My Christianity

[Trinopus]

@ISiddiqui

Oh, not at all. After all, Scripture (in one of the letters of the NT, I believe) speaks of Jesus preaching to the dead after death. And the Catholic doctrine of Purgatory is the obvious moral progress after death example (though they don’t let those folks in Hell advance, but Lewis wasn’t a Catholic, no matter how much his friend Tolkein wanted him to be ;)). . . .

I think Lewis was far more “liberal” than many Evangelicals would like him to be. I can see where you could come to your point of view, especially since Lewis couched a lot of his more interesting views in parabolic stories (ah, like someone else pretty famous - tricksy). . . .

The proof is in the spirit guide Lewis chooses for himself. While George MacDonald isn’t all that well known today, he was a Scottish preacher who was highly influential in fantasy literature (he was a mentor to Lewis Carroll, and influenced Tolkein as well as Lewis). George MacDonald was also known for his belief in universal reconciliation.

I’m comforted! I think, now, I must have missed the point, and gave Lewis unfairly short shrift in how I interpreted the book. But, as you note, the parable was a tad murky, so I’m not wholly a dunderhead for seeing what I saw.

Thank you for taking the time – and the diplomatic courtesy! – to set me straight without snark or gloating. Being wrong is one of those important human rights: we all depend on that right, now and then!

[Trinopus]

@truthseeker3

Yes. Toward the end of the book, there is a soul who chooses to stay. He has some kind of lizard on his shoulder, and he gives an angel permission to burn it. As I recall, the lizard (representing the various temptations which have been enslaving him) transforms into a horse, which he rides off into the sunset. (The idea is that the angel has healed his disordered passions; and now that the man is in control, he can be truly happy.)

Doubleplus oops with filbert nuts: I don’t remember that scene at all. Mea culpa! Mea culpa! Mea Robert Culp culpa!

[GISMYS]

YES! WE ARE NOW LIVING IN THE LAST DAYS!HEBREWS 9:27=It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him

[Czarcasm]

@GISMYS

YES! WE ARE NOW LIVING IN THE LAST DAYS!HEBREWS 9:27=It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him

Can I have your car?

[simster]

@GISMYS

YES! WE ARE NOW LIVING IN THE LAST DAYS!HEBREWS 9:27=It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him

We’ve been living in the ‘last days’ for ~723795 ‘last days’ now -

[running_coach]

@simster

We’ve been living in the ‘last days’ for ~723795 ‘last days’ now -

God procrastinates.

[truthseeker3]

you were excommunicated? what did you do?

@watchwolf49

Divorce

Were you actually excommunicated or do you just feel excommunicated?

[ISiddiqui]

@Trinopus

I’m comforted! I think, now, I must have missed the point, and gave Lewis unfairly short shrift in how I interpreted the book. But, as you note, the parable was a tad murky, so I’m not wholly a dunderhead for seeing what I saw.

Thank you for taking the time – and the diplomatic courtesy! – to set me straight without snark or gloating. Being wrong is one of those important human rights: we all depend on that right, now and then!

I have come, over the years, to absolutely loath most snarkiness (I make an exception for Colbert). I also have taken the Parable of the Prodigal Son to heart - gloating is always counter productive and, IMO, silly.

You have acted in such good diplomatic ways yourself, that I could only respond in kind. It is rare in discussions on religion :). And I don’t feel you to be dunderheaded at all, FWIW - you raised some very interesting POV’s that I had not even considered, and if I read it when back I was an atheist, I may have seen those views in it myself.

[monavis]

@QueenOfClubs

Ok, the two commandments Jesus was asked and replied to the be the most important ones were:

Love God

and

Love your neighbor as yourself

All the other commandments are essentially covered by the second one. Loving your neighbor covers for not stealing from him, slandering him, sleeping with his wife, murdering him and so forth.

So basically he covers all the comandments with just those two.

The second one came first with the Buddha, do unto others as you would have others do unto you. The Golden rule 500 years before Jesus.