• Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Access to private conversations with other members.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Search results

  1. J

    Do you believe in a global flood?

    I think that the dating of history in the Bible is more or less accurate from the time of Abraham on, but before Abraham the numbers of years and generations listed are likely symbolic. My view is that there was a flood, but not a flood that literally covered everything. I was very much...
  2. J

    The Angels Commanded to bow before Adam?

    IMO God created Adam and Eve in his image, as his children, whereas angels were meant to be in a supporting and servant role. It was the angels responsibility to help Adam and Eve reach their maturity as God's son and daughter. Angels should have bowed down to humans, at least figuratively...
  3. J

    Theists Only: Who was/is Jesus, in your opinion?

    Well, I agree with you, basically. Defining what it means to be an incarnation of God though is a little tricky. But yes, he was the incarnation of God, as all have the potential to be eventually.
  4. J

    Is belief in ghosts compatible with the Christian faith, or other religions?

    Some Christians believe that the spirit claiming to be Samuel, was in fact not him, but rather a demon. I disagree with them though, and as you mentioned before, at the very least it shows that belief in ghosts was common among the Israelites at that time. When Jesus first appeared to his...
  5. J

    Theists Only: Who was/is Jesus, in your opinion?

    I believe Jesus was the first person born without original sin since the time of the first ancestors, Adam and Eve. He was also the promised Messiah. However, I don't think Jesus was God himself. Rather his relationship with God was so full and unbroken that it could be said God lived in him...
  6. J

    A fitting Easter question

    Some of the early church fathers (I believe Papias was one of the main ones) mention that Matthew initially wrote a gospel in Hebrew, which was then used by later gospel writers for their versions. That Hebrew version has not been found, but apparently it did not include a nativity story.
  7. J

    Does the Bible teach that the flood was global or localized?

    I read a very interesting article in the New York Times a couple of years back about the theorized asteroid impact, that someone mentioned, in the Indian Ocean about 5000 years ago. One conclusion was that there would have been worldwide flooding, and with 600 foot waves in the Indian ocean...
  8. J

    A fitting Easter question

    I don't know what happened to his body. But it wasn't his empty tomb that convinced his disciples of his resurrection. Mary Magdalene inquired as to where they had taken the body, so this was the initial reaction. Only meeting Jesus face to face was enough to convince them.
  9. J

    A fitting Easter question

    It depends what part of the biblical account you're looking at. That Jesus could suddenly appear to his disciples within a closed room, and that he was at times unrecognizable by them, is more consistent with a spirit than a physical body. To his disciples he appeared substantial, and he ate...
  10. J

    A fitting Easter question

    The lunar calendar is still widely used and important in Korea, more so than in Japan. As for Jesus' resurrection, I think the disciples were sincere in their belief that Jesus had physically resurrected. But I believe it was Jesus in spirit, not his literal physical body.
  11. J

    The Historical Jesus

    The only suggestion of where Jesus was born is in the Bible and that terms the location to be Bethlehem in Judea. However, is that even logical based on historical events? Why did Mary and Joseph have to go to Bethlehem? Because of a census which actually did not happen until 6 C.E. (Luke...
  12. J

    The Historical Jesus

    I think it is unlikely that any children were killed in the city of Ramah at the time of Jesus. Ramah is in Judea, but apparently to the north of Jerusalem, not to the south, like Bethlehem. However, I don't think Matthew should be interpreted to be saying that children were killed in Ramah...
  13. J

    The Historical Jesus

    S-word, I didn't read through all the posts, but if I understand you correctly you are saying that 1)Jesus was born in Bethlehem, 2)that about 40 days later Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Jerusalem, according to custom, and 3)that on leaving Jerusalem they returned to Nazareth. Are you also...
  14. J

    Origins of Satan/evil

    As a theist, here is my understanding, although certainly not palatable to all... First, I believe that Adam and Eve grew up from infancy, and that their fall away from God took place in their adolescence. That is, they were not created fully grown and perfect. As Adam and Eve grew the...
  15. J

    Original sin and the natural world

    Assuming there is an absolute and good God (which I believe) it would be interesting to speculate on what kind of alternative world God could have created. Could we have a world where because of their beauty (to give some reason) God created all kinds of plants and animals and even microscopic...
  16. J

    If God knew beforehand why did he go through with it?

    Why did God create? Obviously, I wasn't there, but the following is my conception. I agree with the picture that sees God's most essential attribute as being love, or the impulse to love. Stated simply, God was lonely, and created all things as a projection of his own nature, so that by being...
  17. J

    If God knew beforehand why did he go through with it?

    I pretty much agree with Dunemeister. If God's purpose entails the creation of beings who are able to respond to him out of true free will, and out of the motivation of love, then he has the power to set up things in that way, even if that allows the possibility of sin and evil. God is seen as...
  18. J

    What happened the Moonies?

    Hi, I'm an American and a Unification Church member living in Japan with my wife and three children. The Unification Church is still going strong in well over a hundred countries in the world. It is true, as one poster said, that there are a number of members in the United States and South...
  19. J

    Sexuality: Sinful or Sacred?

    To be blunt, I believe that it was through misdirected sexual love that the angel Lucifer tempted the original human ancestors to deviate from God's plan of love. And Satan has retained such a strong control over sexual love that it has become very difficult to manifest it in its original...
  20. J

    resurrection

Top