Was Adam the First Person to get to Heaven?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know what the catholic church teaches, but, I learned that heaven is merely being in the presence of god and hell was not existing in the presence of god. You will not be surrounded by family friends etc.

When you say "You," what do you mean exactly???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know what the catholic church teaches, but, I learned that heaven is merely being in the presence of god and hell was not existing in the presence of god. You will not be surrounded by family friends etc.

When you say "You," what do you mean exactly???

NP. Your soul/spirit, which is eternal. Not your physical body.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know what the catholic church teaches, but, I learned that heaven is merely being in the presence of god and hell was not existing in the presence of god. You will not be surrounded by family friends etc.

When you say "You," what do you mean exactly???

NP. Your soul/spirit, which is eternal. Not your physical body.

Thank you. But is your soul/spirit material or immaterial?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.orthodoxroad.com/the-harrowing-of-hades/

The Gospel of Nicodemus describes what happens between Christ’s death and resurrection. During this time, he descended into Hades and pulled up Adam and Eve. This is always part of Lenten services in the Orthodox Church.

Not scripture.

Not scripture *to Catholics*

Let's be ecumenical.

Wouldn’t that be “to Orthodox Christians”. I fail to see how a quote from an Orthodox website quoting a book that is in the Orthodox scripture about Orthodox services can possibly be only about Catholics?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Adam and Eve is a hypothetical story, not factual. There are 2 creation stories and they are not combined.
The story is meant to be hypothetical and it is.

Which is exactly what the Roman Catholic Church teaches, by the way. Also heaven and hell are not physical places one "goes to."

So that means your soul wont be roasted in fire like Dante's depiction of hell either. So whats the big benefit here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.orthodoxroad.com/the-harrowing-of-hades/

The Gospel of Nicodemus describes what happens between Christ’s death and resurrection. During this time, he descended into Hades and pulled up Adam and Eve. This is always part of Lenten services in the Orthodox Church.

Not scripture.

Not scripture *to Catholics*

Let's be ecumenical.

Wouldn’t that be “to Orthodox Christians”. I fail to see how a quote from an Orthodox website quoting a book that is in the Orthodox scripture about Orthodox services can possibly be only about Catholics?

I was quoting the direct PP who said that Nicodemus didn't count because it isn't accepted scripture (presumably in the Catholic church or her church). It is, however Orthodox Christian canon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Adam and Eve is a hypothetical story, not factual. There are 2 creation stories and they are not combined.
The story is meant to be hypothetical and it is.

Which is exactly what the Roman Catholic Church teaches, by the way. Also heaven and hell are not physical places one "goes to."

Really, what is it then? And what goes up there? Your soul I guess, but is that material or immaterial? Thank you. I am interested in this?

I am interested in this.

PP from above. Heaven is not a physical place. It is the state of knowing God in the afterlife.

So that means hell is not knowing God in the afterlife. Really doesn't sound all that bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know what the catholic church teaches, but, I learned that heaven is merely being in the presence of god and hell was not existing in the presence of god. You will not be surrounded by family friends etc.

When you say "You," what do you mean exactly???

NP. Your soul/spirit, which is eternal. Not your physical body.

Thank you. But is your soul/spirit material or immaterial?

Pretty sure you know the answer. What is this, 1,000 questions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know what the catholic church teaches, but, I learned that heaven is merely being in the presence of god and hell was not existing in the presence of god. You will not be surrounded by family friends etc.

When you say "You," what do you mean exactly???

NP. Your soul/spirit, which is eternal. Not your physical body.

Thank you. But is your soul/spirit material or immaterial?

Pretty sure you know the answer. What is this, 1,000 questions?

Sorry, no I don't, that's why I asked. And it was only like 4 or 5 questions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Adam and Eve is a hypothetical story, not factual. There are 2 creation stories and they are not combined.
The story is meant to be hypothetical and it is.

Which is exactly what the Roman Catholic Church teaches, by the way. Also heaven and hell are not physical places one "goes to."

That's not what I heard. Wasn't Mary lifted bodily to heaven in what is called the Assumption? Some Pope in the 1950's decreed that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Adam and Eve is a hypothetical story, not factual. There are 2 creation stories and they are not combined.
The story is meant to be hypothetical and it is.

Which is exactly what the Roman Catholic Church teaches, by the way. Also heaven and hell are not physical places one "goes to."

That's not what I heard. Wasn't Mary lifted bodily to heaven in what is called the Assumption? Some Pope in the 1950's decreed that.

Mary must wait for the resurrection like the rest of the mortals
She is not part of the trinity

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Adam and Eve is a hypothetical story, not factual. There are 2 creation stories and they are not combined.
The story is meant to be hypothetical and it is.

+1. Exactly

The minister in me has to bite my tongue all the time about the Bible. I’m an Interfaith Hospice Chaplain so I work with people from all faith paths. And none. I get quizzed about this shi7 several times a month by family members. I stay professional and respectful, but the fear these poor people have grown up with causes so much pain. Especially when they are facing their death or the death of a loved one.

An early poster asked which parts of the Bible should be taken literally. My answer is almost none of it. (I want to emphasize this is my belief.) Scripture was written thousands of years ago in languages that we don’t even fully understand. And it’s been translated and retranslated over and over again, mostly by men with a vested interest in the outcome of the translation. We have no evidence that Jesus ever wrote anything at all. Scripture is important. I love it! By studying sacred texts, we learn a lot about the people, the politics, the religious beliefs, history, and most importantly, ourselves and our Creator. But it was never meant to be a science or a history text.

Jesus spoke in parables all the time. Do you think he was really suggesting we shove a camel through the eye of a needle? Or, was he explaining how important it is for us to guard against greed? Do you really believe Jesus fed thousands with five loaves of bread and two fish? Or was he teaching compassion, sacrifice, service, empathy, and love?

The writers of biblical scripture (and we can’t even prove definitively who they were) were using simple stories to explain complex spiritual truths. They are scared stories. We should read them and try to understand them. But they are stories. A more modern example is “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”. No one believes a child was gobbled by a wolf. But the story illustrates the Importance of honesty. And it does so powerfully because it is so simple.

What bible do you recommend a lay person start with?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Adam and Eve is a hypothetical story, not factual. There are 2 creation stories and they are not combined.
The story is meant to be hypothetical and it is.

Which is exactly what the Roman Catholic Church teaches, by the way. Also heaven and hell are not physical places one "goes to."

That's not what I heard. Wasn't Mary lifted bodily to heaven in what is called the Assumption? Some Pope in the 1950's decreed that.

Mary must wait for the resurrection like the rest of the mortals
She is not part of the trinity

?? Are we talking about the same Mary? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assumption_of_Mary

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Heaven was a virgin? That dirty ole Adam...

No, that was Nevaeh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Adam and Eve is a hypothetical story, not factual. There are 2 creation stories and they are not combined.
The story is meant to be hypothetical and it is.

Which is exactly what the Roman Catholic Church teaches, by the way. Also heaven and hell are not physical places one "goes to."

That's not what I heard. Wasn't Mary lifted bodily to heaven in what is called the Assumption? Some Pope in the 1950's decreed that.

Mary must wait for the resurrection like the rest of the mortals
She is not part of the trinity

?? Are we talking about the same Mary? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assumption_of_Mary

Yes we are
Pagan traditions and beliefs seeped into Christianity. Mary, the female God mother predates Christianity, as does Christmas

Read more on church history, early Roman empire beliefs and other traditions