Why do you carpool with some one who has no money? Where is he going? And why doesn’t he have any money? Has he forgotten the scripture: Eat, drink and be merry all the days of your life?
And hasn’t he read the words of Jesus?
Or those of the apostle James?
All these false Christians! What is do be done with these people???
That should have said – why doesn’t he have any fun.
Mea culpa!
My carpool partner is a real piece of work. She never has any money because she blows it at the beginning of every month, so maybe she does have fun, but I meant fun fun; y’know, drinkin’ (some people are saying now that the “wine” people drank in Biblical days was really grape juice), carousing, cussin’, that stuff us worthless heathens do. Yesterday she announced she wasn’t even going to buy candy for trick-or-treaters because “I don’t celebrate Satan’s birthday!” Later she admitted it’s because she’s broke until tomorrow. Anyway, my point is a lot of this kind of talk sounds like sour grapes to me.
There are many current biblical scholars who believe that there was a separate place from heaven called Paradise that ceased to exist after Jesus had been resurrected from the grave. All those who were in Paradise at time were then taken directly into heaven and at death from that time forth, the saints would go directly to be in the presence of God.
My understanding is that there would be no marriage in heaven therefor raising the possibility that there is no distinction between male and female after death and while we may recognize our loved ones, there will be no remembrance of those who who didn’t make it. The very thought of gaining pleasure in viewing others eternal torment, I find very repugnant and it goes against everything I have read in the scriptures.
Er. . . On what exactly are they basing this interpretation?
I know that you may think me trite
But could you, maybe, post a cite?
The first one that I ever read covering this is Phinas Dake (“God’s Plan for Man”). There are many others but the bed beconds and I will provide cites tomorrow.
The basic premise comes from Jesus’ story of the poor beggar Lazarus; His conversation with the thief while on the cross; followed by Jesus telling Mary in the garden that He had not been with His Father in Heaven yet He had promised the thief He would see him on Friday in Paradise. This leads to a conclusion that Heaven and Paradise were at one time two separate places. Paul states later that to be absent from the body (dead) is to be in the presence of the Lord.
That’s the nickel tour, more later.
This seems to me to be an ad hoc explanation for a Biblical problem, or at least the part about the thief on the cross. Luke has Jesus saying that he (the thief) will be with him in paradise that day. But Jesus supposedly spent the three days (or was it more like 40 hours?) after his crucifixion under the ground before ascending to Heaven. Rather than admit that somebody along the line made a mistake (hint: it was Luke!), Biblicists come up with some far-fetched explanation about how heaven and paradise are two separate places, or at least were until the resurrection
A much more likely explanation is that Luke, copying from Mark, decided to alter the story of the two thieves on the cross for theological purposes. He had already done so in the mere act of having one of them exalt Jesus, whereas Matthew and Mark claim that they both reviled him. Luke tops it off with a little rhetorical flourish about the penetant thief being with Jesus in heaven that day, forgetting all about the resurrection dealy. A similar error can be observed in Matthew’s story of John the Baptist, where John somehow knows that Jesus is the Messiah one moment, and isn’t so sure the next.
Language like this seems to be used an awful lot as a description of the essence of hell. What do Christians who describe hell this way (at least some of whom seem to be fairly literal in their interpretation of the Bible) make of Revelation 14:9-11?
According to Jerry Falwell God would erase the memory of loved ones in hell so if you make it to heaven and your spouse does not, you won’t remember them. See nothing to worry about God will take care of it.
That’s pretty damn depressing to be honest.
Divine mind control? If that were true it would be even more proof that free will is not accorded any importance in the afterlife. Why would anyone want to worship a Falwell-type God who treats them essentially as a toy?
MEBuckner – hmmm. Well, perhaps you are right. I guess there is nothing wrong with saying “I told ya so.” The example from Rev. is more the rejoice over the destruction of Babylon than a person.
As for the punishment for those who do business in the market place being severe, Jesus’s own words attest to this in Luke 12:
Once again implying there are levels to the sufferings of hell.
Opus – a brilliantly sane understanding. I’m impressed.
But I think the verse everyone is missing is that a Christian’s family are those who hear the word of God and act on it.