(November 23, 2014 at 6:41 pm)ChadWooters Wrote:(November 23, 2014 at 12:22 pm)Nope Wrote: I am very new here so I forgive me for asking but what denomination of Christian are you? How does what you just quoted apply to your idea of hell and do you mind using your own words to explain?I am a student of Emanuel Swedenborg, an 18th century scientist and mystic. To answer your question, this life places us in a state of equilibrium in which you can choose to move closer to the Lord's goodness and truth or away from Him. Upon death you continue in the direction of your habits.
In response to another, saying you can be good without God is like saying you can breath without lungs.
I have never heard of Swedenborg. It sounds as if some of your beliefs differ from traditional Christianity.
A lot depends on how someone defines the word, good. To me, good means that in general, I do as little harm to others and myself as I can and try to make life a little better for those around me. I try to help if I see someone in need and I try very hard to be honest. The reason I use the phrase, I try is that like everyone alive, I could probably do better but for the most part, I am a good person.
Because you seem to follow a denomination of Christianity that is new to me, I can't guess how you define good.
I attended an Independent Baptist Church in Iowa whose pastor taught that goodness didn't matter. All that mattered was whether the person was saved. A good person, he said, could go to hell if they weren't a Christian. It was a depressing point of view that seemed to separate humanity into groups of us and them.
