hell & demons, heaven & angels: mea culpa

I guess I should answer my own questions.

Does believing in hell, demons or the devil mean that I believe in Heaven, angels and therefore God?

Do I believe in (1) hell, (2) demons, (3) the devil, (4) Heaven, (5) angels and/or (6) God?

http://project05952381.blogspot.com/2010/11/hell-demons-heaven-angels.html

I believe in hell as eternal torment and terror (highest level of fear). Whatever that torment and terror may be. I also believe in demons and the devil as part of hell.

At the same time, I believe in Heaven as the Kingdom of God, as the reward for those who are clean of sin (in grace). I believe in angels as those souls who serve God in Heaven, especially the concept of guardian angels as the personal steward each one of us has been granted with. Needless to say, I believe in one God -- regardless of the name (Jehovah, Allah, Krishna, Ra, etc), meaning, concept or definition given by humans.

I don't know what to believe about concepts like the purgatory and saints (early Church martyrs or not) -- other than being concepts created by men.

Believing in hell and its horrors does influence my belief of Heaven. I need either some sort of balance in the cosmos (good vs evil; yin and yang, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yang) or to justify the horrors I've lived (http://project05952381.blogspot.com/2010/09/as-my-soul-ran-away-at-night-every.html). As I usually say, I've been in and out (the horrors of) hell. Hence if hell exists, Heaven must do too.

hell & demons, heaven & angels

Does believing in hell, demons or the devil mean that we believe in Heaven, angels and therefore God?

Maybe this isn't quite a question that many want to touch. Some believe in a Godhead, but not in hell. Some believe in evil (hell, demons, etc), but not in a god -- at least the God we know. These are six different elements that I just threw in a single question. Maybe the best alternative would be breaking my original question in six separate parts. Do you believe in (1) hell, (2) demons, (3) the devil, (4) Heaven, (5) angels and/or (6) God? You're welcome to share your answers sending them me via my Twitter account (@Project05952381).

Going back to my original question, there are groups of Christians who believe in all these six elements. These Christians (mostly Catholics) believe in eternal damnation (the devil, demons and hell) as a punishment if God doesn't find us clean from sin. At the same time, if God does find us clean from sin (in grace), we'd be welcomed in Heaven where God resides with the angels and saints.

So if you're a Christian, you most likely believe in and/or follow the Christ (Jesus), but what else do you believe in? If you need help answering, read the following article.

Many Americans Mix Multiple Faiths
http://pewforum.org/Other-Beliefs-and-Practices/Many-Americans-Mix-Multiple-Faiths.aspx

what not to do, touch, see, listen, taste, smell, feel, have sex with, etc

I still have issues trying to understand what are proper or correct things to do as a Christian -- well aside from anything that breaks the Law of Moses of course.

Some would say that horror movies are not godly correct. The same has been said about music (for example, rock & roll), art (nudes, how sick), food (pork, non Kosher/Halal filth), clothes (miniskirts, oh such horror), flesh (sex, how dirty) and probably every single thing in the cosmos (including aliens in other worlds).

Considering all this, most of the universe if not all is from the devil and will trigger our eternal damnation. That means that we're surrounded by devil music, devil art, devil food, devil clothes (Halloween costumes most likely included), devil flesh (devil in the flesh) and a devil universe/reality. This assumption is absurd as you can read especially in Genesis 1:4, 1:10, 1:12, 1:18 and 1:21.

"1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw it was good.
11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.
14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.
25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."
-- Genesis 1:1-28 (KJV)

God made everything across the whole cosmos and then proclaimed it GOOD. We make things good or bad, pure or filthy. It's all in our minds and souls. Hence trying to be completely honest to ourselves and leaving our selfish prejudice aside, what's godly correct and what's not? Maybe the best answer came from a minister who told me to avoid anything that takes us away from the Light.

I guess this means that watching a gory movie with zombies and other monsters is fine as long as it doesn't affect my faith. After all that movie's merely a piece of fiction to take our minds off our problems for an hour or two (four hours in the case of Lord of the Rings) and make us laugh.

Screwtape & Wormwood

I've been reading the 1942 book by C.S. Lewis, "The Screwtape Letters" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Screwtape_Letters). It's an interesting book with dark humor. In this story, the narrator is a demon (Screwtape) writing a series of letters to his nephew (Wormwood) who seems to be a young and less experienced (rookie) demon whom he's instructing/advising how to tempt a man.

"Desiring their freedom, He therefore refuses to carry them, by their mere affections and habits, to any of the goals which He sets before them: He leaves them to 'do it on their own'. And there lies our opportunity. But also, remember, there lies our danger. If once they get through this initial dryness successfully, they become much less dependent on emotion and therefore much harder to tempt."

One conclusion that I've made so far from this book is God's relationship to us (not the way around). God gives us complete free will to decide to follow him or not, but if we opt to follow him, He won't abandon us.

At the same time, we're vulnerable to sin due to the same free will that God had given us.

Some of these conclusions might be obvious, but reading them in a dark comedy is really cool. Sometimes the best sermon and second-hand teachings (Jesus being the source of these real teachings) don't come from an altar.

After all, we're all ministers of faith.

many faces, flavors & recipes for Christianity

Christianity is one religion. Nonetheless there are numerous practices for each of the several denominations based on geographical region, language, culture or other social factors. Just in the US, there are at least nine (9) ideological practices and behaviors -- to my understanding and sole opinion -- if not more.

1. Some Christians feel that humans are born evil and need to purge sin through religious rites and penitence to be in God's Grace with or without continuous references to the devil (Satan), demons and/or hell that seem to exploit the fear of a loving yet vengeful god (not God). This ideology makes people believe that they're dirty and gives them shame of themselves. It also makes people afraid of God instead of themselves as God's children.


2. Considering the devil as part of Christianity, many believe that we do wrong (sin) because of temptation.


3. Somewhat derived from the previous two ideas, there are those who practice magic using the name of God mixed with santería (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santería), voodoo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_African_Vodun) or other similar practices to cast spells (good, bad, evil eye, cleansing, curses, etc) with rites and/or chants on others. When did witchcraft and/or superstitions become a subset of Christianity? Of course, faith can expel demons, but that's a whole different story all together.


4. At the same time, others feel that humans are good by nature and that sin tarnishes our connection to God and/or the Light of God coming from within us. Hence we're saved by faith in God alone.


5. The previous is related to the belief that God loves us regardless of how bad we are as a father who loves his children regardless of their constant misbehavior.


6. As part of these previous beliefs, the concept of Satan (the fallen angel who dared to question and defy God) is clearly present while worshiping. Of course, there are also those who don't believe in the devil, hell and/or the purgatory.


7. There is also the practice or belief that priests are sent by God, hence being an extension of God on earth or simply being God's representative on earth. This is one of the most criticized aspects of the Catholic church where the pope is seen as the head of the Church and practically a holy man or saint. Well also the idea of saints who are prayed to makes little sense (if any at all). Since I was raised Catholic, I know this concept well, but I never really cared for it.


8. At the same time, there are groups that are either inclusive allowing anyone in or exclusive "testing" people before becoming part of the congregation or member of that specific church.


9. Some of these groups -- within any of the previously described -- force its members to surrender 10% of their earnings (tithe) regardless of their financial needs (http://project05952381.blogspot.com/2010/05/to-tithe-or-not-to-tithe-yet-never.html) -- to the point that members must surrender copies of their income tax returns. Of course, some others just request it, but accept any offering may be able t give at any given time.

Nonetheless there are several beliefs and practices that are broadly common and/or accepted. One belief is that we all need to repent from our sins and offenses to God and others. Another is that faith can achieve anything since God is omnipotent without using God (#3).

In general, most subdivisions of Christianity are a mix of these and perhaps other practices and ideologies. Christianity has become a sort different flavors and recipes -- each demanding to be called the true Christian practice.

Which of all these practices is right? Which is wrong? Well this is for God alone to decide -- not for us the broken and the flawed.

What do I believe? Number three is my choice although many people surely seem to have been born evil or at least twisted beyond repair. I also believe in hell and a devil from personal experiences. In the other hand, I also believe that my maternal grandparents are in Heaven and that maternal grandfather is or was my guardian angel.

Do I believe in salvation (Heaven & life after death)? Of course, I do, but I'm not too particularly worried about this -- right now at least -- although it'd be a god thing. I prefer to have my children safe, healthy, taken care of and with God.

Am I without sin? Not at all, I'm fairly twisted (sex, political ideologies, sick sense of humor, etc) hopefully within repair.