Posted on 11/24/2001 4:17:58 AM PST by chemicalman
Edited on 07/14/2004 12:58:33 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
Q. Do Jews believe in an afterlife?
A. "As many Jews as there are, there are that many opinions," said Rabbi David Goldstein of Touro Synagogue.
However monolithic Judaism might look from a distance, it contains a good deal of diversity of thought even on a question one might think as basic as whether anything lies beyond the grave -- which, incidentally, is not a question of great concern in most of Judaism, he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...
Many of the Hebrew scriptures are the same as the Old Testament - are they not? If I recall from my church-going days, the OT has many references to an afterlife.
It seems like the Reform movement in modern Judaism is very liberal and humanistic. A Reform Jew I once knew told me that when he dies, part of him will live on in his descendants, but he has no eternal soul.
What a sad, empty belief system...
Before the atheist and "diveresity is god" freepers arrive here, let me say this: No one alive on this Earth will ever prove or disprove the existence of a God, Heaven, hell, or an eternal soul - But in the END we will find out who is right and who is wrong, won't we?
Are the Hebrew Scriptures identical to the OT?
The act of finding out implies an existence in which right and wrong can be contemplated. I reject that premise.
If we cease to exist after death, you win the debate...
If there is an afterlife where we have the consciousness to comtemplate right or wrong, you lose - terribly.
No need to use geeky logic or become philosophical - it's not that hard to understand.
Where can I find that?
Indeed, nothing is easier to understand than Pascal's Wager. Whichever religion imagines the best heaven and the worst hell is the one that must be true.
http://www.uhcg.org/HoI/Salvation-in-OT.html
The the Holy Scriptures
Okay, what is the reward of the "saved" if one follows only the Holy Scriptures which is actually the Holy Scriptures? Did the ancient patriarchs 4 stumble around in the dark for 4,000 years awaiting a deified man to come and shed his blood for them so that they could obtain salvation? Absolutely not! YHWH (ETERNAL our CREATOR) was and is the Redeemer of Israel as He states in the next two
Scriptures: "But now thus saith YHWH that created thee, O Jacob, and He that formed thee, O Israel, fear not: for I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy name: thou art mine." (Isa. 43:1). "For I am YHWH CRTEATOR, the Holy One of Israel, thy SAVIOR: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee." (Isa. 43:3)
In fact, our Creator plainly states, "I am YHWH and besides Me there is NO SAVIOR!" 5
We could continue in Isaiah 45:15, 45:21, and 49:26, all of which show that the CREATOR of Israel calls Himself the only Savior and Redeemer of Israel. However, the point here is that the titles of Savior and Redeemer tell us something about our future as Israelites. What are we saved from? What are we redeemed for? These are questions that are raised in the titles of the CREATOR of Israel. The answer is clear. We are saved from death; Ezekiel 18:4 says, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." And again in verse 20, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." We are redeemed, meaning YHWH Himself has bought us: "I gave Egypt for thy ransom...." You see, it was our CREATOR that gave us His Commandments in the first place, and, likewise, it is He Who demanded a penalty - the death penalty - if we broke those Commandments. Yet, just as you and I, in any situation in which someone wrongs us, have the right to completely forgive, the Holy One of Israel has the right to forgive sins in any manner He sees fit. He alone can abrogate the penalty, which He freely does upon genuine repentance. 6
This is exactly what our Creator does, as He promises us through His prophets: "Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil. ...Come now, and let us reason together, saith YHWH: THOUGH YOUR SINS BE AS SCARLET, THEY SHALL BE AS WHITE AS SNOW; THOUGH THEY BE RED LIKE CRIMSON, THEY SHALL BE AS WOOL" (Isaiah 1:16, 18.).
Ezekiel also states this clearly: "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols ('Baal' worship! 7 ). I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your Holy One" (Ezek. 36:25-28 8 ).
Of course, 'Christianity' teaches something totally unscriptural. It says that because ETERNAL demanded the death penalty for sins, the only way to pay that penalty was by the physical death of a sinner. After that, the person in question was dead with no hope.
In "Christianity's" formula, the Deity of the the Holy Scriptures was harsh and demanding. Yet, we are told that 'J-sus' died to pay the ultimate penalty, 9 sparing us from death so that we might live. But there simply is no formula for such a teaching unless one goes to the Babylonian Mysteries!
I wonder if there is an afterlife, and if so, will they be able to break a twenty?
How does one "debunk" the notion of an afterlife? Would that require proving that there is no afterlife?
How about here:
Matthew 22: 31-32
But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying,
I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
Before Jesus, was an afterlife clear in the OT?
Please explain this.... it makes no sense to me!
Looks to me like first of all Pascal assumes that religion is mere "imagination". Then he assumes that we are so stupid as to follow the one which offers us the "best"... "best" being a relative term would assume that "truth" would be different to different people. But then you being so scientific and all... surely you know that there can be only ONE truth or set of facts.
Why would you act in such a small way as to attack someone's beliefs by calling them "sad and empty" without provocation? One could reasonably conclude that you have a sad and empty conscious for doing so.
And on Sunday morning,… That's is pitiful. Spend some time with your minister.
It's amazing that all those apostles would allow themselves to be martyred for their imaginations! Yes, Matthew, Mark, Luke, Peter, Paul, all imagined it...Obviously, they were all insane and GREAT liars!!!
HEELLLOO!!!
Got ahead of myself…
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