'When you die, the next thing you know is the coming of Christ'
Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson believes people live in an evil world "so bad things will happen to some people."
However, he does not believe that a worst place called hell exists.
"I don't see any evidence for that in the Bible," he told The Washington Post. "I don't believe there is a physical place where people go and are tormented. No. I don't believe that."
What he does strongly believe in though is the existence of God. The Seventh-day Adventist is even so in awe of God that he cannot find the right words to describe Him.
"There's no man who can explain God, or he would be God. He's a force that doesn't believe in dictating and gives you a choice: Whether you want to be associated with Him or not. It can provide enormous strength and power if you do. And He has been an integral part of my life. There are many things I would have never taken on in the medical field had I not felt that He was behind me," he said.
At the same time, Carson believes in the idea that heaven is a physical place because there is proof of its existence in the Bible.
"The Bible says when you die, you know, there is no soul that kind of floats away. But essentially, when you die, the next thing you know is the coming of Christ because you don't know anything when you're dead. If you're dead for a second or a thousand years, it's the same. But when he comes, according to the book of First Corinthians, that the sound of the archangel will rise and that's when things happen," he said.
Carson also believes that Jesus Christ is coming back, and when He finally does, there will be tribulation. "We believe that Christ is going to return to the earth again," he said. "I think [Christ] could come any time."
Because of this mindset, Carson stressed the need for people to "live your life as if He's coming back today. As if He's coming back tomorrow."
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#1. To: Willie Green, redleghunter, GarySpFc, tomder55 (#0)(Edited)
This seems to be par for the course in Adventist theology.
Carson is not in the more modern strain of charismatic Adventism. Adventists are among the minor denominations that had an insurgent charismatic strain rise in the last forty years or so. Carson is the more conservative traditional type of Adventist.
Carson's views here are typical for Adventists (Millerites). They are derived theologically from Christian conditionalism (or conditional immortality), a popular theological idea among various denominations in the mid-nineteenth century.
This idea of "soul sleep" was one that Martin Luther was interested in as well. John Calvin sharply criticized him for it.
Wiki: "Belief in forms of conditionalism became a current in Protestantism beginning with the Reformation, but it was only adopted as a formal doctrinal tenet by denominations such as early Unitarians, the churches of the English Dissenting Academies, then Seventh-day Adventists, Christadelphians, the Bible Students and Jehovah's Witnesses."
The Bible says when you die, you know, there is no soul that kind of floats away. But essentially, when you die, the next thing you know is the coming of Christ because you don't know anything when you're dead. If you're dead for a second or a thousand years, it's the same. But when he comes, according to the book of First Corinthians, that the sound of the archangel will rise and that's when things happen," he said
That's standard Seventh Day Adventist doctrine.
Obama has played at being a president while enjoying the perks … golf, insanely expensive vacations at tax-payer expense. He has ignored the responsibilities of the job; no plans, no budgets, no alternatives … just finger pointing; making him a complete failure as a president
"No gnu taxes" -- great name playing on Georgie Bush the elder's little campaign trick. He didn't say he wouldn't raise taxes, he said he wouldn't be creating any -- but said it in this emphatic (for him) tone that made people THINK it meant the same thing. Then he went and raised taxes right on schedule just like they all do.
I specialize in pointing out what this says about Republican demigods (they're shysters when they're not liars) and the American sheeple (dumber than a box of rocks, exercising less critical thinking the higher up a political figure gets).
Hell is real. It's here on earth created by human greed, primitivity, and stupidity.
That's it that's EXACTLY it. If hellfire preachers want to preach against hell, it's right in front of their face. They used to preach against this real, known hell but mostly don't anymore.
Laura Nyro, née Nigro -- another light-skinned artist who hit the jackpot playing to black power passions by writing genuine imitation soul music (collect all 750 :-)
I'm really glad you've brought this issue up about Ben Arson, whom I consider a total moron and faker. He's SDA and one of their main focuses is the separation of church and state -- they're all for it in ways I deplore. So what's he doing voicing religious opinions while running for office? I see this thought has occurred to Wickedpedia too -- sort of:
"In early Christian theological usage apocatastasis meant the ultimate restoration of all things to their original state, which early exponents believed would still entail a purgatorial state, Both Origen and Gregory of Nyssa hoped that all creatures would be saved."
In American higher brow tradition there are two movements that preach universal salvation, Universalism - all men are going to be saved , because they are too good in nature to be eternally condemned, and Unitarianism - God is too kind to condemn anyone to eternal condemnation.
After a while both movements decided that in practice they do not differ much so they formed Unitarian-Universalist Association.