is there an heaven and a hell??, and which one are you going to? Options

[LiNHy POO]

well me and my boyfriend were talking a few nights ago.. like the title says.. personally.. i believe in greek myth.. and think that everyone goes to the underworld.. ruled by hades.. i dont know if there really is a heavan.. and i dont care where i go.. all i know is that im gonna be buried in the ground..

[Spirited Away]

I'm sorry in the midst of all this debate sometimes it's hard to keep up. Anyways, I think basically it all comes down to free will. I think you mean free will for you is living by what you believe it is right and being able to do whatever you want whennever you want. The difference is, as Christians it's all about focusing less on ourselves and more on other people and God. Yes, God gives us free will to choose to believe Him or not, but our free will isn't ours to begin with. Christians believe that "one hasn't lived, until one lives in the light of God." So I'm not saying turly living for youself is wrong, I just think maybe that is an issue of world today because people concentrate on "what are MY goals, ambition, future,..etc" The more and more one lives for Christ, the less important everything else around oneself seem to be. I know free will is a big controversy and it is a bigger issue these days since everyone is entitled to "equal rights," but I just think that freedom is a gift and to choose sin is to abuse the gift of freedom.

Ah, if focusing on oneself isn't bad, then why must one do anything differently? Living for my "goals/ambitions" shouldn't be a bother to anyone else unless I plan to murder or rape people...

Free will shouldn't be a controversy. If it is indeed what God gave us, then it is CLEAR that free will shouldn't be debated. We must all agree what the true definition of free will is, after all, if you look up the word "free" and "will" seperately you'd get something that is not bounded by any limiting factor. Equal rights should not and cannot be compared to free will. While equal rights still signifies freedom, there is the limiting fact of the LAW, while free will is supposed to be a God given right.

Choosing to live life for oneself isn't a sin as you have said, unless it is done immorally and we can all agree quite a few things that are moral/immoral without bringing religion into it. So once again I ask, why must we live any differently if focusing on our lives isn't a bad thing?

I focus on my life, but I also focus on what environmental factors and societal factors that will affect my life. Meaning, I do not condone illegal drug use/rape/murder because those immoral things affect my life directly and indirectly. Do you think that I'm only focusing on MY life only, or also those around me? It's NOT a selfish thing to do, it is a HUMAN thing to do.

Actually to ask for more in a sense of asking God for things that He thinks will be beneficial to your growth is not greed at all. God desires us to have a hunger for his Word and his knowledge of Him, Heaven, and Hell. There is always room for people to grow spiritually. So asking for like cars and money is probably not appropaite to your growth on earth because technically you won't own it forever. Things such as to help your friends grow closer to God, people in sickness, for the Church..those are prayers God loves to hear more. So to desire something of possession is probably greed, but to have a desire to be close to God and more like God is a blessing.

So what, does He thinks, will be beneficial to our growth exactly? How His words are interpreted is rather tricky, don't you think? I think that instead of building NEW Churches or buying new property for Churches... etc, collection money should go towards feeding the hungry, homeless, and orphans in the nation as well as around the world. Now, I'm quite aware that some Churches do this already, but not every Church... Do you think that God thinks building beautiful Churches and buying property is better than helping fellow man? I'm sure the hungry and needy pray just as much, perhaps more, to God than anyone if they happen to be in the Christian faith. I'd like to see God help them then then likes of me, who do not give a hoot about religion.

Well I wasn't speaking of evils of ALL religions, I was speaking of Satan, Lucifer if you will, the devil of angel that God once created as one of his angels. It isnt hard to imagine the devil believing in God because if you believe there even is a God, there has to be some counter balance. Why do you think one of God's fallen angels became a devil? He thought he was more powerful than God and he wanted to abuse his freedom that God has given him. So of course the devil knows there is a God because he defied God in the first place. That is why I mention that people who just THINK they know God is not enough because even the Devil knows and has seen God.

Not quite. I only believe in a Creator, Who happens to be NEUTRAL, thus good and evil co-exist. If the Creator is all virtuous and good, then He would NOT allow evil into existence.

So you mean to say that there bad Christians and there are good Christians when you say that there are those who claims to know God, but actually do not. But then what makes you a good Christian? What makes anyone a good Christian? What make Lutherans anymore correct about to worship than Baptists?

Sorry for the Bad analogy, but what I was getting at is the student's view on the test, not the educational system. Just as most Christians KNOW about God doesn't mean that they will get an "A" in life or go to heaven. So if the student knows the answers but does not use what he knows to apply it to the test, then it is a waste of time and makes no difference if he/she didn't study in the first place.

Trust me when I say that if the student "knows the answers" he/she will WANT to apply it to the test. I mean, who really wants an F on their tests? But the problem is that there seem to be MORE THAN ONE ANSWER to the question and people will disagree on what the correct answer is, which leads to confusion and discord... Confusion and discord is what religion brings.