What is the end of the world?

[Brady Kelly]

Milk stout?

[Al Beback]

On the first day, man created God. - Anonymous Since the Bible and the church are obviously mistaken in telling us where we came from, how can we trust them to tell us where we are going? - Anonymous The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully. - Richard Dawkins It is not as in the Bible, that God created man in his own image. But, on the contrary, man created God in his own image. - Ludwig Feuerbach Jesus hardly made the greatest sacrifice. He knew he would be resurrected anyway. - Anonymous As far as I can tell from studying the scriptures, all you do in heaven is pretty much just sit around all day and praise the Lord. I don’t know about you, but I think that after the first, oh, I don’t know, 50,000,000 years of that I’d start to get a little bored. - Rick Reynolds And if there were a God, I think it very unlikely that He would have such an uneasy vanity as to be offended by those who doubt His existence. - Bertrand Russell We must question the story logic of having an all-knowing all-powerful God, who creates faulty Humans, and then blames them for his own mistakes. - Gene Roddenberry Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God? - Epicurus Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful. - Seneca the Younger When a man is freed of religion, he has a better chance to live a normal and wholesome life. - Sigmund Freud A lie is a lie even if everyone believes it. The truth is the truth even if nobody believes it. - David Stevens I have no need for religion, I have a conscience. - Anonymous

"What if Jesus was gay? I'm not saying he was, but it wouldn't make him any worse. I mean, it could be -- he was a gentle guy, he never got married... every prayer ends with 'Ahhhh Men'." -- Bill Maher

[MrPlankton]

I did not realize there was a sequel. I will look it up. Thanks.

MrPlankton

Multicultural Diversity Training, the new Socialist Reeducation Camp-light.

[MrPlankton]

From what I'm reading there appears to be a group of "time-ologists" or generation-counters that say they can predict the end of the world by counting generations in the old testament of the bible, combined with biblical prophesy and they are predicting the end of the world in or around 2011. May 21'st 2011 [^]seems to be of particular interest. I don't really understand what they are talking about, nor do I understand this Mayan calendar stuff[^]. Curious two dates are so close together.

MrPlankton

Multicultural Diversity Training, the new Socialist Reeducation Camp-light.

[Gary Kirkham]

:laugh: Tell all of that to God when you meet Him, see how that goes. I actually agree with the David Stevens quote. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever.

Gary Kirkham Forever Forgiven and Alive in the Spirit "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. Me blog, You read

[PIEBALDconsult]

I see your EOF and I raise you an ON ERROR RESUME NEXT (or whatever)

[Alan Burkhart]

Brady Kelly wrote:

Now what is the mystical term for the real end of the world, not the end of Satan, but the complete destruction of the people of Earth, as in 28 Days, etc?

Well... Not so sure about the mystic term, but the Bible does say that the Earth will be destroyed by fire. And science sez that the Sun will eventually go supernova, which'll pretty much toast everything west of Pluto. So.... science and the Bible are in at least partial agreement on the whole destruction-by-fire-your-arse-is-toast thing. However, science also sez that we have a few billion years before this happens, whilst Christians say (and have been saying) that we're in the Last Days before the Second Coming. So... what happens if the 2nd Coming doesn't happen before technology finds a way to prevent the Sun from going nova? By that time we'll have already developed a sure-fire method of deflecting asteroids, achieved world peace and maybe even eliminated all the liberal politicians. The world will be safe. Does that mean the world won't end? Will it just keep going and going? Or will the planetary core cool off and quit spinning someday and cause a disaster of Biblical proportion? Perhaps by then I'll have remembered why I came here in the first place before I was sidetracked by this post and forgot the question I wanted to ask? Are you still reading this? I can't believe you're still here. :p

[gmeyer23]

All I know is if it does happen you better be ready. Contrary to some people's speculations of what it will be like down south; sitting around a campfire having a beer with Elvis, if you read the Bible you'll see it will be nothing like that (...more like constant torment :omg: ). Are you willing to risk an eternity of that??? Are you willing to bank on the beer actually being cold down there??? What if you get there and find Elvis didn't show up? Just offering something to think about... :)

[Alan Burkhart]

gmeyer23 wrote:

All I know is if it does happen you better be ready.

Some people just can't take a joke. Oh well. And I don't even like beer and was never an Elvis fan. I like 7 year-old Jack and Steppenwolf.

[gmeyer23]

Oops...actually my post was meant for anyone reading through these, not just at you. I should have responsed to the first post so to keep mine at that level. I'm a newb here. Sorry about that...my bad.

[Ryan Speakman]

Seems you haven't studied the Bible any more than Mohammad did (even though he claimed to base Islam on the foundations of Judaism and Christianity). Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the light, and no one comes to the Father except by me." John 3:16 tells us that Jesus is the "only begotten son of God" (that is, Jesus is half-human and half-God [or, more accurately, all-human and all-God]; hence, the virgin birth), and the Bible (Old and New Testaments) is rife with the concept of the Trinity, which establishes the deity of Jesus. And yet the Muslims revere Jesus only as a "great teacher" or as a prophet. How can Jesus be a prophet and a liar?? Either He was who He said He was (the Son of God, and the only means of salvation) or He wasn't... Not much middle ground there...

[Alan Burkhart]

gmeyer23 wrote:

Sorry about that...my bad.

Dat's ok. We're just having fun here. I do, btw, take spiritualism seriously. But, if we are indeed created in God's image then we must assume we inherited whatever we are from Him. So I figure God has a sense of humor. I hope so. If He doesn't I'm probably in big trouble.

[Trevortni]

You've got to admit, though, the anti-theists are right in one regard: if the God of the Bible was anything like the Straw Man[^] they portray Him as, I wouldn't be terribly interested in associating with Him either. Richard Dawkins is one of my favorites.

[Arterion]

The Abrahamic religions are generally alone in that they believe there is some final end to things. Most religions believe in a cycle -- Birth -> Life -> Death -- that repeats endlessly. This is also a fairly scientific view to have as well, as all things ultimately started and will ultimately end (and begin again) with the Big Bang. If searching for a particular term steeped in common mysticism, one could say the end of the world (and consequently its new beginning) is Ragnarok. You might want to look into Eschatology. The wikipedia article for "End Time" is a pretty good spring board. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/End_time[^]

[Gary Kirkham]

I am not sure I follow your logic, why would an antitheist care one way or another that the strawman he constructed bore any resemblance to something he doesn't believe in anyway?

Gary Kirkham Forever Forgiven and Alive in the Spirit "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. Me blog, You read

[Zemira George]

The world ended when Star Wars Episode 1 came out. This is just the after life.

[Pheadjack]

I believe that it really doesn't matter what happens to me after I die (or in other words transition from this physical universe and reality to whatever the next plane of existence is). What really matters, is how I lived. How did I use each moment of this life to live; to be aware; to strive to make the world around me better than it was when I got here; to leave others to carry on this ideal. If we put all our energy into that one focus; everything else in any theological discussion is unneeded. While all of this discussion is interesting and thought provoking (most of it anyway); the thing that stands out to me is this: One of you is arguing the point using quotes from some of history’s most acknowledged deep thinkers; or at least figures of history that we all know existed and had things to say. The other one of you is arguing the point using only one source, the bible. A collection of writings that is incomplete, partially indecipherable in its original scroll form, re-transmitted so many times by MEN who each had their own personal or political agenda, and pulled through the theological wringer by so many groups of religious councils throughout history where it was dissected, shuffled around, parts discarded because they posed a threat to the power base of the time, or because they presented an alternate view of the events from the accepted groups of text. I really don't see how a 'book' so far removed from its origin can possibly hold true to its original intent. Just the way I see it. I appologize if any of my opinions are hurtful; they are only intended to question. It is why I am here; to encourage all to question.

[C Jacks]

Sorry about the lateness of this reply but I work at a secure military facility and posting on sites like this has issues. But given the value of your souls I decided to stick my neck out a bit. You implied I didn’t know much about the Bible so lets review. A: I know that on the Cross Jesus reportedly said “My God, My God, why have you abandoned me”. Odd statement from “The God” but not so odd for a Christ, though I doubt you know what a Christ is, spiritually. Ironic that modern christans don’t teach what the parts of the christ complex are but then they would really have a hard time with their tritheism. B: in John 17 Jesus says “Glorify me that I may glorify you” The translations get a bit confusing with the pronouns but clearly Jesus considered himself separate from and dependent upon his God. C: in Aramaic just before Mathew 19:19 it reads “Thow shalt love the Lord, x” where x is the personal possessive form of Alaha. Not “Me”. So Jesus is telling you to love Alaha. And continuing “have no other God before God” Substitute the word “Alaha” there as well. D: in Aramaic One of the Beatitudes reads “tubrahum lavdae salama deanada d’alaha nitqurume.” The “d’” before the “alaha” is a prepositional prefix indicating the agent of the verb and while it is generally translated as “of” it is better translated as “by” meaning “blessed are the consistent in peace, called(plual) by Alaha children” Implying it is Alaha that calls them children. E: At the second trial of Jesus by the sanhedren he was accused of saying he was an offspring of God, I know his reply and since it wasn’t until the third trial that they pronounced blaspheme on him, Jesus obliviously denied the claim. You look it up, volumous. F: in the Vulgate, Presheta, Tora and even the King James, Psalm 2, 4-8 indicates there was another “begotten son of God”. Given that that person was around 40 at the time of being “begotten” the term means something different to God than it does to humans and human theorists. Many latter versions of the Bible have been redacted to fit which ever of the 3000 of so theologies each denomination champions so get out one of the ones I mentioned. Now, you can follow the teaching of Jesus and worship Alaha or you can follow the teachings of priests and redactors but then you might want to think about why Jesus had such a problem with the priests and such. Your soul, not mine, yet each death diminishes me. I also know proof by contradiction. To prove A assume not A and show that leads to a contradiction. To prove Jesus

[Ryan Speakman]

Good job... I can see you've got quite a well-developed theology going regarding the divinity (or lack thereof) of Jesus. But my assertion that you don't have an adequate knowledge of the Bible still stands. And since I'm a Christian, no theology is going to hold any relevance for me personally that does not line up 100% with the Bible (Old and New Testaments combined). This does not mean that I'm not completely open (and, in fact, study quite a bit) other sources, but if something is not in line with the Word of God, it simply does not hold validity for me... That said, I'll respond to each of your points: A. True. In fact, Jesus many times made statements that seemed to distinguish Him from God, rendering them two separate entities. At the same time, He made many other statements that seemed to indicate that they were one and the same. For example: John 14:5-11: Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. So, how can Jesus and God be One, and yet at the same time be separate and distinct? This is the mystery of the Trinity (i.e., Tri-Unity; that is, three and one simultaneously; the third being the person of the Holy Spirit). Admittedly, we can't comprehend this, as our brains are limited to this four-dimensional realm that we live in. God, on the other hand, in order to be able to create a four-dimensional Universe, must exist in a realm with additional dimensions (both space and time), so perhaps in His realm the concept of the Trinity is not so difficult to comprehend. Christianity is unique among the world's religions in that it (hypothetically) does not require a concept to be fully graspable by us in order to be considered true. Call us nutty, but reality just might not

[C Jacks]

Surly you don’t believe Psalm 2 refers to Jesus. Is that a time warp or David channeling the unborn Jesus as God talks to the channeled spirit? Get real. You really got to twist both time and logic to accept that kludge. The Buddhist have a concept best translated as “the near evil”. It is the confuser’s job to get you to substitute the near evil for the true value. We have seen this in confusing the human concept of “begotten son of god” for God’s concept of begotten and son. In the spiritual arena it is a simple matter to get someone to confuse the literal interpretation of the spiritual similes. The spiritual dimension is so much different from corporeal creation that communication must all be allegorical. In communication theory you must encode based on the ability and context of the receiver and decode based on the intent of the transmitter. The Greek work “ology” can be variously translated as “discussion” or “word”, note the Socratic method of teaching. To understand the allegory of Jesus you must understand the original meaning of the word “religion”. To do this I must take you on a trip from the old testament to the newest testament. In Judaism “that small still voice” is called the bot quoi. (sp –5). In learning to listen to this small still voice you must learn to still your on voice. That is the original meaning of conscience, con – with, science – knowledge. Your conscience is the knowledge you share with Alaha. As you make that connection stronger you make your religion stronger, re –again, ligio –to bind. In the newest testament Alaha says: “I can not fit within the heavens and the earth but I can fit within the heart of my believing servant.” This is how Jesus became one with Alaha. This is how you become one with Alaha. Jesus’ soul, your soul, is breathed into your body from the essence of God and so is with God in the before, “the discussion”, Jesus’ allegory was with Alaha in the now and, most importantly, as all things pass away, your soul, given any success in religion, with be with Alaha in the after. It can be said that if you know the lamp shade you know the light. And conversely if you know the light you know the lamp shade. (substitute son and father here as you like) Now you could learn about Alaha from creation, though there are few people accomplished enough in all the ologies, biology, ecology, cosmology etc to truly appreciate The Supreme Intelligence that overlays the continuum. Further inanimate objects do not do it the justice a cognizant object can. If you have seen c