Why is "belief" important?

[Cow Poke]

Is that all we'll be doing in Heaven for eternity? What's this about a mansion? If we all have mansions, we will at some point hang out in our mansions won't we? I would think so. What would be the point of having a mansion if we never go inside them?

Also, won't Heaven be an organic place? As in, we'll have bodies like we do now?

I avoid overly speculating on what Heaven will be like. I think I'll spend the first million years or so just walking around saying "WOW".

[Dave L]

I just googled it. It's the Angels.

God will reveal Himself to the Angels.

I don't study. Never been a studious type. I just google things and ask questions.

Good for you.

[Cow Poke]

I just googled it. It's the Angels.

God will reveal Himself to the Angels.

I don't study. Never been a studious type. I just google things and ask questions.

Wow, such refreshing honesty is not to be found throughout all the blogosphere!

[Machinist]

You need more study.

I just googled it. It's the Angels.

God will reveal Himself to the Angels.

I don't study. Never been a studious type. I just google things and ask questions.

[Dave L]

Who are the Heavenly host?

You need more study.

[Ronson]

When we talk about belief, do we really mean "belief" in the truest sense of the word? Or do we mean an affirmation and a commitment to that affirmation? Take the Trinity for instance...a child does not understand this enigma, but will eagerly embrace it and confess his "belief" before a congregation because that is what his parents and the community around him has encouraged him to do. But does he believe it? Does he understand and believe that the Father Son and Holy Spirit are Hypostatically One? You could just as easily got him to believe that God is composed of 4 parts. But again, he's not really believing, but rather affirming and reflecting the commitments of those around him. If he affirmed 4, and went with that, would it really matter when he got to Heaven and found out that God was 3? Would God care if he miscounted? Are there theological implications to such details? It would seem so if we're debating theology, but in life, in reality, outside of theological debate, are there implications?

Great point. The Trinity has to be the most difficult component of fundamental Christianity for anyone to grasp (not just children). There aren't any good examples in our physical reality to compare it to, so we have to imagine it. Probably the best example I've heard is that of a hand: A hand has five fingers, all separate and working independently, but are still of the same hand. Of course, a hand is not a being in and of itself, so it falls apart. So, how many people really understand the Trinity without error?

The next question is: Why does it matter? To say "I accept this point on faith. I do not understand it but I affirm it" isn't being fair to our ability to reason. If the point was perfectly clear in scripture then there would never have been a debate in the first place. But there is enough gap for people to deny the Trinity, and is this important? One thing we should always remember is that the early church depended on the pulpit because illiteracy was widespread. Early Christians had to rely on the man giving the sermon, that he was getting it all correct and that he was properly conveying it. If not, "beliefs" were in error due to him.

[Machinist]

To reveal Himself to the heavenly host. He created sin to contrast His attributes. No sin, no mercy. No sin no righteousness, no sin, no sovereignty, etc., etc.

Who are the Heavenly host?

[Machinist]

Seriously? We'll be walking the streets of Gold for the primary reason of being in the very presence of God and worshiping Him -- not being God ourselves.

Is that all we'll be doing in Heaven for eternity? What's this about a mansion? If we all have mansions, we will at some point hang out in our mansions won't we? I would think so. What would be the point of having a mansion if we never go inside them?

Also, won't Heaven be an organic place? As in, we'll have bodies like we do now?

[Dave L]

Why did God create the Universe?

To reveal Himself to the heavenly host. He created sin to contrast His attributes. No sin, no mercy. No sin no righteousness, no sin, no sovereignty, etc., etc.

[Dave L]

But acceptance of Calvinism is predestined, right? So if God predestined me (and a large percentage of humanity) not to accept it, then what's the point arguing about it?

I don't argue. I post on a take it or leave it basis.

[Ronson]

If you do not accept Calvinism, you'll never understand this.

But acceptance of Calvinism is predestined, right? So if God predestined me (and a large percentage of humanity) not to accept it, then what's the point arguing about it?

[Machinist]

You do not understand why God created the universe. He must reveal it to you. It's too much for you to handle.

Why did God create the Universe?

[Machinist]

It's a degree of error. Since mankind isn't capable of conceiving anything as complex as God, we will all be in error.

As I mentioned earlier, when one unpacks the fundamentalist package there are a lot of lingering questions that have no reasonable answers. Like, why are Christians from the west commissioned to proselytize to the rest of the world? Why is the one true religion a regional religion and not a global one in the first place? Why is belief so important to God? I can tell my children about some of the ways the world operates and they have difficulty understanding them, yet I don't condemn them for not understanding - or not correctly believing. Then there are the passages where God presumably tells the Hebrews to battle and destroy their enemies when God could have done this for them - or just never created their enemies in the first place. The answers just don't come easily.

When we talk about belief, do we really mean "belief" in the truest sense of the word? Or do we mean an affirmation and a commitment to that affirmation? Take the Trinity for instance...a child does not understand this enigma, but will eagerly embrace it and confess his "belief" before a congregation because that is what his parents and the community around him has encouraged him to do. But does he believe it? Does he understand and believe that the Father Son and Holy Spirit are Hypostatically One? You could just as easily got him to believe that God is composed of 4 parts. But again, he's not really believing, but rather affirming and reflecting the commitments of those around him. If he affirmed 4, and went with that, would it really matter when he got to Heaven and found out that God was 3? Would God care if he miscounted? Are there theological implications to such details? It would seem so if we're debating theology, but in life, in reality, outside of theological debate, are there implications?

[Dave L]

Can you rephrase that?

If you do not accept Calvinism, you'll never understand this.

[Ronson]

You do not understand why God created the universe. He must reveal it to you. It's too much for you to handle.

Can you rephrase that?