Next time God and I are just hanging out kicking the jams I'll be sure to ask him what the hell more does Jim James have to do to be considered massively famous? :idunno:

Who is Jim James other than someone who had a parent that had no creativity on his name?

Doesn’t scripture say God omniscient?

 

I think those verses mean God knows everything that is going on. I do not think God knows everything we are going to do before we do it.

 

The Bible gives us multiple examples where God was going to do something, then he was surprised by the reaction of people and changed his mind.

 

@B-Ball-fan You mentioned Mary ascending into heaven in human form, do you know where that belief comes from? I've heard the same but have never found out why the Catholic Church taugh it.

Did Oswald really act alone?

Who is Jim James other than someone who had a parent that had no creativity on his name?

 

Actually his birth name is James Edward Olliges Jr., so I'm guessing that he assumed the name Jim James to make it more memorable, but here's something else that's gonna make your head explode... Aside from being known as Jim James, he also sometimes professionally goes by the name Yim Yames. :laugh:

I think those verses mean God knows everything that is going on. I do not think God knows everything we are going to do before we do it.

 

The Bible gives us multiple examples where God was going to do something, then he was surprised by the reaction of people and changed his mind.

 

@B-Ball-fan You mentioned Mary ascending into heaven in human form, do you know where that belief comes from? I've heard the same but have never found out why the Catholic Church taugh it.

 

Growing up Catholic it's what we were taught, yet this article clarifies that it wasn't the ascension, but the assumption of Mary into Heaven because it is believed that she never died, and that Jesus ascended into Heaven because it is believed that he died, and rose from the dead.

 

It sorta made me chuckle reading the author of this article give credibility to the Catholic belief as a response to a Bible study student who had not been raised Catholic, but was wondering why this was believed when it wasn't found in the Bible.

 

So he continues on to rationalize as if he knows anymore than the student does with regard to something that neither one could possibly know anything about, yet the power of his pen would make it appear that of course he knows better...well at least he seems to think so. :lol2:

 

“Why do you Catholics believe Mary ascended into heaven?” | Defenders of the Catholic Faith | Hosted by Stephen K. Ray

I think those verses mean God knows everything that is going on. I do not think God knows everything we are going to do before we do it.

 

What about prophecy then?

 

And what about Scriptures that speak to God's foreknowledge, such as Psalm 139:4 where we're told that God knows what we are going to say before we say it?

Something else very meaningful to me that I'd like to ask God:

 

While having a lot of doubts and questions, I have had unexplainable experiences related to deceased loved ones in my life that feel as though they have offered me signals and/or messages that time and again speak of joy and eternal love, and a consciousness that continues after we leave our physical bodies, as well as a sense that there is nothing to fear, and that we are never alone because we are all connected within this eternal love.

 

My question would be have these experiences been as true and real as they have seemed to be, and did I receive from them the message that was intended, or were they simply coincidences, or an example of my human mind playing tricks on me?

What about prophecy then?

 

And what about Scriptures that speak to God's foreknowledge, such as Psalm 139:4 where we're told that God knows what we are going to say before we say it?

 

I believe God can make things happen. Jesus himself said he could alter things but "how then would the scriptures be fulfilled."

 

I look at examples in the Bible where God acts surprised at our actions. He was going to kill Moses, but Moses' wife took a course of action that caused God to change his mind.

 

God was going to kill Ahab and Ahab put on sack cloth and humbled himself. God said to Elijah "Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the evil in his days, but I will bring the evil upon his house in his son's days."

 

Jesus was surprised at the response of the Roman Centurion and said "Never have I seen such faith!"

 

So I think God watches us, knows us very well, and knows what we will probably do or say and also is surprised when we do something unexpected.

But you might be right and I might be wrong. This is just what I believe about the nature of God. I think it would be impossible for either of us to truly understand him.

Something else very meaningful to me that I'd like to ask God:

 

While having a lot of doubts and questions, I have had unexplainable experiences related to deceased loved ones in my life that feel as though they have offered me signals and/or messages that time and again speak of joy and eternal love, and a consciousness that continues after we leave our physical bodies, as well as a sense that there is nothing to fear, and that we are never alone because we are all connected within this eternal love.

 

My question would be have these experiences been as true and real as they have seemed to be, and did I receive from them the message that was intended, or were they simply coincidences, or an example of my human mind playing tricks on me?

 

I think I could answer this, but these are questions for God and not for Inspector Clouseau.

Is there football in Heaven? If so, how important , if at all, is clock management? If it's vitally important, please, dear God, send Marvin Lewis straight to hell.

I think I would ask, " Why are we here and are there others like us out in the universe?" In other words, "what's your purpose for all this?"

I think I could answer this, but these are questions for God and not for Inspector Clouseau.

 

I on occasion have had conversations with others who have had similar experiences, and previous to mine I might've written their stories off as them getting carried away by their imaginations, yet since I have experienced them myself, their stories resonate more profoundly with me, and seem to give more credence to mine. I hear their stories with more clarity than before, and can't simply casually brush it all aside.

 

While I typically don't have a tremendous amount of patience regarding seemingly obvious subjective passed down man-made religious jargon, I do take a very special interest when others speak of similar spiritual experiences that have fostered their awakening.

 

While with my cynicism it might appear that I would poo-poo over any type of spiritual discussion, in truth I'm extremely passionate regarding the ultimate truth.

 

Years ago I was on the edge of just giving up on the idea that anything within my lifetime could assure me of anything, and with that these experiences began to happen and would resurface on occasion, and typically with profound poignance that made them difficult to simply dismiss.

 

With this, the idea of "written words inspired by God" begin to sound more plausible to me than before. If I was experiencing these things then this could and would be experienced by anyone and everyone. No chance that I'm so special that they would only happen to me. It's entirely possible that what I have experienced and have been religiously introduced to my whole life are completely connected and that I perhaps shouldn't so quickly dismiss it either.

 

Considering that previously I never thought that I would ever be where I am now about this, I leave the possibility open that there is potential for more learning, and that the future might also find me with a better understanding.

 

While the possibility for more understanding could result within a church environment, I'm not convinced that it isn't possible to also be found just about anywhere.

 

Sorta like how the late country singer Don Williams put it in the song "I believe in You" when he says "I don't believe that Heaven waits for only those who congregate, I like to think of God as love, He's down below He's up above, He's watchin' people everywhere, He knows who does and doesn't care...."

 

With all of that said, if you've got anything regarding that which I am discussing here I would be mightily interested and open to hearing what you might have to add. I may or may not be in a place where I'm ready to hear and absorb all that you say, but it certainly wouldn't be of any harm to give it a whirl, and I mean this with all sincerity.

 

If you feel at all moved to add more, by all means please do. We're all in this together and I'm open to enlightenment. My approach in the past hasn't always come across as respectful or serious, but I indeed have the capacity to treat it as such when I feel like I'm spiritually in the right place at the right time to absorb, and the subject matter is resonating.

Do angel farts smell as bad as dog farts?

If I only had one question it would be, “If You created everything then who created You, and then who created the creator that created that creator, etc, etc, etc...?”

 

I personally don’t think that question can be answered. Most the answers I’ve seen attempted really say a lot but actually answer nothing.

@B-Ball-fan

 

When I look at the Bible I can see two possibilities about what happens to people when they die. Since your original question surrounded the idea of getting messages from relatives that have passed on (sorry by the way) then I think you will appreciate this response.

 

The first possiblity comes from the parable of the rich man and Lazarus and it is the idea that when you die you immidietly go to Heaven or Hell and a huge gulf or chasm separates the physical world from the spiritual world. I do not believe this but I am in the minority, most Christians believe this way.

 

The second possibility comes from the book of Thessalonians where Paul speaks of Jesus coming back, the dead rising first, then those of us that are still living meeting Jesus in the air while the lost are left behind. This is what I believe and .

 

So in response to your question, I think it is impossible for people to die and then send messages to the living because both of these options negate the possiblity of ghosts, spirits, or communication from beyond the grave.

 

I believe people actually do see or experience things that they genuinely believe are ghosts or supernatural manifestation, but I believe these to be hallucinations or the work of the devil.

 

But once again, it is a question for God and not for me.

 

I would be surprised if we care about any of this though when we see God. I wonder if we will even be aware of our past earthly existence. I wonder if we will even recognize or know the difference between our spouses, children, neighbors, or strangers. Those are all earthly, physical, and human relationships that may not exist in heaven.