this post was submitted on 16 Mar 2025
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[–] geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml 0 points 3 days ago (4 children)

Any "evil" suffered in current life will be compensated with reward in afterlife.

The concept tends to fall apart with modern Christianity where everyone just goes to heaven and hell is written out.

[–] Maeve@midwest.social 1 points 2 hours ago

If the kingdom of heaven is within us, where is the kingdom of hell? The tree of life, whether yggdrassil, abramic, or hermetic offers great insight, here.

[–] Zagorath@aussie.zone 5 points 2 days ago (2 children)

But why is that all good? Why couldn't he have earth be good?

[–] Maeve@midwest.social 1 points 2 hours ago

It is good. Challenges are meant to evolve us to our best possible selves.

[–] geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml 0 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

If there is no evil how can there be good?

If the purpose of life is to be a test, how can you test without challenges (evil)?

The crux of the problem is once again the modernized version of Christianity. Where hell has been written out and Adolf Hitler goes to heaven because "Jesus died for his sins".

[–] Maeve@midwest.social 1 points 2 hours ago

The hero's journey is exactly the point!

[–] Zagorath@aussie.zone 1 points 1 day ago (2 children)

If there is no evil how can there be good?

Easy. You take the world as it is right now...and then remove the evil things. Evil is a metaphysical concept. We often use analogies of light and dark, but it doesn't literally work that way.

[–] Maeve@midwest.social 1 points 2 hours ago

You want stepford wives. I don't and you don't get to choose that for me.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AK0Q6wRtsyU

[–] geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Then how does the concept of life as a test work when humans can do no evil?

[–] Zagorath@aussie.zone 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

First, you'll note that I started this conversation by conceding free will and concentrating my discussion of evil on evils that are not performed by humans, but by the planet itself, or by fundamental biology.

But as for "the concept of life as a test"...why is something supposedly omniscient performing a test? It should already know the result of said test, thus making the test itself irrelevant. That's what omniscience is.

[–] geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Evil existing is necessary for a test in good and evil. Whether done by humans or natural causes.

Angels were created as perfect servants who obey all commands without free will. Humans were created as the opposite. Those who have free will to perform both good and evil.

It should already know the result of said test, thus making the test itself irrelevant. That’s what omniscience is.

An all-powerful entity is not bound by paradoxes. If that was the case it would end at the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omnipotence_paradox which is even more extreme than the free-will paradox for which some explanations can be thought of.

[–] Maeve@midwest.social 1 points 2 hours ago

Angels were created as perfect servants who obey all commands without free will

Then why did Lucifer fall? You have to have the texts left out.

Angels were created of fire (stars) passion. Man of earth, matter. Yhwh told the angels to bow and worship man, they refused, thinking they were better (double slit experiment). And we're still hung up on this lesson. We haven't figured out how to do breathairisnism yet. And when we do, we will have to figure out how to breathe a substance that doesn't contain microbes. Or you know, return to being stars.

"We are stardust, we are golden, we are billion year old carbon, and we've got to get ourselves back to the garden."

[–] HiddenLayer555@lemmy.ml 7 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

The concept tends to fall apart with modern Christianity where everyone just goes to heaven and hell is written out.

Huh? From what I can tell Christians are more fixated on hell than ever now. Listen to them talk about gay/trans people, Palestinians, women who get abortions, or literally anyone who isn't Christian, and it's clear that they're really excited about the idea that their god will torture those people for all eternity while they get to watch from heaven. You'll even get catholics and protestants both thinking they're the only ones going to heaven and the "wrong" kind of Christian goes to hell because of technicalities like whether you go to confession or not or whether praying to Mary is idolatry. Some outright say that it's okay to kill gay/trans people, Palestinians, etc, because they're damned anyway and god doesn't give a shit about them.

[–] geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml 0 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Most we observe in the media either the kumbaya Christians, where Jesus died for everyones sins and everyone goes to heaven. Or the MAGA Christians who believe treating the poor like dirt is owning the libs.

The question about evil existing is rather easy to answer but all the Christian internal discourse would be more confusing. I don't have much experience with it but

technicalities like whether you go to confession or not or whether praying to Mary is idolatry.

Wouldn't that directly violate the first commandment?

[–] Maeve@midwest.social 0 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Asking someone already in the kingdom is no different than asking someone without the kingdom to intercede on our behalf. Also God has 72 names in our tradition, millions in others.

[–] geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Also God has 72 names in our tradition, millions in others.

Mary is not God or part of the trinity right? Jesus ascending into heaven would not mean Mary is in heaven. Which would mean Mary remains dead until judgement day and is not yet in heaven. Unless I am not familiar with something.

[–] Maeve@midwest.social 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

You're not familiar with a lot because churches and politicians occulted this information. It's in the whole Bible (you can find the Ethiopian Bible in English online but there are mistranslations so you have to go to the Jewish and hermetic kabbalah and other sources to find them. Also I already referred to Psalm 82, wrt God.

[–] geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I did a quick google search and apparently the pope added it in 1950 but it is not canon

[–] Maeve@midwest.social 1 points 2 hours ago

I referred to the council of nicea. The Ethiopian in English is complete but with mistranslations. Tesla meaning rib or side, was translated by Greek and Roman translators as "rib (like a boat hull)" but there is plenty of rabbinical discussion whether atom was androgynous or hermaphrodite. The consensus is androgyne. But as the universe and God holds both yin and yang (masculine/feminine) energies, so do we. Find a positive pole without a negative one. And feminine is more like 0 in binary code. So nonbinary and gender fluid are entirely godly. Just maybe not when you're trying to go from a small tribe to a nation (incomplete perspective). If we're not evolving, we're dead. And evolution means mutation.

I have to get going. Religiophilo is fun. We need more liberal arts studies. Stem is yang, lib art is yin. It takes both to be complete.

[–] Maeve@midwest.social 1 points 2 days ago

Again, we're not meant to take everything literally and that's why Jesus taught in parables. Here's what you can take literally, "the Kingdom of Heaven is ^within^ you."

[–] psud@aussie.zone 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

That doesn't work. People with crap lives often can't meet the standards of goodness that many forms of Christianity need for you to be qualified for heaven

[–] geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Something about camels and needle eyes.

[–] GoodLuckToFriends@lemmy.today 2 points 2 days ago

But definitely don't bring that up with the american 'christian' or you'll have to hear the litany of excuse attempts.