Originally posted by: godspeedx
That is not similar at all to the God I believe in. I'll give you just a few thoughts.
I'm a baptist specifically, well my church is, but we're extremely contemporary. (I play bass guitar in 2 full bands there ) But all religion is is basically man's way to get to God. I have a relationship. It may sound slightly corny, but it's true. I believe that man is destined to a real hell because of sin. God sent his son to die in our place as a free gift, and if we accept that gift we have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and will spend eternity in heaven.
The 40+ (i'm pretty sure) authors of the bible were inspired by God in what they wrote. This is how it's not just man's work. Also I don't understand what you mean by it has been ". . . rewritten by God knows how many men. . .".
That is exactly what I mean. There are what, a dozen different versions of the Bible? How do you know which one is right? It has been written, and rewritten by Man many times over the last 2,000 years. If you do not believe whatever man wrote, translated and rewrote the texts had an agenda, you are foolish. Everybody has an agenda.
Assuming there is a higher meaning to life than just being here,
I firmly believe that you create your own Heaven or Hell. It is not a physical place, the kingdom of heaven is within you. Therefor, so is hell.
The Catholic church has just recently changed its views and also believes this.
If you murder, rape and pillage, you will be stuck on the same level of conciousness that it took to do those things in the first place.
Further, I find the idea that if you do not follow God's rules, you will be banished to a fiery pit to be bordering on insane. Like I said in my other post, if we are his fallen children and this is our school, why would he punish us for not understanding? Isn't that completely against the point?
Further more, if our souls are eternal, why would God ever destroy an eternal being that he created because it is not following his rules? Isn't that also completely against the point of his Plan?
Again, you don't punish a pupil when they do not percieve things your way. They do not learn anything if you go about it that way.
I refuse to discount science and everything we have learned because a 2,000 year old book says so. That isn't the way things work. Like I said, I have faith.... that we know a little more than we did 2,000 years ago. Is it a coincidence that Religion tries to explain the unexplainable? I mean, we have always tried to understand the unexplainable.
Now that we can begin to explain some of the higher level things that people 2,000 years ago would have never been able to understand, things start fitting into place without a mystical explination.
I am sure my views will change dozens of times over the rest of my lifetime. I am not close-minded enough to set anything in concrete. I always have been and always will be a seeker of knowledge, therefor I cannot be close minded.