Random Thoughts

 I recently had a very interesting discussion with a few friends. One of the great things about college is that you get to see different points of view, while it can pose a challenge to my faith it also forces me to think for myself and look in the Bible for answers, eventually causing me to grow in faith. The topic was on what happens after we die, my friends claimed that all religions are true and that no one goes to hell. They also claimed there is merit to the doctrine of reincarnation citing stories of people who “remember” past lives. I was perplexed, especially by the fact that members of my own faith could say something so radical. But after a night’s sleep and prayer here are my thoughts. There isn’t a basis for what they said in the Bible. I don’t have all the answers, but I stand by what the Bible says and also by God’s judgment. I’ve written before, but will summarize, that in the end we choose hell not God. We are all given a chance to claim the offer God has presented us; to reject that offer is to reject God. If we reject God why would we want to live in eternity in worship of Him? That’s what Heaven is, eternal worship of God, it makes no sense for someone who opposes God to desire to live in worship of Him. Next about all religions being true. C.S. Lewis once wrote that atheists believe all religions are false whereas Christians believe that Christianity gets the whole picture while all other religions get a piece of the whole idea. We are all seeking the same God; in Christianity we get His word but other religions get an imperfect picture of who God is, so there is some truth in every religion. What happens to people of other religions I don’t know; I do know that Jesus said that to get to the father we need to go through Him, but what happens is up to God. God is extremely loving and forgiving but faith in Him is what gets us into Heaven, it doesn’t matter how good a person is. Likewise, no matter what you’ve done, God will forgive you if you ask for it. It’s not about what we’ve done, it’s about what Jesus did. The last topic, reincarnation, was the most interesting one. Simply put I don’t believe it. There is no basis for it in the Bible. As a Christian I think that the people who claim that they have past lives are either lying for publicity or possibly into something dark. Anyway those are some brief thoughts. As I go through life I’ll meet many opposing views that challenge my own so it’s always good to think for myself and write out my thoughts.