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To: EaglesNestHome

I believe in God. God created us all, we existed prior to our birth, in heaven with him - as part of the heavenly host. (see Jer. 1:5).

In heaven, we KNEW of God, thus our true nature was influenced. We didn’t truly have the free will to do as we would.

On earth, we have free will. If our souls have tendencies towards evil, we will gravitate to do evil things, we will hurt others, steal, beat and kill. If we are good, we will resist evil and strive to promote evil and will naturally seek the light of Christ (and if not Christ, due to geographic/religious boundaries- we will strive to be righteous).

For our actions on earth, we will be judged. Earth and our time here is a test, our mortal existence is a filter, some will pass - others will fail. But, each will pass or fail based upon the decisions they made and the actions they took of their own free will. Those actions will have eternal consequences - for better or worse.

Personally, I hope God grades on a curve. (that’s humor). All of us will sin, and for those transgressions we depend upon our faith in Christ as well as our actions of goodness to be granted forgiveness for these transgressions - for without them, we are all doomed.


23 posted on 04/12/2013 11:42:57 AM PDT by Hodar (A man can fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else.- Burroughs)
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To: Hodar

That is a very Platonic interpretation of Jer 1:5. The next step is to say we knew the Forms in Heaven, forgot everything because of sin, and throughout life are remembering what we forgot.

I can’t remember if Augustine followed this logic... I have read Confessions and The Trinity, and he does lean more toward Plato and did not like Aristotle at all, but I am not sure if he went as far as a pre-existence of the soul in Heaven. Certainly Roman Catholics have not held that since Aquinas reconciled Augustinian and Aristotelian philosophy.


42 posted on 04/12/2013 12:33:35 PM PDT by Seraphicaviary (St. Michael is gearing up. The angels are on the ready line.)
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