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- It's commonly believed that heaven is sort of like the peak of a high mountain. All around the periphery of the mountain are numerous roads all leading to the top. In other words: no matter which road you take; the destination is the same. But according to traditional Christianity; there aren't many roads to the top: there's only one; all the rest are dead ends, loops, and cul-de-sacs. If traditional Christianity is right; then an awful lot of people are facing a very unpleasant future. For example, according to my sources, there are approximately: 50 thousand Scientologists 15 million Mormons 8.2 million Jehovah's Witnesses 7.8 million Baha'i 515.9 million Buddhists 451.3 million Chinese Folk Religionists 8.4 million Confucianists 258.5 million Ethnic Religionists 974.6 million Hindus 5.6 million Jains 1.7 billion Muslims 14.1 million Jews 64.2 million New Religionists 2.8 million Shintoists 24.9 million Sikhs 14.2 million Spiritists 8.7 million Taoists 640 million Non Religious 138.8 million Atheists The grand total of just those categories is 4,852,950,000 If those figures are in the ball park, and if traditional Christianity is the truth; then at the least 66% of the earth's current population of 7.345 billion people are on a road to hell; and no doubt some of those are people we know: our friends, our relatives, and our associates. NOTE: Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons are Christians, yes, but not in the traditional sense. Joseph Smith's movement is a cult; in other words: there's some Christianity in Mormonism, but Christianity comprises only a portion of Mormonism. The rest of it is extreme, to say the least. Neither do Jehovah's Witnesses qualify as Christians in the traditional sense. Charles Taze Russell's movement is a cult. There's some Christianity in the Watchtower Society's doctrines, but Christianity comprises only a portion of the Society's doctrines; and their slant on it is very peculiar. CRUNCH UPDATE: 67 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 3,739,270 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since Aug 4, 2016. /

I was baptized an infant into Catholicism's version of Christianity in 1944. I underwent baptism as an adult into Protestantism's version of Christianity in 1978. My denomination of choice is Conservative Baptist . Re: According to the Christians; it is a "must" to believe the Gospel in order to be spared the wrath of God. How is that fair for peoples of the world who were never afforded an opportunity to hear it? That question is not mine. It is verbatim a question that an atheist posted some time ago on another forum. /

- Q: According to the Christians; it is a "must" to believe the Gospel in order to be spared the wrath of God. How is that fair for peoples of the world who were never afforded an opportunity to hear it? A: There's a universal gospel called the everlasting gospel; which reads like this: ● Rev 14:6-7 . . And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, announcing with a loud voice: Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. The everlasting gospel is very simple. Pretty much all it says is (1) there's a supreme being, 2) give Him glory worship, 3) the cosmos-- all of its forms of life, matter, and energy --is the product of intelligent design, 4) be afraid, and 5) there's a reckoning looming on the horizon. Giving "glory" to God simply indicates giving someone credit where credit is due; and "worship" basically just simply means admiration. It's quite natural to admire celebrities, pro athletes, and super achievers; and to give them credit where credit is due; but not quite so natural to do the same for their creator, Anyway, point being: the world either believes in intelligent design, or it doesn't. If they do believe, then they will admire both the originator's genius and His handiwork. If they don't believe; they won't admire either. Simple as that. The everlasting gospel is interesting in that it isn't preached by humans; rather, it's preached by nature itself whose pulpit is everywhere, and speaks its message in every language known to man. ● Ps 19:1-4 . .The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. God allows no excuse for disbelieving the everlasting gospel. ● Rom 1:18-21 . .The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness; because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. It's humorous that when Europeans began invading the lands of North America's native peoples, they thought it prudent to convert them to Christianity. I really have to laugh at that because many of the peoples whom the Europeans labeled "wild men" were already believing the everlasting gospel centuries before the Europeans even dared to attempt crossing the Atlantic ocean. Can belief in the everlasting gospel save wild men? Of course it can or why would the angel of Rev 14:6-7 bother to fly around the world heralding it? I'll tell you one thing: there is far more hope for a pre-Columbus Iroquois than there is for a space-age atheist familiar with the book of Genesis, and heard the gospel of Christ as per Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and brushed it all off as musty old myths and fantasy underserving of their attention. CRUNCH UPDATE: 65 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 3,627,650 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since Aug 4, 2016. /

- Q: Do you not know it is the kindness of God that leads men to repentance rather than threats of justice? (Rom 2:4) A: If the Bible's God weren't so kind, then He wouldn't bother with giving His creatures advance notice of the horror in store for them in the afterlife. ● Luke 12:4-5 . . And I say unto you my friends; Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear Him, which after He hath killed hath power to cast into Hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear Him. Was Christ wrong to instill a fear of God within people's hearts? No; I think he was 110% justified. For example: when I was working as a professional welder for the US Army Corps of Engineers, we had weekly and monthly safety meetings wherein we were shown some grisly photographs of real life industrial accidents involving burns, chain saws, punctured eyes, explosions, falls, crane collapses, suffocation, crushing, and the like. Let me tell you something: those safety meetings got our attention, and really made a sharp distinction between the fool and the wise. ● Prv 22:3 . . A prudent person foresees the danger ahead and takes precautions; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences. The kindness of God has given the world fair and adequate notice of what to expect in the afterlife. Those who don't care about it one way or the other would be well advised to use what time they have remaining to begin preparing themselves for the worst when they cross over to the other side. CRUNCH UPDATE: 63 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 3,516,030 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since Aug 4, 2016. /

- The feral man of Mark 5:1-13 and Luke 8:26-33 was possessed by a community of evil spirits who labeled themselves Legion. Webster's defines a legion as the principal unit of the Roman army comprising 3,000 to 6,000 foot soldiers with cavalry. The spirits that Christ exorcised from the man went out and possessed a herd of about 2,000 swine, so that's a pretty good example of how spirits take up no room in the physical world; nor do they crowd each other. All 3,000-6,000 of those spirits managed to fit inside the bodily cargo area of just that one man. Just exactly how big demons are can't be known for certain. They could be no bigger than a moth; or even as large as the Jolly Green Giant-- but the point is, spirits take up no room in the physical world. According to 1Pet 3:18-20, people are interred in hades as spirits; which tells me that hades need not be a void. To begin with: hades is a spirit world; and as such people can exist down there in solid rock because spirits don't need space, they just need a place. CRUNCH UPDATE: 61 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 3,404,410 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since Aug 4, 2016. /

- Far from being immortal, the natural-born human soul is quite susceptible to termination. ● Matt 10:28 . . Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. The koiné Greek word for "destroy" in that passage is apollumi (ap-ol'-loo-mee) which is a bit ambiguous. Some construe apollumi to mean cessation of existence. But according to Isa 66:22-24 and Mark 9:47-48, bodies destroyed in hell won't cease to exist, but will be preserved as perpetual nourishment for a curious species of fire-proof worm. Seeing as how destroyed bodies will continue to exist, then there is a very high probability that destroyed souls will also continue to exist. In other words: apollumi not only means to ruin beyond repair, but also to kill; for example: Matt 2:13 Matt 12:14 Matt 26:52 Matt 27:20 Mark 9:22 Lk 6:9 Lk 11:51 Lk 15:17 Lk 17:27 John 10:28 John 18:14 1Cor 10:9-10 2Pet 3:6 Jude 1:5 Q: Are dead human souls sentient? A: Well; I've been with dead human bodies so I know for myself that dead human bodies are not sentient. But I have never been with a dead human soul so I have no personal experience to draw upon in that connection. However, human life consists of more than body and soul. According to Gen 2:7, 1Ths 5:23, Heb 4:12, Heb 12:23, and 1Pet 3:18-20; human life also consists of spirit; which is transferrable. For example, the rich man of Luke 16:19-31 is depicted with a tongue and a memory. Well; his physical tongue and mind were left behind on earth when he died. But there he is with a tongue and a mind in the afterlife; and not only that, but in the afterlife he retained his identity; which says to me that when the rich man's physical body passed away, his spirit was transferred to some sort of afterlife body. The only clue I have as to the nature of the rich man's afterlife body is 1Pet 3:18-20 where deceased antediluvians are described as spirit beings. Apparently spirit beings cannot be destroyed by the fires of hell. I know that's true because the Devil is a spirit being, and according to Rev 20:10; he will be incarcerated in the reservoir of brimstone, not to die, but so suffer-- forever and ever. Quite a number of people are destined for that very same fate. ● Matt 25:41 . . He will also say to those on the left hand: Depart from me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. CRUNCH UPDATE: 59 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 3,292,790 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since Aug 4, 2016. /

Kwik, hello; Thank you for the blessings and love. Re: I'm not sure if you are saying hell is eternal punishment OR that there is a 'release date" I do not believe there is a release date. If absolute justice could be satisfied with torture, then hell's inmates could look forward to a release date. But alas; such isn't to happen. Re: Christ did experience being FORSAKEN, I believe that is the place of eternal torment which is out of the Presence of God Did Christ go out of existence while he was forsaken? No. So then I think we should expect that the lost won't go out of existence either though they be permanently forsaken. They will continue to exist somewhere: call it gehenna, call it hell, call it the lake of fire, call it hades, call it whatever; but for sure those forsaken of God will be quarantined in an honest to gosh penal colony populated with some very unhappy people. Cliff /

- The ordeal that Christ endured on the cross was so brief that it looks like child's play in comparison to the misery of souls in hell. His suffering barely lasted six hours (Mark 15:25, Matt 27:46-50) not even one whole day. People in hell go day, after day, after day, after day, after day, infinitum. Q: But if Christ suffered only six hours, how can he possibly atone for people facing an eternity in hell? A: It wasn't his torture that atoned for humanity's sins; it was the loss of his life that did the trick. Christ didn't have to go to the flames himself in order to rescue people from flames; no, he only had to die in accordance with the law of sin and death. ● Rom 6:23 . .The wages of sin is death Individual human lives are of such low value that the most that anybody could hope to die for is just one sin. In most cases; that leaves a pretty large balance to atone for. In contrast; the value of the life of God's son is such that his death can atone for an infinite number of everybody's sins. ● 1Pet 1:18-20 . . For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. Peter called the blood of Christ two things: a ransom and precious, meaning it's like rare jewels and metals; very pricey. Nobody else's life is nearly as valuable as Christ's life. Peter would never call regular human life rare and pricey. Ordinary human lives are wholesale: they're cheap as the grass (Isa 40:6-7, 1Pet 1:24) just a dime a dozen and quite useless for redemption purposes. Christ's life is the only life God will accept for multiple sins: and the alternative is infinite punishment because no amount of limited punishment can ever equal the value of Christ's blood because not only is a life like Christ's rare, but his is the only one like it in existence. (cf. Rom 3:9-20, Heb 4:15, 1Pet 2:22, 1John 3:9) Serial sinners are up a creek with no paddle because they have but two lives to forfeit for sin-- the life they have now, and the one they'll have later at their resurrection; but unfortunately, the first of those lives is ear-marked for Adam's sin so they can't use it to atone for any of their own sins. So when they're resurrected to stand trial at the Great White Throne event depicted at Rev 20:11-15; that'll be their last life because according to Dan 12:2 and John 5:28-29 there's only one resurrection allotted per person. And since the Bible's ratio is one life per one sin, then serial sinners will come up short and never have sufficient lives to atone for a lifetime's accumulation of sins. The dungeons of hell can be compared to a debtor's prison. ● Matt 5:25-26 . .Come to terms quickly with your adversary before it is too late and you are dragged into court, handed over to an officer, and thrown in jail. I assure you that you won't be free again until you have paid the last penny. The reason that hell is a debtor's prison is because the only payment for one's sins that God will accept is death. Well; it's death for each sin. So if somebody has say, 200 sins to answer for, they'll only be able to pay for one because according to Dan 12:2 & John 5:28-29 there is but one resurrection allotted per person; not 200. If absolute justice could be satisfied with torture, then hell's inmates could look forward to a release date. But alas; such isn't to happen because the only "coinage" the Bible's God is in a position to accept in lieu of their own lives is His son's life. Bottom line: Christ's crucifixion is the final option. Those who refuse to take advantage of it, will cross over to the other side in poverty; with literally no way in hell to pay their debts to the law of God; thus they'll be stuck there. CRUNCH UPDATE: 56 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 3,125,360 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since Aug 4, 2016. /

- ● Jonah 4:9-11 . . God said to Jonah: Do you have a right to be angry about the vine? I do; he said. I am angry enough to die. But the Lord said: You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city? Had not the adults of Nineveh repented at Jonah's preaching, 120,000 small children would have died through no fault of their own. They would have been collateral damage due to their parents' decadence. NOTE: Though the city was spared in Jonah's day, a hundred years later in Nahum's day it was destroyed by means of war and conquest. Just exactly how God is able to engineer such things is a bit of a mystery; but does make one wonder where else this terrifying work of His goes on. Did God somehow have a hand in the American civil war, and the first and second world wars, and the Holocaust, and in Korea and Vietnam, and in the so-called Arab Spring, and in the pandemics, the ethnic cleansings, ISIS, the housing bubble, and the genocides of the last century, and in natural events like mighty earthquakes, tsunamis, and super storms? I really have to wonder sometimes because Jonah's God is still out there somewhere. CRUNCH UPDATE: 54 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 3,013,740 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since Aug 4, 2016. /

- Note the grammatical tense of the "have" verb in the statements below. It's present tense rather than future, indicating that believers have eternal life right now-- no delay and no waiting period. ● John 3:36 . . He who believes in the Son has eternal life ● John 5:24 . . I assure you, those who heed my message and trust in God who sent me, have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life. ● John 6:47 . .Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. ● 1John 5:13 . . I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. Q: If believers really do have eternal life; then why do they die just like everybody else? A: Eternal life is often mistaken for immortality. The two are not the same. Immortality refers to the qualities of a superhuman body as per 1Cor 15:51-54; while eternal life refers to the qualities of divinity as per 2Pet 1:3-4 and 1John 1:1-2. CRUNCH UPDATE: 49 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 2,734,490 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since Aug 4, 2016. /

- Q: Doesn't the Bible say that God's mercy endures forever as per Ps 100:5, Ps 106:1, Ps 107:1, and Ps 118:1, et al? A: God's mercy is always available; but His patience sometimes wears thin. Good examples of that are the people swept away by the hand of God in the Flood, and those burned to death by the hand of God in Sodom and Gomorrah; and the firstborn of man and beast slain by the hand of God on Passover night in Egypt. It's possible to push God too far. For example: ● Hos 4:17 . . Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone. In other words: God instructed the prophet Hosea not to bother preaching in Ephraim. They were too far gone. CRUNCH UPDATE: 47 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 2,623,070 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since Aug 4, 2016. /

- COMMON ATTITUDE: I'm special; God understands me and He knows I'm only human. Although God probably may not let others off; I'm sure He will make an exception for me because I'm not like other people; I'm different. RESPONSE: Unfortunately, the Bible's God can't do that. If He were to make exceptions, God would be neither equitable, nor honest-- and worse, it would go against His grain, compromise His integrity, sin against His conscience; and cause Him to lose the world's respect. No, God doesn't grade on a curve: everyone is treated equally in God's courtroom. In a system of divine absolutes; there is neither a curve nor an exception: nobody gets any favors, and nobody is special. ● Deut 10:17 . . Yhvh shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. ● Acts 10:34 . .Then Peter began to speak: I now realize how true it is that God is impartial. ● Rom 2:5-11 . . For there is coming a day of judgment when God, the just judge of all the world, will judge all people according to what they have done. He will give eternal life to those who persist in doing what is good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers. . . . But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth; and practice evil deeds. There will be anguish and calamity for everyone who practices evil-- for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. But there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all practice good --for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism. CRUNCH UPDATE: 45 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 2,511,450 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since Aug 4, 2016. /

- An "expert witness" can be defined as: A witness, who by virtue of education, training, skill, or experience, is believed to have knowledge in a particular subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others may officially (and legally) rely upon the witness's specialized (scientific, technical or other) opinion about an evidence or fact issue within the scope of their expertise, referred to as the expert opinion, as an assistance to the fact-finder. According to God's testimony-- as an expert witness in all matters pertaining to Christianity --people lacking eternal life are lacking it because they lack God's son; in other words: they are quite christless; and His testimony applies to Christians as well as non Christians. ● 1John 5:11-12 . . This is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in His son. So whoever has God's son has this life; and whosoever does not have this life, does not have His son. How many christless Christians am I talking about? Well, for starters: as of 2014 there were approximately 1.226 billion Roman Catholics worldwide who were taught that nobody, not even the Pope, obtains eternal life until they pass on. Well, if 1John 5:11-12 is true-- viz: if God knows what He's talking about --then all 1.226 billion of those Catholics in 2014 were christless. And that was a very serious situation. ● Rom 8:9 . . Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Christ. This means that every time a Catholic in 2014 said: "the Lord is my shepherd" they were saying something about themselves that wasn't true. /

- An "expert witness" can be defined as: A witness, who by virtue of education, training, skill, or experience, is believed to have knowledge in a particular subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others may officially (and legally) rely upon the witness's specialized (scientific, technical or other) opinion about an evidence or fact issue within the scope of their expertise, referred to as the expert opinion, as an assistance to the fact-finder. According to God's testimony-- as an expert witness in all matters pertaining to Christianity --people lacking eternal life are lacking it because they lack God's son; in other words: they are quite christless; and His testimony applies to Christians as well as non Christians. ● 1John 5:11-12 . . This is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in His son. So whoever has God's son has this life; and whosoever does not have this life, does not have His son. How many christless Christians am I talking about? Well, for starters: as of 2014 there were approximately 1.226 billion Roman Catholics worldwide who were taught that nobody, not even the Pope, obtains eternal life until they pass on. Well, if 1John 5:11-12 is true-- viz: if God knows what He's talking about --then all 1.226 billion of those Catholics in 2014 were christless. And that was a very serious situation. ● Rom 8:9 . . Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Christ. This means that every time a Catholic in 2014 said: "the Lord is my shepherd" they were saying something about themselves that wasn't true. /

- Christianity is a lethal religion. It quite literally, in some supernatural way that I don't quite understand, puts Christ's followers to death. ● Rom 6:3 . . Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? ● Rom 6:6 . . Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him ● Gal 2:20 . . I am crucified with Christ ● Col 3:3 . . For you died when Christ died What's so good about being dead? Well; one of the good parts is: according to Rom 7:1-4 dead people are no longer under the jurisdiction of the Ten Commandments. ● Rom 4:15 . . Law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression. ● Rom 5:13 . . Sin is not imputed when there is no law. The Greek word in that passage for "imputed" is ellogeo (el-log-eh'-o) which means (in the sense of account); to reckon in, i.e. attribute: in other words to count against someone; viz: an indictment with which to slam people at the great white throne event depicted at Rev 20:11-15.. CRUNCH UPDATE: 42 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 2,344,020 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since Aug 4, 2016. /

- Teresa was uncommonly perceptive. She was somehow aware that the place in her soul for God was blank, that there was no God in her; and that He was not there. I dare say most Christians don't know, nor do they care to know: preferring instead to leave it up in the air and wait to find out later on down the road at the great white throne event depicted at Rev 20:11-15. But it is God's wishes that each individual Christian take the initiative to certify the presence of Christ in their souls now instead of waiting till later. ● 2Cor 13:5 . . Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you? --unless, of course, you fail the test. /

- Here's a supernatural aspect of Christianity that isn't talked about much. ● Rom 8:15 . . For you have not received a spirit of slavery again to fear; but you have received a spirit of adoption, whereby we call out: Abba, Father! Abba is an Aramaic word. It refers to one's male parent but not as an ordinary noun. It's a filial vocative. For example: When my son points me out to one of his friends and says "That's my dad over there." he's not using dad as a vocative. But when he shouts "Hey dad, I'm over here!" then he's using dad to get my attention. That's a vocative. Rom 8:15 is saying that the spirit of adoption compels "we" to call out to a father rather than a mother. So then, people who feel compelled to call out to Jesus' mom instead of his Father, are not the Father's children because the spirit of adoption would never compel them to do that. The spirit of adoption, as it turns out, is the spirit of God's son. ● Gal 4:6 . . As proof that you are children, God sent the spirit of His son into our hearts, crying out: Abba, Father! The spirit of His son compels the Father's children to pray to Jesus' Father, never to his mother because Jesus was not in the habit of praying to his mother; rather, he prayed to his Father. So then, people compelled by the spirit of His son will address their prayers to Jesus' Father same as he did, and this is the "proof that you are children". Ergo: people in the habit of praying to Jesus' mom evidence the fact that they are not the Father's children. What does that tell us about Mother Teresa and her devotion to Jesus' mother? Well obviously the reason she was in the habit of addressing prayers to Mary was because she didn't have the spirit of His son in her heart; and Teresa knew it too. "The place of God in my soul is blank-- There is no God in me-- He is not there-- God does not want me" People lacking the spirit of His son are not His son's sheep. ● Rom 8:9 . . If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. /

- A forgiven sinner is still sinful, and they'll go right on sinning same as before they were forgiven unless they undergo a re-design because human nature is intrinsically bad. ● Gen 6:5 . .Yhvh saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. ● Gen 8:21 . . Man's thoughts and actions are bent toward evil from childhood. ● Jer 13:23 . . Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil. ● Eph 2:3 . .We were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. CRUNCH UPDATE: 40 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 2,232,400 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since Aug 4, 2016. /

- Critics like Christopher Hitchens typically focus upon Teresa's missionary practices. Well; in my opinion, a focus in that direction is entertaining but not all that useful in a study of Christianity. I chose to focus upon the supernatural aspects of Teresa's religion instead because it's the supernatural aspects that matter the most; for example: ● John 14:23 . . Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. Did Jesus and his Father make their dwelling with Teresa and express their love for her in ways she could understand and appreciate? No; that poor woman endured virtually five decades yearning for even the slightest glimmer of their presence. And then there's this too: ● 1John 1:3 . .What we have seen and heard we proclaim now to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; for our fellowship is with the Father and with His son, Jesus Christ. Teresa's fellowship with the Father and with His son Jesus Christ wasn't even marginal; it was non-existent. And these: ● John 14:16-18 . . I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for He lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. ● Rom 8:16 . .The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, Teresa longed and longed for a connect with Christ and his Father in the manner described in those two passages but it never happened; which gives me a strong reason to suspect that Teresa didn't make it to safety when she passed on. ● Rom 8:9 . . You are in the Spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. Now, of course an irreligious critic like Hitchens wouldn't be interested in the supernatural aspects of Teresa's religion because it's all just myth and hocus pocus to guys like him. But those of us serious about connecting with Christ and his Father would quite naturally be very interested because in the backs of our minds we all fear the event depicted at Rev 20:11-15 and the possibility of facing death akin to a foundry worker falling into a vat of molten iron. /

- Critics like Christopher Hitchens typically focus upon Teresa's practices. Well; in my opinion, a focus in that direction is entertaining but quite useless for Christ's followers. I chose to focus upon the supernatural aspects of Teresa's religion instead because it's the supernatural aspects that matter the most; for example: †. John 14:23 . . Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. Did Jesus and his Father make their dwelling with Teresa and express their love for her in ways she could understand and appreciate? No; that poor woman endured virtually five decades yearning for even the slightest glimmer of their presence. And then there's this too: †. 1John 1:3 . .What we have seen and heard we proclaim now to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; for our fellowship is with the Father and with His son, Jesus Christ. Teresa's fellowship with the Father and with His son Jesus Christ wasn't even marginal; it was non-existent. And these: †. John 14:16-18 . . I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for He lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. †. Rom 8:16 . .The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, Teresa longed and longed for a connect with Christ and his Father in the manner described in those two passages but it never happened. Now, of course an irreligious critic like Hitchens would not be interested in the supernatural aspects of Teresa's religion because it's all just myth and hocus pocus to guys like him. But those of us serious about connecting with Christ and his Father would quite naturally be very interested because in the backs of our minds we all fear the event depicted at Rev 20:11-15 and the possibility of facing death akin to a foundry worker falling into a vat of molten iron. /

- ● Acts 2:31 . . his soul was not left in hell The Greek word for "hell" in that verse is haides (hah'-dace) which essential means: unseen; ie: the netherworld. Haides (a.k.a. hades) is borrowed from Greek mythology. It refers to the afterlife situation of all the dead, both the good dead and the bad dead. Hades is divided into sections where the souls of the dead are assigned in accordance with the quality of their pre-death existence. The worst section is a deep abys called Tartarus; which is utilized in the New Testament at 2Pet 2:4. According to Luke 23:43, the section of hades in which Christ reposed for three days and nights was Paradise. There's only one Paradise but it consists of three sections. There's a section down in the netherworld (Matt 12:40). There's another located in a celestial region that Paul labeled the third heaven (2Cor 12:2-4). And yet another is located in a place called the paradise of God. (Rev 2:7) CRUNCH UPDATE: 38 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 2,120,780 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since Aug 4, 2016. /

- When Steve Jobs expired in 2011, Apple fans the world over mourned his passing. But the reality is: they didn't mourn Jobs because relatively few people were ever close enough to him to know the kind of man he was. No, the world mourned the loss of an iconic image rather than a man. But even though the truth about Jobs' despicable personality is now widely known, people still admire him regardless because to despise Jobs is to despise innovation, the iPhone, the iPad, and the iPod --who in their right mind could possibly despise any of that? It's the same with Mother Teresa. Relatively few people were ever close enough to know her mind the way it really was. But even though the truth about Teresa's deplorable spiritual condition is now widely available, people still think she's the cat's meow among Christian missionaries due to her power over their minds as an iconic image; much the same way that Che Guevara has become a cultural symbol for every kind of rebellion imaginable in spite of his Marxist politics. /

- Teresa's early confidence was based entirely upon fantasy. Let me explain. September of 1946, Teresa, then 36 years old, was sent to her annual retreat and a needed rest, to the Loreto convent in Darjeeling, a town nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas, some 400 miles north of Calcutta (a.k.a. Kolkata). On the 10th, she's alleged to have experienced a "mystical encounter" with Christ. This encounter would be only the first of several that would occur that year. But lest you make the mistake of assuming that Teresa actually eye-witnessed an apparition, or that she actually heard sounds with her own ears; let me explain something that's crucial to keeping Teresa's experience in the proper perspective. Her so-called encounters are what's known as locutions (supernatural words) viz: manifestations of God's thoughts; which may come through words heard externally (exterior or auricular locutions) or in the imagination (interior imaginative locutions) or immediately without any words (interior intellectual locutions) viz: intuition. Teresa's locutions were of the interior imaginative variety; viz: she didn't actually hear any voices nor did she see anybody; no, it all took place in her imagination. Teresa claims that the Jesus in one of her locutions promised her: "Do not fear-- I shall be with you always." Was "Jesus" with her always? Not even! In no time at all, her Jesus vanished and Teresa went on to endure nearly five decades feeling abandoned by Christ; and yearning for even the slightest glimmer of his presence. "I am told God loves me; and yet the reality of darkness & coldness & emptiness is so great that nothing touches my soul." "When I try to raise my thoughts to Heaven, there is such convicting emptiness that those very thoughts return like sharp knives and hurt my very soul. How painful is this unknown pain-- I have no faith." "Now Father-- since 49 or 50 this terrible sense of loss-- this untold darkness-- this loneliness, this continual longing for God-- which gives me pain deep down in my heart-- Darkness is such that I really do not see neither with my mind nor with my reason-- the place of God in my soul is blank-- There is no God in me-- when the pain of longing is so great-- I just long & long for God-- and then it is that I feel-- He does not want me-- He is not there-- God does not want me-- Sometimes-- I just hear my own heart cry out-- "My God" and nothing else comes-- the torture and pain I can't explain" "The damned of Hell suffer eternal punishment because they experiment with the loss of God. In my own soul, I feel the terrible pain of this loss. I feel that God does not want me, that God is not God; and that He does not really exist." /

It turns out Teresa was a remarkable actor. Her professional image bore no resemblance whatsoever to the secret life of her inner being. Her books, speeches, and lectures are a red herring. It's necessary to delve into Teresa's private letters in order to remove the mask and see who she really was. BTW: Teresa's so-called dark night of the soul lasted very nearly fifty years: virtually the entire five decades she was in India. /

- ● 2Ths 2:11-12 . . God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. In other words: there's coming a time when God's patience will reach its reasonable limits, and He will purposely, willfully, and deliberately make sure that a certain category of people have no chance whatsoever to be spared the wrath of God. Back when Noah was preparing the ark, no doubt his neighbors all mocked and poked fun at him like one of those deranged souls that go around with a sandwich board that reads: Repent; The End Is Near! But when the rain started, I bet those very same neighbors panicked and tried to get Noah to open up and let them in. But even had Noah wanted to; he couldn't. The hatch of the ark was sealed from the outside: and God was the only one on earth who could open it-- He chose not to. ● Rev 1:18 . . I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. ● Rev 3:7 . .These are the words of him who is holy and true: who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. CRUNCH UPDATE: 36 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 2,009,160 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since Aug 4, 2016. /