I think people conflate god with a creator. I don’t believe there are any gods, but I don’t discount there being a creator of the big bang. But everything that happened after the big bang is science and has no external influence. I can see your doing some research, but instead of thinking about it you’re trotting it out and bastardizing it to try and make it fit your narrative. For example, Adam and Eve. Science has proven they could never have existed. It’s not a theory it’s a fact. You arrive at fantastical theories about how Cain could have found another city and more people. You’re filling in the gaps with invention. The same goes for the age of the earth and now invention about how the dinosaurs fit in to that. Presumably you have a theory about how the earth is flat and above us is the firmament holding back the waters? You can’t say my mind is closed Fred. I used to be a Christian like you, but I found too many inconsistencies and went out and researched in detail. Your research, I suspect AI assisted, is how to find solutions to these inconsistencies that fits your faith. You’re coming at this with a closed mind. I think JC was a real man who taught mindfulness, there are hints in your bible he did this. E.g. “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). It becomes much clearer in the apocrypha, e.g. the gospel of Thomas, “If your leaders say to you, ‘Look, the kingdom is in the sky,’ then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, ‘It is in the sea,’ then the fish will precede you. Rather, the kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you. When you come to know yourselves, then you will become known, and you will realize that it is you who are the sons of the living Father.” To summarize, Jesus frequently taught about the Kingdom of God as present yet future, spiritual rather than purely earthly (e.g., parables in Matthew 13). Related ideas include the Holy Spirit indwelling believers (post-resurrection) and union with God. Regarding Heaven, belief in god is not important, only keeping the commandments is important. A man asks Jesus: “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” • Jesus replies: “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” (Matthew 19:17) I’m aware there is another verse saying the only way is through belief. However, if we apply the test of goodness, only the one I stated passes the test. It’s clear the other was fabricated to give the church control. My piano teacher is a late convert to Christianity and we discussed people who had never heard of JC or god not going to heaven and she said she wrestled with that. We discussed Matthew 19:17 and that put her mind at rest. Her major takeaway from our discussion was the test of goodness. god can only be all good, any mention of evil needs to be permanently erased. If you truly believe in god and that god is all good, it’s impossible to accept what is clearly not good. The fact these passages exist in the bible makes it clear there cannot have been any divine intervention in their creation. God = good Church = bad
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