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Eschatology
Eschatology (from the Greeks meaning "last" + -logy) is a part of theology (End Times)
and philosophy concerned with the final events in the history of the world or the
ultimate destiny of human kind, commonly phrased as the end of the world. In many
religions, the end of the world is a future event prophesied in sacred texts or folklore.
More broadly, eschatology may encompass related concepts such as the Messiah or
Messianic Age, the afterlife, and the soul.
The Greek word means "age"; some translations may read "end of the age" instead of
"end of the world". The distinction also has theological significance, for the "end times"
in many religions may involve the destruction of the planet (or of all living things), but
with the human race surviving in some new form, ending the current "age" of existence
and beginning a new one.
Most Western monotheistic religions have doctrines claiming that 'chosen' or 'worthy'
members of the one true faith will be "spared" or "delivered" from the coming
judgement and wrath of God. They will be ushered into paradise either before, during,
or after it depending upon the end-time scenario to which they hold. As well as the
wrath of God at the end of the age there is the wrath of man.
Buddhism
Buddhist eschatology derives from Buddha's prediction that his teachings would
disappear after 500 years. According to the Sutta Pitaka, the "ten moral courses of
conduct" will disappear and people will follow
the ten amoral concepts of theft, violence, murder, lying, evil speaking, adultery,
abusive and idle talk, covetousness and ill will, wanton greed, and perverted lust
resulting in skyrocketing poverty and the end of the worldly laws of true dharma,
similar to Hindu eschatological predictions.
During the Middle Ages, the span of time was expanded to 5,000 years. Commentators
like Buddhaghosa predicted a step-by-step disappearance of the Buddha's teachings.
During the first stage, arahats would no longer appear in the world. Later, the content of
the Buddha's true teachings would vanish, and only their form would be preserved.
Finally, even the form of the Dharma would be forgotten. During the final stage, the
memory of the Buddha himself would be forgotten, and the last of his relics would be
gathered together in Bodh Gaya and cremated. Some time following this development a
new Buddha named Maitreya will arise to renew the teachings of Buddhism and
rediscover the path to Nirvana. Maitreya is believed to currently reside in the Tusita
heaven, where he is awaiting his final rebirth in the world.
The decline of Buddhism in the world, and its eventual re-establishment by Maitreya,
are in keeping with the general shape of Buddhist cosmology. Like Hindus, Buddhists
generally believe in a cycle of creation and destruction, of which the current epoch
represents only the latest step. The historical Buddha Shakyamuni is only the latest in a
series of Buddhas that stretches back into the past.
The belief in the decline and disappearance of Buddhism in the world has exerted
significant influence in the development of Buddhism since the time of the Buddha. In
Vajrayana Buddhism and various other forms of esoteric Buddhism, the use of tantra is
justified by the degenerate state of the present world. The East Asian belief in the
decline of the Dharma (called mappo in Japanese) was instrumental in the emergence of
Pure Land Buddhism. Within the Theravada tradition, debate over whether Nirvana was
still attainable in the present age helped prompt the creation of the Dhammayutt Order
in Thailand.
Christianity
Christians in the 1st century AD believed the end of
the world would come during their lifetime. Jesus in Mark 13:8 compared the end of the
world with a mother's birth pain, and the image implied the world was already pregnant
with its own destruction, but no one but God knows when it will happen. When the
converts of Paul in Thessalonica were persecuted by the Roman Empire, they believed
the end was upon them.
However, doubt rose when as early as the 90s Christians said, "We have heard these
things [of the end of the world] even in the days of our fathers, and look, we have
grown old and none of them has happened to us".
In the 130s Justin Martyr declared God was delaying the end of the world because he
wished for Christianity to become a world religion.
In the 250s Cyprian wrote that Christian sins of that time were a prelude and proof that
the end was near.
However, by the 3rd century most Christians believed the End was beyond their own
lifetime; Jesus, it was believed, had denounced attempts to divine the future, to know
the "times and seasons", and such attempts to predict the future were discouraged; yet
the End was given a date with the help of Jewish traditions in the Six Ages of the
World.
Using this system, the End was fixed at 202, but when the date passed, the date was
changed to AD 500. After AD 500 the importance of the End as a part of Christianity
was marginalized, though it continues to be stressed during the season of Advent.
Some current Christians place the end of the world within their lifetime or shortly
thereafter. As evidence to support these ideas, many point to the prolific news coverage
of tragedies around the world, sometimes "Biblical" in proportion, and offer
interpretations of various passages from the Bible.
Also, some Catholics believed that the third part of the Fatima message, which was to
be disclosed by the Vatican in 1960 but finally was published under the pontificate of
John Paul II, was a prophetic message from the Blessed Mother about the end times, but
it turned to be a symbolic message closely related to the assassination attempt of the late
Pope.
The issue of whether the true believers will see the end causes division in evangelical
circles.
Hinduism
Most Hindus acknowledge as part of their cosmology that we are living in the Kali
Yuga literally "age of darkness", the last of four periods (Yuga) that make up the
current age. Each period has seen a successive degeneration in the moral order and
character of human beings, to the point that in the Kali Yuga, the very laws of Karma
are reversed, evil is ascendant in high places, and good people suffer in misery. Often,
the invocation of Kaliyuga denotes a certain helplessness in the face of the horrors and
suffering of the human condition and a nostalgia for a golden past or a future salvation.
Kali Yuga is the last of 4 Yugas. Upon its conclusion, the world will "reboot" into a
new Satya Yuga (Golden Age.) This involves the end of the world as we know it and
the return of the Earth to a state of paradise.
However, Hindu conceptions of time, like those found in other non-Western traditions,
is cyclical in that one age may end but another will always begin. As such, the cycle of
birth, growth, decay, death, and renewal at the individual level finds its echo in the
cosmic order of all things, yet affected by the vagaries of the comings and goings of
divine interventions in the Vaishnavite belief.
Islam
Islamic
eschatology is concerned with the Qiyamah (end of the world; Last Judgement) and the
final judgement of humanity. Eschatology is one of the three main principles of Islam,
alongside tawhid (the unity of Allah) and nubuuwa (prophecy). Like the other
Abrahamic religions, Islam teaches the bodily resurrection of the dead, the fulfillment
of a divine plan for creation, and the immortality of the human soul; the righteous are
rewarded with the pleasures of Jannah (Heaven), while the unrighteous are punished in
Jahannam (Hell). A significant fraction of the Quran deals with these beliefs, with many
hadith elaborating on the themes and details.
According to the Islamic view Jesus (Isa, in Arabic) is not the Son of God, but was a
prophet and will return to Earth. It is believed that Jesus never died and he was not
crucified; instead he was raised into heaven still physically alive, where he lives now.
At the time appointed by Allah, Jesus will physically return to this world, and together
with the Mahdi will end all wars, and usher in an era of peace. The messianic era comes
after Jesus kills ad-Dajjal, the antichrist figure in Islam, and defeats his followers.
Minority views held by the Ahmadiyya movement, which mainstream Islam regards as
heretics, state that while Jesus was crucified, he did not die on the cross. Instead, he was
removed from the cross while still alive after which he died a natural death in Kashmir.
Their belief is that the references to the Second Coming of Jesus in Islamic
eschatological literature are allegorical. This prophecy according to them was fulfilled
by the coming of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad.
The Muslims who will not inherit heaven will be punished with a temporary stay in
Jahannam (Hell), and will go to heaven later as long as there is "one atom of faith in
their hearts," as stated by the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Some, but not all, Muslims
also believe that people who do not accept Muhammad after hearing his message, will
receive eternal damnation in Jahannam; just as those who did not believe in Jesus and
Moses at their respective periods after hearing of their messages will also receive
eternal damnation in hell.
The descriptions in the Qur'an of punishment for unbelief (Jahannam) are, like the
descriptions of Jannah, very descriptive. Skin is burned off the person's body and then
they are given new skin so it can be burned off again.
As for those who reject Our Signs, We will roast them in a Fire. Every time their
skins are burned off, We will replace them with new skins so that they can taste
the punishment. Allah is Almighty, All-Wise. (4:56)
One interesting point is that the Quran actually states that the skin will be replaced, due
to the fact that, in the skin, are the receptors for feeling. Once the skin is burnt down the
receptors are destroyed thus no pain will be felt on the burnt place. This is the reason
why the burnt skin will be replaced with a new skin so the pain can be felt again.
Boiling water is poured down people's throats and it rips their bowels apart.
Temperature extremes are applied to the body as punishment. However, when
considering punishments such as those described above, one must also consider that in
Islam the afterlife is considered to involve only the spirit, or "roh". Thus, when terms
describing physical distress or physical pleasure are used to indicate what heaven or hell
are like in the Qur'an, they are actually terms which refer to spiritual state. A description
of heaven being an oasis of comfort or hell being one of violent misery is an analogy
comparing the pains of the physical world to the pains of the spirit in the afterlife. From
a literary perspective, this interpretation makes sense because the audience--humanity--
only really understands the physical environment that surrounds it.
Munkar and Nakeer in Islamic eschatology, are two black, blue-eyed malaikah (angels)
who test the faith of the dead in their graves. After death, a person's soul passes through
a stage called barzakh, where it is stored near their grave.
Jannah is the Islamic name for paradise. According to Islamic eschatology, after death,
one will reside in the grave until the appointed resurrection on Yaum al-Qiyamah.
Muslims believe that the treatment of the individual in the life of the grave will be
according to his or her deeds in the worldly life. Jannah is often compared to Christian
concepts of Heaven. Muslims believe that it is only God's will that determines who may
enter Jannah and who may not.In contrast to Jannah, the words Jahannam and Nar are
used to refer to the concept of hell.
Judaism
The Talmud, in the tractate Avodah Zarah, page 9A, states that this world as we know it
will only exist for six thousand years. The Jewish calendar (luach) functions completely
on the assumption that time begins at the Creation of the world by God in Genesis.
Many people (notably Conservative and Reform Jews and some Christians) think that
the years of the Torah, or Jewish Bible, are symbolic.
According to the ancient Jewish teachings continued by today's Orthodox Jews, the
years are literal and consistent throughout all time, with 24 hours per day and an
average of 365 days per year. Appropriate calibrations are, of course, done with leap
years, to account for the difference between the lunar calendar and the solar calendar,
since the Jewish calendar is based on both. Thus the year 2005 equals 5765 years since
creation on the present Jewish calendar. According to this calculation, the end of days
will occur in the year 2240.
5. At some point, the Jewish Messiah who will become the anointed King of
Israel. He will divide the Jews in Israel into their original tribal portions in the
land. During this time Gog, king of Magog, will attack Israel. Who Gog and the
Magog nation are is unknown. Magog will fight a great battle, in which many
will die on both sides, but God will intervene and save the Jews. This is the
battle referred to as Armageddon. God, having vanquished this final enemy once
and for all, will accordingly banish all evil from human existence. After the year
6000 (in the Jewish calendar), the seventh millennium will be an era of holiness,
tranquility, spiritual life, and worldwide peace, called the Olam Haba ("Future
World"), where all people will know God directly. The Jewish holiday of Rosh
Hashanah has many identical aspects to the Islamic belief in Qiyamah, such as
the title of, "Day of the sounding of the Shofar".
Jewish Eschatology
Messiah - In English today, it is used in two major contexts: the anticipated saviour of
the Jews, and one who is anticipated as, regarded as, or professes to be a saviour or
liberator.
Native American
Hopi
Tribal leaders of the Hopi tribe, such as Dan Evehama, Thomas Banyaca and Martin
Gashwaseoma prophecize that the coming of the white man signals the end times, along
with a strange beast "like a buffalo but with great horns that would overrun the land"
(i.e. cattle). It is prophesized that during the end times the earth would be crossed by
iron snakes and stone rivers, (i.e. railroads), and the land would be criss-crossed by a
giant spider's web (i.e. freeways), and seas will turn black (i.e. oil spills). It is also
prophesized that a "great dwelling place" in the heavens shall fall with a great crash. It
will appear as a blue star, and the earth will rock to and fro. White men would then
battle people in other lands, with those who possess wisdom of their presence. There
would then be smoke in the deserts, and the signs that great destruction is near. Many
would then die, but those who understand the prophecies shall live in the places of the
Hopi people and be safe. The Pahana or "True White Brother" would then return to
plant the seeds of wisdom in people's hearts, and thus usher in the dawn of the Fifth
World.
Sioux
According to an Ogalala - or Sioux medicine man - "darkness would descend over the
tribe...the world would be out of balance. Floods, fires and earthquakes would then
ensue." A White Buffalo Calf Woman will then purify the world. She will then bring
back harmony and spiritual balance. A white buffalo was born in 1994, and another in
1995. Many tribal leaders thus feel that the prophecy is being fulfilled.
Mesoamerican
Mayans
Aztec Eschatology
Ancient Aztec eschatology is primarily derived from Toltec eschatological beliefs and
traditions, centered on the belief that four worlds, or "Suns", along with humankind,
were destroyed in a catastrophe prior to the creation of the present universe. The present
world is the fifth sun, and the Aztec saw themselves as "the People of the Sun," whose
divine duty is to wage cosmic war in order to provide the sun with his tlaxcaltiliztli
("nourishment"). Without it, the sun would disappear from the heavens. Thus the
welfare and the very survival of the universe depends upon the offerings of blood and
hearts to the sun, a notion that the Aztec extended to all the deities of their pantheon.
The first sun was called Nahui-Ocelotl, "Four-Jaguar," a date of the ritual calendar.
Humankind was first destroyed by jaguars, considered by the Aztec as the nahualli
("animal disguise") of the creator god Tezcatlipoca.
A rain of fire had put an end to the third sun, Nahuiquiahuitl, "Four-Rain." Tlaloc as the
god of thunder and lightning presided over that period.
The fourth sun, Nahui-Atl, "Four-Water," ended in a gigantic flood that lasted for 52
years. Only one man and one woman survived, sheltered in a huge cypress, but they
were changed into dogs by Tezcatlipoca, whose orders they had disobeyed.
Fifth Sun
Quetzalcóatl created present humanity with the help of Feathered Serpent and his twin
Xólotl, the dog-headed god, who succeeded in reviving the dried bones of the dead by
sprinkling them with his own blood. The present sun is Nahui-Ollin, "Four-
Earthquake," and is doomed to disappear in a tremendous earthquake. The skeleton-like
monsters of the west, the tzitzimime, will then appear and kill all people.
These beliefs reveal that the universe is unstable, that death and destruction continually
threaten it, and that the end can occur on each of the cycles of 52 years that were
celebrated in most of mesoamerica. The other emphasized the necessity of the sacrifice
to the gods.
Over these beliefs they incorporated their local god Huitzilopochtli. They replaced
Nanahuatzin, the sun god of the legend, with their own god, a fighting god, with a daily
battle to keep the shadows and destruction away.
Norse Mythology
In Norse mythology a strong winter called the Fimbulwinter will seize the earth and
bring disorder and fighting between the people of Midgard just before Ragnarok.
Ragnarok ("fate of the gods") is the battle during the end of the world waged between
the gods (the Aesir, the Vaner and the Einherjar, led by Odin) and the forces of Chaos
(the fire giants, the Jotuns and various monsters, led by Loki). Not only will the gods,
giants, and monsters perish in this apocalyptic conflagration, but almost everything in
the universe will be torn asunder.
Zoroastrian Eschatology
Zoroastrianism eschatology is the oldest eschatology in recorded history. By 500 BC,
Zoroastrians had fully developed a concept of the end of the world through a divine
devouring in fire.
According to Zoroastrian philosophy, redacted in the Zand-i Vohuman Yasht, "at the
end of thy tenth hundredth winter...the sun is more unseen and more spotted; the year,
month, and day are shorter; and the earth is more barren; and the crop will not yield the
seed; and men ... become more deceitful and more given to vile practices. They have no
gratitude."
"Honorable wealth will all proceed to those of perverted faith... and a dark cloud makes
the whole sky night..and it will rain more noxious creatures than winter."
Saoshyant, the Man of Peace, battles the forces of evil. A resurrection will then occur,
and the righteous will live in peace for eternity while evil will be condemned to an
eternal existence within molten metal. The righteous will, "wade through the metal as if
warm milk," while the evil are scolded.
At the end of the Battle between the righteous and wicked, a Final Judgement of all
souls will commence. Sinners will be punished 3 days, but are then forgiven. The world
will reach perfection as poverty, old age, disease, thirst, hunger and death are halted.
Zoroastrian concepts parallel greatly with those of Jewish, Christian, and Islamic
eschatological beliefs as most derive from each other or Zoroastrianism.
Fonte: crystalinks.com
SONOMA, Calif. — A group of 30 biblical scholars assessing the most likely teachings
of the historical Jesus agreed overwhelmingly Saturday that Jesus did not say that he
would return to Earth and usher in a new age.
Predictions of a Second Coming were put
on Jesus' lips by later followers and gospel writers, according to the Jesus Seminar, a
controversial but academically mainstream group that has involved more than 100
scholars at one time or another in twice-yearly voting sessions.
The seminar's stance, which contradicts the Apostles Creed and standard Christian
doctrine, was called "heretical" by a fundamentalist pastor who attended the meeting
here.
"They're robbing the church of its blessed hope," said the Rev. Marion H. Reynolds of
Los Osos, Calif. He said the impact of the group cannot be dismissed because "our
society tends to place scholars on a very high level."
However, the seminar findings on the Second Coming reflect what is quietly taught in
most major universities and seminaries, said Father Edward F. Beutner, campus
minister at Santa Clara University and a seminar member.
"These are not maverick scholars," Beutner said. "They take a very careful approach to
how sayings of Jesus were transmitted and to the evolution of the Bible texts."
Unprecedented Frankness
Seminar member Marcus Borg, who chairs the religious studies department at Oregon
State University, said the Gospels depict Jesus uttering words linking the Last Judgment
and worldwide calamity with the coming of the Son of Man. Many Christians believe
that Jesus will return as the Son of Man.
"The Jesus Seminar thinks he didn't speak of the coming of the Son of Man at all," Borg
said.
On the other hand, the seminar was virtually unanimous in giving credibility to sayings
attributed to Jesus in which he said the kingdom of God was already present in his day.
Fonte: latimes.com
Pecado Original
Não passaríamos pela morte como ela é hoje se não houvesse o pecado.
A Igreja ensina que, em conseqüência do pecado original, o homem deve sofrer "a
morte corporal, à qual teria sido subtraído se não tivesse pecado" (Gaudium et Spes, 18;
Gn 2,17). Não passaríamos pela morte como ela é hoje se não houvesse o pecado.
A Igreja reconhece que "é diante da morte que o enigma da condição humana atinge o
seu ponto mais alto" (idem). São Paulo ensina que "o salário do pecado é morte" (Rm 6,
23); é dele que advém todo sofrimento da criatura humana; mas que para os que
morrem na graça de Cristo, é uma participação na morte do Senhor, a fim de poder
participar também de sua Ressurreição (Rom 6, 3-9).
Embora o homem tivesse uma natureza mortal, Deus o destinava a não morrer. "Ora,
Deus criou o homem para a imortalidade, e o fez à imagem de sua própria
Mas a morte foi transformada por Cristo. Jesus, o Filho de Deus, sofreu Ele também a
morte, própria da condição humana; assumiu-a em um ato de submissão total e livre à
vontade de seu Pai. A obediência de Jesus transformou a maldição da morte em bênção
(Rom 5, 19-21). Por isso, graças a Cristo a morte cristã tem um sentido positivo. São
Paulo disse: "Para mim, a vida é Cristo, e morrer é lucro" (Fl 1, 21). "Fiel é esta palavra:
se com Ele morremos, com Ele viveremos" (2Tm 2, 11).
O Catecismo da Igreja Católica ensina que "A novidade essencial da morte cristã está
nisto: pelo Batismo, o cristão já está sacramentalmente 'morto com Cristo' para viver
uma vida nova; e, se morrermos na graça de Cristo, a morte física consuma esse 'morrer
com Cristo' e completa, assim, nossa incorporação a ele em seu ato redentor" (§1010).
Deus chama o homem a si em sua morte. São Paulo estava certo disso: "O meu desejo é
partir e estar com Cristo" (Fl 1, 23); então, o cristão deve transformar sua morte em um
ato de obediência e de amor ao Pai, a exemplo de Cristo (Lc 23, 46). Santa Teresinha
dizia: "Não morro, entro para a vida."
A morte encerra o "tempo de graça e de misericórdia" que Deus oferece a cada um para
realizar sua vida terrestre segundo o projeto divino e para decidir seu destino último.
Não existe reencarnação; ensina a Igreja que : Quando tiver terminado "o único curso
de nossa vida terrestre" (LG, 48), não voltaremos mais a outras vidas terrestres. "Os
homens devem morrer uma só vez" (Hb 9,27).
Pela morte, a alma é separada do corpo, mas na ressurreição Deus restituirá a vida
incorruptível ao nosso corpo transformado, unindo-o novamente à nossa alma (cf. Cat.
§1016).
Todos os homens que morreram ressuscitarão. "Os que tiverem feito o bem sairão para
uma ressurreição de vida; os que tiverem praticado o mal, para uma ressurreição de
julgamento.‖ (Jo 5, 29; cf. Dn 12,2).
Cristo ressuscitou com o seu próprio Corpo: "Vede as minhas mãos e os meus pés: sou
eu!" (Lc 24, 39). Mas ele não voltou a
uma vida
terrestre. Da mesma forma nele "todos ressuscitarão com seu próprio corpo, que tem
agora", ensinou o IV Concílio do Latrão, (DS, 801); porém, este corpo será
"transfigurado em corpo de glória" (Fl 3,21), em "corpo espiritual" (1Cor 15,44).
A "Imitação de Cristo" nos ensina: "Em todas as tuas ações, em todos os teus
pensamentos deverias comportar-te como se tivesses de morrer hoje. Se tua consciência
estivesse tranqüila, não terias muito medo da morte. Seria melhor evitar o pecado que
fugir da morte. Se não estás preparado hoje, como o estarás amanhã?"
"Louvado sejais, meu Senhor, por nossa irmã, a morte corporal, da qual homem algum
pode escapar. Ai dos que morrerem em pecado mortal, felizes aqueles que ela encontrar
conforme a vossa santíssima vontade, pois a segunda morte não lhes fará mal."
O limbo acabou!
O limbo acabou! Decidiu o papa Bento XVI. A verdade é que o limbo nunca
existiu. Não passou duma invenção de certos teólogos que aceitaram o
terrorismo teológico de St.º Agostinho,
o inventor do “pecado original”. A
boa notícia de Deus é: Nem pecado original, nem limbo. A invenção do limbo
tentou amenizar as consequências da doutrina do pecado original. O bispo de
Hipona não hesitou, em seu tempo, em mandar para o inferno todas as crian-
ças que morressem sem baptismo. E muitas foram, quer antes dele, quer de-
pois dele. A esmagadora maioria. Enquanto as pessoas não recebessem a
água do baptismo, faziam parte da multidão condenada ao inferno. Semelhante
terrorismo fez o seu caminho na Igreja católica. Ainda hoje as mães e os pais
que pedem o baptismo para as suas filhas, os seus filhos, fazem-no sobretudo
por essa razão. Pensam que, se o não fizerem, estão a condená-los ao inferno
eterno. Vejam só o que o bispo Agostinho fez do Evangelho de Jesus. E,
mesmo assim, ainda foi canonizado pela Igreja e declarado “Doutor da Igreja”.
Uma barbaridade sem nome. Uma ignomínia. Uma vergonha. O anti-Evangelho
como doutrina oficial da Igreja.
Felizmente, nem pecado original, nem limbo. Nem inferno. Vem agora a Igreja,
tarde e a más horas, declarar que a existência do limbo não faz sentido e que
choca com a postura de Jesus para com as crianças. O documento recém-
publicado em Roma não é uma definição dogmática. É a opinião de uma
Comissão de peritos em teologia, reconhecida pelo papa Bento XVI e pu-
blicada, para que faça também o seu caminho na Igreja. Não se pense que é
um documento ousado. Nada disso. Chega a dizer que quem quiser pode
continuar a pensar e a admitir que o limbo existe.
O segundo sim
Fonte: mitranh.org.br
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Familia
O fato de que
precisamos ser baptizados para voltar à presença de Deus não aplica somente aos vivos.
Inúmeras pessoas morreram sem o conhecimento de Cristo, ou o que os Mórmons
chamam de evangelho restaurado em sua plenitude, o único evangelho verdadeiro sobre
esta Terra. Para o bem dessas inúmeras pessoas, o Senhor também revelou a Joseph
Smith o doutrina do baptismo pelos mortos, ou, dizendo de uma outra forma, o Senhor
permitiu que os membros da Igreja Mórmon se baptizassem em nome, por procuração,
das pessoas falecidas.
Desta maneira, pessoas que morreram sem o conhecimento do evangelho podem
escolher aceita-lo ou não no mundo espiritual e mais uma vez voltar a morar com Deus.
Como foi dito, esses espíritos tem todo o direito de escolher aceitar ou não esse
evangelho. A doutrina Mórmon não diz, nem dita que as pessoas falecidas que foram
baptizadas são obrigadas a aceitar o baptismo Mórmon – tudo o que o baptismo pelos
mortos faz é dar a oportunidade a eles de escolher se querem seguir ou não.
Os Templos Mórmons são os únicos lugares onde o baptismo pelos mortos pode ser
realizado. O baptismo é realizado em uma fonte especial, criada especialmente e
somente para esse propósito. A fonte é sempre sobre os lombos de doze bois, esculpidos
em pedra ou bronze. Eles representam as doze tribos de Israel.
Os Mórmons acreditam que eles não são os primeiros a realizar o baptismo pelos
mortos, mas que a Igreja original de Cristo também realizou essa ordenança. Em 1
Coríntios 15:29 diz o seguinte: ―Doutra maneira, que farão os que se baptizam pelos
mortos, se absolutamente os mortos não ressuscitam? Por que se baptizam eles então
pelos mortos?‖. Essa ordenança é difícil de explicar para aqueles que não acreditam na
ordenança do baptismo pelos mortos. Quase parece algo sem sentido. Mas os Mórmons
também professam a ressurreição (o que, de fato, realizar baptismos para pessoas que
nunca mais existirão é, de certo modo, bastante fútil), e que Deus se preocupa com
todas as pessoas, não somente com aqueles que tiveram a oportunidade de ouvi-lo.
Afinal de contas, ele não é o Deus de ambos, mortos e vivos?
Em 1 Pedro 3:19, Pedro nos diz que, após a morte de Cristo, Ele ―… também foi, e
pregou aos espíritos em prisão;‖ o que indica uma preocupação divina bastante concreta
para aqueles que já deixaram essa vida, para que eles também possam ter a salvação.
Isso parece indicar
que
aqueles que não receberam a oportunidade de Salvação nesta vida, que seria dado a
oportunidade depois dela. Pedro também disse em 1 Pedro 4:6, ―Porque por isso foi
pregado o evangelho também aos mortos, para que, na verdade, fossem julgados
segundo os homens na carne, mas vivessem segundo Deus em espírito‖. Deus não é um
Deus cruel, não na crença Mórmon.
Nas escrituras vemos que Jesus Cristo não restringiu Seus ensinamentos somente para
as pessoas dignas que viveram vidas maravilhosas e admiráveis em sua fé (ou como
queiram chamar). Foi dado a oportunidade àqueles que eram iníquos quanto às coisas de
Deus assim como nos é dado a oportunidade hoje de aprender e seguir os ensinamentos
de Cristo. Seu amor e cuidado foi estendido a esses espíritos também.
Vemos então que o amor de Deus não é condicional e Ele quer nos dar o maior número
de oportunidades de encontrar a verdadeira felicidade que Ele pode. É por isso que
temos o baptismo pelos mortos.
Fonte: igrejamormon.com
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Crenças
22-1
Fidelidade conjugal
o que realmente significa?
A maioria das pessoas espera que marido e
mulher sejam sexualmente fiéis um ao outro. Esse conceito de fidelidade conjugal está
em harmonia com o que a Bíblia diz: ―O matrimônio seja honroso entre todos e o
leito conjugal imaculado.‖ — Hebreus 13:4.
SERÁ que ser fiel no casamento significa apenas não ter relações sexuais com outros
parceiros? O que dizer de fantasias sexuais com alguém que não seja seu cônjuge? Ter
uma amizade íntima com alguém do sexo oposto poderia se tornar uma forma de
infidelidade?
Ter fantasias sexuais com outro parceiro é como ensaiar mentalmente ações que, se
praticadas, causariam muita mágoa ao cônjuge. Será que as fantasias sexuais aumentam
a probabilidade de cometer adultério? A resposta direta é sim. A Bíblia ilustra a relação
entre pensamentos e ações: ―Cada um é provado por ser provocado e engodado pelo seu
próprio desejo. Então o desejo, tendo-se tornado fértil, dá à luz o pecado.‖ — Tiago
1:14, 15.
Jesus disse: ―Todo aquele que persiste em olhar para uma mulher, a ponto de ter paixão
por ela, já cometeu no coração adultério com ela.‖ (Mateus 5:28) Por se recusar a
cultivar fantasias adúlteras, você está ‗resguardando seu coração‘ e protegendo seu
casamento. — Provérbios 4:23.
―Todo aquele que persiste em olhar para uma mulher, a ponto de ter paixão por ela, já
cometeu no coração adultério com ela.‖ — Mateus 5:28.
Cuidado para não se justificar, dizendo que não existem sentimentos românticos quando
de fato existem! ‗O coração é traiçoeiro‘, diz Jeremias 17:9. Se você tem uma amizade
íntima com alguém do sexo oposto, pergunte-se: ‗Tento escondê-la? Fico na defensiva
ao falar sobre isso? Ficaria constrangido se meu cônjuge por acaso ouvisse nossas
conversas? Como me sentiria se ele tivesse uma amizade assim?‘ — Mateus 7:12.
Não se torne muito íntimo de pessoas do sexo oposto. Fique atento à presença de
sentimentos impróprios e não justifique motivações impuras. Se você acha que uma
amizade está ameaçando seu casamento, aja depressa — estabeleça limites ou coloque
um fim nela. A Bíblia diz: ―Argucioso é aquele que tem visto a calamidade e passa a
esconder-se.‖ — Provérbios 22:3.
* Mas é importante lembrar que apenas as relações sexuais fora do casamento dão base
bíblica para o divórcio. — Mateus 19:9.
#
Os nomes foram mudados.
Fonte: watchtower.org
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