OT Orthodoxy and Futurists

ArmyMatt said:

haha, that's my favorite conspiracy...the Reptillians

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Some people are convinced that Mayor Filner of San Diego is a lizard Reptillian with his perpetual huge grin that looks like this smilie .

rusmeister said:

CS Lewis discussed this in an essay - as always, brilliant.

He discussed the possibilities of unFallen races - expressed in his "space trilogy", Fallen races that could have similar or different means of redemption by God, and I think even unredeemable creatures, but I'm fuzzy on that one. It's been more than eight years since I read those essays. Wish I could remember its name and free loclocation on the Net for you.

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I think this matter is discussed in C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy: Out of the Silent Planet.

MariaRegina said:

I wonder what paradise will be like?

Will we have all this post-modern technology?

Or with a glorified body, will all this futuristic technology be unnecessary, and then will we gratefully forget all that earthly vain stuff?

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The second thing.

Technology is the product of our fallen disfigured mind. We've seen more bad than good from It since humanity has started obsessing over it.

I fail to see how we will have It after the coming of Christ.

Boris89 said:

Technology is the product of our fallen disfigured mind. We've seen more bad than good from It since humanity has started obsessing over it.
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I'm reminded of others who ask "Why would poets in a glorified state (fully freed from themselves and truly free to fully be themselves) not write poetry and gadget makers make gadgets--as a form of worship integrated with their personalities?" For exposure to the presence of God (and the perfected images, as well as the rest of creation, reflecting that glory) would certainly generate the need for an outlet of worship and being all the creature one is created to be would be a good way to declare "Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory."

This goes along with the concept of man being a Co-Creator with God - helping to expand the Kingdom of God by creating/inventing as the Lord designed him to do (and many believers have played a role in doing just that - with great minds such as George Washington Carver coming to mind when seeing how he transformed the world via agriculture and his faith in Christ ). God enables men to be intelligent and free causes in order to complete the work of creation, to perfect its harmony for their own good and that of their neighbors.

I really think many would be blessed if they chose to check out N. T. Wright's views on the after-life in Surprised by Hope. The short version is that no one really knows what it will be like for sure, but we'll not be playing harps all day or just floating around - for that's not why man was designed in the Image of God or given the call to take Dominion. For it's a new heavens and a new earth, our glorified bodies will be (at least) physical, and I expect there will be work to do that will be done joyfully!

One might extend this to include differences in roles -- some will farm and make goods or art, while others will rule. And none will despise or envy those over them. If wanting to take things a lot further, one could speculate that the work of the New heavens and New earth could involve colonizing other planets, bringing HIS Image and Dominion to all the created universe - and the work we may do could require us having new senses as well as the need to experience new facets or dimensions of reality (what we currently think of as spiritual since we're not trans-dimensional as the angels are) in a more direct way. The world itself may be drastically changed - as John Polkinghorne suggests there may be new laws of physics, e.g., no second law of thermodynamics which says all tends toward entropy and chaos.

As another noted best:

I fail to see how we will have It after the coming of Christ

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Many have said that technology itself is something that has differing levels - and that even with the spiritual, it's not beyond them to have varying levels of technology just as we have for this plane of existence since the Heavenly realms and places angels live in are another plane of dimensional existence - with rules for where they live and differing forms for existence.

It's already the case that within scripture, there seems to be the supernatural reality of chariots/animals to drive them in the Heavenlies (the concept of wildlife in the age to come not being far off). The book of Kings notes where the armies of Heaven ride upon chariots of fire, with horses of fire as well.
Moreover, in the book of Revelation, there seems to be many pictures/images of animals in the spiritual...such as the horses ridden upon by certain spirits (the white horse/its rider from Revelation 6:1-3 ). And even Christ will return PHYSICALLY and SPIRITUALLY from the heavens...riding on an animal of epic proportions:
Additionally, we already have numerous cases of where the angels themselves had forms of tech used in service of the Lord - swords being one example (Genesis 3:23-24 Numbers 22:22-24, 1 Chronicles 21:15-17 , 1 Chronicles 21:26-28 ), which have led many to ask why an angelic being needs to have a sword like human beings have swords......but the Book of Enoch (which the Ethiopian Church accepted as the only Church to canonize the Book of Enoch as part of its Bible today ) discusses how the angels known as Watchers taught human kind the reality of technology in the first place including how to use weapons of war in Genesis 6 in ways relative to humanity's existence in the physical realm....

Of course, one could argue that what was seen by the Prophets/Writers of scripture were forms of technology relevant to their times - and if they had see things like cars or flying ships, then it may've confused them.

And with that concept comes the dynamic of technology being relative.

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27B6 said:

What is this capital "It" of which you speak?

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Technology. Also, my English skills are far from good as you have already seen.

He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. I'm not concerned that He somehow didn't consider our creative achievement potential in the formation of the Church and the Sacrements. I would think that God is bigger than human potential...or the products thereof.

Nothing new under the sun and all that.

MariaRegina said:

Some people are convinced that Mayor Filner of San Diego is a lizard Reptillian with his perpetual huge grin that looks like this smilie .

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well, I found out a little while ago that they apparently made the moon, and are beaming false stuff to us into our minds from said moon.

This Thread:

Gxg (G²);63980955 said:

A genuine alien life form coming from a culture with their own religious beliefs would at that point be no different than with others on the planet here who come from differing cultures/have differing religions due to their developmental context....and regardless of the differences, the Gospel of Christ as the ONLY way would still be what needs to be preached/proclaimed.

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Here is an Orthodox view about how we are to deal with possible aliens. Written by Fr. John Romanides, its the fifth in a series of articles by theologians from various churches.
See here.

ArmyMatt said:

well, I found out a little while ago that they apparently made the moon, and are beaming false stuff to us into our minds from said moon.

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That's OK. My aluminum-foil hat protects me.

JeremiahsBulldog said:

That's OK. My aluminum-foil hat protects me.

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gotta get me one of them

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27B6 said:

1.99 at Walmart. You can make 'em triple thick for a really effective Faraday cage

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but isn't Walmart one of those big corporations that has a Reptillian at its head?

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27B6 said:

Oh, good point.

What we need is a non-reptilian source of transparent aluminum. Only THEN can we be sure...

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indeed, just looking out for you mate. we should get them at the local mom and pop store. that'll show those aliens

JeremiahsBulldog said:

Here is an Orthodox view about how we are to deal with possible aliens. Written by Fr. John Romanides, its the fifth in a series of articles by theologians from various churches.
See here.

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Good review and thanks for sharing that one