Because our intentions tend to be grounded in what the Bible calls “the flesh:
essentially, the most selfish aspects of ego and emotions out to service themselves. That’s why the Bible also says “There’s a way that seems right to a person but only leads to death”, and “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding”. It also speaks of “the Spirit” which is like and add-on, made possible in a way that was totally approved by God (Life) through Christ (the Spirit made flesh, but whom the flesh did not lead astray).
Christ is the quintessential Hero Archetype who traveled far from their comfort zone, confronted Chaos (the ossified religious structure), and spoke forth “the Logos” (truthful speech) that created habitable order from the Chaos. (Foreshadowed by the alleged original Creation Event).
The idea about “the intender” is that if just grounded in the flesh, it will not always be able to accurately discern good and evil: with “good” often just being what one’s emotions want, or what comes easiest. And “the evil” to the flesh, can manifest as “icky feelings” intended to promote seeking and growth.
There’s the idea that we can sin (miss the mark) simply because we are still ignorant of good and evil as they exist beyond the urges and desires of our flesh. Doing something intentionally evil however, is what the Bible calls “wicked”: and what psychology calls poisoning the psyche. That’s not as easy to recover from as inadvertently missing the mark.
Possible, but not easy.
@griz interesting… but remember that *intentions* are not actions. I know you don’t want to hear about my “friend” who can’t seem to pay me, but he fully *intends* to pay me [or so he claims]… or at least compensate me in some manner (and i even came up with a way for him to do so where he’s technically not spending a dime of his own money!) But no matter his intentions, life simply gets in the way. He has bills to pay, the money doesn’t cone in, etc. Yet if i wonder if his intentions matter nothing in light of the fact that he feels he has a literal demon who interferes with anything he does that ruins everything he touches (he did witchcraft when he was younger, and thinks he released an evil spirit of some kind into the world)
@Jear77
Actions come out of intentions. So we return to the question of whether those intentions are grounded in the flesh (self-service) or in the Spirit (serving the “Greater good”)?
But there’s also the distinct possibility that intentions that we never manage to manifest into actions, were perhaps something “weaker” than intention? Perhaps wishful thinking?
Because the allegorical “road to hell” only become paved with good intentions when they are manifest into action.
@griz even to the flesh should have let him give me something! He got $29,000 (after lawyers) in a lawsuit, and i told him he needed to give me $3,000 for my part. Yet i figure that he had spent that money on witchcraft (again) to get his wife,who he’s separated from, back! (Sighs)
@griz i think that’s why he’s finally getting the point (save for his stupid “blessed” candles) that it’s not something he wants to mess with. My help for him is extremely limited right now with 4 hours of travel a day.
@Jear77
When I spoke of the spiritual splash-over effect, I wasn’t just being poetic.
Whether it’s “spiritual”, a function of “negative energy”, a primitive psychological response or whatever, when someone around you is actively trying to engage trans-human power unto an end like subjugating the free will of others, there is a negative effect on those around.
It’s the same process that led to the snowballing of malicious tyrannical paradigms throughout History. The masses get “infected” by the one.
@griz i’m basically not “around,” as i’m faaarrrrr too busy. But i take it that you mean that me talking to him on the phone, random people he runs into, even people like bill collection agencies and telemarketers who call are affected.
@Jear77
I just spoke in another response about the dichotomous nature of reality. Light and dark, warm and cold, good and evil.
Radiant bodies blow out massive amounts of all kinds of energy without which life could not exist. Black holes are the “absence” of this and actually “suck up” all of the life-energy that ventures too close.
Without spiritually super-charged engines you might not be able to escape his gravitational pull.
One ends up in hell when one’s intentions are bad. The problem is equating good with bad, and bad with good.
Default, for flesh, pleasure and self-interest (extending to kin, even to kind) are “good”. This is, bad, obviously. (And yes, it is explained when you put it this way. Quite simply.)
Spiritually, or in our hearts and minds, we can fathom the good only barely, without The Spirit. A spiritual transformation. Because our fleshly preferences rule, so we set our beliefs. As people believe as they want, according to their preferences.
To have new preferences you have to start to have a new body, one not of flesh, but spirit.
Without that, all intentions are bad, selfish, and so doomed to pain. As there is nothing honorable in the virtue of self-pleasure.
Which is the road to hell, to have an ever growing cup of shame, or anti-honor.
11 responses to “Why is the path to hell..”
Because our intentions tend to be grounded in what the Bible calls “the flesh:
essentially, the most selfish aspects of ego and emotions out to service themselves. That’s why the Bible also says “There’s a way that seems right to a person but only leads to death”, and “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding”. It also speaks of “the Spirit” which is like and add-on, made possible in a way that was totally approved by God (Life) through Christ (the Spirit made flesh, but whom the flesh did not lead astray).
Christ is the quintessential Hero Archetype who traveled far from their comfort zone, confronted Chaos (the ossified religious structure), and spoke forth “the Logos” (truthful speech) that created habitable order from the Chaos. (Foreshadowed by the alleged original Creation Event).
The idea about “the intender” is that if just grounded in the flesh, it will not always be able to accurately discern good and evil: with “good” often just being what one’s emotions want, or what comes easiest. And “the evil” to the flesh, can manifest as “icky feelings” intended to promote seeking and growth.
There’s the idea that we can sin (miss the mark) simply because we are still ignorant of good and evil as they exist beyond the urges and desires of our flesh. Doing something intentionally evil however, is what the Bible calls “wicked”: and what psychology calls poisoning the psyche. That’s not as easy to recover from as inadvertently missing the mark.
Possible, but not easy.
@griz interesting… but remember that *intentions* are not actions. I know you don’t want to hear about my “friend” who can’t seem to pay me, but he fully *intends* to pay me [or so he claims]… or at least compensate me in some manner (and i even came up with a way for him to do so where he’s technically not spending a dime of his own money!) But no matter his intentions, life simply gets in the way. He has bills to pay, the money doesn’t cone in, etc. Yet if i wonder if his intentions matter nothing in light of the fact that he feels he has a literal demon who interferes with anything he does that ruins everything he touches (he did witchcraft when he was younger, and thinks he released an evil spirit of some kind into the world)
@Jear77
Actions come out of intentions. So we return to the question of whether those intentions are grounded in the flesh (self-service) or in the Spirit (serving the “Greater good”)?
But there’s also the distinct possibility that intentions that we never manage to manifest into actions, were perhaps something “weaker” than intention? Perhaps wishful thinking?
Because the allegorical “road to hell” only become paved with good intentions when they are manifest into action.
@griz even to the flesh should have let him give me something! He got $29,000 (after lawyers) in a lawsuit, and i told him he needed to give me $3,000 for my part. Yet i figure that he had spent that money on witchcraft (again) to get his wife,who he’s separated from, back! (Sighs)
@Jear77
More and more he sounds like someone you would be better off without.
What other conclusion can there be if you play second-fiddle to intentional attempts to conjure power to subjugate the will of others unto one’s own?
Even if you might not want to believe it, there is “splash-over” effect to such spiritual ventures to by-standers that are not adequately protected.
@griz i think that’s why he’s finally getting the point (save for his stupid “blessed” candles) that it’s not something he wants to mess with. My help for him is extremely limited right now with 4 hours of travel a day.
@Jear77
When I spoke of the spiritual splash-over effect, I wasn’t just being poetic.
Whether it’s “spiritual”, a function of “negative energy”, a primitive psychological response or whatever, when someone around you is actively trying to engage trans-human power unto an end like subjugating the free will of others, there is a negative effect on those around.
It’s the same process that led to the snowballing of malicious tyrannical paradigms throughout History. The masses get “infected” by the one.
@griz i’m basically not “around,” as i’m faaarrrrr too busy. But i take it that you mean that me talking to him on the phone, random people he runs into, even people like bill collection agencies and telemarketers who call are affected.
@Jear77
I just spoke in another response about the dichotomous nature of reality. Light and dark, warm and cold, good and evil.
Radiant bodies blow out massive amounts of all kinds of energy without which life could not exist. Black holes are the “absence” of this and actually “suck up” all of the life-energy that ventures too close.
Without spiritually super-charged engines you might not be able to escape his gravitational pull.
@griz all i have to do not answer my phone
One ends up in hell when one’s intentions are bad. The problem is equating good with bad, and bad with good.
Default, for flesh, pleasure and self-interest (extending to kin, even to kind) are “good”. This is, bad, obviously. (And yes, it is explained when you put it this way. Quite simply.)
Spiritually, or in our hearts and minds, we can fathom the good only barely, without The Spirit. A spiritual transformation. Because our fleshly preferences rule, so we set our beliefs. As people believe as they want, according to their preferences.
To have new preferences you have to start to have a new body, one not of flesh, but spirit.
Without that, all intentions are bad, selfish, and so doomed to pain. As there is nothing honorable in the virtue of self-pleasure.
Which is the road to hell, to have an ever growing cup of shame, or anti-honor.