Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences - This topic has 50 replies, 50 voices, and was last updated 20 years, 5 months ago by
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Your preface and your second question are more important…. ‘can anyone tell you once & for all?’ NO, only God can. No human being knows the truth. ‘Why should I believe you?’ You shouldn’t believe anyone who answers your main question, because whatever they answer, they will be wrong. Your main question presumes 4 things: that there is a heaven, that its a place you want to be, that there are guarantees and that all religious beliefs have a concept of heaven. My answer to those for points are: not likely, probably, no way and not all.
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Name : Ken Lim, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Asian, Age : 43, City : Cupertino, State : CA, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper class,The only way to everlasting life is through Jesus Christ who is the son of God and is God. You must go through him to get there. Will non Christians have everlasting life? I think so but if they do it will still be through Jesus. The hard part is to get your head around the fact that Jesus is both the son of God and God. But do not worry about it if God through the Holy Ghost does not move you to believe you can’t. I he wants you to believe you will. Like Paul on the road to Damascus you will have no choice or like Jonah God will make you do his will. My personal belief is that God will eventually save everyone including Lucifer (and oh what a party there will be in heaven on that day) but this makes people extremely mad if you tell them. Read the whole book of Jonah where the same thing happens and Jonah gets mad at God for saving a Gentile city. It is more amazing than Jonah being swallowed by a large fish. Why would I recommend Christianity for you now? The truth shall set you free, it brings great inner peace. In Christ…….
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Name : Harold, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Presbyterian, Age : 48, City : Canton, State : GA, Country : United States, Occupation : Technician, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Just want to reiterate what a previous response said. Christianity is the only way. People hate to hear this fact and say that Christians have the ‘holier than thou’ attitude because of this fact. It really seems simple to me. All religions boast the basic premise that you should live a good, moral life and then you will have ‘earned’ your way into heaven, nirvana, a better place, etc. If that is all it takes, then great, most of us should be in good shape. The problem is, who decides what is good enough. Is being average ‘Joe good guy’ good enough or do you have to be as good as Mother Theresa. Christianity makes it simple. It says we all stink, none of us are good enough and none of us can do anything to ‘earn’ our way into heaven. It says the only way is to believe in Jesus Christ and that he died for us to make up for us not being good enough in the eyes of his Father, God.(Read John 3:16) He took the rap for us being unworthy. That sure does simplify things doesn’t it. In the Bible, Jesus says, ‘I am the way, and the truth… no man comes to the Father (God) but through me.’ In other words, he is the ticket to heaven. Furthermore, if Christians are wrong and really all you have to do is be good, then most of them are covered either way. As for other religions, they are in big trouble when they die and find out they picked the wrong one.
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Name : Steve F., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 30, City : Longview, State : TX, Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,The answer is simple: Hockey.
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Name : Gunter-Von-Hasleblad21612, City : Ottawa, State : PA, Country : Canada,Don’t get caught up in’religion’,it’s a disease. More people have turned away from God in the name of religion or have done things in the name of religion that aren’t truly from God.Look at Osama bin Ladan,he claims to do things in Allah’s(God’s)name .I believe the Bible is the true word of God.I have seen first hand how the Bible has power,it is a living and breathing thing.The Bible says that Jesus is the only true way into Heaven(John 3:3/John 14:6).The Bible also says that if you receive Christ as your personal Savior the Holy Spirit will come and live inside you,this is called being’born-again'(John 3:3). And with the Holy Spirit you will have a witness inside of you that confirms to you that you are a child of God.Once you have the Spirit of God inside of you there will be no doubt to you anymore.It’s as east as a 30 second prayer… really!Just admit to God that you are a sinner and you need Him to forgive you of your sins…He will,no matter what you’ve done.Ask Jesus to be the Savior of your life and the Lord of your life. If you truly mean it with your heart(not just saying it with your mouth)God will transform your life(Romans 10:9,10).I know first-hand,God delivered me from tobacco,alcohol,porno&drug addiction.Today I have a true peace in my life and heart that is beyond any understanding.If you choose this the next step is to get into a good,Bible-believing,Christ loving church.There you will receive the discipleship you need to grow in Christ.
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Name : SamSlick28287, City : Dayton, State : OH, Country : United States,As far as no hell,you’d better be right.
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Name : SamSlick, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 32, City : Dayton, State : OH, Country : United States,Maybe you should ask which belief systems will bring me the most happiness/satisfaction/piece-of-mind here and/or after I die? By asking which one will get you to heaven you have already narrowed your search, since the concept of heaven only exists in certain belief systems. I think the best fit for you depends on your what you’re seeking. Some seek deliverance, some seek peace, some seek reassurance, some seek forgiveness. It is not an easy answer because it is entirely personal. To ask someone to tell you the answer, is to ask for the answer that’s not right for you. If you want to find the answer you have to do some digging. There is a wealth of material from around the world. Even if you end up choosing a Judeo-Christian religion, there is plently to be gained from reading the beliefs of others. You cannot see any color distictly, unless you have seen the other colors of the spectrum There are many flavors to choose from, but I think it is important to recognize that each flavor has a drawback. Some belief systems ostrasize others, some limit your freedom, and some can provide you with no reassurances. It doesn’t matter much in the end. I think the important thing to see is that all systems of belief have grown out of a necessity for people to understand the universe around them. All of them have wisdom and truths mixed with rituals that provide for the community they serve.
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Name : Dan, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 28, City : New York, State : NY, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Despite the impressions sometimes given by their followers, the major religions do not completely exclude each other. Generally speaking, more recent religions tend to accept traditions that came before them historically. Thus, Christians believe in the prophets of the Old Testament, and Muslims believe Jesus was a Messenger of God. As a Baha’i, I believe that an honest analysis of the teachings of the major religions will reveal no fundamental contradictions. But people can be selective in their interpretations, and over decades and centuries we become divided and forgetful. Thus, religion is periodically renewed. The one true faith is the faith that was actually taught by Abraham, Krishna, Zoroaster, Moses, Buddha, Christ, Muhammad, The Bab and Baha’u’llah. It is the eternal faith of God, the rest is human interpretation, which may be mistaken.
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Name : Isaac, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Bahai Faith, Age : 27, City : Christchurch, State : NA, Country : New Zealand, Occupation : Teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,I can in no way prove to you or convince you which religion or denomination will guarantee you a place in heaven. Most arguments that people make will be defended with assumptions that are only held if you already believe them. But, if you are of a certain religion,or want to join one, don’t let the issue of faith worry you too much. There are so many thing that we all take as a matter of faith that we don’t even think about it (like the existence of love, our friends, good vs. evil, etc.). I would just encourage you try to find which religion helps you do the best for other people.
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Name : Robert-Blanton29718, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Episcopalian, Age : 26, City : Houston, State : TX, Country : United States, Occupation : Medical Student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,The first response I read asked why we should worry seeing that as there is no proof that there is an afterlife? Simple, gamble that there isn’t an afterlife and you don’t win anything. Gamble that there *is* an afterlife and you are right, you win everything. Your call.
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Name : Jon-W, City : London, State : NA, Country : United Kingdom,First of all, your question suggests that you are scared of death because you are asking to be guaranteed a place in heaven. You’re not alone in this. Many people, including me wonder if they have a place in heaven. I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins, but sometimes I wonder if doubts that creep in will cause me to lose favor in God’s eyes. It’s a pretty common worry for a lot of people. It says in the Bible that to have eternal life you should simply believe that Jesus is the son of God and he was sent to Earth to wash you of your sins. There isn’t any Magic Bullet to get around that. Believe in Jesus and try to live a life God would be proud of and there you go. Atheist will argue that someone that does good deeds and lives a moral life should get into heaven even though he or she doesn’t believe in Jesus. I don’t have the answer to why it’s that way and neither does anyone else so don’t go looking for it. People look for proof of Jesus’ existence and his diety all the time though and some of that has to be accepted on faith. If you get a chance though, read ‘The Case for Christ.’ It’s written by a former atheist who searches for tangible evidence to support Jesus’s existence, His death and His resurrection. Read that, it helped me in my faith. One more thing, Jesus’ actual existence as a person is recognized by ever major religion… Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buhdists… they all accepted He lived they just don’t accept that He was the son of God. Atheists will try to take the intellectual high ground and say God and religion were put in place to control people. That’s fine if they believe that, but I believe in Jesus and I pray for those who don’t.
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Name : Clay, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Methodist, Age : 30, City : Kansas City, State : KS, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,This is what generations of people have been killing each other over for centuries. Even to this day. Religion has caused more deaths through out our history than anything. I belive that most of your religions are just different interpretaions of the same thing. This ‘My religion is better than your religion shit’ has to end…but It won’t be in our life time. As a human race we have allot of evolving to do.
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Name : kz, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, City : st. paul, State : MN, Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class,OK. It’s been about two months since I posted this question and I’m more than just a little dissapointed in the responses. Why follow the teachings of any rigious order if you cant be sure it is the right one. Do all religions believe that everyone who doesn’t follow their teachings will go to heaven with them? If yes, then why isn’t there one faith. If no, then how do you know your is the right one.
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Name : Douglas25671, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 40, City : Pontiac, State : MI, Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Middle class,Any religions/philosophies may get you where you would choose to be whether it is heaven, nirvana or back into feed nature from which you came. If you choose heaven then take a relious belief in which heaven is the destination. You may want to concentrate more on your present path rather than a destination, because it is your path, not just a ‘go to heaven free’ belief that will take you wherever you want to go. You may choose to believe me because I do not know.
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Name : Ray-Muccianti, Gender : M, Religion : Buddhist, Age : 28, City : Oak Park, State : IL, Country : United States, Social class : Middle class,I’m glad someone knows what happens when you die. Give me a break. You have no idea what happens after you die, your not dead yet. To state that ‘we die and it’s over’ is pretty ingnorant. I’m not saying that you go to heaven or hell when you die either, because know ones knows.
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Name : kz26154, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 29, City : st. paul, State : MN, Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,
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