Disclaimer:
I’m neither a theologian nor a scholar. In this this series I am merely sharing how, I, as a regular person, came to the understanding of what I am about to share. These posts are not exhaustive essays, but nutshells.
It is not written from a haughty and insecure "I'm right - you're wrong" position, something that is so prevalent in the fundamentalist religious circles. My hope is that, this will encourage someone to look beyond the obvious, to dig in, instead of blindly agreeing with the unquestioned answers.
This series is not about me pushing my thoughts down your throat; again, something that fundamentalism is infamous for. Truths are discovered by the seeker; not swallowed.
Based on the scriptures we know, it may be tempting to discard anything that we haven't heard before, while reading this series. I used to be a pro at that. I had all the scriptural points to prove why I was “right” regarding a particular belief. Little did I know then, that I was merely echoing one of the many interpretations out there, and that, the picture is much bigger than what I initially thought it was.
On to Part IV and the last post in this series.
If you have not yet read them yet, read Part I, Part II and Part III of this series.
If you have not yet read them yet, read Part I, Part II and Part III of this series.
::
Picture
a baby who has just begun to crawl across a busy highway. If we are standing
right next to that infant, what would our first reaction be? Our heart would
sink and without thinking, we would immediately jump in to grab the baby to
save her from the oncoming traffic.
Why would we do that? Why would we not look for the parent first? Why would we not call the police? That instinct to save that baby, without her permission, is wired in us, because we are made in the image and likeness of God.
It is this same God that we say, would damn (or "allow") billions of people to a fire chamber, for never-ending billions and trillions of years.
Jesus said, we are to become like a child. Show me one child who can wrap his head around the idea of eternal torment. The only language that is native to a child is love. He resonates with, responds to and becomes alive with love. Fear shrinks him. Fear is not our natural environment. Beneath the polish and the smiles, the religious mindset is built and sustained on fear.
The first verse that tore through my fear-based mindset is the second half of 1 Timothy 4:10 ESV - "For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe."
"living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe."
My traditional mindset, however, looked away, when I first saw this -- for the simple reason that it did not rhyme with what I was led to believe all these years.
But as Oliver Wendell Holmes said, "One's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions."
This verse was the beginning of the end of my fear-based thinking.
Soon, I came across Romans 5:18 - "Therefore as by the offence of one (Adam) judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one (Jesus) the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life."
There was no going back for me now. I jumped in to get to the bottom of this -- only to find the vastness of who we call God, the vastness which could not be contained in an interpretation or two that tickles me at any given point in this journey.
The conclusions I have come to right now, is not necessarily based on the scripture verses or the Greek and Hebrew words that I have shared in these posts. My heart already knew the answer. It is ludicrous to assume that the divine engineer would allow his creation (not a foe of equal strength), the one that he so loved, to be consciously tortured, forever and ever.
I do not know all the answers (and for the first time in my life, I am fine with it); but if that divine engineer is Love, then I know this, that Love Never Fails.
Why would we do that? Why would we not look for the parent first? Why would we not call the police? That instinct to save that baby, without her permission, is wired in us, because we are made in the image and likeness of God.
It is this same God that we say, would damn (or "allow") billions of people to a fire chamber, for never-ending billions and trillions of years.
Jesus said, we are to become like a child. Show me one child who can wrap his head around the idea of eternal torment. The only language that is native to a child is love. He resonates with, responds to and becomes alive with love. Fear shrinks him. Fear is not our natural environment. Beneath the polish and the smiles, the religious mindset is built and sustained on fear.
The first verse that tore through my fear-based mindset is the second half of 1 Timothy 4:10 ESV - "For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe."
"living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe."
My traditional mindset, however, looked away, when I first saw this -- for the simple reason that it did not rhyme with what I was led to believe all these years.
But as Oliver Wendell Holmes said, "One's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions."
This verse was the beginning of the end of my fear-based thinking.
Soon, I came across Romans 5:18 - "Therefore as by the offence of one (Adam) judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one (Jesus) the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life."
There was no going back for me now. I jumped in to get to the bottom of this -- only to find the vastness of who we call God, the vastness which could not be contained in an interpretation or two that tickles me at any given point in this journey.
The conclusions I have come to right now, is not necessarily based on the scripture verses or the Greek and Hebrew words that I have shared in these posts. My heart already knew the answer. It is ludicrous to assume that the divine engineer would allow his creation (not a foe of equal strength), the one that he so loved, to be consciously tortured, forever and ever.
I do not know all the answers (and for the first time in my life, I am fine with it); but if that divine engineer is Love, then I know this, that Love Never Fails.
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