The real problem with all these Christian religion is that the premise for their beliefs is that the bible is 100% inspired and does not contradict itself.
As a result, they cannot understand why scriptures such as John 1:1 (“the word was God”) clearly state that Jesus was God while another verse such as Mat 24:36 (“Only the father [knows]”) clearly indicates that he was not.
In order to address this issue, Christians from both camps distort the meaning of the contradicting verses in order to support the position that they have taken. And yet, it is so simple: they are ignoring the blatant and obvious fact that the bible contradicts itself.
Ask yourselves: Why would God produce and protect a book that causes so much divisions in its interpretation? We are not talking about simple details here, we are talking about hopes and the nature of God.
The writers of those days were not challenged, they could have written words such as:
And so, Jesus said to his disciples: I have come to redeem humanity from sin by giving my life in ransom. This will allow for my followers to ascend to heaven with me and rule as king over people of the earth. They will ascend to this position instantly at their death or at Armageddon. As for all the others who practice righteousness without knowing me, they will make it through to a paradise earth. They will access this paradise either at resurrection or simply being spared at Armageddon. As for all the wicked? They will be destroyed.
Can you imagine any religion having a bible study and NOT addressing this topic head on? Yet, Jesus was with his disciples for 3 years and a half and not once did he say anything blatantly clear on all this. Instead he spoke in parables and complicated words where various verses and accounts contradict with each other. However, since most Christian believe that each words are inspired, and important, they all fight on the various possible combination of things…