re: Do you believe in an afterlife?

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What about the guy that said this:
"...all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword..."- that's karma...

...Christianity teaches that God is the gavelbearer, whereas other religions say its a god, the universe (of God) or the like. Parallels to wisdom outside biblical teachings are no accident.

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Your observations are challenging on a couple of counts. I do agree that the similarity is no "accident" -- but why not? Could it be because God is the "programmer" of man's hardwired "wisdom"? Scripture tells us, "The Law is written on our hearts".

And yes, in a "human-justice" way,( "...all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword...") could be interpreted as "Karma". However in that specific context, Jesus was admonishing Peter who lopped off the ear of a Roman soldier when HE was apprehended. Peter knew Jesus was the Son of God.

God also says: "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord."

(As an aside, the Bible and Jesus do NOT admonish us for righteously defending ourselves.)

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On Mysticism, Corinthians 2 specifically addresses how to attain wisdom through the Holy Spirit. If you mean Mysticism through other means, well sure, it's cautioned against due to the susceptibility to be manipulated by demons, Satan or otherwise. I think it's Corithians 2:16 almost specifically asks WWJD.

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Yup. Hear ya...

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But what some guy says from the front of the room almost NEVER matches what the Bible's actual words say. Sure it's great to say "never think about Reincarnation because the Bible doesn't say it!"

But it actually does glance the topic throughout the old testament as if it's a common concept of Afterlife. Jesus picked up that concept to describe to Nicodemus the path that is taken to everlasting life.

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Regarding this convo, we must remember; The OT Afterlife wasn't so clear -- other than references to Paradise (which is different than 'The Kingdom of God'), and being near "the bosom of Abraham". There are nuances, but hinting at the scripture you cited I never really considered the "Reincarnation" angle TBH. Were you construing Jesus context of convo with Nicodemus ("place or path", "earthly things") as possibly about an "Afterlife" or "Reincarnation" in an earthly realm? (as opposed to Jesus' Heavenly things" context)?

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It's not as black and white as all that, because some claims of deception just aren't...the claims themselves obfuscate the truth.

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True. The Deception of Satan -- especially in The Last days -- will make discernment of truth a strong challenge. This is exactly why we are urged to strengthen our faith and put on the "armor of God" as NOT to be fooled by nuance ("Even the Elect shall be deceived").