Where did your Soul come from?

Religion. The Occult. Spirituality. And—your Soul.

So! You were born. You are alive, and you have a Soul. If you believe you have a Soul, you probably also believe it will go…..somewhere……after death.   But where it might go is not my question.

Instead, I want to know (and no one is asking about this)—WHERE was it?–before– you were born?  Where did it come from? Where was your Soul before itBut was in your baby body?   Not–who made it, but rather, where was it?  It had to come from somewhere…where? If God made it, fine. But before your Soul went into your current physical body, where was it waiting?

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JUDGEMENT DAY. Questions you never asked.

“Someday, you’re gonna have to answer for that.”

You’ve probably heard that at some point in your Life. Or, “we will all have to give an account”—-But have you ever asked:

1. What if there is some Afterlife, but not any “life-review” or punishment based on what we did in our lives?
2. Suppose there is life after death but not a Hell? What if there isn’t terrible pain and misery but not ecstatic bliss, either?  What might it be like then?

It gets me curious, when I think about it. What if there is an Afterlife, but not like what we have been taught or heard about?

You may have heard that in Christianity the greatest commandment is to Love God with all thy heart, all thy mind, etc……and that the second greatest commandment is to love thy neighbor as thyself. And so, just picture this:

You’ve died and you are being “weighed in the balance” or, its judgement day and you are being evaluated. And you yourself, in your own defense, say:  But I loved my neighbor as myself. I gave money to a beggar with a cardboard sign. I made sandwiches at the soup kitchen. I jogged and got a ribbon for “raising awareness”. I gave furniture to the Salvation Army.    All of which is nice, but——

What if you were then told:, Yes, those were good, but many of them you did for the recognition you got from other people knowing you did it—-and—-while you did those things, you almost completely ignored the BIGGEST commandment of all:

You never really sought God, or loved him. Certainly nowhere near “with all you Heart, all your Mind, etc”.   Not even close.  On the other hand I must ask: Can it even be done? To put God 1st. Consistently. Who has time? Or maybe thats the problem. It doesnt mean we shouldn’t try. But most of us dont want any one thing, or person, or activity to crowd-out too many other enjoyable things in our Life. A variety of interests and experiences is good, and yet loving God is the greatest commandment. Food for thought.

There must be thousands, millions of people like that. Who worry about “being of service and making a difference” while they practically leave out God. And they act as if they are completely unaware of this. Or maybe they don’t care. They spent sooooo much time on the 2nd commandment (and mostly for recognition) that they 95% ignored the first and greatest commandment.  Let that sink in.

Some Questions on Religion and History

Some questions on Religion and History:

Were the Pyramids built before, or after, “Noah’s Flood”?  How do you know?

Adam was said to be the first man. But why wasn’t much more written about his death? He got old, lived so many years and he died. I would think that this would have been a much lamented and talked about event.  Front Page News!  National mourning. But no, pretty-much just a: he was so many years old and he died.   That’s it!??  But it seems to be all we’re told.

This was the first man. How did he die?  What knowledge did he pass on to others? How did the people or the public react on hearing of his death?

The Hindu’s believe in Reincarnation. How did this belief ever become accepted?

Many people believe they have a soul and that when your physical body dies, your soul lives on, but where was your Soul before you were born? No one talks about this.

Who were the first Babylonians?

”””and thoughts of man’s heart were evil continually and it GRIEVED God that he  made man”. How interesting. To me, it sounds as if God did NOT realize things would be this way in advance. Why would God deliberately do something that would cause himself grief or regret?  What if God has the power to do these things but does NOT know the future outcome at the time he does it? I get that impression here with this example, but most people today do not want to believe this.

How did God or “the Gods” know what a female is?  Christianity refers to God the Father (masculine)

God the Son (masculine) and….the Holy Spirit. Is the Holy Spirit feminine? No? Didn’t Jesus refer to the Holy Spirit as “the Comforter” and say “He” will guide you into all truth? But then if God, and the Son and the Holy Spirit are all “he’s”, then how did they know what a female was/is when Eve was created?

Andy Stanley & people who left Church

Billy Graham has passed away.
I suspect that Andy Stanley will now be the one who “directs society” rightly or wrongly, about Christianity.
He has recently preached a series of sermons on why people have likely rejected or turned away from Christianity and/or God, but that those versions or beliefs about God, were inaccurate and asks: who told you that? (I wish I could remember the name of this series or how it was worded/titled. Gods of the NO Testament?? Not sure.) But I couldn’t help thinking that people turned away from those things because they heard them in Church, for years, and their lives turned out differently from what they heard. It’s the churches who very likely who told them. Most of the public hasn’t gone to Seminary.

It seems to me as if Andy Stanley is laying groundwork on TV to criticize what has “gone before” in churches and getting ready for some sort of “re-set” as to what the public will be taught. People should be watchful to see where all this goes.
I’ve also heard that Andy has had arguments or disagreements with his dad, Charles Stanley and I think Andy himself has admitted that he likes to read DE-conversion stories (about people who have left the faith). I cant help wondering if sometime in the next few years that he himself may decide he no longer believes anymore. That may not happen. Whether it does or doesn’t is a separate matter.

The main thing with him right now looks to me to be about him trying to convince people that the Christianity folks have left over the last 30 or 40 years wasn’t the “Real” Christianity, and I’m curious to see how he will “define” it all and how he might make it appealing today to get people back into Church, as the numbers are significantly down.

.The sad part is too many people don’t read their New Testaments enough to call him on some of his teachings and challenge or refute him.
Example: will he say that Homosexuality is wrong, as it says, strongly, in the last half of ROMANS, Chapter 1 ?
Example 2: does he preach “Once saved, always saved?”, that you can’t lose your salvation? I believe that is a false doctrine, whoever teaches it. It ignores other clear teaching about “Apostasy”, and falling away, and falling-from-grace, and backsliding.
Where is any preacher on TV on the Daystar television network who will say Homosexuality is a sin? Either they wont, or they will poo-poo it with: welllll, it is, but then so is lying, stealing, lust, etc. That may be true, but you can tell they are really letting it slide. Or, they’ll simply accuse you of “legalism” which is really just a tactic to get you to shut up.  These days church attendance is down in the USA. I wonder what tactics will be used to get the public to become Christians and get them back into church? Joel Osteen is wrong. Rock music and blue jeans has been tried. Hyper-Grace and over-emphasizing “love” has been tried. Beware of falsehoods. Where will it go from here?

NEW questions about Near-death experiences

Near-death experiences. You’ve heard the story:

“The doctors said I was dead. I was out of my body and could see and hear them working on me. Then I whoooosshhed through this “tunnel” and realized I was dead. I saw a “playback” of my Life. Then, I was in the presence of this bright white light (some report a bluish-white light) and I felt this intense, incredible love coming from the light.”

Then, people are either told they must come back, or, given a choice to come back or not. Then, they wake back up, here on earth, alive. And they often report they have no fear of death. Most of them. Some people have had terrifying experiences and are very glad to have “a second chance”.

But that isn’t what I want to talk about. It’s what’s left out, and not talked about, that I find curious:

Think about it. In all these many testimonies (mostly positive), when you think about it, it strikes me as very odd, that seemingly NO ONE, ever, that we’ve read or heard about, has ever bothered to ask “the loving white light”:  (and I say this as someone who is not a member of any church):

1. “ARE YOU, Jesus Christ?  If not, who are you?
2. Tell me, who is Jesus Christ? Do YOU love Jesus?
3. Why can’t I see your face?
4. Is this Heaven?  Where are we now?
5. Loving feelings or not, if I don’t go back, and do come with you, will I be in Hell? Would you accompany me into Heaven?
6. White Light—what is your Name?  Are you Satan? Lucifer? Who?

And NOBODY asks. Isn’t that strange? Hundreds of testimonies, and not one person bothers to ask.  People just believe whatever they’re told by some mysterious light that radiates “love”,  we have have no idea WHO we’re talking to, WHERE we are, where the light would take us if we stayed, or who the Light is, or what the light thinks about Jesus.  Feelings of love or not, that white light sounds pretty-darn vague. Why? Think about all this. Share this post with others.

Jerry Walls critiques Calvinism

Does your Church teach Calvinism? I’m betting that 80% of Christians have no idea, if they even know what Calvinism is at all. And chances are if your Church is Calvinistic, I seriously doubt that they will announce it. They might answer you if you ask them but i think most of them will keep quiet about it.

Are YOU pre-destined to go to Hell? Or Heaven? What if you go to Heaven but your husband or wife was predestined to go to Hell? What about having Free Will? If people are pre-destined to either be or not be “Saved”, then what is the point of “Soul-Winning”?

Meet Jerry Walls. See ALSO his Youtube video: What’s Wrong With Calvinism PART ONE (especially). But here is a more condensed video by Walls on this topic. Thanks to Youtube and ThePristineFaith.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzWN0Kw3Bl0

Losing Faith in Faith

My last post just before this one, was a PRO-Christian post, in favor of Christianity. This one isn’t. Dan Barker was a Christian but later on he left the faith. He writes about it in his book: Losing Faith in Faith. I was a little reluctant to post this, but as I’ve said before, what you choose to believe or not believe is entirely your own doing. No matter what your religion, philosophy or belief, can it stand up to the embaressing or tough questions that others might raise against it?  If you are a Christian, have you read any skeptical books? Likewise, if you are an Atheist or of some other Faith, have you read any PRO-Christian books? I think that’s fair. Make your own investigation and decide for yourself. One more thing: Barker does give footnotes and references. Do you know of any author who can disprove or counter his footnotes?  Norm Geisler? (Giesler?)  Ron Rhodes? Dan Comfort? To look at it another way,  C.S. Lewis was not a Christian but later he became one, so these things can work both ways.     https://www.amazon.com/Losing-Faith-Preacher-Atheist/dp/1877733075/ref=sr_1_1?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1516476834&sr=8-1&keywords=losing+faith+in+faith

Christian Answers to Skeptics

Are you a Christian? But do you you still have questions? Can you answer the tough questions that the Skeptics ask? I do not have these books and it is up to each of us to decide if we believe the answers that are offered, and their accuracy. This website is new to me. Decide for yourself. But there is plenty of info offered here, to defend the Faith.  Check it out.  http://alwaysbeready.mybigcommerce.com/bible-difficulties-apparent-contradictions/

Church Membership & Personal Info

So! You visit a new church. You visit 4 times. You decide you like it there. You decide to become a member.  So you fill out a Membership Application.

STOP!

Have you ever stopped to realize: Seriously? Was it necessary for anyone who wanted to become a Christian to “apply” for nembership at say, the Church of Corinth? Or the Church of Philippians? Or Thessolonica? I seriously doubt it! It was very likely enough to convert (not necessarily from there) and to simply keep on showing up!

Nowadays we have Computers and I have read online of Churches today who keep computer files on their members and even labeling some of them as “ANTAGONISTS” to the Pastor!, if they dare to question anything taught from the pulpit.  Or maybe ask too many questions, or bring up another view in a Bible study, etc. I’m serious! There have been testimonies online written about this. But they won’t announce that they’ve done that to you.
Really, do they *need* to know your annual income? Or even your occupation? (unless you’re a stripper, etc.) Do they ask you for your Social Security number?  Why? It’s none of their business! Maybe they don’t ask for your Social security number, but still…

Honestly, when was the last time you were physically sick but still at your home, not in a hospital, and the Pastor, or anyone else really, came out to your house out of “Agape-Love” to check on you? Very Seldom, I’ll bet.

So then, really, why should joining church need any more than your Name?

Do you really honestly *expect* your new Church to do a background check on every single member in their congregation? No? Then why do they even need your phone number? Or email address, or physical address for that matter. Really! What they care about is whether or not you show up for services! And seriously, why does your address and phone number really *need* to be “on file”? Let’s say your Church has 150 people in it, or more. Why can’t you simply give your phone number to 10 or 11  people you’ve become close to? Who else needs it? Why?

What if you kept regularly attending services without officially joining? Would they require you to join (fill out paperwork) or leave? Is that Biblical?

Your privacy can be abused, even in Church. It isn’t necessary for Salvation. But most folks just follow along, never questioning….   Click comments, above the beginning of this post, then keep scrolling down to see all of them.  Thanks.

 

 

 

God vs. Agnosticism & comments on Spirituality

There probably IS a God!  Why do I think so? Keep reading.

But first, some comments on “Spirituality”. If I were sarcastic, I would say: Pfffftt! “Spirituality” is just a term that total Wimps use to describe themselves because they have no clue what they believe! All in the name of “open-mindedness”, of course.

And there you have it. Too often spiritual people can’t (or won’t) define anything!  They seek the “light” but fall apart when you ask them to describe just exactly what “light” is.
Or they get dreamy-eyed about “Oneness”. Really? Ever take a logic course? If there is no separation and “everything is united” and “all is one”, then you are also one with your Cat’s catbox and the garbage dump! Why not? Everything means everything and All means All. It’s not a buffet where you can pick this and leave that.

But that’s terrible. So they change the subject, or perhaps they accuse you of simply not being “evolved” enough. What a cop-out. People can believe what they want. But I have more respect for anyone who will define what they believe, and why they believe it. But onward to my main point:

Is there a God?  My answer: Very likely, yes! It makes more sense that there is. I will explain why.  But first, know that I myself am not a practicing member of anything. At least for now. So I hope that is less biased when I share this, in response to Agnosticism—

Atheists and Agnostics often say: There is no God and the Universe always was.
But one question keeps nagging at me, and its one you almost never see any agnostic or atheist ever address online:
HOW?–does our human consciousness, intelligence and self-awareness arise or come out of an IM-personal UN-conscious Universe? This is never addressed.

Is the planet Jupiter alive? Does it think? Is our Sun a conscious being? Most everyone believes “No.” Is the Milky Way galaxy a conscious, living and thinking being? I haven’t heard anyone say so. So how does an unthinking Universe create thinking beings? That’s one for all Agnostics and atheists to ponder.

Since we are self-aware and thinking beings, it would make more sense that we came from something else that also is self-aware and thinks. ie. God. But before the atheist freaks out, realize that even if we granted that, it does not automatically mean Christianity is true. We are simply establishing that there is some type of “intelligent, conscious creator”. Not any particular religion.

At this point, the atheist will say what they always say: Who made God?
The response is: God was always there. And who made the universe?
They will counter: The Universe was always there.
The response to that is: Then you have a problem, because if the Universe was always here, people very commonly don’t think of the Universe as being alive, or a thinking being. But if there was always some sort of Creative-Intelligence..i.e. a God who thinks, then it wouldn’t be such an impossible thing to create other “chips off the old block” who also think, like us.
So either blind, non-living matter was always here and how on earth did it ever create anything consciously aware, when it itself isn’t?–or–there was always some intelligent, creative power. Since we humans have intelligence, it seems more sensible that we came from something, or someone, that also has it.

#Agnosticism #Atheism #Spirituality #Skepticism #20-Somethings #Christianity #Philosophy

Comedy: Flip Wilson

Flip Wilson was a huge and well-loved comedy success back in the ’70s. This is from his old TV show where he plays Rev. Leroy, and The Church of What’s Happening Now. Thanks, to Youtube.