Bell asks a lot of questions (350 by one count), we should not write off the provocative theology as mere question-raising. Bell did not write an entire book because he was looking for some good resources on heaven and hell.
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shared by José Bortolato on 16 Jul 20
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the middst of a sufferance we can find light hope. How is it? It written in book Job chapter 19 and are here commenting - portuguese but you may translate to language would want have good time this lecture.
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Jó capítulos 18 e 19 Em meio às mais terríveis amarguras, saibam todos que existe uma luz, um abrigo na tempestade, uma paz no meio da tormenta, uma luz que espanca as trevas, a verdade que vence os sofismas, o consolo que apaga as angústias da alma, o alívio para as dores físicas e
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In the middst of a sufferance we can find a light of hope. How is it? It is written in the book of Job, chapter 19, and we are here commenting - in portuguese, but you may translate to the language you would want, and have a good time in this lecture.
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Reflexiones del dia - 0 views
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Martes 13 de Enero de 2009 Los Markovitz era una de las pocas familias judías que vivían en un apacible suburbio de Pensilvania cuyas calles se llenaban de luces navideñas en Diciembre. Ellos en cambio, colocaban una menorá (Candelabro judío de nueve brazos) encendida en una ventana de su casa como recordatorio de que también era el inicio de la Hanuka, una de sus principales fiestas religiosas. Un día, a eso de las 5 de la mañana Judy Markovitz se despertó al oír un fuerte ruido. Habían roto la ventana y arrancado la menorá. Para los Markovitz fue una agresión que removió viejas heridas, ya que los padres de Judy habían estado en el pasado recluidos en un campo de concentración-. Los Markovitz luego de recuperarse emocionalmente repararon la ventana y al terminar la reparación salieron a visitar al hermano de Judy, sin saber que sus vecinos se disponían a reparar algo más. En la noche, cuando la familia Markovitz regresaba a su casa, un extraordinario espectáculo los sorprendió al doblar la calle: Casi todas las casas de la manzana estaban adornadas con una menorá resplandeciente. La hija de la pareja, Vicky, hoy día de 18 años, recuerda aquellas ventanas iluminadas como una señal de compasión y solidaridad. " Fue como si todos los vecinos dijeran: Si vuelven a romper las ventanas de ellos, también tendrán que romper las nuestras". Compasión y solidaridad son dos joyas que necesitas hoy recuperar. Reír con el que rie y llorar con el que llora. Que nunca demos la espalda al que sufre, porque tarde que temprano se nos pagará con la misma moneda. Job 19:21 Oh vosotros mis amigos, tened compasión de mí, tened compasión de mí; Porque la mano de Dios me ha tocado. Mateo 9:36 Y viendo las gentes, tuvo compasión de ellas; porque estaban derramadas y esparcidas como ovejas que no tienen pastor. Marcos 8:2 Tengo compasión de la multitud, porque ya hace tres días que están conmigo, y no tienen qué comer:
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Martes 13 de Enero de 2009 Los Markovitz era una de las pocas familias judías que vivían en un apacible suburbio de Pensilvania cuyas calles se llenaban de luces navideñas en Diciembre. Ellos en cambio, colocaban una menorá (Candelabro judío de nueve brazos) encendida en una ventana de su casa como recordatorio de que también era el inicio de la Hanuka, una de sus principales fiestas religiosas. Un día, a eso de las 5 de la mañana Judy Markovitz se despertó al oír un fuerte ruido. Habían roto la ventana y arrancado la menorá. Para los Markovitz fue una agresión que removió viejas heridas, ya que los padres de Judy habían estado en el pasado recluidos en un campo de concentración-. Los Markovitz luego de recuperarse emocionalmente repararon la ventana y al terminar la reparación salieron a visitar al hermano de Judy, sin saber que sus vecinos se disponían a reparar algo más. En la noche, cuando la familia Markovitz regresaba a su casa, un extraordinario espectáculo los sorprendió al doblar la calle: Casi todas las casas de la manzana estaban adornadas con una menorá resplandeciente. La hija de la pareja, Vicky, hoy día de 18 años, recuerda aquellas ventanas iluminadas como una señal de compasión y solidaridad. " Fue como si todos los vecinos dijeran: Si vuelven a romper las ventanas de ellos, también tendrán que romper las nuestras". Compasión y solidaridad son dos joyas que necesitas hoy recuperar. Reír con el que rie y llorar con el que llora. Que nunca demos la espalda al que sufre, porque tarde que temprano se nos pagará con la misma moneda. Job 19:21 Oh vosotros mis amigos, tened compasión de mí, tened compasión de mí; Porque la mano de Dios me ha tocado. Mateo 9:36 Y viendo las gentes, tuvo compasión de ellas; porque estaban derramadas y esparcidas como ovejas que no tienen pastor. Marcos 8:2 Tengo compasión de la multitud, porque ya hace tres días que están conmigo, y no tienen qué comer:
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NÃO FURTARÁS - 0 views
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Mandamento Lei de Deus Monte Sinai Horebe Moisés essência importante início modalidades disfarçadas roubo
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Texto: Êxodo 20:15; Deuteronômio 5:19 Introdução: Este é o enunciado do Oitavo Mandamento da Lei que Deus deu a Moisés. Sabemos que esses Mandamentos foram dados a Israel no monte Sinai (também chamado de Horebe), estando Moisés em pé, diante do fogo de Deus, tendo o povo à sua
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Texto: Êxodo 20:15; Deuteronômio 5:19 Introdução: Este é o enunciado do Oitavo Mandamento da Lei que Deus deu a Moisés. Sabemos que esses Mandamentos foram dados a Israel no monte Sinai (também chamado de Horebe), estando Moisés em pé, diante do fogo de Deus, tendo o povo à sua
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jihad nigeria muslims storm christian church
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What kind of things make you amazed? Nature? Or a special person? king David was passionate in love with Being. Do want to know who was? Read this article that is written portuguese but may translate the language would want. Have good lecture.
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Salmo 19 Fascinação é o tipo do entusiasmo que nos atrai e enleva as nossas almas, fazendo-nos viver uma apaixonante viagem por um mundo que nem todos conhecem, nem o viram, isso porque ainda não o descobriram. Um coração assim envolto, em um sentimento tão sublime, só deseja que mais e mais
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What kind of things make you amazed? The Nature? Or a special person? The king David was passionate, in love with a special Being. Do you want to know who was? Read this article, that is written in portuguese, but you may translate to the language you would want. Have you a good lecture.
Stand Your Ground, America - Peter Ferrara - Townhall Conservative Columnists - Page 1 - 0 views
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shared by IN Too on 19 Jan 11
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Remember The NAME « Reflections in the WORD - 0 views
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Chariots David Faith Healthcare Horses I-AM Medicine Perspective Politics Psalm Technology The-Name-of-God The-Name-of-the-Lord Trust Bible Bible-Study Bible-Teaching Religion Spirituality Blog Inspiration name remember christianity god
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God Is Still Holy and What You Learned in Sunday School Is Still True: A Review of "Lov... - 0 views
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As Bell himself writes, “But this isn’t a book of questions. It’s a book of responses to these questions” (19).
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Judgmentalism is not the same as making judgments. The same Jesus who said “do not judge” in Matthew 7:1 calls his opponents dogs and pigs in Matthew 7:6. Paul pronounces an anathema on those who preach a false gospel (Gal. 1:8). Disagreement among professing Christians is not a plague on the church. In fact, it is sometimes necessary.
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This is a book for people like Bell, people who grew up in an evangelical environment and don’t want to leave it completely, but want to change it, grow up out of it, and transcend it. The emerging church is not an evangelistic strategy. It is the last rung for evangelicals falling off the ladder into liberalism or unbelief. Over and over, Bell refers to the “staggering number” of people just like him, people who can’t believe the message they used to believe, people who want nothing to do with traditional Christianity, people who don’t want to leave the faith but can’t live in the faith they once embraced.
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Others—and they are in the worse position—will opt for liberalism, which has always seen itself as a halfway house between conservative orthodoxy and secular disbelief.
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This is misguided, toxic, and ultimately subverts
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This bold claim flies in the face of Richard Bauckham’s historical survey: Until the nineteenth century almost all Christian theologians taught the reality of eternal torment in hell. Here and there, outside the theological mainstream, were some who believed that the wicked would be finally annihilated. . . . Even fewer were the advocates of universal salvation, though these few included some major theologians of the early church. Eternal punishment was firmly asserted in official creeds and confessions of the churches. It must have seemed as indispensable a part of the universal Christian belief as the doctrines of the Trinity and the incarnation. (“Universalism: A Historical Survey,” Themelios 4.2 [September 1978]: 47–54)
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Universalism has been around a long time. But so has every other heresy. Arius rejected the full deity of Christ and many people followed him. This hardly makes Arianism part of the wide, diverse stream of Christian orthodoxy. Every point of Christian doctrine has been contested, but some have been deemed heterodox. Universalism, traditionally, was considered one of those points. True, many recent liberal theologians have argued for versions of universalism—and this is where Bell stands, not in the center of the historic Christian tradition.
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Universalism (though in a different form than Bell’s and for different reasons) has been present in the church since Origen, but it was never in the center of the tradition.
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some of these are promises to God’s people, some are general promises about the nations coming to God, and others are about the universal acknowledgement (not to be equated with saving faith) on the last day that Jesus Christ is Lord. Not one of his texts supports his conclusion.
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Even a cursory glance at John 14 shows that the through in verse 16 refers to faith. The chapter begins by saying, “Believe in God; believe also in me.” Verse seven talks about knowing the Father. Verse nine and ten explain that we see and know the Father by believing that Jesus is in the Father and the Father in him. Verses 11 and 12 touch on belief yet again. Coming to the Father through Christ means through faith in Christ. This is in keeping with the overall purpose of John’s gospel (John 20:31).
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Bell cites Jesus’ words in John 3:17 that he “did not come to judge the world but to save it” (160). This Jesus, Bell says, is a “vast, expansive, generous mystery” leading us to conclude hopefully that “Heaven is, after all, full of surprises.” Bell’s lean into universalism here would be significantly muted had he gone on to Jesus’ words in verse 18: “Whoever believes in him [i.e., the Son] is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” Likewise, according to John 3:36, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”
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The Greek word for “unite” is a long one: anakephalaiōsasthai. It means to sum up, to bring together to a main point, to gather together. It is like an author finishing the last chapter of his book or a conductor bringing the symphony from cacophony to harmony. It’s a glorious promise, already begun in some ways by the word of Christ.
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The uniting of all things does not entail the salvation of all people. It means that everything in the universe, heaven and earth, the spiritual world and the physical world, will finally submit to the lordship of Christ, some in joyful worship of their beloved Savior and others in just punishment for their wretched treason. In the end, God wins.
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If you don’t accept God’s story about the world and resist his love, heaven will be hell for you, a hell you create for yourself. We are supposed to see this in Luke 15 where both brothers are invited to the same feast but one can’t enjoy it. Heaven and hell at the same party (176).
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The result is a simplistic formula: “God wants all people to be saved. God gets what he wants. Therefore, all people will eventually be saved.” This is a case of poor theologizing beholden to mistaken logic. If it is “the will of God” that Christians “abstain from sexual immorality” (1 Thess. 4:3), does that mean God’s greatness is diminished by our impurity?
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If he’s right, most of church history has been wrong. If he’s wrong, a staggering number of people are hearing “peace, peace” where there is no peace.
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Bell figures God won’t say “sorry, too late” to those in hell who are humble and broken for their sins. But where does the Bible teach the damned are truly humble or penitent? For that matter, where does the Bible talk about growing and maturing in the afterlife or getting a second chance after death? Why does the Bible make such a big deal about repenting “today” (Heb. 3:13), about being found blameless on the day of Christ (2 Pet. 3:14), about not neglecting such a great salvation (Heb. 2:3) if we have all sorts of time to figure things out in the next life? Why warn about not inheriting the kingdom (1 Cor. 6:9–10), about what a fearful thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God (Heb. 10:31), or about the vengeance of our coming King (2 Thess. 1:5–12) if hell is just what we make of heaven? Bell does nothing to answer these questions, or even ask them in the first place.
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Some Jesuses should be rejected, Bell says, like the ones that are “anti-science” and “anti-gay” and use bullhorns on the street (8). But wherever we find “grace, peace, love, acceptance, healing, forgiveness” we’ve found the creative life source that we call Jesus (156, 159).
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At the very heart of this controversy, and one of the reasons the blogosphere exploded over this book, is that we really do have two different Gods. The stakes are that high. If Bell is right, then historic orthodoxy is toxic and terrible. But if the traditional view of heaven and hell are right, Bell is blaspheming. I do not use the word lightly, just like Bell probably chose “toxic” quite deliberately. Both sides cannot be right. As much as some voices in evangelicalism will suggest that we should all get along and learn from each other and listen for the Spirit speaking in our midst, the fact is we have two irreconcilable views of God.
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Bell’s god may be all love, but it is a love rooted in our modern Western sensibilities more than careful biblical reflection. It is a love that threatens to swallow up God’s glory and holiness. But, you may reply, the Bible says God is love (1 John 4:16). True, but if you want to weigh divine attributes by sentence construction, you have to mention God is spirit (John 4:24), God is light (1 John 1:5), and God is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29). The verb “is” does not establish a priority of attributes. If anything, one might mention that the only thrice-repeated attribute is “holy, holy, holy.” And yet this is the one thing Bell’s god is not.
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What’s missing is not only a full-orbed view of sins, but a deeper understanding of sin itself. In Bell’s telling of the story, there is no sense of the vertical dimension of our evil. Yes, Bell admits several times that we can resist or reject God’s love. But there’s never any discussion of the way we’ve offended God, no suggestion that ultimately all our failings are a failure to worship God as we should. God is not simply disappointed with our choices or angry for the way we judge others. He is angry at the way we judge him. He cannot stand to look upon our uncleanness. His nostrils flare at iniquity. He hates our ingratitude, our impurity, our God-complexes, our self-centeredness, our disobedience, our despising of his holy law. Only when we see God’s eye-covering holiness will we grasp the magnitude of our traitorous rebellion, and only then will we marvel at the incomprehensible love that purchased our deliverance on the cross.
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The pain of hell is our fault. But it’s also God’s doing. Hell is not what we make for ourselves or gladly choose. It’s what a holy God justly gives to those who exchange the truth of God for a lie. The bowls of wrath in Revelation are poured out by God; they are not swum in by sinners. The ten plagues were sent by God, they were not the product of some Egyptian spell gone wrong. God’s wrath burns against the impenitent and unbelieving; they do not walk into the fire by themselves. Bell’s god is wholly passive toward sin. He hates some of it and says no to it in the next life, but he does not actively judge it. There’s no way to make sense of Nadab and Abihu or Perrez-Uzzah or Gehazi or Achan’s or Korah’s rebellion or the flood or the exodus or the Babylonian captivity or the preaching of John the Baptist or the visions of Revelation or the admonitions of Paul or the warnings of Hebrews or Calvary’s cross apart from a God who hates sin, judges sin, and pour out his wrath—sometimes now, always later—on the accursed things and peoples of this world.
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Love Wins assures people that everyone’s eternity ends up as heaven eventually. The second chances are good not just for this life, but for the next. And what if they aren’t? What if Jesus says on the day of judgment, “Depart from me, I never knew you” (Matt. 7:23)? What if at the end of the age the wicked and unbelieving cry out, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb” (Rev. 6:16)? What if outside the walls of the New Jerusalem “are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood” (Rev. 22:15)? What if there really is only one name “under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12)? And what if the wrath of God really remains on those who do not believe in the Son (John 3:18, 36)?
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shared by IN Too on 19 Jun 11
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The Father's Good Gift « Reflections in the WORD - 0 views
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Christianity Father Father's-Day Fathers Gifts Holy-Spirit Mindset Perspective Success The-Comforter Triumph Value-System Values Worldview Viewpoint Religion Inspiration Bible-Study Bible-Teaching Blog gift Grace Love
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