I'm glad Lynn addressed your actual question John.

I should leave it at that...I really should...Ahh, temptation, the only thing I can't resist.

By definition, I am a "born again" Christian. Have been for decades. But I have trouble with a faith that is built out of hard and fast doctrines like a deck of cards where, if you pull just one card out, the whole thing tumbles down. Faith, IM(very)HO, should be a living, breathing, adaptable Thang. Everything in it should be questionable, and if a satisfactory answer isn’t found, then the search for the answer needs to be widened...Of course, this has led some to consider me a bit of a heretic, but in a friendly kinda way.

Regarding eternal punishment. Scripturally speaking, and speaking only for me, we are not immortal beings. In Genisis, God removed the Tree of Life so that we could not eat of it and live forever in our fallen state. The tree returns at the end of Revelations, where, in a purified state, we can then partake of it.

Ben mentions hell...So, what happens to those in "hell"?…Hell, currently, is an existence without God…Scripturally speaking, again, according to Revelations, at the end, Death and Hell are cast into the Lake of Fire, which was made for the devil and his angels(who are immortal), and mortal beings will be consumed(rather quickly I suspect), and their existence will end...The "judgement" may be eternal, but the suffering is not...Our "existence will simply cease. No life, but no pain either. I just can’t go with a God who’ll condemn a soul to suffer forever due to a cosmically brief appearance here on earth.

What is probably my most heretical belief though, is that reincarnation is part of God’s grand design, and the Council of Nicea(sp?)got it wrong when they eradicated what was, at the time, a very prominent Christian belief...There was no profit for the "organized" church in reincarnation...Pity...It’s a fascinating thing to contemplate.

What if we, as souls, were meant to evolve? What if we, as souls, had that evolution disrupted by the fall of Lucifer and the chaos that ensued? What if Jesus, the Christ, through His Sacrifice, allows us to "evolve" in one lifetime? What if, during Christ's thousand year reign of peace on earth, all souls who haven't quite "evolved" are brought back into a perfect world where the answers are, indeed, easy?

At the end of that thousand years comes Revelation's Final Judgement, and the offer of the Tree of Life...Methinks there won't be many not partaking...After that, scripturally speaking, the old heaven and earth will pass away(right Lynn?)...And what lies beyond, is beyond our comprehension, so just give it up!...

To my beloved Christians, let’s not go down the Hebrews "it's appointed unto man once to die" road...Not here, please...

Faith is allowed to be questioned. Unbelief, is also allowed to be questioned...An open mind, combined with an open heart and a little searching outside the box will never do ya no harm...sigh...I knew I shouldn't have...

Peace, to all...

Midnite

Satchel was right. Something is gaining on me.

The Shoebox & Dinner at Eight trailers available at:

http://www.twometer.com/Two_Meter_Studios/HOME.html