How To Get To Heaven When You Die

[The Noose]

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/...V#en-ESV-30620

Everytime ive ever tried reading the Bible i dont get very far. Its written in such a way i have to read it over and over again to understand it. So is my eternal soul dependent on my schooling or lack thereof? How do the rest of the world stand a chance when only a small percentage are able to read and write??

An example of my problems reading the Bible;

1 John 5
That You May Know
13 I write(V) these things to you who(W) believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. 14And this is(X) the confidence that we have toward him, that(Y) if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

My translation;
John (or whoever wrote this....in fact. Isnt that a biggie? Who the hell wrote all of this??) is writing to people who already believe in Jesus, to confirm to them they are going to heaven.
What does "ask anything according to his will" mean?
"We know that we have the requests that we have asked him" wtf??

16If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and(Z) God[a] will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death.(AA) There is sin that leads to death;(AB) I do not say that one should pray for that. 17(AC) All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.

Literally his brother?
A sin not leading to death? Is that actual physical death or death of 'the spirit' i.e. hell?
Whose death? The sinner or the one subjected to the sin?
"There is sin that leads to death...I do not say that one should pray for that" ???
Dont understand any of that.

18We know that(AD) everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but(AE) he who was born of God(AF) protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.

Born of God?
Protects who??
The evil one?

19We know that we are from God, and(AG) the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

Who knows? What is 'the evil one'? If u mean the Devil, why not just say that.

20And we know that the Son of God has come and(AH) has given us understanding, so that we may know(AI) him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and(AJ) eternal life. 21Little children,(AK) keep yourselves from idols.

But aint Jesus an idol?
True this true that. How do we know whats true?
Jeeeeesus Chrrrrrrist!

[TheAuthority]

Noose ... I know exactly what you mean - I have the same difficulties.

The bible is full of illogical nonsense. I could never believe it has been inspired by an omnipotent, omniscient being.

Imagine what knowledge a book, inspired by the creator of the universe, could contain. However, the creator of the universe has chosen to reveal absolutely fark all of any value. Instead He decided to fill it with a load of historical and scientific innacuraries, contradictions and superstition.

[Nick Name]

Everytime ive ever tried reading the Bible i dont get very far. Its written in such a way i have to read it over and over again to understand it. So is my eternal soul dependent on my schooling or lack thereof? How do the rest of the world stand a chance when only a small percentage are able to read and write??

Well, let's put it this way: being schooled has nothing to do with the salvation of the soul: refined and educated guys sin just as much as poor and ignorant ones.

I'm surely not the best guy to answer to your requests. You'd sure do better by talking directly to a priest or so. Anyway I'll give you my personal interpretation.

1 John 5
That You May Know
13 I write(V) these things to you who(W) believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. 14And this is(X) the confidence that we have toward him, that(Y) if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

John here (if it's the Gospel according to John, then John wrote it), is basically encouraging the listeners to keep their faith in Jesus and do what Jesus asked them to.

16If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and(Z) God[a] will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death.(AA) There is sin that leads to death;(AB) I do not say that one should pray for that. 17(AC) All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.

"his brother" has to be read as "brother in Christ", i.e. his "fellow man" (just as you and me: you are my brother in Christ). Not necessarily his biological brother.
According to Christianity, there are the Venial sins, which are not-so-heavy, and Mortal sins which are considered heavier.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venial_sin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortal_sin
Mortal sins don't lead to physical death but to damnation (hell), of the person who commits that sin (not of the person who's subjected to it).
I frankly don't fully understand the sentence "There is sin that leads to death... I do not say that one should pray for that", but the basic message of the whole passage is that if you see a brother (another man) who's committing a Venial sin (a less-grave sin), you should ask God the strenght to help that brother out and God will help you to help that brother - That is for venial sins.
Instead it's more difficult to help out a brother who's committing a Mortal sin (a more grave sin).
The terms "death" and "life" are often used in the Gospels to mean mortification of the soul, and salvation of the soul: lots of people who are physically alive, are actually lying in "death", i.e. in moral, spiritual and psychological misery. It's all a consequence of how you behave and how much you're aware of who you are and what happens in your lifea.

Born of God?

That probably means "being baptized".

Protects who??

The person who has been baptized.

The evil one?
Who knows? What is 'the evil one'? If u mean the Devil, why not just say that.

The evil one is Satan, and in the Bible he's indeed almost always called by epithets. He's also sometimes called "the Prince of this World", because the laws that rule the Earth (politics, commerce etc.) are vastly influenced by the Devil (greed, egoism, irresponsibility, unfairness etc.). Think about this: if somebody wants to do you wrong (for example, steal money from you), and hires a good lawyer and wins the lawsuit, then human law allows him to do you wrong, and steal your money from you.There's been countless innocent people in the jails throughout the world... How do you explain that? Because Satan has a strong influence on mankind. That's why it's said that "justice is not of this world". God will make absolute justice of everyone's deeds in the afterlife.
Men are free to roam the Planet throughout their lifetime and do whatever they want, but they'll pay the consequences of their actions in the afterlife. It's all a game between God and Satan: God tries to bring souls to his kingdom, and Satan tries to do the same for his side.

But aint Jesus an idol?

According to Christians, he's obviously not. According to others, I don't know. I couldn't care less anyway, I'm happy with Christian religion.
According to Christian, Jesus is the man that accomplished all the ten commandments: je's the man that more than anyone has respected and fulfilled what God wants form a man. That's why he's regarded almost as God himself.

True this true that. How do we know whats true?

You always find out what's true and what's not... Sooner or later.

I did my best to answer, I've sure failed on something since I'm not a biblist nor a priest nor a theologist and even them often make mistakes.

[alza1988]

Everytime ive ever tried reading the Bible i dont get very far. Its written in such a way i have to read it over and over again to understand it. So is my eternal soul dependent on my schooling or lack thereof? How do the rest of the world stand a chance when only a small percentage are able to read and write??

This New Testament was originally prepared by Annie Cressman, who died in 1993. She was a Canadian Bible teacher in Liberia in West Africa. Whilst teaching students in a Bible School where the language used was English, she found that she was spending more time explaining the meaning of the English than she was teaching the Bible itself. So she decided to write this simple version in easy English so that her students could easily understand.

http://www.biblegateway.com/versions...-Testament-WE/

Anyway mate this is alot different I think from the original .Any tips on reading the original mate , easier ?

[Nick Name]

[The Noose]

Noose ... I know exactly what you mean - I have the same difficulties.

The bible is full of illogical nonsense. I could never believe it has been inspired by an omnipotent, omniscient being.

Imagine what knowledge a book, inspired by the creator of the universe, could contain. However, the creator of the universe has chosen to reveal absolutely fark all of any value. Instead He decided to fill it with a load of historical and scientific innacuraries, contradictions and superstition.

Its an interesting read, and poetic i guess in places. Maybe even profound. But much of those parts seem to me to be a collection of revised parables, and philosophies from other cultures.

Only when we are meant to read it as 'THE' word of God for our spiritual salvation does it become a frustrating and bizarre book. Throwing up more questions than answers.

Well, let's put it this way: being schooled has nothing to do with the salvation of the soul: refined and educated guys sin just as much as poor and ignorant ones.

I'm surely not the best guy to answer to your requests. You'd sure do better by talking directly to a priest or so. Anyway I'll give you my personal interpretation.

John here (if it's the Gospel according to John, then John wrote it), is basically encouraging the listeners to keep their faith in Jesus and do what Jesus asked them to.




"his brother" has to be read as "brother in Christ", i.e. his "fellow man" (just as you and me: you are my brother in Christ). Not necessarily his biological brother.
According to Christianity, there are the Venial sins, which are not-so-heavy, and Mortal sins which are considered heavier.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venial_sin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortal_sin
Mortal sins don't lead to physical death but to damnation (hell), of the person who commits that sin (not of the person who's subjected to it).
I frankly don't fully understand the sentence "There is sin that leads to death... I do not say that one should pray for that", but the basic message of the whole passage is that if you see a brother (another man) who's committing a Venial sin (a less-grave sin), you should ask God the strenght to help that brother out and God will help you to help that brother - That is for venial sins.
Instead it's more difficult to help out a brother who's committing a Mortal sin (a more grave sin).
The terms "death" and "life" are often used in the Gospels to mean mortification of the soul, and salvation of the soul: lots of people who are physically alive, are actually lying in "death", i.e. in moral, spiritual and psychological misery. It's all a consequence of how you behave and how much you're aware of who you are and what happens in your lifea.


That probably means "being baptized".

The person who has been baptized.

The evil one is Satan, and in the Bible he's indeed almost always called by epithets. He's also sometimes called "the Prince of this World", because the laws that rule the Earth (politics, commerce etc.) are vastly influenced by the Devil (greed, egoism, irresponsibility, unfairness etc.). Think about this: if somebody wants to do you wrong (for example, steal money from you), and hires a good lawyer and wins the lawsuit, then human law allows him to do you wrong, and steal your money from you.There's been countless innocent people in the jails throughout the world... How do you explain that? Because Satan has a strong influence on mankind. That's why it's said that "justice is not of this world". God will make absolute justice of everyone's deeds in the afterlife.
Men are free to roam the Planet throughout their lifetime and do whatever they want, but they'll pay the consequences of their actions in the afterlife. It's all a game between God and Satan: God tries to bring souls to his kingdom, and Satan tries to do the same for his side.


According to Christians, he's obviously not. According to others, I don't know. I couldn't care less anyway, I'm happy with Christian religion.
According to Christian, Jesus is the man that accomplished all the ten commandments: je's the man that more than anyone has respected and fulfilled what God wants form a man. That's why he's regarded almost as God himself.

You always find out what's true and what's not... Sooner or later.

I did my best to answer, I've sure failed on something since I'm not a biblist nor a priest nor a theologist and even them often make mistakes.

This New Testament was originally prepared by Annie Cressman, who died in 1993. She was a Canadian Bible teacher in Liberia in West Africa. Whilst teaching students in a Bible School where the language used was English, she found that she was spending more time explaining the meaning of the English than she was teaching the Bible itself. So she decided to write this simple version in easy English so that her students could easily understand.

http://www.biblegateway.com/versions...-Testament-WE/

Anyway mate this is alot different I think from the original .Any tips on reading the original mate , easier ?

My point is that if Gods words need translating i find the Bible an odd choice for communication when considering our souls are at stake.

[squealpiggy]

Interestingly enough you'll see that the longer the discussion about the existence of god went on the more nebulous were the qualities of the god that "nick name" was defending - but then, after claiming that god is immutable and unknowable and that faith is "beyond human understanding" the text referred to is the bible.

It's impossible to "disprove" the existence of god but it's easy to cast doubt on the existence of the specific deity referenced in the bible because that deity is relatively well defined. The better defined "god" is the easier it is to point out how silly a concept it is.

[Nick Name]

Its an interesting read, and poetic i guess in places. Maybe even profound. But much of those parts seem to me to be a collection of revised parables, and philosophies from other cultures.

Only when we are meant to read it as 'THE' word of God for our spiritual salvation does it become a frustrating and bizarre book. Throwing up more questions than answers.





My point is that if Gods words need translating i find the Bible an odd choice for communication when considering our souls are at stake.

Reading the Bible alone is like studying without attending the lessons...
How can you make an education for yourself if you never even stepped into the classroom? You need lessons and teachers: lessons are the catechism, teachers are the priests. Talking about the bible with other people who have studied it and believe in God, helps you find out a lot of aspects and ideas about your own life, that you'd never have expected. It often enlightens you, and gives you a brand new look on your existence. But doing it alone by yourself is much more difficult if not impossible. I guess you need years and years of training before approaching the readings by yourself and understand something useful. You always need to trade opinions and impressions with experienced/common sensed people.

I suggest going to a parish near your home/neighborhood and asking if there are some public meetings, cathechism or stuff like that. Also you can go there with your wife/girlfriend. It'll be useful to know more about yourselves and make the relationship easier.

Another enlightening experience are the pilgrimages: the way of St. James is a great experience for anyone: it's basically about walking through magnificent landscapes. My father did it, and besides the rest he met there a 19-year-old girl who had been arrested for drug possession and had drug addiction problems: the judge who trialed her "condemned" her to do the Way of St.James as a recovery path, and she carried with her an official paper to be signed at each stage she reached and demonstrate she had done it.
My dad told me he met wonderful people there. I highly recommend it. I haven't done it yet, but I've done other small pilgrimages. Here's the site of the Way of St.James anyway.
http://www.caminosantiagodecompostela.com/

[The Noose]

Reading the Bible alone is like studying without attending the lessons...
How can you make an education for yourself if you never even stepped into the classroom? You need lessons and teachers: lessons are the catechism, teachers are the priests. Talking about the bible with other people who have studied it and believe in God, helps you find out a lot of aspects and ideas about your own life, that you'd never have expected. It often enlightens you, and gives you a brand new look on your existence. But doing it alone by yourself is much more difficult if not impossible. I guess you need years and years of training before approaching the readings by yourself and understand something useful. You always need to trade opinions and impressions with experienced/common sensed people.

I suggest going to a parish near your home/neighborhood and asking if there are some public meetings, cathechism or stuff like that. Also you can go there with your wife/girlfriend. It'll be useful to know more about yourselves and make the relationship easier.

Another enlightening experience are the pilgrimages: the way of St. James is a great experience for anyone: it's basically about walking through magnificent landscapes. My father did it, and besides the rest he met there a 19-year-old girl who had been arrested for drug possession and had drug addiction problems: the judge who trialed her "condemned" her to do the Way of St.James as a recovery path, and she carried with her an official paper to be signed at each stage she reached and demonstrate she had done it.
My dad told me he met wonderful people there. I highly recommend it. I haven't done it yet, but I've done other small pilgrimages. Here's the site of the Way of St.James anyway.
http://www.caminosantiagodecompostela.com/

I appreciate the suggestions, but i attended church for 16 years, went to 2 Christian schools, have been on 2 pilgrimages to Lourdes and Bosnia, Medjugorje and have discussed religion and faith for years, and my criticisms of religion have only become increasingly galvanised.

Again i think u have missed my point. Im not asking for help understanding the Bible. Im stating that it makes no sense to me that the Bible is Gods attempt to save mankind.

[Spartacus Sully]

Reading the Bible alone is like studying without attending the lessons...

are not the lessons in the bible the lessons of life?

do you not find your self in more trouble when your lie has been found out then when you tell the truth from the start?

do you not find your self in bigger trouble when you fight back instead of walking away?

as long as your alive you are attending the lessons.