>>3059

(1) Open-minded "Born again Christian" here with an honest question with NO intention to tell anyone what to believe or how to interpret anything. That's for everyone to discover and work out with our creator. Before I ask the question, please understand that we all need to separate God from man when we evaluate religion. Religion is man-made. God Himself is pure and is light. Man uses religion and the fear of "Hell" to control the masses. Somewhere down the line, selfish man and dark forces got in the way of God reaching out to us and used the church as one of many mechanisms to control us. I am of the opinion (mine alone) that when Rome publically accepted the Christian faith as the "official" religion of Rome, it was to use it and defile it as a means of control of a rapidly growing populace. Thus the eventual Roman Catholic church as we know it today was actually born as a dark means of controlling the people - people who were seeking God. The Apostle Peter may have been regarded later as the first "Pope", but he assuredly would have come completely unglued if he was compared to the popes as we know them today. I do not mean to bash Roman Catholics or, for that matter, the evangelical church - just the dark spirit of control that is at the heart of both, and frankly all man-made churches and religions. Honest people of all faiths seek God and run smack into the facades of the man-made "church" or ancient "-isms".

Personally, I believe that God is three fully divine persons in unity, or the Trinity. Much like the hydrogen atom, the smallest of atoms, is three in one (electron, neutron, proton) is one, but yet composed of three in perfect unity and harmony. God the Father, God the Son can be visualized in this context as the proton and neutron sitting next to each other (the Son at the right hand of the Father, if you will). The Holy Spirit can also be visualized as the electron cloud around the proton and neutron, for no one can know where He is at any given second, but can be felt and experienced as the wind blows - hence "spirit". Just as we cannot not know the exact location of an electron, yet we know it is there. Same with the Holy Spirit.

(2) So, enough babbling. My question is actually about reincarnation. My question is what religions really believe in it? I am of the mindset that God has at least partially revealed Himself to ancient peoples throughout history and there is truth to be found in their ancient tales and myths, although the truthful details may have been lost and some supplanted with faulty man's limited understanding. While I fully believe that Jesus is and always has been eternally God (because He said so, and, again, one member of the Trinity) and not merely a created being who has "mastered" the universe, I am wondering if, when He says "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life…" and "The Truth will set you free…" that MAYBE He is in fact setting us free out of the cycle of reincarnation? Ancient men believed in reincarnation, so it had to have been taught to them? Death and hell in this context is the plunging of a lost soul back into the abyss of starting over again, endlessly lost in this world of death - lost in the sense of forgetting the way. Perhaps Jesus' death and resurrection was the divine gateway to eternal life as we were long ago created to be, and a salvation from unending death and misery. To be free, indeed. Yet, those who have placed their faith in Him, still have to live out our lives here until our last death in the flesh, but once that comes, we are not condemned to eternal death, as it were. Our sins (debts) are paid in full by Him and we are released to live eternally in oneness with God and each other, and in love, forever free of our chains to this current evil bondage.

I am only asking these questions, and not trying to convince anyone, since I don't know myself. I fully understand that this may conflict with certain scriptural translations. I am only offering this possibly lame concept up for honest and open discussion in light of what we know to be true. I have known for several years that the true God in Christ does not want anyone to perish, but to have eternal life. He is not angry with us. He says and demonstrates that He is love, and He overflows with mercy towards us, not wrath to you and me, but definitely wrath to what/who constrains us. Like a good father who only wants the best for His children. Perhaps, He is freeing us, by His Son, to perfect freedom from unending death, and His wrath is being poured out on those who would stand in our way of receiving this.

Search me all you want, Dr. Strange/Ra-Anon/Kek. I am not perfect and have nothing to hide, but I am seeking Truth. I just know it is ultimately fully found in Christ alone, through whom and for whom all was originally created. We just don't understand the whole picture, being 4 dimensional creatures at the moment.

I've rambled on long enough. Thoughts?

Thoughts on merging true Christian faith's belief in salvation through Christ from the evils of reincarnation/bondage/eternal death?

>>3086

Thank you Silver Surfer for your kind and thoughtful response. I sense your gentleness.

What is my/our purpose? That is a really profound question! I would guess it is to know God and make Him known. Second to that is to love and be loved - to serve others, freely. Everything else should flow from that.

I really don't know about reincarnation. It is often considered a "taboo" topic in light of the church's interpretation of Hebrews 9:27 "Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,…" I don't think that is necessarily a denial of reincarnation, since what is judgment? Death? Recycle? Hell? I believe this existence on Earth at this moment is hell on earth. One only needs to look around. the proper translation of hell in teh Greek is "grave", anyway. I am ignorant of the philosophies of the ancient eastern peoples and how they viewed their reincarnations. Is there ever really an end to theirs? Or is the next life always based on this life? My guess is that that at the end of the day, there is no escape for them unless they ascend, or in the Christian worldview, are "saved" or "redeemed". Seems to me that only a handful, if any, ever have ascended in the eastern philosophy and so it continues. To me, reincarnation implies a death, not just a new level of consciousness. Reincarnation implies a "refleshing", as the word "incarnation" implies.

I don't think we are ever "done" as you say. We all created by a creator, and are made in His likeness. So, we are by design creators ourselves. The mysteries of the universe are infinite. We need to be freed to explore our God and ourselves and our universe(s) in joy and amazement. But, here in this world, we are held captive by dark and unseen forces until exposed to the light of Christ. It cannot come from within since, so we need a savior.

Sorry for another rambling post…