by dssynergy 8 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
So, the whole concept of Jehovah having people going to heaven to rule with Christ doesn't make sense to me. Doesn't the idea that Christ "needs" helpers insinuate that he is not the perfect ruler that he is portrayed to be? Why does God need people in heaven? If Jesus is a perfect ruler, he won't need "assistance", right??
Am I missing something??
DS
I think you're looking at it wrong.
Jesus is sharing that authority with others, calling them his brothers and not his servants. They want to be with him; they want to serve with him. It is a gift then, of love.
Tammy
ok, I can get that. But the explanation I was always told was that the humans were being invited to heaven to ensure fairness - because they bring with them a wealth of human experience to "inform" Christ's leadership....therefore, I always looked at it as a deficit because I assumed that Christ experienced everything he would need, and since he is perfect wouldn't need the human experience of others.
Confused...
DS
What you might find interesting is to reasearch what terms like 'Kingdom of Heaven' or 'Kingdom of God' meant to a Jew in that era. Or for something similar ask a Unitarian on their view of those terms.
But you raise a good question on the literary references in the OT and NT, why does an all powerful God need an army to vanquish evil.
But the explanation I was always told was that the humans were being invited to heaven to ensure fairness - because they bring with them a wealth of human experience to "inform" Christ's leadership....
If Jesus knows what's in the hearts of men, and has been watching and guiding us since the beginning of our creation, then he doesn't need humans to bring their experiences to ensure fairness. He has more experience than anyone could ever hope to have - and he was a human as well.
Tammy
I think you're only confused because you already know that Christ would not need other humans to ensure fairness. And what you already know is conflicting with what someone who does not know taught you.
Tammy
What if we're not the only "earth" Jehovah has created. What if He wants us to take part in the creative process ourselves?
If Jehovah could just "speak" worlds into and out of existence, why would He need us? Why would He need angels? What does being a "co-heir" mean? And why is God in our image and vice versa? (In other words, why does God have a head, hands, feet, nose, ears, etc.?) If Jesus is in the image of the Father, then why does the Father have all these attributes? Why would God need to look human, and why would we have to be resurrected in such an image? If there is a "heavenly class" as the Witnesses contend, why would they need to look human as well?
If anyone's going to rule, they're going to have to have someone to rule. If everyone gets to be a manager, doesn't it seem fit that there would need to be those who needed managing?
Perhaps they have an answer...I dunno. Their theology doesn't seem to be too complex. I can't imagine being in the earthly class and having nothing to do all day but tend the animals and eat vegetarian.
These types of threads seem to die. Is it because the whole heaven/hell thing is so difficult to understand by JWs? It's one thing to draw pictures of children petting lions and people gathering flowers in Paradise -- but from there it's kind of nebulous.
What's the whole heaven/hell thing all about, anyway?
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Imagine there's no heaven - John Lennon.
