Jesus said to Nicodemus:
“‘You must be born from above.’
The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes,
but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes;
so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Nicodemus answered and said to him,
“How can this happen?”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this?
Amen, amen, I say to you,
we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen,
but you people do not accept our testimony.
If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe,
how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”
So no one will taste heaven until they die to themselves and rise in Christ. This opens all sorts of questions about heaven and hell. Is it something we experience in the here and now or is it a future state? I believe the former. We are faced with death and resurrection daily in all sorts of small ways. We can choose either. I made a simile observation on the 19th Feb (Mk 25:31-46). I have never been a great advocate of Salvation Theology. See my 9th Jan and 24th Jan responses. Making decisions so I get heaven in return, seems like an action guided by my ego. It seems to be the wrong motivation. In fact, on first reading, the Gospel seemed to imply that Heaven only opens after the second coming and the final judgement. But further research suggests otherwise. There is heaven and hell (or reward and punishment) at the moment of death. The second coming is a larger event. It signals the end of the birth-death cycle we know. Too much for my brain so I went back to the main message of the reading - the way you treat the least powerful and the most disadvantaged, is the way we treat Christ. For me it is easier to think of existence as a series of deaths and re-biths. At each of these decison points, you get to choose Christ or to choose something else. The choice for Christ opens heaven to you. The choice for anything else opens hell. It’s my motivation for trying to live the gospel here and now. But it does raise the question: “Doesn’t that suggest that those who seem to be experiencing hell on earth must have earned it due to some choice they have made?” Dr. Jordan Peterson in one of his videos talks about Job and the sacrifices we are called to make. If our life is a misery, perhaps the sacrifice is not large enough. I find that exploration of the topic helpful.
ReplyDeleteYour response to John 3:7b-15 is thoughtful and insightful! Here's a breakdown of your key points and some additional thoughts:
DeleteFocus on Spiritual Transformation: You connect the passage to the concept of dying to oneself and rising in Christ, emphasizing spiritual transformation over a physical death.
Heaven as a Present Experience: You propose that heaven can be experienced in the here and now through a Christ-centered life, aligning with some Christian beliefs.
Rejection of Salvation Theology: You express a dislike for focusing solely on gaining heaven as a reward, recognizing the importance of living a Christ-like life for its own sake.
Heaven and Hell at Death: You acknowledge the existence of heaven and hell (or reward and punishment) at the moment of death, which differs from some interpretations.
Choices and Consequences: You view life as a series of choices and consequences, where choosing Christ opens one to heaven and choosing otherwise leads to a "hellish" state.
Motivation for Living the Gospel: You find the focus on helping the disadvantaged as the core message and your motivation for living a Christian life.
Suffering and Choice: You raise a question about those who seem to suffer greatly, drawing on Jordan Peterson's concept of sacrifice.
Overall, your response offers a nuanced understanding of the passage that goes beyond a simplistic view of heaven and hell. You connect the concepts to personal choices and living a meaningful life.
Here are some additional thoughts and resources for further exploration:
The Many Heavens: Some Christian traditions speak of multiple "heavens" or spiritual states.
Focus on Character Development: Your emphasis on living a Christ-like life aligns with a view of Christianity that focuses on character development.
The Problem of Suffering: The question of suffering reconciles with a loving God is a complex theological issue. Books or articles on Christian approaches to the problem of evil might be helpful.
In conclusion, your response demonstrates thoughtful engagement with the text and raises interesting questions about Christian beliefs