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The Polymarket users betting on when Jesus will return

ericneyman.wordpress.com

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Re: The Polymarket users betting on when Jesus will return

#381
post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Keep in mind true believers often learn to live with a massive cognitive dissonance This is quite true. Taking away just the moral teachings is not true belief. Revelations is serious business stuff, the apostles watched Christ ascend from Mount Olive, it’s extremely trippy things. True believers are literally believing in wild shit. In fact, if you are true believer, you almost need to keep it hidden because it’s go…

> In fact, if you are true believer, you almost need to keep it hidden because it’s going to come off as mentally ill. Even agreeing on what a "True Believer" is would be impossible but, from what I have read of the bible and know from 18+ years in the church I agree. As I child I got in trouble a few times for suggesting we take the concepts in the bible to their logical end. Things like: - If we really believe all…

A good faith attempt to provide insight into good faith questions you shouldn't have been punished for asking:

"If we really believe all these people will burn in hell then why aren't we all becoming missionaries?"

Every Christian should seek to "become a missionary" in the sense that they should be a positive example and "practice what they preach" while being ready to share honestly about the Christian faith if appropriate/if asked. This is a standard we should hold ourselves to with the help of God.

Early Christians did employ this level of urgency for evangelization, and (according to tradition) the original 12 themselves went as far as Spain and India (without the aid of modern transportation methods, of course). Christian churches spread as far as China, but later suffered persecution and much of the rest of the known world had to wait until the colonial era before Christian missionaries arrived in significant numbers again. Outside of specific uncontacted tribes (and I think a guy just got killed trying to evangelize one of them), I do not know if there are currently populations to which the gospel has not been preached. Translation of Christian writing and good works are the correct method of evangelization at this point, and this work should be supported materially and with prayer.

As for the question of "the fate of the unlearned", there have been a variety of answers (or, more accurately, methods of approaching this question) which have included "they're screwed", "God judges them according to their heart", "God sends them the gospel via miraculous means", "Those who live according to the Logos are Christians but not aware of it", to the more modern "they may receive salvation through Christ through their faith in God as they know him" (other religions). It is important to note that from the perspective of Christian cosmology, (falling in Eden), God would be wholly justified in smiting us down into hell, and has no obligation to have done any of the things he has for us.

"Then when I learned about "age of accountability" [0] I had 2 questions"

You were right to consider the difficulties with this position as it (as expressed in your footnote) is not a historic Christian belief, but a retroactive justification for groups who deny infant baptism.

If we adjust the question to "why don't we kill all infants after they're baptized if they will just go to heaven", the answer is because it is expressly forbidden by God in his prohibition on murder. On a similar note, suicide is expressly forbidden because it is a rejection of the role on earth you have been called to play, whereas giving up your life for the sake of another, or for the sake of the Gospel, is an ideal because it is in the service of others, which is the fundamental role Christians are ordered to fill.

I hope this helps. May God bless you and reveal his truth in your life.

Re: The Polymarket users betting on when Jesus will return

#382
post #36
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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You just need to employ the right strategy to deal with it. Possible options include: 1. Claim that "camel" or "needle" are a mistranslation or symbolic. 2. Separate financial life from your spiritual beliefs to avoid inner conflict. 3. View wealth as a sign of God’s blessing or something used to do good, making it feel morally acceptable. 4. Emphasize other passages that support generosity or success. In general, it…

5. Interpret that the passage, especially in the context of the subsequent verses, is about the need for God to get into heaven. That is; it's claiming that wealth cannot empower people to find their own route in, absent spirituality.

Re: The Polymarket users betting on when Jesus will return

#383
post #316

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> There's a theory that the eye of the needle was a narrow gate in Jerusalem's city wall This is a very debunked myth, brought to you by people who are desperate to avoid Christianity's clear proscription on hoarding wealth.

Can you imagine how many indulgences a billion dollars could buy? Hey, enough billions and you might even be able to buy your own gospel!

Emperor Constantine has entered the chat.

King James has entered the chat.

Henry VIII has entered the chat.

Re: The Polymarket users betting on when Jesus will return

#384

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There's a theory that the eye of the needle was a narrow gate in Jerusalem's city wall This is a very debunked myth, brought to you by people who are desperate to avoid Christianity's clear proscription on hoarding wealth.

To be clear, it isn’t wealth per se that is taught is evil, but attachment to it and pining for it. The prosperity gospel demonstrates this perverse and unhealthy lust for riches. Many don’t pay attention to the fuller context. And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of…

It's clear that that proper practice for a wealthy person would be to immediately jettison the wealth. Matt 19:21 NIV: "Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

So if you're wealthy and poor people exist, you're in a state of sin. Christianity is an apocalyptic religion, you're to assume the world could end tomorrow so your instructions aren't to simply not want the money, it's to get rid of it and donate it all to charity immediately.

Re: The Polymarket users betting on when Jesus will return

#385

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There's a theory that the eye of the needle was a narrow gate in Jerusalem's city wall This is a very debunked myth, brought to you by people who are desperate to avoid Christianity's clear proscription on hoarding wealth.

To be clear, it isn’t wealth per se that is taught is evil, but attachment to it and pining for it. The prosperity gospel demonstrates this perverse and unhealthy lust for riches. Many don’t pay attention to the fuller context. And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of…

Gambling is pining for wealth.

Re: The Polymarket users betting on when Jesus will return

#386
post #297

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes you, presumably someone who is not a christian and has never read the bible, know better than billions of christians and the millions of people who've actually read the bible. I'm not religious, but this is a bad take.

If you ever do get around to reading the new testament, you'll find that Jesus is obviously more of a collectivist than a capitalist. Jesus "radicalized" me. You can try and delay this realization by arguing over the minutiae of what exactly socialism is and if Jesus would agree with Marx on every little thing, but that, and also failing to practice what he preached doesn't change Jesus' obvious message that hoarding…

Throwing down moneylenders tables in the temple is pretty unambiguous. How many times did Jesus show violence or aggression? That’s the only one I can think of really.

Though he did throw out some wicked burns a time or two.

Re: The Polymarket users betting on when Jesus will return

#387
post #297

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you ever do get around to reading the new testament, you'll find that Jesus is obviously more of a collectivist than a capitalist. Jesus "radicalized" me. You can try and delay this realization by arguing over the minutiae of what exactly socialism is and if Jesus would agree with Marx on every little thing, but that, and also failing to practice what he preached doesn't change Jesus' obvious message that hoarding…

[flagged]

As the devil's advocate, who exactly enacted socialist policies outside of singular goods or for any length of time? And how often was that socialist government actually run by workers or worker collectives, rather than an authoritarian or handful of oligarchs using "socialism" as the excuse for all their arbitrary decisions?

For as much as people talk and argue about socialism both for and against, I haven't seen very much actual implementation of socialist ideas or principles in history outside of meaningless PR statements.

Re: The Polymarket users betting on when Jesus will return

#388

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds similar in theme with what happened to Hertz. I think at some point it was bankrupt but speculation still had the share price way above what it was worth (nothing).

The original shares ended up being worth $8. There might have been a point during the bankruptcy were they were worth nothing (due to changing used car values) but in the end they were worth something. https://nypost.com/2021/05/12/hertz-investors-snag-8-a-share...

Yea but that's the thing, if a company is bankrupt, shouldn't it be 0? Like rationally? In that sense, it feels thematically similar as people were trying to outsmart each other with trickery.

Re: The Polymarket users betting on when Jesus will return

#389

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be clear, it isn’t wealth per se that is taught is evil, but attachment to it and pining for it. The prosperity gospel demonstrates this perverse and unhealthy lust for riches. Many don’t pay attention to the fuller context. And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of…

Gambling is pining for wealth.

Gambling is humanity's way of enacting a tax on hope.

Re: The Polymarket users betting on when Jesus will return

#390
post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Yes you, presumably someone who is not a christian and has never read the bible... > I'm not religious, but this is a bad take. ???

Say neither of us are French, have never been to Paris, and have never studied it. Everyone in France says one thing about the city Paris, but you say the opposite. I don't need to be an expert on France and Paris to say that the millions of people living there probably know better than you. In the same vein, claiming you know more about a religion than the millions/billions of people who follow it is a low-IQ take,…

The person you are responding to is making a point that many Christians have made in the past and present. Hell, the entire story of Jesus in the Bible is one of conflict with existing religious and government institutions and authorities, culminating in his death at the hands of those same characters.
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