Jesus DIDN’T ascend to Heaven?

[Ignitionnet]

Originally Posted by Maggy J

Another religion bashing thread that will devolve into an atheist bashing thread.

This is both a new and exciting routine.

[Gary L]

Originally Posted by TheDaddy

Please, you were being ignorant and rude, you could have given an opinion without bringing Shrek and the hulk into it, you might think you're being clever but all you've done is put people of discussing this

Ok. I'll throw in Batman and Captain America to go with Superman then.

What's wrong with green people?

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by Maggy J

Another religion bashing thread that will devolve into an atheist bashing thread.

True. I find it disheartening that there are those on both sides who are happy to trash other people's beliefs. I'm an atheist and while I feel I should have the right to question other people's beliefs (as they should have the right to question mine), I do feel that other people's beliefs should be respected.

Funnily enough, Chris is often singled out by the atheists on this forum, but having spoken to him in person, I think that while he himself is a fervant Christian, he does actually respect the right of others to believe differently, whether it is in a different religion or that there is no God. As long as those others respect his rights to believe in Christianity.

[papa smurf]

Originally Posted by Maggy J

Another religion bashing thread that will devolve into an atheist bashing thread.

i thought it was a geologist bashing thread

Its not bashing anything thread, unless people want to start collecting infractions.


Getting back to the topic.

Isnt it supposed to be the "spirit" that ascends, so its not really important where the body ends up ?

[richard s]

The Aliens beamed him up.

Originally Posted by Paul M

Its not bashing anything thread, unless people want to start collecting infractions.


Getting back to the topic.

Isnt it supposed to be the "spirit" that ascends, so its not really important where the body ends up ?

Gnostics started saying so some time round the 2nd century AD (I think). That was one of the early contentious issues the church faced. If you ever remember going to church and having to recite the Creed(I believe in one God, etc), well the reason we have the creed is that it addresses and affirms all the key elements of Christian belief in the face of Gnosticism and other challenges that arose in the early church.

Orthodox Christian belief is that Jesus physically died, physically rose from the dead and, after 40 days, physically ascended into heaven, so that there are no earthly remains of him at all.

Further to that, orthodox Christian belief is that Christians, on death, are with God as spirits but awaiting a physical resurrection of the same kind as Jesus. "The new heavens and the new earth" at the very end of the book of Revelation is a place where the spiritual and the physical live together.