Tough Q and A
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1) Which one better describes an all-loving God: a.) One that gives human beings one chance only to get it right and if you don't condemns you to an eternal hell, or b.) One that allows you multiple chances to get it right so that you can spend eternity in the best place possible?

God HAS given us multiple chances. Think about this…’the wages of sin is death’. That means the very first time you committed a sin, I mean a willful, defiant sin, He could have killed you and He would have been just. Think back to that candy bar you stole when you were five years old, and think of every lie you’ve told, everything else you may have stolen, in fact go through the 10 Commandments and check off every one you’ve violated. Then look at your age and what you should be asking yourself is this.., ‘after all these years of sinning against God, why has He allowed me to go on living for “X” number of years?” Do you know why you’re still breathing???? Because God loves you and wants to give you a chance to ask for salvation, repent and turn from your evil ways and receive Him into your heart and life so that you won’t suffer hell for eternity.

2) Why is there such suffering in the world if God made it and He is supposedly "love?"

God is the epitome of love - and the epitome of justice without violating either one.  In the beginning, God Spoke, "Let there be light" and there was (and is) light.  God Spoke, "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness: let them have dominion of the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."  And this still is true, even though humans don't spiritually realize it.  Is. 55:11 says, "So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."

For this to be true, God had to give His authority over these things to humans.  It is up to us to make this world a taste of heaven or a taste of hell.  Satan and his demons were down here.  They were completely harmless.  Satan conned the first humans to reject God and submit to his advice.  The relationship to God was broken by them.  They were indirectly submitted to Satan and his demons. The demons hate God, so they directed humans to steal, kill and destroy like themselves.  God's Word still stayed his hand.  His only choice was to destroy humans or not destroy humans.

However, if we submit to God and ask Him for help, he will gladly offer us help - to the extent of what we asked for. Often "we have not because we ask not."  If we submit to God and ask for guidance, he will give us guidance to the extent of what we ask for.  If we submit to God and ask for heart transformation, he will do so to the extent of what we asked for.  He won't go beyond His Word, though.

This world is doomed by our ancestors and the curses coming down from them.  But God gave us an intercessor who was not attached to the generational curses, so those who received His Intercessor could get out of her spiritually and get a new body.  His name is Ja-shua, meaning "God saves."  This loophole cost Jashua (or "Jesus") torture and blood to pay for the penalty of our hereditary and personal sins.  Just tell God, "I renounce my sin and this world.  I ask Jesus to come into my soul and take me to my new, permanent home to be with Jesus."  He would love to do so - and his Word would allow it.

 People who speak of "hell" associate it with divine punishment, but punishment is usually used as a corrective measure. How do people suffering in an eternal hell learn their lesson? Doesn't that make hell mere torture with absolutely no point to it?

There is a lot of debate on this subject within Christendom and you will get different answers depending on who you ask. Some do not believe that you burn for eternity but you just cease to exist. There are verses that seem to support that but we human, being fallible as we are, will have different interpretations. But I will give you what I think is the truth.

You have two realms – the physical and the spiritual. There are different laws for both.

While you are alive in your mortal body, there is punishment and reform which is implemented by prisons and correctional facilities. The earth, and everything in it, on it, and around it is finite, and will disappear. It has a beginning and an ending in other words.

On the other hand, we have a spiritual side, we have our souls (which are spirit) and will not die. It goes on eternally when separated from the body (which is the very definition of death). Since our souls live on forever, we have to have a destination that lasts forever too. Make sense?

There are plenty of warnings in the Bible about hell being eternal and what you have to do to avoid it. Nowhere in Scripture does it say hell is a place of reform. Reform connotes release which will not happen.

Also, the idea of ‘punishment’ is not exactly what’s going on. It’s not so much that people are being punished for something as their sins are being atoned for. This can get deeply theological and I don’t want to fry your brain. To “forgive” a sin does not mean it is taken away but rather that person is relieved of his debt. All sin must be paid for (or atoned for) because God is a holy, pure God and He cannot look upon sin. He could not look upon us either because we are sinners. So Jesus had to die to atone for our sins. But if a person refuses to receive Jesus, then he is piling up the sins into ‘his account’ until the end comes. (judgment)  Every sinner will have to pay his debt for every sin he’s ever committed (which is the suffering in hell in different degrees. Each one pays according to what he has done. The length, eternity is a given for reasons I’ve explained above. Everyone lives eternally but there are different degrees or levels in hell. (heaven too for that matter) Hitler will not be punished the same way as a person who did not murder but followed other gods for example. The worse you are, the worse you suffer. The length is always eternal. But the Bible warns of these things so it’s no secret.


3) What about Christians with brain problems who are forced to do and say evil things?  Are they going to hell because of their sins?

Fortunately for us, our brains don't go to heaven or hell.  Our fifth dimensional soul goes to heaven or hell.  There are PTSD, DID, Tourette's syndrome, manic-depression, etc. We should be confessing these problems & temptations and pray for our brains that God would heal them.

4)There are thousands of different denominations in Christianity, each thinking they have it right. All other religions think that they have it right, as well. How can you be sure that you have it right, when the odds are that you are actually wrong?

It doesn’t matter what what denomination within Christianity you belong to, it all comes down to this….are you a born again believer in Jesus Christ? Have you repented of your sins, died to yourself and do you follow Him daily? Do you exude fruits of the Spirit?

Denominations:
There are saved Christians in every denomination because it’s not about denomination but where your heart is and if the Holy Spirit is living in you. There are born again believers who have some strange views on things and this will happen because we all have minds and we all think differently and will have our own opinions.

Other Religions:
"I asked the same thing when I was a witch, and when I dabbled in Satanism and lots of other things. Being a preacher’s daughter, I rebelled mightily. I looked to all the other religions of the world but I was a skeptic. I didn’t want to just have 'faith' based on nothing and I thought all Christians were brainwashed. So I wanted evidence or proof that the Bible was true because if that was true, then I knew God was real. All the religions were filled with rhetoric or new agey type thought but nothing solid that would lend validity to their belief. But Christianity offers MUCH evidence as to the validity of the Bible as well as God in the scientific field, (from secular scientists) archaeology and prophecy. Science does NOT disprove the Bible like many like to say but is in harmony with it. The truth is science was wrong first but the Bible had it right the whole time.  No other text or ‘sacred writing’ can make the claims the Bible has and prove itself to be true in so many different ways. I would be a fool if I didn’t believe it!" -- anonymous


5) Where in the Bible does Jesus say that people must worship him or pray to him? Doesn't he identify himself as the "Son of Man" who was sent by the Father?

Jesus is part of the trinity therefore God. So we can pray to Jesus and God.
John 14:14 14 If ye shall ask any thing in my [Jesus] name, I will do it.
1 Corin. 1:2 2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

As far as his identifying himself with the Son of Man, that denotes his earthly lineage – in other words saying he is of the line of Joseph. The Jews kept strict records of lineage back then so that was a way to state it. That does not mean He was born of a man’s seed because He was not – but born of God.


6) Jesus himself and his disciples seem to believe in reincarnation, as evidenced in Matthew 11:10-15, Matthew 17:10-13 and John 9:1-2. Why is the word of Paul in Hebrews 9:27 taken over Jesus in Christian doctrine?

This has nothing to do with reincarnation. He was quoting an old prophecy of a messenger that would precede Jesus named John the Baptist. He was given the name Elijah because Elijah was the greatest prophet for Jesus in boldness so it is understood that he was given the spirit of Elijah – not that he would be Elijah himself.

It is appointed unto men to die once, but there are instances where Jesus raised people from the dead for specific reasons or special cases. But as a whole, we die once. There is no reincarnation.

 

edited:  April 19, 2017         orderofsaintpatrick.org/faith/q-and-a.htm