Writing out of respect, I had the same question in my mind "Why not just die and be with my God earlier?" However, life given is life to be appreciated. Therefore, dying for the sake of desiring to be with God earlier is not something that God would want. Moreover, it is written that, to live wholistically, I need to take care of my body as it is the temple of my spirit. Killing myself is not taking care of myself.

Another thing is that there is a purpose why I'm still alive. One reason for that would most probably be to be His instrument in showing the light to other people. I don't need to be priest or pastor to share His light, because everyone has a different calling.

I'm sorry if my reply is quite complicated. I can't give a simple answer to your question.

yes, true...but some religions don't believe in a "heaven" just an extension of life in another form...so they may not want to become a bird or goat yet LOL :)

a thought provoking discussion on the difference between religion and faith.

However there is ONE thing we all have in common, that is we all want to be right. It's human nature, no one likes or wants to be wrong. The Christians think they have it right, the Jews, Muslims, Hindus etc., everyone thinks they got it right.
But suppose everyone has it wrong, or on the other hand, suppose everyone is right? Your first instinct is to say, "everyone can't be right", but I think it could also be the case.

The Christian RELIGION may or not be the one true way, I speak only about the hypocrisy in their practice or supposed faith in that religion.
To make my point let's look at extreme Islamic fundamentalists.

they believe Jesus Christ is the son of God and If you follow His teaching and/or accept Him as your personal savior you will live in heaven for eternity. but an indescribably beautiful place filled with pure love, peace and happiness. I hope I got this right in general terms at least.

If you truly believe in Jesus, and love Him with your whole being and you truly believe in this place called heaven, then why will you do everything and anything to prolong your meeting with Him and a life of love, peace and happiness?

If you really have FAITH and BELIEVE in what you say, then why not pray that your children die in a bus accident or that your father dies in heart surgery so they can be in this wonderful place called heaven? Instead it seems the opposite is true.

You have to understand the makeup of a real Christian in order to answer your question. Sin is in the flesh and the spirit that is saved is from God and now sin free. Both live together until death at which time the sin dies in the flesh and the Christian is freed. Until that time they will have an internal war and are directed to ( fight the good fight of faith) basically sometimes you are in the faith and winning and sometimes you are in the flesh and losing so the answer to your question is YES and they will be. They know they are no good (real ones do) they are just forgiven because of faith.

No one should shove the bible on anyone, God gave each person the right to believe or not. Christians are supposed to live in a way as to show you the love of Christ in their actions, sometimes they will and other times they will lose their personal fight. Many claim it but only God can judge who has faith and who does not. He said you will know them by their fruit.....not daily actions but the product they produce in the long term.

It's human nature, no one likes...

no one likes or wants to be wrong.

Not sure but I think catholics ARE christians. Fortunately I couldn't carry a tune in a bucket and I'm ugly as sin.

Christians SHOULD understand and believe that Jesus' resurrection is the first act of New Creation, where heaven and earth become one,

I haven't read the entire thread, but I'll take a couple shots at the original question :)

- Integrity is in a sense, being whole, complete...it isn't necessarily doing what you say you will do, but that is part of it. Follow this definition through to the end and you will recognize the most intregrity-filled thing you can say is "I don't have integrity!"
- I use this as an illustration simply to point out, the higher the ideal held, the more you may seem a hypocrite, and the closer you come to that ideal in admitting your failure to live it out!

- The Judeo-Christian tradition holds that Heaven and Earth were created to be one. This whole disembodied ascent or descent into heaven or hell is at best a misunderstanding of 1st century Judaism...at its worst a bastardized hybrid of Platonism and pagan Judaism. Christians SHOULD understand and believe that Jesus' resurrection is the first act of New Creation, where heaven and earth become one, the dead are resurrected (ie. Are very truly physical, transformed, fully clothed in the Holy Spirit, and will never die), and God dwells among a newly redeemed, newly created Creation. So in many ways Christianity holds the highest of ideals in that the Earth is not abandoned, we were created to be embodied, and God brings a justice that is overtly merciful (there probably is a hell, but leading scholars are seeing that hell is a place people choose, not a place people are sent). This is all a pretty complex paradigm shift from where the Conservative Evangelicals are today, so I'm sure I'm doing a poor job of communicating this clearly.
- If we could agree, for argument's sake, that Christianity holds out an ideal too high for anyone to achieve, let alone completely grasp, since it involves the cosmic redemptive movement of God, it would not be hard to come to the conclusion that Christians, who are supposed to be living out the New Creation in this broken world, are closer to living that New Creation out when they embrace the fact that they are indeed extremely hypocritical. This isn't to say they have a pass; however, it is to say, there is specifically a call in Christianity that makes little of no sense according to how our world works, yet this way of living is one which will be vindicated in God's New Creation.

I'm not necessarily interested in defending Christian hypocrisy, especially since much of it is power-driven and actually anti-New Creation. That being said, the more I come to understand the true message Jesus proclaimed, the more I realize my first task is simply to admit where I fall completely and utterly short...not even in sin, just in my own ability.

I meant to be describing the New Creation, not meaning to imply it had already happened or been fulfilled.

- an act of New Creation is an act of the Holy Spirit. Looking back on his ministry, Paul does not differentiate between his own efforts and those of the Holy Spirit...though his ministry was filled with acts of New Creation.

- this would probably be more clearly understood if we taught the early Christian presumption that the Holy Spirit's action is intrinsically eschatological. In essence, the Spirit-filled Church is pulling the New Creation into the present broken world...but that doesn't mean the New Creation has come to fruition or that the faithful Church has yet been vindicated.

For all, I hope it remains apparent that I am describing what I understand to be the Christian perspective/belief and nothing more.

Jesus of Nazareth was made a New Creation. The transformation that is part and parcel of what resurrection means was Jesus becoming the firstborn of the New Creation...Paul also calls him the "firstfruits." This is why Paul can claim that we are a new creation "in Christ." He is speaking of something anticipatory and yet so sure to happen that he uses language of it already happening. We do the same when we refer to ourselves as "saved." We must still go through death, carry out cross, etc., so obviously we have not been fully saved from that...but salvation is assured and the faithful count that guarantee so sure as to speak of it as if it has already happened.