The End Is Nigh - Are You Prepared for 'The Rapture'?
Posted by: J.N. on 27 September 2006
Posted on: 09 October 2006 by Rockingdoc
So, Purgatory is still a real place that actually exists then? Or has the Pope already cancelled it too?
Posted on: 09 October 2006 by Don Atkinson
quote:So, Purgatory is still a real place that actually exists then? Or has the Pope already cancelled it too?
Christ.....he'll be cancelling Heaven next....
Cheers
Don
Posted on: 11 October 2006 by Rockingdoc
I know I'm desplaying real ignorance here, but aren't all these places the various levels of Hell from Dante's fiction? Does the Bible refer to Limbo and Purgatory?
Posted on: 11 October 2006 by Don Atkinson
quote:Does the Bible refer to Limbo and Purgatory?
More importantly, did Jesus.
Cheers
Don
Posted on: 11 October 2006 by JWM
quote:Originally posted by Don Atkinson:quote:Does the Bible refer to Limbo and Purgatory?
More importantly, did Jesus.
Cheers
Don
One mustn't get confused between things that entered the popular imagination through art and literature (whether that be the already-mentioned Dante's Inferno, or the fluffy-cloud heaven of art), and the actual teaching of the Church. (The Catholic Church, for instance, can distance itself from Limbo, because it has NEVER been an actual part of its Faith and Teaching.)
Nor must we get hung-up on non-Scriptural words.
Taken overall, the witness of Scripture is so much more subtle and rich than the plain old triple-decker cosmos of Heaven-Earth-Hell.
For example, Scripture speaks clearly that there are those who enjoy the fullness of heaven 'now', and those who will be raised in the 'future' - at the Parousia, the Last Day (whatever 'now' and 'future' mean in eternity). So where are they in the meantime?
One might also think of the two episodes of the Lazarusses.
1) The Parable of Dives and Lazarus - the 'divide' between Heaven and Hell so that no-one can cross backwards and forwards. Once you're there, you're there!
But(2)Jesus' raising of Lazarus, his friend. 'Where' was the four-day-dead Lazarus ("Lord, by now he will smell") before Jesus raised him from the dead?
An interesting, and indeed amusing read on death, Heaven, Hell and in-between is CS Lewis' The Great Divorce.
It gets away from the tyrrany of the narrow group of images infused unwittingly into our consciousness by Milton's Paradise Lost, Dante's Inferno and mediaeval art with new images.
The Great Divorce is quite short - you'll read it in an afternoon.
James
Posted on: 11 October 2006 by Don Atkinson
quote:One mustn't get confused between things that entered the popular imagination through art and literature (whether that be the already-mentioned Dante's Inferno, or the fluffy-cloud heaven of art), and the actual teaching of the Church.
The point I was making, was that we mustn't get confused between
a-things that entered the popular imagination through art; literature; the scriptures; the teaching of the Church(s) and
b-what Jesus said.
Cheers
Don
Posted on: 11 October 2006 by acad tsunami
quote:
The point I was making, was that we mustn't get confused between
a-things that entered the popular imagination through art; literature; the scriptures; the teaching of the Church(s) and
b-what Jesus said.
[QUOTE] Maybe it is more accurate to say 'What the alleged historical Jesus is alleged to have said'!
Christianity was started by Paul long after Jesus (a man) and anyone who knew him was dead - this way the ridiculous claims of the early church could not be tested or verified. The fiction was created to fulfill Old testament prophesy (more nonesense). The Bible is littered with examples of how natural phenomena such as earthquakes, explosions and floods were used long after the actual events to demonstrate the wrathful power of a fictitious god in order to control the witless and supersticious masses. The destruction of Sodom is an example of this - the area sits atop a vent in the earths crust which leaks volatile explosive gases - the vent has been walled up to prevent further explosions/acts of god.
In the Philippines millions of people believe in the Aswang and even the police in Manila mount Aswang patrols on an offical basis - hardly surprising people believe this nonesense having been fed a daily diet of nonesense and supersticion by the Catholic church. 16 year old boy says Jesus is the son of god
virgin birth confirmed
As for the rapure (more nonesense)you can watch a terrifying, deeply disturbing documentary about the so called doomesday codeand how some people (so called end-timers)are working to bring about the apocalypse. These people (possibly the US president too) are no more sane than people who believe in the Aswang. When we learn that the writer of the book of Revelation was living in a cave on a Greek island on a prayer retreat drinking gallons of tea made from hallucinagenic mushrooms to stay awake(these mushrooms were used extensively in many religious faiths and are still used by some today)then we learn whaere the apocalyptic visions come from - mushroom induced visions not god.
Acad
Posted on: 11 October 2006 by acad tsunami