And in thinking this, as it turns out, the Christians are simply picking up on views that had been around among the Greeks since way back in the time of Plato. It is used as fuel for burning;some of it he takes and warms himself,he kindles a fire and bakes bread. May you find some insight from these related scripture quotes! His new memoir is called "War Doctor: Surgery On The Front Line." Your community. He thinks that there's going to be a resurrection of the dead at the end of time. EHRMAN: I think one of the hardest things for people to get their minds around is that ancient Israelites and then Jews and then Jesus himself and his followers have a very different understanding of what the relationship between what we call body and soul. If Baal answered with fire, then the people should worship Baal. Bible Verses About Faith The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. God will destroy the forces of evil. The - there are several beings that go into the lake of fire, but they are not human beings; they are the antichrist, the beast and the devil, and they are supernatural forces that are tormented forever. He was raised Jewish. Bible Verses About Trust God is punishing us. We must serve as He commands. That, fundamentally, is the problem with religion that the Bible describes. There are lots of different religions that people have called gnostic. We can define religious liberty as patience by which we await God's judgment in God's way and on God's timetable. Their religion was futile. The Bible refers to religion in several places. GROSS: Are there specific passages in the Hebrew Bible that support the notion of an afterlife? There started to be a belief that reward and punishment would be right after death, as opposed to after the Messiah comes. Used by permission. And they danced around the altar they had made. There's nothing wrong with that, in and of itself. You know, a lot of people read Revelation as indicating that people who are opposed to God - sinners will be cast into the lake of fire forever, and they will be - yeah, they'll be floating in fire for eternity. And its certainly easy to see why. This is the view of Christianity. 2:5 ), a . In these verses, Paul gives us a glimpse at the foundation of religion. They weren't Jews. What were the explanations in the Hebrew Bible for plagues? He will raise the dead. The answer isnt as cut-and-dried as we might like to think. 1 The Bible is concerned, not with religious systems as such, but with man in his life on earth before God. How Christian Slaveholders Used the Bible to Justify Slavery But there was no response; no one answered. Even if a Christian goes into it with seemingly good intentions, one thing can lead to another, and they can find themselves in a dangerous situation. EHRMAN: That is fair to say (laughter). BART EHRMAN: We're all well. Romans 1:26-27. How? And so they denied the idea of the resurrection of the body. The student of comparative religion who turns to the Bible for guidance meets his first discouragement in the fact that 'religion' is not really a biblical word at all. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. (Read More), Topics and verses are auto-generated from user searches. To better understand this, lets turn to the book of Romans in the Bible. The - after Jesus. Shout louder! he said. I do not try to convert anybody. Religious liberty isn't multiculturalism, but spiritual warfare. How Religion Affects Everyday Life | Pew Research Center GROSS: Thank you. And I think that, you know, psychologically, that was very bad. And what is interesting is Gnostics then claimed that Jesus also denied it. And that was the ancient understanding, the ancient Hebrew understanding of the soul, is that it didn't go anywhere because it was simply the thing that made the body alive. The Bible's teachings about dress cannot be applied directly to today's situation. As believers we know God has ultimate authority, but that doesnt stop Satan from waging war. I'm Terry Gross. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. And of course, belief in heaven and hell has done a lot of good; it's also done a lot of harm. Heather Riggleman Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer Jan 10, 2020 God loves sex. And so Sheol is sometimes portrayed like that. But Jesus isn't talking about heaven because he doesn't believe - he's a Jew - he doesn't believe in the separation of soul and body. Navigating the challenges and joys of ministry life. You mean I've got to live in this thing forever? EHRMAN: I think that - I'll speak from the Christian tradition, which I still cherish even though I am no longer a Christian, there are aspects of Christianity that I resonate with because they're so deeply ingrained in me. GROSS: Are there things in the Hebrew Bible that still support the idea of heaven and hell as people came to understand it, things that you can extract from the Old Testament that might not literally mention heaven and hell but still support the vision that emerged of it? The prophet Jeremiah curses the day he was born and the man who brought the news to his father, "because he did not kill me in the womb . Your forthcoming book that you're working on now is going to be called "Expecting Armageddon." You know, you write in your book that it's hard for you to conceive of God as being a sadist who would torture people for eternity in hell. I don't take that literally anymore because I don't believe there is. Bible verses related to Other Religions from the King James Version (KJV) by Relevance. For more information, see ourPrivacy Policy. I mean, my view is that, you know, people have always been concerned about death, about what happens to them when they die, and so that's why I took on this book in the first place. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. He examines the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, as well as writings from the Greek and Roman era. GROSS: We have to take a short break here. Let the churches stay focused on spiritual warfare and let the state acknowledge freedom of conscience for all people. I have a different set of beliefs. Books How Christian Slaveholders Used the Bible to Justify Slavery A bible Michael Dmmler EyeEm&/Getty Images By Noel Rae February 23, 2018 3:30 PM EST During the period of American slavery,. And they do it not because they feel a need to earn Gods approval or pay him back for what he has done in their lives, but simply because they want to; they feel compelled by their love for the Lord. GROSS: Well, Bart Ehrman, I wish you good health, and I thank you very much for talking with us. Are you seeing your book in a way that you didn't quite when you were actually writing it? But then time dragged on, and a couple of decades passed, and it didn't arrive, and Paul started realizing that, in fact, he might die before it happens. We can define religious liberty as a determination to give people the freedom to be persuaded. These continue to be two of the common explanations today. You can almost hear the anger in Jesus voice at what was being done. Priscilla Shirer shares how one question from her 4-year-old at the breakfast table changed everything and led to the creation of her book series "The Prince Warriors.". For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Bible Verses About Healing We believers cannot shrug off false religions as though they were inconsequential. And she holds a kind of seance. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.10. Then he said to them, Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood. Do it again, he said, and they did it again. Real life is in the soul. That's right, God meant for us to fully enjoy sex, (Check out Proverbs 5:19). And that's how you start getting the development of the idea of hell, that it's a place where souls go to be punished in - as the opposite of the people who go to heaven to be rewarded. It's a word that gets mistranslated into English. And right, it kind of seems like that when you read it - when you just kind of simply read it. Religious liberty is neither passive nor weak; it is disciplined and wise. And he begins with the bad news about humanity: The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. Eventually, Jewish thinkers began to reason that it didn't make much sense because there were times when they would be doing what God told them to do, or at least they'd be doing their level best to do what God told them to do, and they'd still be suffering these plagues. It's not going to be something awful. One is they based their predictions on the Book of Revelation. Bible Verses About Heaven. It is the master strategy by which we will know victory. . He's a distinguished professor of religious studies at The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. While some argue there is little evidence to substantiate the doctrine of original sin in the Bible, others believe that it is taught in many passages of Scripture. And it's really the only way to stop this thing from growing. Theres nothing wrong with that, in and of itself. It's why we experience so much pain and suffering because we live in these material shells. And, you know, this time we may have it right. God's plan of redemption is for human beings: those descended from Adam.". Plato also has ideas about souls living on, either to be rewarded or punished forever. It tells us that Jesus hates false religion. The Ten Commandments begin with a warning from God against idolatry: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. What Jesus Really Said About Heaven and Hell | Time I work for a nonprofit organization that partners with local churches in some of the poorest countries in the world. I mean, I just - no (laughter). Everything they do is done for people to see . When he was on trial, on capital charges - so it was a death sentence awaiting him - he was talking with his companions about what death would be, and his view is that it's one of two things. they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues;they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called Rabbi by others. All rights reserved. I mean, when you die, you stop breathing. And Christians now, who were mainly coming from Greek contexts, latched onto that idea with a Christian way of putting it. What the Bible Says About Religion | Explore God They take it very seriously. Eating meat . They could say that, yes, your soul lives on, and so when you die, your soul will go up to God with heaven. GROSS: So your new book is about the history of heaven and hell. So that should give one pause. And thanks for having me back. In fact, by that definition, every human being on earth is deeply religious. Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Please see below for details. What if religious liberty is warfare a distinctively spiritual military strategy crafted by our King and fitted perfectly for the goals of the Kingdom in this moment? Sep 30, 2021 Scripture describes for us a "great harlot" that will be the religion of the world under the influence of the Anti-Christ ( Revelation 17:1-2 ). GROSS: You've talked about how belief in the end times led in a circuitous way to belief in heaven and hell. The body is a cosmic disaster. So that would be great. We're recording this on Thursday. Who can understand it? the prophet Jeremiah asks.20 Our deceitful and deluded hearts will ultimately lead us astray; we cannot deliver ourselves.21. We aren't using our cars. They'll be in bodies. But then people started thinking, well, wait - is that fair? And so these people who converted to Christianity were principally Greek thinkers, they thought there was a soul that live forever. Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. The things that are happening now are absolutely dreadful as, of course, they were in 1916 to - 1914 to 1918 and as they have been at other times in history. What Is Paradise and Is it Different Than Heaven? - Crosswalk In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.19. This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross, and this is FRESH AIR. Its a heart problem. EHRMAN: Yeah, I've thought a lot about it. of So let's do that, and then we'll talk some more. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other peoples shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. Everybody loves a deep, dreamless sleep. And now we have the pandemic. What Does the Bible Say About Other Religion? - OpenBible.info But in terms of what I believe, I'm an atheist. They will freely sacrifice time, talent, energy, and money to care for those around them who need help, whether spiritually or materially. And so people often point to that as an instance that's - well, so people are alive after they're dead. It looks like what - before he was raised up, it looks like he was simply dead, and he was brought back to life temporarily, and he didn't appreciate that (laughter), and so he was upset. Read through the biblical references of Religion to learn more about its meaning and significance. The Bible itself is neither wholly positive nor entirely negative about religion. And it's probably not a place that people go to, per se. What if religious liberty is warfarea distinctively spiritual military strategy crafted by our King and fitted perfectly for the goals of the Kingdom in this moment? Get Your Bible Minute in Your Inbox Every Morning. It's not that I wish I believed it; I wish that it were true. Order Curriculum, Literature, and Church Supplies, by Phillip Bethancourt & Andrew T. Walker with Russell Moore on Thursday, September 14, 2017 at 9:00 AM. And the most famous of the Gnostic Gospels is Thomas. This is FRESH AIR. Be patient. Heaven And Hell Are 'Not What Jesus Preached,' Religion Scholar Says