What would you do?

[Riven]

You'd think so.

But one verse makes me wonder: Jesus, talking about the Resurrection, says "He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” (That's Luke 20:38.) God certainly knows us and God keeps us, but I can't say if we will be conscious of Him when we're dead.

But this could be interpreted in a million different ways. All are alive implies no death.

And some of the testimonies of "Near-Death Experiences" also make me wonder.

The world is still full of wonder.

I don't have all the answers. (I should never admit that on an internet forum.)

Oh, yeah. I've gone down that rabbit hole many times. It's logical to seek answers from those that have experienced death and come back to tell the tale. But the accounts differ so greatly that I find it difficult to believe them.

The ones that really get me are those that involve people finding themselves in hell upon death. Then they call upon Jesus and he saves them. It's like, okay, so why then do none of the other people in hell call upon Jesus to save them if it's so easy?

Furthermore, what's the point of getting saved while you're alive when you can get saved after death just as easily?

 

[ProDeo]

I don't have all the answers. (I should never admit that on an internet forum.)

It's fine, you should do more

I have to see the person who says that he has all the answers, that would be a big red flag, it's what cult leaders do.

 

[Lambano]

I have to see the person who says that he has all the answers, that would be a big red flag, it's what cult leaders do.

When we think we have all the answers, we lose our sense of wonder.

When I gave up the need for control (my wife says I'm a control freak), the need to have all the answers, I regained the sense of wonder.

 

[Riven]

I have to see the person who says that he has all the answers, that would be a big red flag, it's what cult leaders do.

Televangelists, too.

 

[Lambano]

But this could be interpreted in a million different ways. All are alive implies no death.


Oh, yeah. I've gone down that rabbit hole many times. It's logical to seek answers from those that have experienced death and come back to tell the tale. But the accounts differ so greatly that I find it difficult to believe them.

The ones that really get me are those that involve people finding themselves in hell upon death. Then they call upon Jesus and he saves them. It's like, okay, so why then do none of the other people in hell call upon Jesus to save them if it's so easy?

Furthermore, what's the point of getting saved while you're alive when you can get saved after death just as easily?

This doesn't mean I've formed a conclusion about the so-called "interim state" between death and resurrection, or about the legitimacy of NDEs. These are just things that I wonder about because they don't fit the narrative.

And I realize you are looking for answers, so take my wonderings with a grain of salt.

 

[Matthias]

The important topic for me is whether or not there is anything after this life.

What has Jesus told you? He was dead and made alive again. Where was he for those three days and nights? What was he doing? How did you decide that what he said is true or false?

 

[Matthias]

It's logical to seek answers from those that have experienced death and come back to tell the tale.

If I were the devil I would do whatever I could to get you to listen to anyone other than Jesus -

“Riven wants to hear from people who have experienced death and come back to tell the tale? I can arrange that. I’ll have him so confused that he won’t know who or what to believe. He won’t make a decision, which is a fatal decision.”

***

Have you ever read The Screwtape Letters?

But the accounts differ so greatly that I find it difficult to believe them.

You know there’s a problem with what they say. Don’t believe them. Believe Jesus.

If you can’t believe Jesus then you shouldn’t believe anyone.

 

[Matthias]

Have you ever attended a seance @Riven? Played around with a Ouji board? Consulted a Shaman? Dabbled in white magic? Checked your horoscope? These are rhetorical questions.

People are looking for answers in all the wrong places. They’ll find answers in them.

Finding answers is easy. Finding the right answer is what we’re after.

 

[Matthias]

If I were in your shoes @Riven I would be grateful if every once in a while someone would remind me of this simple truth -

 

[Matthias]

Primitive Christianity is a reasonable faith @Riven. There is solid evidence for it.

Don’t check your reasoning faculties at the door. Use them to evaluate the evidence.

“Faith in God is reason acting reasonably.” - C.H. Spurgeon

 

[Matthias]

From my X / Twitter “For you” feed this afternoon -

”More often than not, the reason your life is out of control is because you’re afraid of giving control of your life to God.”

(Timothy Keller)

https://x.com/timkellernyc/status/1944434255431360852?s=61

A word for everyone, not just for atheists and / or agnostics.

 

[Big Boy Johnson]

I have to see the person who says that he has all the answers, that would be a big red flag, it's what cult leaders do.

Jesus has all the answers and commissioned His Word to be put in written form and He's no cult leader although those following the devil claim He is as they reject His teachings along with His teachings thru New Testament writes

 

[Nameaboveallnames]

In my heart, that's where I am. An overwhelming sense of sadness and hopelessness.

Hi, Riven.

While describing a Christian's spiritual armor, the Apostle Paul spoke of "the helmet of salvation" (Eph. 6:17) or the need to put on "for a helmet, the hope of salvation" (1 Th. 5:8). In other words, hope is what was designed by God to protect our minds. In fact, while speaking prophetically about Jesus Christ, the prophet Isaiah stated that he needed the very same "helmet of salvation" during his incarnation.

"For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak." (Isa. 59:17)

The only way that Jesus could endure his own sufferings in this life was to keep his mind focused on the promises of God. It was that hope that sustained him, and it is that hope that can sustain us as well.

Many years ago, I listened to this 10-part teaching series on "hope," and it truly helped me. "Hopefully," it will help you as well. Each message was originally part of a two-week-long radio teaching, so each message is only about 10 minutes in length. Here are links to all 10 messages if you want to listen to them yourself:

- YouTube
- YouTube
- YouTube
- YouTube

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

 

[Matthias]

Do you think it's true that Christians, when they say that one must die to oneself, loses a part of himself in the process?

 

[Riven]

Have you ever attended a seance @Riven? Played around with a Ouji board? Consulted a Shaman? Dabbled in white magic? Checked your horoscope? These are rhetorical questions.

Why are they rhetorical?

People are looking for answers in all the wrong places. They’ll find answers in them.

Finding answers is easy. Finding the right answer is what we’re after.

I agree.

 

[Matthias]

Why are they rhetorical?

Because I wanted you (and other of my readers - I’m speaking directly to you, indirectly to them) to think about them, not publicly answer them. They may or may not be factors in anyone’s life story.

Answering them publicly would almost certainly bring on the vultures in our midst.

 

[Matthias]

Hard to believe a month has done up and gone slip slidin’ away since you started this thread @Riven.

 

[Riven]

Hard to believe a month has done up and gone slip slidin’ away since you started this thread @Riven.

It feels like time is going by faster these days.

 

[Matthias]

It feels like time is going by faster these days.

It does, but it isn’t going by any faster than it ever has.

Thread 'Time Is Short'
Time Is Short

 

[Riven]

Well, drunk again. But I never lose my ability to carry on with intellectual discourse. One must never lose sight of one's place in the universe. We're on a tiny rock floating in space. If we were to disappear tomorrow, the universe wouldn't notice, nor care.