Originally posted by Storm
Worship involves total and absolute devotion, and that means we give up whatever of ourselves is required. What sort of god merits such devotion?
One that has made everything you see. One that created the universe. One that let us EXIST...
One that loves us, despite the fact we are his creation, and sinners.
Originally posted by waiting4trotk
No
How would you know? I say you are wrong, you worship a god that does not need your worship. If God has needs, then God is incomplete. That means God is not perfect. So are you saying that God is not perfect? Just because you need to worship god, does not mean that God needs you.
Originally posted by Shakyamunison
How would you know? I say you are wrong, you worship a god that does not need your worship. If God has needs, then God is incomplete. That means God is not perfect. So are you saying that God is not perfect? Just because you need to worship god, does not mean that God needs you.
God does not go off praise and worship we worship as a form of honor and love...and no God does not need us but he loves us(in my opinion so dont kill me)...and God is perfect ...or else he really couldnt be God he would be just like us.
If you commit suicide...you don't neccassarily go to hell. I don't 100% believe in teh Biblical hell of fire and brimstone. I do believe in the fire part, but not like flames and burning...but a inner fire, rage, and torment, self-hatred, whatnot.
My 15 year old cousin committed suicide. He was a very good person all of his life, sweet, selfless, the kind of person people want to be like. He loved to make people laugh and he was very loving and protective of his family. He was awesome. He suffered from depression though and had a moment of weakness that couldn't be turned back from. I do not believe that one mistake, even one so extreme would forever damn him to hell when he was in all fact a very good person.
I believe God judges us on the things we do in life and takes into account who we are as well as why we made certain choices. Jesus died to pay the price of our sins...all of our sins, even suicide and murder. Why should we go straight to hell when Christ paid the price already for our sin? Wouldn't His sacrafice give suicides some kind of redemption as well?
Of course I believe in the Final Judgement. I believe that when we die we go somewhere called Paradise or Spirit Prison to await the final judgement when we will be fairly judged and placed where we will go for all eternity. But don't get me wrong, Spirit Prison isn't like prison here. It's where you go and are taught the truths taht you did not know here and are given the opportunity to accept them or to deny them, just as you are here. And that too is taken into account in the Final Judgement.
So the phrase, "Nothing is permenant until you are dead." isn's a true statement in my eyes.
I'm sorry if anyone disagrees, but it gives me hope, even if you do think it's stupid. It's not stupid to me...and I'm not asking you to believe me. I'm just answering the question with all the details that are available to me...as I see them.
1. Hell
- Misery and suffering. Fear, grief and destructive rages or depression. A feeling of being imprisoned by one's circumstances.
+ Having experienced hell helps us maintain a desire to better our circumstances. Empathy, understanding the sufferings of others.
2. Hunger
- Being dominated by desires or cravings, both physical and mental.
+ The driving force to improve a situation. People can hunger, even yearn to see others happy and fight for peace in the world.
3. Animality
- Instinctive behaviour, lacking in reason. Fear of those who seem stronger and bullying of those who seem weaker. The 'law of the jungle'.
+ Protective instincts, for example, that we need more sleep. Preservation of self or others.
4. Anger
- Feeling superior to others and wanting to show it. Aggressiveness. Feeling in conflict with others. The world of self-centredness and ego.
+ Anger at injustice. The passion to fight authoritarian behaviour.
5. Humanity, or Tranquility
- Constant inactivity, laziness, passivity.
+ Being at peace, calm and reasonable. An opportunity to restore one's energies.
6. Rapture, or Heaven
- Short term gratification when one's desires have been achieved . Can quickly revert to hell, or hunger.
+ Temporary joy when desires are fulfilled. Exhilaration at being alive.
7. Learning
+ Learning about life and oneself from others and from existing knowledge.
- Can lead to self-centredness and separation from others. In the Lotus Sutra people of Learning and Realization were taught they could only enter the realm of Buddhahood through faith.
8. Realisation
+ The wisdom or insight where we gain an understanding of an aspect of life from our own observations and experiences.
- Can lead to self-centredness and a tendency to use one's intellect, rather than one's wisdom, to solve problems.
9. Bodhisattva
The word consists of bodhi (enlightenment) and sattva (beings) and means someone who seeks enlightenment, for themselves and others.
+ Devotion to the happiness of others as shown by eg nurses or a parent's love for a child.
- May turn to arrogance if you feel superior to those you are helping. Pouring life-force out towards the lives of others, without paying attention to one's own needs means that one's life will move towards the lower life states.
10. Buddha
An ordinary person awakened to the true nature of life, and experiencing absolute happiness and freedom within the realities of daily life. Indestructible joy, unlimited wisdom, courage, compassion, creativity and life force.