I don’t know if I would call myself a Christian but I can definitely feel myself being drawn to Jesus Christ. I find the Bible quite difficult at times to follow and the changing of word definitions over the centuries makes it even more difficult to understand. So I would like some help with this. So, correct me if I am wrong but as I understand it;
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God created the whole world and everything within.
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God is the owner of the whole world and everything within.
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God is the master of the whole world and everything within.
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God is therefore a someone, and that makes him a living being. He is NOT an object or a concept or an idea. Therefore it would logically follow that Heaven is also a place and a state of being, which is to say that to be in Heaven is to be with him.
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This must also mean that all good comes from God, and that evil nor contradiction are in the nature of God.
So yeah I just wanted to start with that for the moment. I am trying to understand God as best as I can and if you could reply your answers directly under each of my dot points, it would help my eyes to read it better. I’m really putting myself out there by even posting this but I need to know more and there will be more questions & observations that I have eventually but I must start small with some “basic” stuff that may seem obvious or trivial to others.
I was a life long atheist who dabbled in witchcraft and satanism when I was younger then I just became an atheist that didn't believe in anything. I studied the bible only to debunk it.
I have a long story to tell but I'll skip forward to about five years ago when I became a Christian.
Something I realized is that the Christianity that was presented to me my whole life - the Christianity that I rebelled against - is not really Christianity.
Ignore what other people tell you Christianity is until you have read the New Testament yourself. Read it slowly. Take time. Take notes.
Jesus did not come to Earth to be followed and worshiped. He came to us to teach us. So many people who say they are Christian have never actually read the bible and they see Jesus as a genie who will grant them wishes and that's not what he taught.
I am a follower of Christ's teachings, not of pop culture Christianity.
You can understand God better when you understand that there is no such thing as darkness. There is such thing as light. Darkness is a representation of where there is no light.
Same thing with cold. Cold doesn't exist, it's just an indication that there is no heat.
God is the heat and the light and the love. Don't think of God's love as Valentine's day red heart love, but more as "care". God's "love" is the spark in all things. It's a binary system. There is God and his creation and there is the absence of God. The word "sin" means "without".
And God is intelligent and caring. It wouldn't be possible for us to be capable of thought and emotion if our creator didn't have those things himself.
I learned so much from expanding on Christ's actual teachings while ignoring the trendy Jesus character. I'll be happy to answer any questions.
”The Father’s kingdom is spread out upon the earth and people do not see it.
Sadly, most people are unaware of the ancient history and origin of the "Bible" which date back to human's early history. Most are unaware of the politics behind Constantine's Council of Nicea 325 AD. Or that there were 88 books whittled down to 66 to create an INSTITUTION of control rather than liberation.
It means "plus" or "positive" in Greek.
You are on the right track! Keep pursuing God and reading the Bible!
We understand God because he revealed himself to mankind and through Jesus Christ. I don’t feel the need to address your points individually because I see that you understand the big ideas that God is creator, real, personal, sovereign, and holy, He is greater what we can understand or express in words.
There are many solid English Bible translations. My recommendation is to choose a primary one to become familiar with and read others at times to aid with understanding. Audio Bibles are also great.
I will probably go with an audio version of the Bible but thank you for your reply. I’ve got a lot to learn and all of everyone’s input and insight is appreciated.
I recommend you start with reading the book of John in the New Testament. It explains who Jesus is more clearly than the other gospels in my opinion.
Jesus taught us the way to follow that would allow us to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. That way is what we define as good. Anything that goes against that way is what we call evil. Good and evil are ideas and thoughts.
We gained the ability to discern good from evil, so by using this discernment we can either enter Kingdom of God, or not. Its up to us.
God did not create good or evil. God created beings who can discern between good and evil.
Very well put. I am of the belief and interpretation that is exactly the case as you described it. When the Watchers would rebel and corrupt Man, the only place unaffected would be Eden, the last pure segue point of the physical and spiritual harmony that is until The Fall. This is when God gives man discernment and understanding of morality leading to unbridled freewill.
Ages would pass into antiquity, yet the new covenant through Christ has always been the instrument in which we are given the choice of how to use our situational awareness to free ourselves in what is essentially a time based concept of spiritual school/jail or, through a more exact lens: material Hell manifest reality that we have the choice to shape and liberate through Christ.
Satan and 1/3 of the angels rebelled against God in Heaven. Rev. 12:7-9 & Ezekiel 28:12-19.
Satan then attacked God’s perfect creation by tempting mankind to sin. All of Genesis 3.
A spiritual war of good vs. evil has been going on ever since.
God created the whole world and everything within. Astrophysicist Gerald Shroeder: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQVm8RokoBA&t=2s
God is the owner of the whole world and everything within. Yes. As the Creator, He owns His creation and can let it die if it is His will (that's not His will).
God is the master of the whole world and everything within. He created the natural laws which regulate the universe. According to the Anthropic Principle, all creation is finely tuned, not just for life to exist, but for us to exist. However, He made us with a spirit, a part of us that corresponds to Him and can receive Him. But, He also gave us a free will. We can choose to open our heart to Him or close it. Our eternal destiny depends on which choice we make. The choice is NOT between good and evil, it is between life and death. God is life. His life is called "zoe" in Greek. It is eternal and uncreated. We have biological life that will end. God's intent was/is to enter into us and become eternal life in us.
God is therefore a someone, and that makes him a living being. He is NOT an object or a concept or an idea. God is a Someone. Millions of us know Him and love Him. God is love, and when He enters, He fills us with love that is so far above any human love, and a peace that passes understanding. He lives in us, and makes Himself real to us all the time.
Therefore it would logically follow that Heaven is also a place and a state of being, which is to say that to be in Heaven is to be with him. Heaven is a real place that is outside the material dimension. There are descriptions in the Bible. Our eternal destiny, however, is not heaven. It is the New Jerusalem which comes down out of heaven from God (Revelation 21:2).
This must also mean that all good comes from God, and that evil nor contradiction are in the nature of God. There is another will in the universe, which God allowed for His purpose. Angels also have a free will, and the highest, most beautiful, and most powerful one, decided he wanted to be God. God is all good. The other will is the opposite of what God is. There is a war in the universe. Our will stands between the two. God has already won. The ending is just being played out. One day soon, the kingdom of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.
Hope this helps.
I’m thinking you might have meant “and that neither evil nor contradiction are in the nature of God.”
or did you mean that both are? — “This must also mean that all good comes from God, and that evil nor contradiction are in the nature of God”
a) God created the whole world and everything within ✅
b) God is the owner of the whole world and everything within ✅ Gensis chapters 1 & 2 created mankind, male & female to be caretakers of this planet
c) God is the master of the whole world and everything within ✅
d) God is therefore a someone, and that makes him a living being. He is NOT an object or a concept or an idea ✅ Therefore it would logically follow that Heaven is also a place and a state of being, which is to say that to be in Heaven is to be with him.✅
e) This must also mean that all good comes from God, and that evil nor contradiction are in the nature of God. ✅ (the goodness humans can experience are a result of being here - in a world & universe where tragedies can happen, pain therefore exists.
C. S. Lewis, Narnia chronicles author & friend of J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings, wrote about the problems of the origin of pain & of evil. The more powerful a creature God creates, the the greater the chance & potential there is for such a creature to go its own way, make its own path, have desires that might not be in tune with the will o& the Creator/Owner.
I meant to say that being of an evil nature / being capable of evil, and also contradicting oneself, is not what God is willing or able to do.
But with all those green checkmarks and your reply in general, it looks like I am on the right path.
thanks for clarification ✅ interesting contemplating the natur3 of God & what God’s character must be like
When I look at your reasoning, I see reasoning on the materially observable. That is fine. It is your current understanding. And if that leads you, good for you. In time, you will find the spiritual dimension to be more appealing. It comes with experience, as you cannot be told "what" "it" is.
The bible is a collection of stories highlighting several spiritual experiences of other people. That may or may not be of value to you. Just as much as another cannot belief for you, or vice versa, so is your "personal relationship" on this matter what it is: your personal relationship.
What is much more valuable, is not WHAT the objects of your faith are, but WHO you are. As Peter wrote in his 2nd letter:
Its an ongoing process. A life lived in a certain way. That said, although being able to recite the nitty gritty, it is not the same as knowing.
As Paul wrote it in Phillipians:
So, it is a matter of to live, not to recite.
Keep in mind the Bible is not a series of books but rather one continuous story. Originally humankind was with God in the garden. After the fall Genesis thru Revelation is the story of how humankind can get back into the garden! God loves us so deeply all He wants is to be in relationship with us. I recommend “ The Message” Translation by Eugene Petersen. God bless you!