." Rev 2:21

God wants people to repent. God freely offers to all reconciliation with Himself, giving to sinners the righteousness that we lack.

Think about this from God's perspective. He sent His Beloved Son, who is one with Him in nature, to our world. Both Jews and Gentiles were guilty of killing the Innocent One. The guilt of humanity is very deep in God's eyes.

Yet He pleads with us:

Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’ Ezekiel 33:11​

and made a way for those from other nations to be reconciled through what Jesus did at the cross:

Just as there were many who were appalled at him—
his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being
and his form marred beyond human likeness—
so he will sprinkle many nations,
Isaiah 52:14, 15a​

​

 

[FortuneTeller]

If death represents the doorway to heaven, then the cause of death should be of no concern and certainly survival instinct should have no use whatsoever in the heart of a believer, as it would only prolong suffering and delay one's entrance into the Kingdom of God.

"The fifth commandment forbids direct and intentional killing as gravely sinful."

Perhaps killing oneself opens the door to Hell instead of Heaven?

I wouldn't want to take the chance that it does.

 

[userque]

"The fifth commandment forbids direct and intentional killing as gravely sinful."

Perhaps killing oneself opens the door to Hell instead of Heaven?

I wouldn't want to take the chance that it does.

We are under grace, not the law. But you are correct to the extent that killing oneself could have negative consequences.

As it is not clear whether simply not making efforts to extend ones own life; is equivalent to "killing" oneself; I chose the less dramatic scenario in my example. Also, this position is more in line with what @Baron was giving an example of.