We were at our daughter’s house on Saturday celebrating the 4th birthday of our youngest grandchild(damn that went fast). I was sitting at the table next to one of our son-in-law’s younger brothers, and he struck up a conversation with their dad.
They started talking about listening to a long list of sermons from one of their favorite christian speakers on audio book. IIRC, it was a list of almost 200 sermons on who the hell knows what( how many times can you lie about the same shit?).
Any way, the topic of heaven came up, and what he was saying sounded ridiculous. Our son-in-law’s family are very nice, and have all done very well. His brother is an RN, and their father is a retired EN&T doctor, and their mom was also an RN. He has 2 other brothers, and a sister who is teaching school in Lebanon of all places.
The point is, these are all very smart people, but what they believe makes them sound like idiots in my opinion. He was saying that maybe heaven will be like it is now, everyone will still be there, you’ll be able to interact with each other, maybe even their pets could be there.
I know for a fact that this isn’t what my wife believes, and they all go to the same church together.
It’s no wonder there are so many different versions of christianity, they can’t even get people who “worship” together to have the same beliefs.
Needless to say, I was the only heathen present, and I kept my mouth shut.
Indoctrination from a very early age, along with constant brainwashing, is a very powerful thing and even the smartest fall victim to it.
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Aww, you should have joined in. You could have included the dead cow you were consuming, the flies buzzing about the room, mentioned that you had to take a shit and wondered what the toilets would be like, and just joined in with the fun. Oh… and once they get to heaven, whose sermons are they going to listen to then? I mean, once the journey is over, what do you do next?
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It occurs to me you could have asked hypothetically would all the unnecessary suffering this deity is allowing now, be drafted into paradise? Theists are forever telling me that you couldn’t appreciate the good experiences if you didn’t have the bad, so if the answer is no, then that is something of a contradiction to swathes of apologetics I’ve seen peddled.
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Hmmm… 
That’s a damn good point, Shelly. It does stand to reason there must be some amount of “bad” in heaven for the “chosen ones” to be able to fully appreciate the happy-happy-joy-joy paradise their master made for them. After all, if there is not some amount of misery, how will they ever know they are so incredibly and blissfully happy? Never considered that before. Gonna have to remember it.
(Edit to add, ignorance is bliss.)
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Ah, ye of little faith…don’t you realize that Graud has a plan for that too? Once you have been washed in the blood, there are no questions that have not been answered before they were asked. I think if you would just open your heart, the truth would come gushing out, er, rather, gushing in!. You are trying to understand that which is beyond understanding, perceive that which is beyond perception, and drink from a well which has only sand…
.
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Edit ’tis folly to be wise
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Oh, come on, @Tin-Man ! They just have to stream hell on their devices!
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I started a thread quite a while ago that asked that question, when they get to heaven, then what? What are they going to do for all of eternity?
I’ve been asked(told) to never say anything negative about their beliefs. I’m supposed to ignore it when they’re all talking about “church” stuff. If I need to get up and walk out of the room before I say something, then I need to do that. It’s fucking pathetic.
If we(they) are just talking about family stuff, that’s fine. I’m allowed to participate in the conversation, as long as I don’t talk about the things that keep me sane, or anything in the news. Ignorance is bliss, unless it directly affects them, they won’t talk about anything that’s happening in the world.
If you added up all of the theists in our extended family(parents, brothers and sisters, cousins, and the grandkids) then I’d be outnumbered 30 to one. Holy shit.
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Heaven is defined by what they aren’t going to do. They aren’t going to worry about their friends and relatives being tortured in the pits of hell. They aren’t going to worry about the fact that Satan proved one can transition from heaven to hell but once a person is in hell there is no escape. (Eventually, given an eternal existence in heaven, everyone will at some point end up in hell.) They will certainly not be bothered about the deathbed confessions of their brothers and sisters who happened to be rapists, molesters, murderers, or worse, and yet managed to make it into heaven. They will practice forgiving uncle Bob who had his dick up their butt when they were six and uncle Tom who was fingering their va-jj when they were three. Jesus knows best! Why did Jesus invent uncles? There will be lots to not think about in heaven.
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One of my former neighbors was convinced everyone gets their own mansion in heaven and that if you ever wanted to do something like play golf, all you had to think about it and “pop!” Augusta National or Pebble Beach would materialize in your back yard.
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I am glad to hear that you kept your mouth shut, because if you could not ACCURATELY and TRUTHFULLY correct their faith based beliefs errors, then it is ALWAYS best to keep quiet.
Now, my question to you is this…Why do you care what they believe or don’t believe about their faith, if you are a “Heathen/Atheist” (as you say)? Why, should their faith and beliefs bother you?
Is it because you are seeking the truth about God and want a clear and honest explanation for all of your biblical questions?
God willing (and with the help of His Holy Spirit), I/we would welcome the opportunity to answer ANY biblical questions that you may have.
Matthew 7:7-8 Jesus said…
" Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."
John 8:32 Jesus said…
“And ye (you) shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
Note: All bible verses and references are taken/quoted from the King James (Authorized) Version of the Holy Bible (Word of God; Scriptures).
Sanctimonious panhandling does not equal fact. Learn this lesson quickly.
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Hey, why the unfriendly and aggressive attack and tone. I’m just here discussing or respectfully debating biblical topics. I don’t want to fight or anger you with word and the TRUTH. So, please let’s be mature and respectfully honest with our communications, okay? :).
@HalleluYah, please indicate to whom you are replying. It lessens confusion. You can do so by 1. highlighting text in a post and clicking on the “Quote” box that appears or, 2. Typing the @ symbol and chose from the list of names that appears
If you are referring to my user name…HalleluYah. This means: Praise (God) Yahweh-in Hebrew and Jehovah in English/ It is the same as “Hallelujah”, but I added …“Yah” at the end to refer to “Yahweh” my God the ONLY TRUE LIVING GOD and CREATOR of everything…
I don’t believe you.
The Yahweh of the bible is a liar.
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Why do you say and believe this?
Because it’s a book written by humans. Not the first humans either. Earlier texts from older civilizations record their gods also. Before that, word of mouth (stories).
I believe YOU believe you are worshipping your idea of a true god - but I don’t believe you that the god based on the bible exists, no more than I believe Enlil, Enki, Thoth or Thor exist based on the written stories about them.
As a book written by humans, it has errors.
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Ok. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me.
That’s a damn good point, Shelly. It does stand to reason there must be some amount of “bad” in heaven for the “chosen ones” to be able to fully appreciate the happy-happy-joy-joy paradise their master made for them. After all, if there is not some amount of misery, how will they ever know they are so incredibly and blissfully happy? Never considered that before. Gonna have to remember it.