A Place To Candidly Discuss Issues That Relate To Christianity

Archive for September, 2009

Alright, Let’s Hash Out This Concept Of Hell… Is It Literal, Figurative, Eternal Or Temporary?

In Bible, Eschatology, Hell on September 18, 2009 at 7:43 pm

by Elizabeth K

People all over the world most likely have heard about and possess some degree of fear concerning hell.  This concept is a common reason for some to become atheist or “unchristian”.  Still, human conscience seems to convict us of the law of cause and effect, that there are consequences for wrongs, and that justice must be served in some way.

Misconceptions of hell (and the devil) abound.  So what does the Bible say?  I have been revisiting this topic and wondering about different beliefs concerning it.

Following are Scriptures (in the ASV) which are translated using the term hell by most major Bible translations using the Hebrew word Gehenna used in both the Old and the New Testament, or the Greek term Tartarus which is used one time and concerns the casting of angels into hell. Also listed are a few other Scriptures that may or may not pertain to hell, and a couple of verses which use the Greek term Hades as indicated.

Wikipedia says Gehenna is “used in the New Testament as a metaphor for the final place of punishment for the wicked after the resurrection. Hell is taught as the final destiny of those who have not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior after they have passed through the great white throne of judgment, where they will be punished for sin  and permanently separated from God after the general resurrection and last judgment.”  This seems to be the traditional Christian understanding of hell.

I did not include Old Testament Scriptures that contain the words Sheol which are clearly not eternal and because Bible translations translate this term differently.  The King James version translates it as hell sometimes and other times it is translated as grave in places where hell does not make sense, such as where the patriarch Jacob believed he would go, a place “in peace”, where righteous Job wanted to be hidden, where animals (sheep) go after death, etc.  Sheol is also translated as pit. Read the rest of this entry »

Jesus

In Jesus on September 18, 2009 at 7:48 am

by Elizabeth K

Usually before I write a post, I research different viewpoints, “sleep on it”, throw the idea out to my boyfriend or my kids (kids are smart!), gather information and then I write, proofread, change things and finally hit the publish button, accepting the fact that my piece will never be perfect.  Sometimes I bypass all of that however, by writing on a whim, and this is one of those posts.

I can’t find the correct terms to communicate this transformation that has been taking place within me recently.  All I can say is that I feel like my soul is bursting at the seams.  In what must be an attempt to release this… whatever it is… I’ve laughed, I cried, I’ve raised my hands wide open to God in what must be the kind of worship I haven’t been able to experience in a long time, if ever.  God not only feels near, it’s as though He has permeated my entire world, my love is filled with Him (if that makes any sense) and… and… I’m not sure how to describe this so I’m going to move on.

In my Christian life since the beginning I have had so many buried questions that have gone long unanswered.  Why does the Bible say this or that?  What is heaven like?  What does God look like?  Why can’t I help people who are hurting, I mean, really help them?  Why does every single thing on this earth eventually let me down?  I’ve searched high and low.   Why can’t I find what I’m looking for?  What exactly am I looking for anyway?  I’ve always resolved that I would find out these things one day, in heaven.

There is something that I’ve discovered, or that I have been discovering, or maybe I’ve just been reminded of it.  It seems like a vague deja vu, as if I’ve been here before except I can’t remember it.  This discovery, or realization, is that all of the solutions to the questions that have gone frustratingly unanswered for me are found in Jesus Christ.  He, or His Spirit, the Spirit of God, truly does fill this world and He sufficiently replies to the all of the world’s dilemmas.  He seems so invisible and yet He is so present that nothing could exist apart from Him because He holds everything together. Read the rest of this entry »

The Antichrist Will Be A Church Leader, Not A President Or Any Other World Leader

In Bible, Church, Eschatology on September 17, 2009 at 6:41 am

by Elizabeth K

I have been called a heretic for pointing out Scriptures which are forthright in distinguishing Christ from God who is the Father, such as:

“For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him….”  ~ 1 Cor 8:5-6

There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.  ~ Ephesians 4:4-6

“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God [God], and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”  ~ John 17:3

“For there is one God, AND one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” ~ 1 Timothy 2:5

But I am surprised that so many of the speculations among Christianity, (dispensational premillennialism to be specific) concerning end times are so readily embraced as true doctrine without Scriptural support.  There is an even wider amount of guessing of how these events and characters will play out through media such as The Left Behind book series as well as urban legends floating through email inboxes such as this one found on Snopes:

“According to the book of Revelations the anti-christ is:  The anti-christ will be a man, in his 40’s, of MUSLIM descent, who will deceive the nations with persuasive language, and have a MASSIVE Christ-like appeal….  the prophecy says that people will flock to him and he will promise false hope and world peace, and when he is in power, will destory everything.  Is it Obama?” Read the rest of this entry »

Christ Vs. Christians

In Uncategorized on September 15, 2009 at 7:48 pm

by Kameron Messmer

Article contributions to Unravel do not necessarily or entirely represent the views of its founders. A diversity of perspectives, opinions and beliefs are requested or welcomed with the purpose of cultivating vivid, informed and well-rounded discussions on this site.

The definition of “Christian” apparently is a big subject. Many Out of the box Christians, or “free Believers” or whatever you want to call them have taken a liking to the idea of not calling one’s self a “Christian” anymore. Without fail every time I’ve seen anyone say something to the affect of, “I’m not a Christian anymore; I’m going to follow Jesus.”  A Christian comes along and lets us know “Christian” means follower of Christ and you can’t follow Christ without using the name “Christian” because it means follower of Christ. Whatever. I’m not sure if they think they are enlightening us and showing us how stupid we are for using the wrong words, or if they truly don’t get the point we are trying to make. It’s kind of a play on words. We know what “Christian” means, but “Christian” has changed meanings over the years to mean something other than “Follower of Christ”. Since so many Christians act a certain way Christians are perceived to be a certain way and some wish to differentiate between the stereotype that has become “Christian” and “Follower of Christ” as it were. It is a “taking back” of the original meaning in a sense. 2000 years ago people saw these other people acting like Christ did and called them, “Christians”. Now people see others acting like “Christians” act and call them Christians. Others like me want to be seen as acting like Christ, not Christians. And believe me they are different. I know some will protest but to me Christians and Jesus often don’t look alike at all. Christians seem to think that if they believe all the right theology that they are Christians. Read the rest of this entry »

10 Detrimental Differences Between Church In The Bible And Church Today

In Bible, Church on September 11, 2009 at 2:04 am

by Elizabeth K

The fallacy of the post-biblical trinity doctrine is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to differences between Bible teaching and church teaching.  But I realized that Christians will not be able to hear or understand these differences as long as organized religion possesses so much control over our beliefs.  It is generally considered unsafe by many Christians to begin studying outside of the confines of the long-standing traditions held by Christian churches everywhere, and there is hardly a motive to do so anyway.  Our churches today make us feel comfortable and superior in such large, long-standing  groups.

So, my goal for this post and future posts is to begin to tear down this unhealthy dependency on the overly powerful, self-claimed mediator between God and man, the church institution.  Many will see this as rebellion against Believers, and therefore against Christ Himself, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Here are ten significant proofs that the church in the Bible, the body of Christ… is NOT the church institution and that there are significant differences between the two.  And, therefore, my tearing down of this unworthy stronghold has nothing to do with tearing down my precious fellow Believers. It is solely intended to free us all from a strangled faith that we have to come accept as reality and which causes us to think that our Christianity is just fine when, in fact, our faith overall is fruitless and far from what God intended for us as individuals and as a body. Read the rest of this entry »

Truth Vs. Tradition

In Bible, Church on September 5, 2009 at 6:51 am

by Elizabeth K

Here are some questions to get us thinking outside of the church institutional box, along with attempts at some answers.

1.  Should we distinguish ourselves from other church denominations, for example, by calling ourselves “Lutherans, Protestants, Wesleyans, Calvinists, Anglicans or Roman Catholics”?

Is Christ divided?  The Bible says there is only one body of Christ (Eph 4:4) and Paul specifically warned against church divisions in 1 Cor 3.   “For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men? What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.  So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” (v 4-7)

2.  Are titles such as “Pastor” and “Reverend” used for church elders in the Bible?

We are never told to give titles to men, especially “Reverend”, a term used only once in the Bible and for God.  (Psalm 111:9)

3.  Did the first century church celebrate the Lord’s supper through the ritualistic ceremony of communion that churches do today? Read the rest of this entry »

Can we Preach the Gospel without Hell?

In Bible, Church, God, Gospel, Hell, Jesus on September 4, 2009 at 6:14 am

By Marc

Most Gospel presentations today will begin with, or at least include, the idea of Hell whether explicitly or implicitly. The strategy of good “old-fashioned” Gospel preaching requires that the preacher first convict the audience of Sin and then offer Jesus as the solution. The conviction is accomplished by highlighting the fact that all humans do sin and attempting to show that a perfect God must punish these offenses (perhaps infinitely). John Piper (The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World) says:

Because God is holy, we are sinful, justice is beautiful, and God will not be mocked, we must contend for the conscious, eternal torments of hell and invite everyone to avoid its clutches by turning from sin to Jesus, who speaks of hell more than anyone in Scripture. (p 139)
…
If you strip that [hell] away from Jesus, he’s a local guy. He’s just no big deal. (p161)

Even preaching which focuses on God and His Holiness, will eventually come around to Man’s sinful state and will often fail simply because the Conviction was not convincing – the challenge to produce a problem (guilt) and a need (forgiveness) which post-modern people do not, of themselves see is often too great for our preachers. Certainly any mention of Hell is bound to have a critical audience thinking: “What kind of God sends folk to hell for not believing?”. Read the rest of this entry »

And Then, The Command To Homeschool Was Added To The Bible

In Life on September 1, 2009 at 11:48 pm

by Elizabeth K

Research statistics may claim one thing, but the Bible may say another….

According to statistics regarding the successes of the different forms of education, there is no doubt that homeschooling takes the cake.

This quote is typical of educational researchers worldwide:

“On average, homeschool students, grades 1–4, perform one grade level above their public and private school counterparts. The achievement gap grows in grade 5; by 8th grade the average home school student performs four grades higher than the national average.”  ~  from an independent study by Lawrence M. Rudner, Ph.D.

Homeschoolers may be more able to decide upon an occupation, more able to self-teach so as not to be dependent upon certification or experience of a teacher, while making  learning a lifelong endeavor.  Furthermore, colleges continue to specifically seek out homeschooled students to attend their institutions. Read the rest of this entry »