(08-06-2023, 05:23 AM)727Sky Wrote: Pretty normal for religion to come out when people or a society is under duress. Many have been on their knees praying for salvation as the bullet or blade finds them.

Maybe or for sure the world will end soon, "because I am miserable" has been used by all religions at one time or another. Remember all the preachers or false profits that gave a time and a date for the end...? If a god wants to destroy his creations every so often I think I would be ready for a new god who has better clarity of thought..

Quote:Their goals are evil, but their means? Not so much.

A Noble Demon is a villainous character with a Code of Honour. They don't care that they have a bad image — they may even actively cultivate and embrace it. However, every so often a situation presents itself and they're just not willing to go the extra mile necessary to be completely evil. They'll topple your castle, but they'll do it right after everyone has cleared out first. They'll sacrifice whole armies to achieve their goal but they'll also sacrifice themself if they must. They'll conquer your village but they won't cause more destruction than necessary. They want to kill The Hero but they won't stab an enemy in the back. They'll hold some innocent Hostage for MacGuffin while treating them well and letting them go unharmed once the MacGuffin is handed over, and proclaiming that I Gave My Word. Their ambition might be to Take Over the World, or merely to uphold the evil side of the Balance Between Good and Evil. They might ask, "Would You Like to Hear How They Died?", but they won't press the issue any further if you say no.

They might be obsessed with explaining this behavior so people won't think that they've gone soft. Killing enemies or servants who have failed but are loyal is "a waste of resources" and their inevitable newfound friends are "tactically advantageous allies."

Quote:In common language, the phrase 'playing devil's advocate' describes a situation where someone, given a certain point of view, takes a position they do not necessarily agree with (or simply an alternative position from the accepted norm), for the sake of debate or to explore the thought further using valid reasoning that both disagrees with the subject at hand and proves their own point valid. Despite being medieval in origin, this idiomatic expression is one of the most popular present-day English idioms used to express the concept of arguing against something without actually being committed to the contrary view. Playing devil's advocate is considered a form of the Socratic method.

Quote:A scientist has calculated that there is a 67% chance that God exists.

Dr Stephen Unwin has used a 200-year-old formula to calculate the probability of the existence of an omnipotent being. Bayes' Theory is usually used to work out the likelihood of events, such as nuclear power failure, by balancing the various factors that could affect a situation.

The Manchester University graduate, who now works as a risk assessor in Ohio, said the theory starts from the assumption that God has a 50/50 chance of existing, and then factors in the evidence both for and against the notion of a higher being.

Factors that were considered included recognition of goodness, which Dr Unwin said makes the existence of God more likely, countered by things like the existence of natural evil - including earthquakes and cancer.

The unusual workings - which even take into account the existence of miracles - are set out in his new book, which includes a spreadsheet of the data used so that anyone can make the calculation themselves should they doubt its validity. The book, The Probability of God: A simple calculation that proves the ultimate truth, will be published later this month.

Dr Unwin said he was interested in bridging the gap between science and religion. He argues that rather than being a theological issue, the question of God's existence is simply a matter of statistics.

Quote:Tulpa is a concept in Theosophy, mysticism, and the paranormal, of a materialized being or thought form, typically in human form that is created through spiritual practice and intense concentration. Modern practitioners, who call themselves "tulpamancers", use the term to refer to a type of willed imaginary friend which practitioners consider to be sentient and relatively independent.

Spiritualist Alexandra David-Néel stated that she had observed Buddhist tulpa creation practices in 20th-century Tibet.[8][1] She described tulpas as "magic formations generated by a powerful concentration of thought."[15]: 331  David-Néel believed that a tulpa could develop a mind of its own: "Once the tulpa is endowed with enough vitality to be capable of playing the part of a real being, it tends to free itself from its maker's control. According to David-Néel, this happens nearly mechanically, just as the child, when her body is completed and able to live apart, leaves its mother's womb."[15]: 283  She said she had created such a tulpa in the image of a jolly Friar Tuck-like monk, which she claimed had later developed independent thought and had to be destroyed.[16][3] David-Néel raised the possibility that her experience was illusory: "I may have created my own hallucination", though she said others could see the thoughtforms that she created.

Quote:Egregore (also spelled egregor; from French égrégore, from Ancient Greek ἐγρήγορος, egrēgoros 'wakeful') is an esoteric concept representing a non-physical entity that arises from the collective thoughts of a distinct group of people.

Some authors seem to have merged the esoteric concept with the Enochian concept to arrive at an idea of "spiritual entities" that "feed off the thoughts and energy of a unified multitude",[12] as the website Occultist.net described it, while nevertheless having more of a life of their own – their more specific features and powers will depend on the particular author. Kate Strong, writing for the newsletter "Know Thyself, Heal Thyself", described egregores as "symbols, ideas, or ideals that exist in the collective psyche of a group of people and are thought to have an autonomous existence".[13] This usage seems to have come largely from the Meditations on the Tarot, as may be seen in the next section. The concept of a tulpa is similar, as Gary Lachman[14] and Mark Stavish[9] noted.

Quote:“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?”

― Epicurus

Quote:"POWER tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.'' This statement of Lord Acton's has been illustrated many times in history.

Quote:What does the Bible say about power and corruption?

The New Testament portrays corruption as something that affects every aspects of the personality (Eph. 4: 22, II Peter 1: 4). Corruption is expressed in the mind and conscience (I Tim 6: 5, Titus 1: 15) and also in character (I Cor. 15: 33).

Quote:Dystheism (from Greek δυσ- dys-, "bad" and θεός theos, "god") is the belief that a god is not wholly good and can even be considered evil. Definitions of the term somewhat vary, with one author defining it as "where God decides to become malevolent".[1] The broad theme of dystheism has existed for millennia, as shown by trickster gods found in ethnic religions and by the view of other representations of what the various belief systems regard as the Supreme Being, such as the creator deity as conceived in Abrahamic religions, through a non-religious lens as angry, vengeful, smiting, and hypocritical.

Quote:1“Do not judge, or [/url] you will be judged. 2For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.…

Quote:I am the LORD, and there is none else. [7] I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

Quote:The Wages of Sin originates from the starting of the biblical verse Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Quote:Ecclesiastes 4:2-3 King James Version (KJV)
Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive. Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

Quote:Jesus and the rich young man (also called Jesus and the rich ruler) is an episode in the life of Jesus recounted in the Gospel of Matthew 19:16–30, the Gospel of Mark 10:17–31 and the Gospel of Luke 18:18–30 in the New Testament. It deals with eternal life[1][2] and the world to come.[3]

Quote:First, Jesus advises the man to obey the commandments. When the man responds that he already observes them, and asks what else he can do, Jesus adds: If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.

Quote:Take Up Your Cross

24Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. 25For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?…

Quote:The temptation of Christ is a biblical narrative detailed in the gospels of Matthew,[1] Mark,[2] and Luke.[3] After being baptized by John the Baptist, Jesus was tempted by the devil after 40 days and nights of fasting in the Judaean Desert. At the time, Satan came to Jesus and tried to tempt him. Jesus having refused each temptation, Satan then departed and Jesus returned to Galilee to begin his ministry. During this entire time of spiritual battle, Jesus was fasting.

Quote:The Fifth Seal: The Martyrs

9And when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony they had upheld. 10And they cried out in a loud voice, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You avenge our blood and judge those who dwell upon the earth?” 11Then each of them was given a white robe and told to rest a little while longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers, were killed, just as they had been killed.…

Quote:John Greets the Seven Churches

…5and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood, 6who has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father— to Him be the glory and power [url=https://biblehub.com/greek/3588.htm] forever and ever! Amen. 7Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him—even those who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen.…

Quote: Wrote:G'day OL,



Take Up Your Cross

24Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. 25For whoever [/url]wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake [url=https://biblehub.com/greek/2147.htm]will find it. 26What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?…

(08-07-2023, 07:24 AM)Bally002 Wrote:

Quote: Wrote:G'day OL,



Take Up Your Cross

24Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. 25For whoever [/url]wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake [url=https://biblehub.com/greek/2147.htm]will find it. 26What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?…

The context of his one I have a hard time with.  At this stage (24) what cross is Jesus referring to?

Kind regards,

Bally

Quote:When you say you have “a cross to bear,” you're referring to some sort of burden or something difficult you have to deal with. In English, we use the phrase to describe a personal struggle or challenge that we have to face but can't easily overcome.

Quote:Our “cross to bear” is complete obedience to Jesus. Jesus did not settle for half-hearted obedience. He obeyed the Father fully and completely.

(08-07-2023, 06:11 AM)OmegaLogos Wrote: My fate is already sealed and I am going to hell ok.

(08-07-2023, 12:54 PM)Snarl Wrote:

(08-07-2023, 06:11 AM)OmegaLogos Wrote: My fate is already sealed and I am going to hell ok.

Oh boy ...

How do 'we' even know whether Hell is real or not? I am certainly know God is real. Not so much about the Hell thingy.

Bonus: God gave us three things (you said Free Will and a Soul). He created our spirit and gave it a body to be housed in, and infused us with a sliver of His soul. Yep ... the body goes back to whence it came ... and God is going to get His sliver back. Don't know what's going to happen to that spirit, but one of two destinies: Heaven or Hell? Sounds contrived ... by 'people' who want to control you. That Trinity thing though ... Spirit/Body/Soul ... Father/Son/Holy Ghost? Who knows?

An Everyone Bonus: Once you've been touched by God, you know when you are in the presence of another who has been similarly exposed. Surprising to me how many People of Faith have been simply passed by. Yes ... I know a bullshitter when I see one. More surprising is how extremely few 'Men of the Cloth' know little to nothing of God ... and absolutely do not carry the aura. I firmly believe Muhammad (yeah ... that guy) found God and that he did become a prophet. What is a prophet though?

I know exactly two ordained ministers (this one being notable: https://www.jhm.org) who carry the aura. Unfortunately, it's difficult to even get close to John because of numerous levied threats ... and one assassination attempt that might leave you going, "What!!??" Remember, I don't get out much. Never been a proselytizer. Not my job ... wouldn't know how to do it right. I only know what I know and that seems to be a LOT more than some folks and more than enough to keep me satisfied.

So ... how do you 'know' you're going to Hell? And ... if Hell doesn't exist ... THEN, where do you think you'd be headed?

Quote:And he simply then said "Well then, begone!" and with a wave of his hand he caused me to fall down to the deep hell I find myself in currently and as I fell, he changed me into a noble demon!

Quote:It goes like this ... the OBSERVER collapses the Infinite wave function down to a single crass reality for themselves.

If there is ONLY ONE OBSERVER, then they ARE GOD, and the collapse is PERFECT!

However when there are multiple OBSERVERS the situation becomes complex and is resolved by sheer weight of numbers based upon like mindsets, and the catholics win that argument/fight with 1 in 5 people being claimed Roman Catholics, making it the greatest mindset on the planet.

This means they control the collapse of the wave function and what they believe is true becomes facts, hence God, Jesus, Satan, Heaven and Hell are all REAL, whether the rest of us agree or not.

(08-07-2023, 01:20 PM)OmegaLogos Wrote:

(08-07-2023, 12:54 PM)Snarl Wrote:

(08-07-2023, 06:11 AM)OmegaLogos Wrote: My fate is already sealed and I am going to hell ok.

So ... how do you 'know' you're going to Hell? And ... if Hell doesn't exist ... THEN, where do you think you'd be headed?

Explanation: I know I am going to hell BECAUSE I am already IN HELL! ...

(08-07-2023, 01:20 PM)OmegaLogos Wrote: Personal Disclosure: You really need to read the science I laid out that details how Hell even exists!

(08-07-2023, 01:20 PM)OmegaLogos Wrote: I hope that clears up any confusion for you ok!

(08-07-2023, 12:54 PM)Snarl Wrote: How do 'we' even know whether Hell is real or not? I am certainly know God is real. Not so much about the Hell thingy.

Quote:Matthew 10: 15 New American Standard Bible
15 Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment, than for that city.

Quote:Matthew 23:I5 New American Standard Bible

15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one [h]proselyte; and when he becomes one, you [i]make him twice as much a son of [j]hell as yourselves.

Quote:Luke 16: 23-26 New International Version

22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

(08-07-2023, 03:47 PM)DuckforcoveR Wrote: You're slowing us down video

(08-07-2023, 03:13 PM)SomeJackleg Wrote: i believe that there is a hell and yes Jesus taught about it, if memory serves he talks about hell at least 11times in Mathew and for some reason i'm thinking it maybe 20 times in both the the old and new testament.

(08-07-2023, 03:13 PM)SomeJackleg Wrote: i might catch some grief from it when i get there, but here's a song that fits the way i lived the first part of my 62 years.

(08-07-2023, 10:53 AM)OmegaLogos Wrote:

(08-07-2023, 07:24 AM)Bally002 Wrote:

Quote: Wrote:G'day OL,



Take Up Your Cross

24Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. 25For whoever [/url]wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake [url=https://biblehub.com/greek/2147.htm]will find it. 26What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?…

The context of his one I have a hard time with.  At this stage (24) what cross is Jesus referring to?

Kind regards,

Bally

Explanation: Here you go @Bally002 ...

Quote:When you say you have “a cross to bear,” you're referring to some sort of burden or something difficult you have to deal with. In English, we use the phrase to describe a personal struggle or challenge that we have to face but can't easily overcome.

What is that burden? ...

Quote:Our “cross to bear” is complete obedience to Jesus. Jesus did not settle for half-hearted obedience. He obeyed the Father fully and completely.

God gave us two things ... our freewill and our soul and [like an indian giver] he want's both of them back eh!

Personal Disclosure: At the age of 35yrs old I had a vision, akin to the apostle Johns vision in the Book of Revelations, and I found myself at the pearly gates of heaven where I expected to find St Peter, but I was met by Jesus and he simply asked me two questions.

The first question he asked was "Will you hand back your freewill to me?" and I said "No, Sir!".

And the second question he asked me was "Will you die for me?" and I said "No, Sir!".

And he simply then said "Well then, begone!" and with a wave of his hand he caused me to fall down to the deep hell I find myself in currently and as I fell, he changed me into a noble demon!

As a noble demon, I am crucified between heaven and hell with one arm pointing up to heaven and one arm pointing down to hell, and its my job to separate the wheat [real christians] and send them to heaven, from the chaff [satanists] and take them to deeper hells on Judgement Day, and Jesus revealed to me my past life as Gestas, the Impenitent Thief.

That is my burden and cross to bear ok! 

I hope that explains things for you eh.

(08-07-2023, 07:26 PM)GeauxHomeLittleD Wrote: I don't need to be "sealed". God is in me and experiences this world through me, through ALL of us- the good, the bad, the beautiful and the ugly.