Several points I want ot leave this thread with because people have the impression I am claiming Christ intentionally deceived people- And that is NOT what I was getting at at all- There have been some very angry people on this thread who insist Jesus wouldn’t do something ‘because He never had before’ Yet He set presidencies ALL the time- And those claiming He wouldn’t use something false in order to bring a spiritual lesson can’t tell you whether He actually infact told His audience that the=at was not how heaven and hell are going to be- These folks would also claim Christ would have told US too- yet the rest of God’s word (which they didn’t have back then) Tells us that Hell is a complete separation from God- that there is no crossable gulf, that it is forbidden to talk to the dead- on and on it goes- and the bible does NOT teach that people can be prayed out of a ‘first death’ as the MYTh taught by the Pharisees suggest.
The paradise Christ spoke of was the presence of God- not a holding ground outside of the kingdom of Heaven like in the myth- The kingdom of God has the tree of life in the garden with a river running through it- The Paradise of Myth does not- it is outside of the kingdom of God- many claiming it’s on earth while sheol is under the earth (That’s how they explain away the distance and the ability of the two sides to speak together)
Christ no more ‘deceived people’ by using the Pharisees own Myth against them, and turning it completely around to give life/spiritual lessons based on the myth, and He did when He said the sun rose in e east set in the west, or when the parable was given of trees electing a king for themselves- Or when He compared himself to things like vine, bread, wine etc- He was no more deceiving people than when God said “The 4 corners of the earth”, no any other ‘scientific error’ He might have said (Using common phrases or EVEN CONCEPTS EVEN IF they mythological in nature, in order to bring life/spiritual lessons to those who believe, is NOT speaking or teaching ‘scientific error’
I was accused of being ‘arrogant’ ‘obtuse’ ‘sick’ twisted’ etc- but the plain fact of the matter is that this issue about the parable of the rich man has been HEAVILY debated all down through the ages by many rock solid preachers, commentators, theologians, scholars- To state that I am sick and twisted simply because I relay what these people have taught, ESPECIALLY after I’ve stated that fact several times, IS the very definition or arrogance and obtuseness- To declare that the opposing view on THIS issue is cultish is completely uncalled for! To claim I am cultish because I subscribe to these views is Uncalled For!
There are many good reasons to think that This parable is NOT using a literal act that happened I nthe past, but rather is a purely fictional scene to teach a life/spiritual lesson JUST LIKE it is purely fictional to teach that trees elect a king’- yet the message is clear- and nooen would take EITHER o the scenarios literally, and there are only really two weak reason why you would think it’s an actual event or based on reality- 1: Christ never did it before, so therefore He’s prevented from ever doing so’ and 2: Christ would not teach ‘scientific error’- but we’ve seen that this is simply not true- My opponent tried to wave it away by claiming it was nothing ore than folk tale, or whatever he called it- but there are the facts folks-
[[2: Christ would not teach ‘scientific error’- but we’ve seen that this is simply not true- My opponent tried to wave it away by claiming it was nothing ore than folk tale, or whatever he called it- but there are the facts folks-]]
Let me clarify that, so that there is no confusion- Teaching, using something that isn’t a literal act, process, or object is NOT “teaching Scientific error”, No more so than Any metaphor that uses myth or fiction is ‘teaching that the fiction is truth’ they are simply life/spiritual lessons and nothing more- most people understand this-
God was NOT teaching the people that trees elect kings, nor Was Christ teaching the people that His body was made of bread and wine- if we are going to assign the term ‘scientific error’ to the parable of rich man, then we must do so for all the parables that used metaphors- metaphors used in parables were based on things that aren’t true- it is NOT true that Christ’s body is made of bread- no more so than the idea that people can be prayed out of purgatory, or cross the divide, or that paradise is a place outside of God’s kingdom-