Religion

Park Bench
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Because there is no Hell, Michele.

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because i do not believe there is a heaven or hell outside the ones we create for ourselves

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What makes you think there isn’t?

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Then you believe in Heaven and Hell?

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So Heaven exists…

But Hell doesn’t? Am I understanding you right?

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Heaven probably doesn’t exist either, Michele.

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Then what does exist?

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This world exists, as we perceive it. Our lives exist. Make what you can of yours, knowing it’s probably finite, and be content.

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That’s depressing but thanks anyway.

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yes, humans create such environments for eachother all the time; in their head and on this planet (and relatively soon on other planets)

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We deserved that. Our presence serves no purpose there.

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It only looks chaotic.

And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
Matthew 14:25 KJV

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Woke people seem to think that if they went back in time to meet Jesus and the apostles and said “Hi, I am Bill. My gender identity is nonbinary and my pronouns are he and them,” that Jesus and the apostles would say, “Welcome, Bill! We are so happy to meet you, and we will be sure to respect your chosen gender identity and will refer to you using your preferred pronouns. Perhaps you could join us as our first openly nonbinary apostle!”

The truth is they would probably burn Bill to death. The best Bill could hope for would be to be labeled as a harmless lunatic and to be outcast from normal society.

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lol@you believing jesus would set bill on fire?!

why would a group of outcasts, led by someone that claims he is the son of god, not embrace bill?

1 Like
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Because the universal consensus in that time was that a man declaring himself to not be a man was not sane.

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sure by everyone else… but again, a group with someone proclaiming to be the son of a god would also be considered that, right?
so why wouldnt this group not welcome bill?

1 Like
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Nico, if you want to pretend Bill would be accepted, find. The truth is both you and Bill would be outcasts, and likely killed in that time. I would probably fit in fine, though.

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lol no need to pretend since i dont believe in time travel, jesus or any god

am just curious why you think your jesus would decide to kill poor bill and me lol and not you?

hmm is your personal jesus more about hate and violence than love?

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perhaps our resident local religion expert @AgeofGrace can share her view on this… would your jesus and his apostles welcome or kill bill?

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I asked ChatGPT. After scolding me for being unnecessarily antagonistic, it said:

  • 1st-century Mediterranean societies (Jewish and Greco-Roman) had rigid, binary sex categories tied to biology, law, family roles, and religious norms.
  • The concepts of “gender identity,” “nonbinary,” and “preferred pronouns” did not exist. They would not have been intelligible as ideas.
  • Nonconformity to gender roles was commonly viewed as:
    • social deviance,
    • moral weakness,
    • or madness.
  • So yes: receptivity would have been extremely unlikely. Confusion, rejection, mockery, or exclusion would be the default reaction.

That intuition is reasonable.

EDIT: A bit more talk with ChatGPT gave me this:

In the 1st century:

  • Sex/gender was understood as binary, fixed, and socially enforced.
  • Deviation wasn’t neutral ambiguity; it was interpreted through existing categories:
    • effeminacy,
    • moral disorder,
    • social inversion,
    • madness,
    • or impurity.
  • Language was descriptive, not identity-affirming. There was no notion that others had a duty to adapt speech to avoid personal offense.