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artlady · Mar 19, 2009, 02:57 AM

My belief and it has nothing to do with Biblical or religious theology.

Our bodies house our soul,the soul being our true spirit.Our God spirit.When we die our bodies return to dust.They are no longer needed.We only need them when we are earth bound.

The soul lives on in the pure sense that it was at its conception.The soul is all loving and giving and pure and is eternal.

Kia · Mar 19, 2009, 07:59 AM

wow, that is an interesting way to look at it. I am open minded and will do my own research.

I do wonder though, just to pick your brain a little... lol... Why do you suppose bad things happen; or where does evil energy generate from? What do you think maybe the concept of the devil comes from?

I hope I'm not starting too much, but I do value other people's opinion.

Note: Please all extremely religious people not blast me or anyone else's answers to this question. I have read the bible, but I still would like some outside answers. I just know how some things can get on these boards. Thanks!

ginadold · Mar 19, 2009, 08:41 AM

Kia, the Bible tells us that the soul is the person himself. It is not something that leaves the body after death. The Bible speaks of people as being souls. It also speaks of animals as being souls. It is the life itself, not something that leaves the body. The Bible also says, "The soul that is sinning, it itself will die." You can see how clear it is from that scripture that the soul is the person, not something separate. As far as evil is concerned, it is very real. The Bible tells us that Satan the Devil is a real spirit creature who was original created as a beautiful angel. He allowed wrong desires to develop in his heart and turned against God. He thus made himself Satan the Devil, which means "deceiver" and "slanderer." He eventually was thrown out of heaven and cast down to the earth. We can read this in the Bible at Revelation 12:9-12. The other angels who followed him are called demons, and they were hurled down to earth with him. They are invisible so we can't see them, however they are very powerful. Their main goal is to turn all people away from God in any way they can. One way they do this is by getting people to believe false things about God. For example, many people believe that God is the cause of sufferings in the world, however this is not true. Also, Satan and his demons get people to believe in life after death by posing as dead loved ones. People are actually seeing or hearing demons, not their dead loved ones. This causes people to believe that something must leave the body after death and live on, which is not true. The Bible makes that very clear. There are so many ways Satan deceives people in an effort to keep them from knowing the truth about God and in turn, drawing close to God. Another example is the fact that God's personal name, Jehovah, has been taken out of most Bibles. However, that name appears over 7,000 times in original Bible manuscripts. Jehovah God wants us to use His personal name just like a friend would want you to call them by their personal name. The name Jehovah means "He causes to become" which tells us that Jehovah God can and will carry out his original purpose for the earth. This original purpose is stated in the book of Genesis. It was to have a righteous human family fill the earth and live forever on it. Yes, Adam and Eve sinned, but God's original purpose did not change. He is allowing time to pass so humans can see that they cannot govern themselves without their Heavenly Father. He has an appointed time when he will cleanse the earth of all wickedness. All those who have died will be resurrected back to life on earth and have a chance to learn about God. This is all made plainly clear to us in the Bible. Jehovah God wants us to know the truth about Him and His purpose for us. There are many false teachings that have people very confused. This is just what Satan wants, confusion. However, the truth about God is not confusing. It is actually very easy to understand and makes so much sense. It brings us joy and happiness when we know the truth about God and what he has planned for our future.

JoeCanada76 · Mar 19, 2009, 09:53 AM

Maybe it comes from people. It comes from their own understand to explain things. Evil and evil things, maybe it is all in how people see certain things. What one person finds evil another person does not. That is what I mean about mysteries, why do people get sick? Why do people hurt others? Why Why Why? Honestly I can not answer why? All I know is that people get wrapped up in their emotions and feelings and also scientifically speaking there can be many chemical imbalances in the brain or disturbances that can explain why people act out violently, is it really evil??

artlady · Mar 19, 2009, 04:31 PM

Why do you suppose bad things happen; or where does evil energy generate from? What do you think maybe the concept of the devil comes from?

I think that without darkness(evil) there would be no light.In existence there is an opposite to everything.

It sounds simple but when you really think about it ,it becomes complicated.

Keep asking these questions,it is important to help you discover your own spirituality.It is a wonderful journey so enjoy :)

captainpecan · Mar 20, 2009, 12:17 AM

I would love to go toe to toe discussing literal beliefs of the bible, but I have learned years ago that this type of discussion is much better done in smaller groups and in person. Openly on a forum that thousands read, can easily offend many people. So I choose to just leave little kernals that people can pick up, and think about, with an open mind, and learn for themselves. My opinion, is that the bible is not meant to be taken as literal as most believe. It is a compilation of stories, that are to be learned from. In my opinion, one must keep an open mind, and just because science proves that dinosaurs existed before man did, does not mean you are going to hell if you believe science instead of what is written in the bible. You must remember, that what is read in the bible, is a compilation of many writings, gathered over long periods, translated many times over. One must also remember that these writings were done long before we had the tools that helped develop science, and even before anyone knew the earth was round! Many of the stories in the bible are also identical to those written long before the Bible existed, such as the beliefs of the aztecs that are amazingly similar to the story of Jesus Christ, yet were written long before 2000 years ago. Or the many writings that were left out of the Bible, and were said to be not important... What are those about?? Those curious and open minded should look into that, it is very interesting stuff, most of which I am extremely glad I read into.

The Bible says both that a woman must not marry her deceased husband's brother, and that, in certain circumstances, she MUST do so. If you have the misfortune to be a childless widow with an unmarried brother-in-law, it is logically impossible for you to avoid disobeying "God's law".

A terrorist straps a bomb on himself, and kills 100 people. To us, he is a murderer and he is going to hell. To him, and many others that follow his belief, he is going to heaven for sacrificing his life, to help destroy that which does not believe as he does. It's a sad world. If you spend your life, converting thousands over to your religion, and then find out at death, you were in the wrong religion, does that make you a terrorist? Did you destroy thousands of lives? Now I know this has made some people mad, but it is only intended to make you think. Just like the Bible is really meant to do, in my opinion.

Taking every word of the bible literal, in my mind, is exactly like taking the owners manual out of your old terminal computer with monocrome (green) monitor, from decades ago, and using it to run your new Windows 7 Dual Pentium laptop! Evolving is natural people, open your mind, and make your own decisions!

captainpecan · Mar 20, 2009, 12:38 AM

Originally Posted by artlady

I think that without darkness(evil) there would be no light.In existence there is an opposite to everything.

It sounds simple but when you really think about it ,it becomes complicated.

Keep asking these questions,it is important to help you discover your own spirituality.It is a wonderful journey so enjoy :)

I agree 100%... It really is one of the most simple rules of nature. There is always an opposite. Nature always tries to become balanced. It is so simple, and yet, it can be very complicated to see it at work!

artlady · Mar 20, 2009, 03:49 AM

Taking every word of the bible literal, in my mind, is exactly like taking the owners manual out of your old terminal computer with monocrome (green) monitor, from decades ago, and using it to run your new Windows 7 Dual Pentium laptop! Evolving is natural people, open your mind, and make your own decisions!

It bears repeating and I can not agree more.The Bible was written as a law book to keep people in check,well times have changed and the book (as beautiful as it is) needs to change.