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Absolutely i agree with the religious fanatic quote. religion is a man made concept and therefore riddled with hypocrisy.  as i may have said before, in my opinion the human animal will generally think and do what suits it... i remember vaguely at the end of the bible it saying that this is the word of god, and anyone changing it etc will get the plagues from this book upon them ( or words to that effect) Yet we see all the time  the " churches" reperceiving the content of the bible to try to modernise the church to suit the 21st century... gay priests etc.... Now before i get called a homophobic, my best friend is gay so its not that at all, but what i mean is that it clearly says at 3 points in the bible i believe that its not allowed... wrongly in my opinion but nonetheless The church either follows the bible to its word , or it doesn't , and if it doesn't then surely this is  " blasphemy" And once again in my eyes shows the church up for what it is.... FALSE.   its also very poignant i think to look in the Vatican and see its riches , top to bottom its adorned in riches whilst others starve to death in Africa...i also recall in the bible that Jesus went into a Jewish temple and smashed and wrecked it due to it being full of riches  .. " It is easier for the camel to pass through the eye of a needle , than for a rich man to enter the gates of heaven"
I sometimes think that humans who are religious figures  like the pope have forgotten who they are worshipping, themselves maybe ?

Why thank you berserk, what a lovely spirit you are

I in particular like your "penchant" for getting personal in your criticisms.

I am not an intellect and i don't profess to be, i am raw and go with my instincts, and will write how i feel, so forgive me if i don't have all the fancy words and quotes you have, what i say and do comes from my soul, and is not said to in some way try to get one over on somebody by proving my intellect is greater than theirs. my soul does not need its ego feeding .

Dear Jean,

If you imagine that Dora's spamming of my "Channeling Agendas" thread with reams of quotes from Acharya S is "great stuff", then please read my refutation of Acharya on p. 1 (replies 2, 8, and directly 11,12, and 14) of this thread.  I think I have decisively refuted her.  If you disagree, please explain why in detail.

Don

What are you talking about????

You spamming this board for at least 5 years with your bible quotes up to the ear,  and you think  the longwinded posts quotes, refferences from books and bible  will  put you in the  "very highly knowledgeable"  and oh sooo  intellectual spotlight..


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NO YOU DID NOT you posted what is fit to your awareness, and beliefs.

BTW  Her public e mail address is acharya_s@yahoo.com

I'm sure as  she did, and could and will  answer  to  "qualified experts," certainly  she don't have problem answering  like you.

I would like to read her answer with great pleasure. 

Brendan,

You pose two excellent questions, but I wish to spare you a long lecture.  So I'll ask you to clarify your question about Revelation directly addressing the 21st century.  Where do you find that Revelation does that?  I doubt that it does.   

For example, the number of "the Beast" (666--Revelation 13:18) refers in Hebrew to Emperor Nero, not to some 21st century Anti-Christ.   In both Greek and Hebrew each letter of the alphabet also stands for a number.  If you add up the numerical value of "Emperor Nero" in Hebrew, the total is 666.  At the time Revelation was written, Nero had been forced from Rome and had fled eastward.  He ultimately seems to have committed suicide, but this was not widely known.  Rumors were rampant that he would miraculously rise up and return to Rome.  So paranoid were people that 3 Nero impostors emerged.  Cbristians feared Nero would return and finish them off.  This rumor lurks behind the image in Revelation 13:3 that the Beast would recover from his mortal wound and return to power. 

This prophecy meant that new Neros would arise to afflict Christians with renewed persecution.  That prophecy was fulfilled in the next 2 centuries.  Does it also have a 21st century fulfillment?  Possibly, but I doubt it.

As for Jesus coming soon, the scholarly consensus is that He never said that.  I could discuss a blizzard of texts here that give the opposite impression, and then, I could explain how this misunderstanding arose.  But first, can you identify any specific texts you'd like me to discuss?  I don't intend my counter-questions to short-circuit our discussion.  Still, if you are unable to come up with specific texts, I guess I'll just have to crack open the lecture I gave my college students on this complex subject and discuss at length several of these 2nd coming texts.  Let me know your wishes.

Berserk

Brendan,

I hope it's okay to add my 2cents worth here. According to Emanuel Swedenborg, an 18th century scientist and mystic, the Book of Revelation was not to be taken literally. 

It is said in Matthew 13:34,35 that Jesus taught ONLY in parables. Parables are simple stories that may not be literally true (e.g., Aesop's Fable) but have deep and profound meaning – thus spiritual truth. The Bible is similar - the parables within it are simple - Noah's ark for instance, but underneath those literal words are deep spiritual meaning that pertain to our spiritual growth and development.

The Book of Revelation is rich in symbolism. If one looks carefully though, even in the literal sense, it is evident that this prophecy has nothing to do with the material world - it's about spiritual realities regarding the Christian Churches and about our spiritual progression.
I reference the first chapter of Revelation - verse 4. John is addressing the 7 churches - not the temporal world. The 7 churches represent 7 types of people, each of which have their own special qualities and abilities and also their own special weaknesses and faults.

And then in verse 10 of Revelation, chapter 1, John writes, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day…” John’s vision was in the Spiritual World – not in our physical world. Thus, the fantastic things he saw were cloaked in the language of pure symbolism and pertain to spiritual realities.

The book of Revelation – the Second Coming is not about the destruction of the physical world as many Christians have taught for centuries; it’s about the reality of our spirits and God’s unconditional and everlasting Love for each one of us.

The Second Coming of Jesus is not a literal one; it is one of wisdom and love flowing from God into the Heavens and into our world that reveal more spiritual realities to us than ever before in mankind’s history – regardless of a person’s faith or religion.

http://www.swedenborg.org/odb/sermon_detail.cfm?sermonID=3681

http://www.swedenborg.org/odb/sermon_detail.cfm?sermonID=3357

With Peace and Blessings to All,
JudyE

Brendan,

We remain the same as we are INWARDLY (spiritually) - not our outer appearance or circumstances. Swedenborg wrote that our outer appearance is that of young adults. Of course, we develop and grow spiritually throughout all eternity, but when we cross over, we are very much the same as we are in terms of personality, likes and dislikes.

All who cross over are welcomed by angels of the highest Heaven who help with their transition.

If you are interested in more information, there's a search capability at the links I provided above. I also have a Swedenborg/Afterlife Information page indexed by subject matter.

http://www.egogahan.com/Spiritual%20Issues/Swedenborg.htm

Swedenborg wrote that good people of all faiths or religions find their place in Heaven.

http://www.egogahan.com/Spiritual%20Issues/GoldenRule.htm

With Peace and Blessings to All,
Judy

Hi Rog, not that I'm an expert on dementia but just conjecturing here that the condition of losing your memory brain cells upstairs is another way of letting go of one system of reality, albeit a slow one, in exchange for another system, that of the return to our natural state. some oldsters even begin to appear childlike, which is natural, as a condition of youthful appearance  is normal on the other side, age must be just an experience then, and essentially means little other than the amassing of life experiences. there are rest areas on the other side just as there are here and I'm conjecturing the "getting younger" process continues with loving assistance and memory at some point is recovered of the life just lived.  I've not had to go through the bitter experience of having a loved one fail to recognize me. it must be excruciatingly painful. I think scientists are working on ways here to keep the brain cells from dying off so fast but we are as yet in our infancy for curing disease here. the young ones coming in want to work on this. love, alysia