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If it is as simple as "aliens [ETs] are demons" then anyone who believes this will view an ET visitation of earth as hostile and will join those who fight against the ETs. But what if the ETs are Jesus and Co.? Jesus ascended and will be coming back "in the skies". Will those who suppose all ETs are demons oppose him?
This... is absolutely silly.
There are many words not in the Bible which people use to deny a truth in the Bible. The understanding of God being Super-natural is in the Bible.
Hebrew thinking is in some ways greater than Christian thinking, but in other ways, not. They are of various groups of thought even as the Christian has various denominational theologies. So what you may find out is based on who of them that you decide to listen to.
The ghost in a machine is from oriental-Japan anime-cartoons.. I watched it some years ago. It's a process of putting a human spirit into a almost or similar to human body. No need to feed or keep clean or perform other human functions... Using technology that at this point is fantasy or advanced sci-fi.
The word spirit concerning animals means breath. That is what indicates that an animal is alive.
Humans breathe from the day that they exit their mothers womb. However Ruach Ha Qadosh/Kodesh is the Hebrew for the Holy Spirit who's much more than 'breath' or 'air'.
God is Spirit.. not physical. Would you be calling God 'imaginary'? The biblical worldview is rooted in the understanding of the Super-natural God who created this world environment, the solar system, the constellations, and the galaxies beyond that inhabit this universe. .. To understand God's plan for mankind and all that He created.
The Greek Platonists are not mentioned in the Bible, nor that we should make them our teachers of all things concerning God.
My comments are not as speculative as you suppose.
What is that supposed to mean? Of course; so what?
Wrong. Go find out about Platonic dualism; it's a pagan, not a biblical idea. You can start by reading the book by George Eldon Ladd titled I Believe in the resurrection of Jesus.
The idea might be but not the concept. It is never explained in any detail in scripture, though there are hints about a triad of God.
Is that relevant to the discussion? The Greek word translated in English as "rapture" is harpazo, and it has a known meaning in Greek. But that has nothing to do with "supernatural" being a pagan idea, not biblical.
It is English but it comes from Greek philosophy. Have you read any? Do you know who Plato is?
You are devising your own meaning for supernatural. That is not what it means in general. It means whatever the gods do "beyond the natural" that is independent of the Law of God in upholding nature, which is the Creation - the physical world.
Read George Eldon Ladd's book; he'll challenge you on this subject of mind or spirit and body dualism. The crux of the issue is the ontology of human beings. The biblical or Hebrew view of man is in conflict with the Greek pagan view, and it is not uncommon to encounter Christians who have the pagan view and then read it into scripture where it is not - namely, the writings of Paul.
This is your opinion but there is no settled view about the ontology of humans..
What does it mean for God to "perform super-natural things" if he is the one who wills the physical world into existence, moment by moment? Does he have to conflict with himself in how he upholds reality to do something beyond it?
? The whole Bible is based on the biblical worldview which is rooted in Hebraic thought. There is no concept in the New Testament that is not from the Old Testament.
Do some homework. Find out what the medieval philosophers and theologians meant by deus ex machina.
This is based on the Greek, not the Hebrew, view of man.
Right. Spirit is not some component in humans, such as the pineal gland (as Descartes thought) but is an aspect of our living existence. Dualism separates body and soul-spirit into components with independent existences. The Hebrew view sees body and spirit as aspects of the same unified whole. The biblical view of humans is wholistic not dualistic as paganism sees it.
Okay, but the metaphor is that of breath which is a major symptom of being alive.
This is a problematic statement in that while "God is spirit", whatever that might mean, to say he is not physical denies that Jesus incarnate is God. You might want to think about that further. Part of the enigma is in understanding how God is put together. The Israelites wanted to know how Yahweh was constituted, and you know what Yahweh told them - that it's none of their business. Yet since the Middle Ages and earlier, theologians have loved to speculate on that very topic, usually in the form of Trinitarian doctrines.
I don't know what you are referring to by your question. Some of what you then state is unclear as to what you are intending to say.
Of course not, but that is what has happened in the Christian church, and few Christians are even aware of it.
So did the Druids and also the origin of all extant forms of paganism, the Babylonian Mystery religion. The pagan trinity is Horus, Isis, Osirus (Egyptian), or Brahman, Vishnu, Shiva (Hindu), etc. The Greeks and Romans also had the same pantheon of gods. The Devil is not creative; he is imitative.
This is well-stated Greek pagan doctrine on the salvation of man!
That's right, your statement that supernatural is not in the Bible is no reason not to use the word.
I'll stick with Bible 'ideas' and not waste my time looking up P.d.
I myself believe in the resurrection of Jesus so I don't need to read about his.
Since the Bible 'hints' at the triune God.. then it is a concept. The words of Jesus give testimony to it. "Baptizing them in the name of Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." That makes it a true, full on, supernatural reality. And also the many times that the Bible cites each divine entity as distinct and joined Divine Beings in all aspects of Divine will.
Giving two words that are used in theology that are not in the Bible is relevant to you saying that supernatural not is in the Bible, yet Christians and Jews use the word supernatural to discuss miracles of God that are beyond what is considered normal.
Plato is not mentioned in the Bible as a teacher of matters pertaining to God and all supernatural things that have occurred or will occur. The Apostle Paul attempted to use Greek philosophy to preach the gospel but failed so he determined to preach only the gospel. I'll take his experience as a sign not to clutter up my head with G.P.
You could only be referring to your having read Greek Philosophy and that is why you promote at one side of your mouth, then condemn it the other side as permeating Christian theology. Not every Christian denomination does what you do, or what you claim they do.
Yet the Trinity of God is clearly hinted at as you've previously admitted. It's a losing battle of your own to attempt to deny it now.
I have no interest to accept your corrupted idea that God is not a supernatural divine being. The Jews use the word 'Supernal' as a synonym of 'supernatural'. Either you don't know it and therefore I bring it to your attention.. Or you hoped that I didn't know, or think that I would rely on your statements alone.
Not surprising that you'd say the opposite to the truth. But the so-called gods do not uphold nature. It is the word of God -the law of God- that upholds all things.
No thanks. I didn't ask and I'm not interested.
More anti-Biblical statements. The writings of Paul are divinely inspired whereas yours are not.
Ontology that I'm familiar with is to explain the existence of God to the ungodly. The ontolgy of humans is simply the answer to the questions "where did mankind come from and why am I here, where am I going..? Do I need God or not?"
You're making it more complicated than it is. We know from Genesis 1 that God spoke all things into existense. His words carry such power that things continue to function according to His will. Whatever He does is always beyond.. All that He does is always supernatural. God does not change.
The New Testament has in it revelations that were not revealed in the Old Testament because mankind is limited in being able to understand until after God provides a way for salvation and the Holy Spirit to dwell within to lead and guide us into all truth. That is what makes the difference between the old and the new.
In one Biblical example of deus ex machina, there is the Son of God, Jesus Christ whom God sent to solve the spiritual problem of sin and death. In entertainment deus ex machina, the problem is presented and someone comes along to solve it. I like mystery shows of most kinds. In some movies there's a maguffin object that everyone strives to get, but in some movies it's lost and quickly forgotten when the more important thing is to simply stay alive. They do if they have plot armor. If not, they become a Greek drama heroic and/or sad farewell.
Our spirit-being is the very core of ourselves, not some object that our soul has like an ear has a ring hanging from the lobe. Jesus said "..Out of your innerbeing shall flow rivers of living water" Innerbeing is not the soul (mind, will, emotions). The Apostle Paul said "I will pray with my spirit, I will pray with my mind also."
The Bible addresses dual natures or conduct behaviors. One is sin, the other is righteousness.
It's not a metaphor. Don't spiritualize something that isn't.
It's no denial. I also in my post spoke of Jesus being the third person of the Trinity because He still has a body while God and the Holy Spirit are both incorporeal. Jesus being at the right hand of God on His Throne acknowledges Jesus as equal with God. And is God.
God told them exactly as much as they needed to know. Human mental capacity can't fathom the divine God. When a person has the Holy Spirit dwelling within, a person is still seeing through a glass darkly. There's no limit to God. In eternity we'll all constantly or frequently see something new of God that we hadn't before. He simply can't dump everything about Himself on us all at once.
Christians believe in the Triune God because the Bible states it in many ways, but it's difficult for anyone to explain it to satisfaction to anyone who isn't saved.. and even then it's not possible to fully understand it in a four dimensional universe.
I don't recall what I said now, and I'm not gonna take the time to look at what I said, so skip it, or restate it so I can reply.
Gee, another one I don't know what it's responding to.
But I didn't mention them because they are distinctly not connected to God and His ways at all. You are putting all false gods in the same sack with the only true God that there is. Big mistake.
Exactly. They were cooked up by the devil as strawmen to confuse people to accept as equal to the true God, but those false gods draw people away from the true God. And those confused people worship the inventor of those various strawmen.
I used Biblical doctrine. Not Greek pagan doctrine. You are confused on what and who is what and who. You are an excellent reason not to read Greek philosophy.
Now that you have informed me of your accreditation to air out your opinions, do you have anything to back them? If my comments are so foolish, then it should be possible for you, in your superior wisdom, to point out factually where they go wrong. That would be more insightful than mere raving.
What you do not realize is that some - maybe much - of your worldview is pagan and not biblical in origin, but you suppose, given your satisfaction with your present opinions, that the paganism in your worldview is Christian and are so convinced that it is that you need not learn anything more about your own beliefs relative to the topic of discussion. You can lead a horse to water, but ...
What you do not admit is that my answers prove that Christianity is not what you assert. I've proven that I don't know what dualism, or ontology, etc, is, having looked them up out of curiosity after I posted my recent previous reply.
You've already treated the subject as a joke, (in my very honest opinion) and it is no joke. The fallen ones hate your guts, and mine.
It goes back to Gen.6 of the Nephelim. The fallen demons made it with human women that resulted in Giants. The flood of Noah didn't end them. At that time they'd produced abominable Chimera's animal/humans as well as abominable angel/humans. Jesus said that in the last days it would be like the flood of Noah. Not global flooding but the return of Nephelim. The translators of that verse didn't rightly translate that text. In the original language Jesus actually said there'd be "monsters".
I was speaking of actual evidence and in the case of the words of Jesus being badly translated. How you can call that 'extremely bad interpretation' is your opinion distorting what I posted.
I was never, nor am I now excited about UFO's or et's in the way that unbelievers are. The New Agers accept them as the next step in human advancement. In the way that Christians expect the Second Coming of Jesus, then He does away with all et worship, then He sits on the throne in Jerusalem during the Messianic Millennium.
There is no technology available to prove that, so it's speculation or scientific guessing. In any case we know that humans couldn't go at speeds any faster than 3,790mph (6,100km/h) [5x the speed of sound].
There is no evidence to prove that statement either so it's evolutionary speculation in favor of their assertions.
It's makes Biblical based sense that God patterned earth according to 'the planet' Heaven. In some scripture the phrase is "the days of heaven on earth." That can be taken to imply that earth is intended to mirror Heaven.
But what sort of fire.. Is it attempting to describe a glowing substance.. or flames that one sees in a campfire? I'd think it to be more of the former... like glory-fire. Moses wanted to see God's glory... Moses had surely seen flames of a campfire before.. but not glory-fire.
Not just symbolizing.. but ready to eliminate that enemy army who thought that the prophet and his servant were alone, unarmed and helpless.
That wheel in a wheel suggests a continuous self energizing dynamo power, rather than using angelic-glory-power to fly the Merkava-vehicle.
Did the text describe 'intersecting'? Makes me think of an Amish four horse wagon team with leather straps intersecting the two teams.
That sounds more like spiritualizing what the text actually says.. Ez spent time to describe it, but as I recollect the passage, said nothing about why he saw it. He didn't even get to go for a ride in it.
More spiritualizing. It's the creation of earth and all that lives on it, in harmony, that is supposed to show everyone of God's power, and God's word, commandments, and guidance that shows His influence, pervasive and encompassing.
