Chapter 6

Myth One - So What?

If you are a Christian, you will have eternal life whether or not you believe the immortal soul myth that man is born with immortality. However, you will be asked some embarrassing questions when you meet Jesus face to face! How could you believe that Jesus, who created everything, would create a system whereby even one individual would suffer pain and horror for eternity in the fires of hell? What part of "God is love" did you not understand? Here is your Savior who died that you might have eternal life. Yet, shortly after He departs the earth you are convinced by other men that you are born with eternal life! Here is your Savior who taught nonviolence. Turn the other cheek, love your enemies, do good to them that hurt you. Yet, shortly after His departure, others convince you that His plan is for untold masses of humanity to suffer indescribable pain for eternity! If this was in His plan, why did He not mention it in detail when He was a human on the earth?

Granted, most of us were taught this erroneous theology from birth. Even so, at some point when you began to reason on your own you should have seen the absurdity. Those teaching the immortal soul myth will have even more to explain before Jesus. Why did they not attempt to discover the truth? Begin now to consider what your explanation will be. Jesus is disappointed that you consider Him to be so mean and vindictive!

The immortal soul myth creates a religion of fear, hatred, and misery from one which is actually based on love and forgiveness! Fear? Yes, fear of eternal pain in hellfire! Hatred? Yes, anyone who condemns another being to eternal pain in hell simply for not believing in him obviously hates that being! Misery? Yes, constant worry about where friends and relatives will spend their "eternity" causes those who believe the myth a lifetime of misery. A few are driven to the traumatic and desperate act of murder to "save" their children from an eternity in hell!

The immortal soul myth causes great anguish. No one can be happy believing their friends and family may be burning in hellfire for eternity. Some other major problems created by the immortal soul myth are as follows:


  1) Did Jesus pay the true penalty for your sins?

The old and new testaments of the Bible represent wills. Under the Old Testament, the only way to inherit eternal life was to obey the commandments. That is, you must never sin because the wages of sin is death. However, this meant that no man could inherit eternal life because all men sinned.

What if another person could serve the penalty for your sins? For this to happen, that person could not already be under the same judgment. If you are already under a death sentence you cannot substitute your life for a friend who is also on death row. Under that circumstance your life is already forfeited and is no longer yours. You cannot already be guilty of the same crime as the person for whom you are substituting. In addition, you must serve his full sentence. Under the New Testament, Jesus suffered our punishment of death so that we could inherit eternal life. Jesus could sacrifice His life for ours because He did not have to die since He lived a sinless life. The wages of sin is death, but He never sinned. Therefore, His life could be given for ours.

However, if you believe the immortal soul myth you have changed the punishment and have created a conflict for yourself! Your punishment for sinning is not the second death as stated in the Bible, but eternal torture in hellfire! Therefore, Jesus did not serve your sentence! Jesus should presently be burning in hell and should stay there for all eternity because this is the punishment you ascribe to mankind! Dying on the cross is a walk in the park compared to eternal pain in the fires of hell.

In fact, this false belief that those who do not believe in Jesus will burn alive in hellfire for eternity and never die, trivializes the death of Jesus Christ! In comparison to what many Christian theologians hold in store for only one nonbeliever, Jesus' crucifixion on the cross is like a mosquito bite! Being crucified daily for a thousand years would be preferable to burning alive for eternity. These theologians apparently need this false belief to bring people to Jesus through fear.

The true punishment for your sin is the second death, which is eternal. You never live again after suffering the second death. It is the death which is eternal, not the act and torture of dying by fire!

Jesus did indeed serve our penalty and He was a valid sacrifice since He was innocent of any sin! Therefore, we can now escape the second death and live forever thanks to Jesus' sacrifice. Jesus died a physical death as a human on the cross. Man's second, and permanent death is also a physical death. Humans who fulfill the requirement of the New Testament do not suffer the second death since their penalty for sinning has already been paid by Jesus. The New Testament requirement for inheriting eternal life is believing in Jesus as your Savior:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

Those who believe the immortal soul myth must interpret perish in John 3:16 to mean something other than death because their "soul" will never perish! Another common erroneous interpretation is that it means "spiritual death" or "eternal separation from God." But if the punishment for sinning is eternal separation from God, then once again Jesus did not serve your punishment! Jesus is not separated from God! He is one third of the Trinity of God!

There are some topics in the Bible which are difficult to understand. This is not one of them! Jesus paid the price for your sins. What are the wages of your sinning? Death! What did Jesus do? He died on the cross. Was He a valid sacrifice? Yes, He did not have to die since He came to earth as a human and never sinned.

In fact, Jesus Christ is the only human being to qualify for eternal life under the Old Testament. That is, the wages of sin is death, but He never sinned, therefore He did not have to die. He laid down His life willingly.

The plan of salvation as inspired by God in the scriptures is so incredibly simple! The wages of sin is death and all humans have sinned, therefore all are headed for the second death. God intervenes and sends His Son to earth as a human. Jesus lives a sinless life so He does not have to die. Therefore, He can lay down His life for ours. He willingly dies in our stead for our sins. Humans who now accept Jesus as their Savior from sin do not have to die because Jesus has already paid the price of their sinning. Those who do not accept Jesus as their Savior are not forgiven and must pay the penalty for their sinning -- which is the second death.

However, man believes he is immortal due to use of the word "soul" in the King James Bible and Satan's statement that, "Ye shall not surely die." Man's new plan of salvation becomes extremely complicated as he designs myths to create new punishments for sinning. The true punishment of death as defined by the scriptures is no longer viable because man's "soul" now lives forever and cannot die!

However, no matter what mythical punishments men create to protect the immortal soul myth, none of them pass one simple and obvious test. Jesus Christ had to pay the full penalty for our sinning in order to become our Savior. He had to serve our full punishment. What did He do? He died! He died! Read it once again, He died! The wages of sin is death, and He died in our place. He is not burning in hell for eternity, He is not eternally separated from God, He did not have to write, "I will not sin" one trillion times, or any other ridiculous punishment! He died. So what happens to those who do not believe in Jesus? Those who choose not to believe in Jesus must pay their own wages for sinning. Therefore, they die! Can this be any simpler? On the other hand, if you are involved with any Christian church, run this simple logic past your pastors and observe how complex their explanation becomes due to believing the immortal soul myth.

Notice that Jesus Christ came to the earth as a human being born of water as every other human. Jesus did not have the powers associated with God when He departed heaven to become a human on the earth! Lightning did not strike me when I realized this fact. Yes, Jesus was the Son of God and Mary at the same time. However, He had to come to earth as a human with all our characteristics and weaknesses to be tempted and tested as we are! Therefore, He did not have power of His own to heal people, raise people from the dead, and perform other miracles. How do we know this? Because Jesus prayed! If He was a God during His thirty-three years on the earth, He could have performed such feats directly with His own godly powers. Since this was not the case, He had to pray to God His Father to perform acts beyond His human capabilities. One of many examples, is the raising of Lazarus from the dead:

Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. (John 11:41-42)

Jesus had already prayed to God the Father about raising Lazarus from the dead, and God had already answered His prayer! In principle, Jesus Christ had no more power than any Christian of today while He lived on the earth as a human. The power we all have, including Jesus while He was a human on the earth, is that of prayer:

Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. (Mark 11:24)

In truth, it seems to me that He did have more power than today's Christians in that He knew the scriptures were all true! We have faith in the scriptures and the promise of eternal life with God. Faith is believing in things unseen. Jesus, on the other hand, had seen since the beginning of time, the future which awaits all Christians. Therefore, when He prayed, He always believed His Father would answer His prayer. Notice what Jesus states about His prayers:

Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always... (John 11:41-42)

Jesus Christ knew that these verses concerning prayer and all scripture were indeed true! Things that we believe on faith, He had actually experienced! You might say He had inside information!

It is an incredible fact that Jesus Christ actually had no more power as a human than any of us. The scriptures state in several separate verses that anything we pray for, believing that it will be received, then it will be received! If you prayed that a mountain be moved, actually believing that it would be moved, then it would be moved. To date, only one human who ever lived had faith that strong. That human was Jesus Christ.


2) The Immortal Soul Myth makes Christianity a religion of fear, worry, and unhappiness.

Due to the immortal soul myth, Christianity today is a religion based on fear. Although we do not hear the old "fear of God" sermons preached as often as in the past, the eternal punishment in the fires of hell threat remains ever present. The majority of messages which we do hear today can be categorized as "how to" sermons. How to handle stress, how to attain financial security, how to avoid worry, etc. These sermons are addressing the symptoms and avoiding the root cause of these problems. The root cause of fear, worry, and stress in many Christians is the constant concern about friends and relatives possibly burning in hellfire for eternity.

Thus many Christians wear a frown and seem to have a constant cloud over their heads. Why is this a problem to anyone but them? When one professes to be a Christian, he or she bears a witness to that fact. Your witness should be a lifestyle and attitude which others would desire for themselves! But if you exhibit constant fear and worry due to believing in the immortal soul myth, your witness drives nonbelievers away from Christianity. Nonbelievers observe such Christians and say to themselves, "Whatever they have, I do not want."

This fear and worry about where one will spend their eternity was vividly brought to my attention when I met my paternal father for the first time in over forty years. He had become a Christian since I last saw him in the early nineteen fifties. Very quickly he asked if I was a Christian and I answered affirmatively. His response was, "Praise God, I won't have to worry about you anymore."


3) Myth One creates hatred among Christianity and other religions.

If someone believes you are condemned to burn in hellfire for eternity, would you have a warm and fuzzy feeling towards that person? Probably not. If you are a Christian, that is likely what your church teaches about all non-Christians. Many of these nonbelievers are respectable, upstanding, hard working, and even religious individuals. They believe in their religions mainly due to accidents of birth, as do most Christians. If you were born in the United States and raised in a Christian family, then you very likely are a Christian.

In actuality, no non-Christians are going to burn in hell for eternity. The worst case is that they will suffer the second death described in Revelation and that will be the end of them.

Christians, Jews, and Muslims believe in the same God. Muslims do not worship a separate god called Allah. Allah is simply the Arabic word for God. Christians differ from Jews and Muslims in that they believe Jesus to be the Son of God and the only path to salvation.

Sadly, some Christians rationalize that Jews deserve the terrible events which befall them because they had Christ killed. This touches the depths of stupidity! Christians should be thankful that the Jews had Jesus crucified. Take a Jew to lunch and thank him. After all, it was prophesied that this would occur:

But I say unto you, That Elijah is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise, shall also the Son of man suffer of them. (Matthew 17:12)

They were supposed to have Him killed! If they had not, Christians could not gain eternal life. Anti-Semitism directed at the Jews because they had Jesus killed is ridiculous. They remain God's chosen people and God does not renege on His agreements!


4) God's chosen people burn in hell

Another consequence of the immortal soul myth is that it has God's chosen people burning eternally in hell. Can God not even protect those He chose to be a special group unto Himself? God chose one nation and gave them special significance as God's chosen people:

The Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. (Deuteronomy 7:6)

God's chosen people were the seed of Abram, whose name was changed to Abraham:

Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made of thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. (Genesis 17:5-7)

God made this covenant with Abraham. Abraham's son Isaac later had twin sons named Jacob and Esau. Jacob's name was changed to Israel:

And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel. (Genesis 35:10)

God then renewed the covenant with Israel:

And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land. (Genesis 35:11-12)

Israel had twelve sons which became twelve tribes known collectively as the children of Israel. Why did God select this group to be treated differently? It was to illustrate God's power on earth to other nations. That is, when the children of Israel kept their part of the covenant, God would cause them to prosper:

If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit... more   (Leviticus 26:3-4)

On the other hand, when they disobeyed God, they were severely punished:

But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; And ye despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant: I will also do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it...more   (Leviticus 26:14-16)

Therefore, others could observe the children of Israel and witness the consequences of obeying and disobeying God's commandments. However, no matter how great the punishments were, God promised to never break the covenant or totally destroy the children of Israel:

And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the Lord their God. (Leviticus 26:44)

Is this the case? The Old Testament details many cycles of disobedience, punishment, repentance, and forgiveness of the children of Israel. If these cycles were not so bloody, they might be comical.

And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgat the Lord their God, and served Baalim and the groves. (Judges 3:7)

Therefore the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel... (Judges 3:8)

And when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel... (Judges 3:9)

And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord... (Judges 3:12)

And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel...  (Judges 3:13)

But when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised them up a deliverer... (Judges 3:15)

And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord... (Judges 4:1)

And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan... (Judges 4:2)

And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord... (Judges 4:3)

And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord: and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. (Judges 6:1)

And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord. (Judges 6:6)

(Gideon sent to deliver the children of Israel)
And the Lord said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand...(Judges 7:7)

And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made Baalberith their god. (Judges 8:33)

And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord... (Judges 10:6)

And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines... (Judges 10:7)

And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, saying, We have sinned against thee... (Judges 10:10)

God began to show some impatience with the children of Israel after this last episode by suggesting that He would no longer deliver them. However, in the end, he kept his part of the covenant when they repented:

Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more. Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation. And the children of Israel said unto the Lord, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee, deliver us only, we pray thee, this day. And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the Lord: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel. (Judges 10:13-16)

Was the cycle finally broken? Had the children of Israel finally learned their lesson? Of course not:

And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years. (Judges 13:1)

God then sent Samson to deliver them from the hands of the Philistines. It appears that every generation grows up believing their way is best, and must be taught otherwise. This knowledge never seems to get communicated to the next generation. The history is clearly there for them to study. However, they believe that will not happen to them. Therefore, the cycle repeats.

Outsiders can observe this cyclic history and know that the children of Israel are God's chosen people. When they disobey God they are severely punished. When they repent and ask for forgiveness they prosper until the next cycle of disobedience. During the entire process, God never breaks His part of the covenant!

What do most Christians believe happens to Jews as soon as they die? Jews do not believe in Jesus. Therefore, their "immortal souls" go to hell as soon as their physical bodies die. This has always been a major source of tension between Christians and Jews!

Christians believe God is a trinity consisting of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The children of Israel's covenant was with God the Father and they still worship God the Father; the same God the Father which Christians worship! What a wonderful way for God to keep his covenant with His chosen people, by having all of them burn in hell eternally! God truly does work in mysterious ways. Once again, Satan has tricked Christians through his lie of, "Ye shall not surely die."

God's purpose for choosing a special people unto himself was to illustrate His power on earth by prospering these people when they obeyed God, and punishing them when they disobeyed God. Since they are all going to suffer in hell eternally anyway, what's the point? The immortal soul myth has God reneging on his covenant and abandoning His chosen people to eternal suffering in the fires of hell!

What do the children of Israel believe concerning the resurrection of Jesus? The chief priests bribed the soldiers guarding Jesus' tomb to testify that the disciples stole His body when the soldiers fell asleep:

And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day. (Matthew 28:12-15)

Why do the children of Israel reject Jesus? There is a natural tendency for the Jews to reject Jesus as the Son of God because He was one of them:

But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. (Mark 6:4)

Jesus, the Son of God? That can't be! I grew up with him. We played together as children. He was one of Mary and Joseph's kids. You know, that carpenter. Therefore, Jesus became a stumbling block for the houses of Israel:

And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. (Isaiah 8:14)

Under the New Testament one becomes an heir to eternal life by faith in Jesus. However, the Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah because He was one of them. They are still awaiting the first coming of the Messiah. Jews worship God the Father and still base their salvation on obeying the laws given to Moses:

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. (Romans 10:4-5)

Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. (Galatians 2:16)

The New Testament has replaced the Old Testament as the only way to salvation because no one could qualify under the Old Testament. God states that the Old Testament had faults. The New Testament is a better covenant with better promises:

But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. (Hebrews 8:6-7)

However, not recognizing Jesus as the Son of God, the children of Israel still operate under the Old Testament which is no longer valid as a will. Present mainstream "Christian" theology has God's chosen people burning in hell for eternity when they die since they do not believe in Jesus as their Savior!

Rest assured, God's chosen people will not suffer in hell eternally. Neither will Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, nor any others who do not believe in Jesus as their Savior. Not even one atheist will burn in hell eternally! According to the scriptures, humans who never accept Jesus as their Savior even after being raised as mortal bodies at the second resurrection will be cast into the lake of fire and suffer the second death. That will be the end of their existence!


5) Myth One logically supports the murder of children.

Theologians do not actively or consciously teach the murder of children. These are not generally bad people who believe and teach these false theologies. The vast majority are well-intentioned, loving, religious, God fearing, wonderful, mislead people. There are those who go astray, but that is primarily caused by the vast power society assigns to some of them. Power corrupts.

On January 7, 2002, Andrea Pia Yates' first trial began in Houston, Texas. The thirty-six year old mother confessed to drowning her children one by one in the bathtub of their suburban Houston home. Dead are Noah age seven, John age five, Paul age three, Luke age two, and Mary age six months. Is this what is meant by the Bible verse:

Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for such is the kingdom of God. (Mark 18:17)

Of course not. No Christian church or group actively supports or condones the killing of children. The above verse means we should teach our children about Jesus and bring them to church. However, if one wanted to be mean, one could make a case that Christianity as it is presently taught unintentionally condones such crimes. Let me be that mean one and illustrate this point.

Ask virtually any Christian where these murdered children are today and their answer would be that they are certainly in heaven with God, or something to that effect. It is unfair for me to put words in their mouths, but this is based on my fifty plus years experience with Christian churches. I have never attended a Christian funeral without the presiding pastor making a comment that the deceased is now in a better place. He or she is in heaven with God. This is said even though their place in heaven is not yet ready! How do we know that? Because Jesus has not returned. Jesus is bringing the place He is preparing for us when He returns to the earth. Christians are not going to heaven to get it:

I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:2-3)

And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (Revelation 21:2)

Why do they say these young children are in heaven? Because due to their ages they did not understand right from wrong. Consequently, they have never sinned and are qualified for eternal life. This is a general description of the "age of accountability" doctrine. If a child dies before understanding right from wrong he or she goes immediately to heaven. In other words, these children die before reaching the age of accountability.

Although no one goes to heaven at the instant they die, there are Bible verses which validate that a person who does not understand right from wrong will not be punished for unknowingly committing a sin. For example, when God punished the Israelites by making them wander in the wilderness for forty years and die off so that they would not see the Promised Land, those who were children when the sin was committed were allowed to possess the promised land:

Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it. (Deuteronomy 1:39)

The Andrea Yates case is not unique. What makes it exceptional is the number of children involved. I was born and raised in the Bible Belt section of the United States. This area consists of the southeastern states. As I grew up, there were periodic cases such as this. In most, the murderer would make some comment that the young victims were with God. Oftentimes, they were responding to voices from God or angels. However, within a very short time period the murderer would be convinced that "the devil made me do it." After all, our religions cannot possibly be held responsible for such horrendous events!

Although the Andrea Yates case is being called a case of postpartum depression and psychosis, she was quoted as saying, "I think the devil's in me. How long do you think the devil's been in me?"

What might the children's eternal fate have been, had they not been killed at such an early age? Even though they were born into a Christian family, their prospects seemed dim:

Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. (Matthew 7:14)

What about the eternal fate of parents who could commit such horrible crimes? Although murder is not the unpardonable sin, most of these religious child murderers believe they will burn in hellfire for eternity. In the cases of which I am aware, the murderers were highly influenced by their religious teachings.


In summary:     1 - A mother murders her children and their souls go straight
     to heaven for eternity.
2 - The mother expects to burn in hell eternally for
     committing this sin.
3 - Her only consolation is that her children are safe in heaven;
     separated from the drugs, sex, pornography, and other
     temptations which very probably would have lured them
     down the path to eternal torment in hell.
4 - The children avoid the few miserable years of struggling
     existence here on this earth and very possibly an eternity
     in hellfire.

Why are we trying this woman for murder when we should be building a statue to honor her? Her sacrifice was much greater than that of Jesus Christ. He suffered on the cross for six hours, whereas she believes she will suffer for all eternity for saving her children's souls and sparing them this hectic earthly existence!

Do Christian churches and organizations actually believe this scenario? I emailed the highly regarded Billy Graham Evangelistic Association asking where the five murdered children were. I respect this association in that they are not afraid to state their beliefs at any time. Most church groups questioned about these deceased children during their mother's trial refused to answer the question. Quickly, they would go on the defensive. Yet when the turmoil died down, they reverted back to the same teachings. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association responded that they did not know where the children's remains were, then continued to state:

What is more important, however, is where the souls of these children are. God, in His mercy and love, watches over little children who are taken by death, and they go to be with Him in heaven.

They thus confirm that Andrea Yates and others have achieved their goal of keeping their children from suffering eternally in hell. In fact, they assert that item one above is a true statement based on their theology. That is, if a mother murders her small children, the children's "souls" go immediately to heaven to live with God for eternity!

Congratulations Mrs. Yates and all the others! According to most mainstream Christian churches and organizations, you have succeeded in achieving your goal. Regrettably, this could inspire others to follow in your footsteps!

Although I have never actively killed anyone, I have been partly responsible for the murder of many in that I facilitated or failed to prevent their deaths! After reading and studying the Bible in the mid nineteen seventies, I realized my complicity in the murder of many innocent children through my support of churches and TV evangelists which taught the immortal soul myth. Whenever some parent murdered their young child or children to send them to be with God in heaven and avoid possibly burning in hellfire for eternity, I was partially responsible! If you support any church or other association which condones these child sacrifices, either financially or by helping to spread their false religious philosophy, you are partly responsible whenever these religious child murders occur! The amount of your responsibility may never be known. Even if your responsibility is 0.000000001 percent, you share some responsibility with millions of others!

If you are ever in the Houston, Texas area, I highly recommend a pilgrimage to the graves of Noah, John, Paul, Luke, and Mary Yates. They are buried in the Forest Park East Cemetery at 21620 Gulf Freeway in Webster, Texas. From Houston, proceed on I45 South towards Galveston. I45 is also known as the Gulf Freeway. The cemetery will be on your right, past the NASA Rd 1 exit and before the Highway 518 exit.

If you believe and support the immortal soul myth that all humans are born with eternal life, stand before their graves and acknowledge your responsibility. You helped teach this myth to their mother!


6) The immortal soul myth prevents nonbelievers from becoming believers.

Most humans are what they are religiously due to circumstances of birth. I was born in northern Mississippi near the Tennessee border. Consequently, I became a Southern Baptist. Where I was born, one can hardly throw a rock from one Baptist church without hitting another Baptist church. I did not know what a Catholic was until we moved to New Orleans when my parents divorced. There, Catholics were the vast majority! Of course, we ignorantly believed all Catholics were going to hell because they worshiped idols (statues), prayed to Mary, and baptized babies. On the other hand, Catholics believed all Protestants were heretics and thus doomed eternally to hell.

I did not reach a certain age, perform a wide study of all religions, and then decide which religious affiliation I would join. If I had been born into a Jewish family, I would probably be Jewish. Or if I had been born into a Muslim family in Palestine, I might now be throwing rocks at Jews.

In New Orleans, we attended a Southern Baptist church three times a week; Sunday morning and night, and Wednesday night. During one Wednesday night service our pastor delivered the old Southern Baptist "fear of God" sermon. He vividly described lost souls burning in hellfire and never dying. Having visited and ministered to the sick for years, he described some actual burn victims from his experiences. It was horrific! If there had been a rating system for sermons this one would definitely have been rated "R." It very effectively succeeded in planting fear into everyone present.

As we were leaving my mother whispered to me, "If only I could get your Uncle David to hear this sermon, he would certainly be saved." In actuality, the truth was exactly the opposite. Forty years later, Uncle Dave lay dying of cancer in New Orleans and I was living in Houston, Texas. At work, I had an outgoing long distance line and called him several times a week.

My uncle was a people person. He held a bachelor degree in education from Tulane University and a masters from Stephen F. Austin. He taught history and coached athletics near New Orleans. In the summer he transported groups of children on weeklong camping trips to Arkansas in an old school bus he had purchased. Two trips were made each summer, one for boys and one for girls. The school board repeatedly tried to promote him to the position of school principal. But desiring to remain in the classroom, he refused the promotions.

I would occasionally spend weekends at Uncle Dave and Aunt Lucille's house. During those times I would tag along with him on errands, and it was impressive. Everyone we passed would say hello to my uncle. Many would engage him in short conversations so that we generally returned home late, upsetting Aunt Lucille. He addressed everyone by their first name.

During the Christmas season he would keep any change in his hand as we checked out of a store. As we departed he would drop the change into a Salvation Army pot. The attendant ringing the bell would not say, "God bless you, sir," as we walked on. We would hear, "God bless you, Dave."

While talking with him as he lay dying, I mentioned my nightly prays for him. Although he appreciated my concern, he took full responsibility for his illness and pain due to his smoking and drinking. When his initial lung cancer disappeared he jokingly asked the doctor if that meant he could have another cigarette. However, cancer was discovered again in other parts of his body within a month.

Loving other people so much, Uncle Dave did not buy into the eternal hellfire punishment concept. What did God gain from that? Knowing this basic religious belief to be flawed, he dismissed all theology. This "all or nothing" concept is a common tendency in old-fashioned Southern Baptist families. We were taught that if you ever take a sip of alcohol you may be an alcoholic; if a girl looses her virginity she's a loose woman, etc. Thus, when many take that first sip, having already totally failed, they continue to drink the entire bottle.

Instead of supporting any church, Uncle Dave belonged to a local charity club which assisted homeless and poor people in the area. So here was one fine human being who was driven away from the church due to the immortal soul myth. He was one of a large group which is getting larger. At least he was an honest person. My uncle did things wholeheartedly. For each person like him who totally abandon the church there are probably thousands who "believe" just in case it's true, much like an insurance policy. They know something is wrong with the church's theology, but they sense that something does occur after their death. These lukewarm people attend periodically, usually around Christmas and Easter. Does this please God?

I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:15-16)

Preventing nonbelievers from becoming believers is Satan's main goal. He implanted the immortal soul myth in humans through his lie that "Ye shall not surely die" to negate the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Untold billions burning alive in hellfire for eternity is definitely not good news. The concept that God loves us while planning eternal torture for the majority, scares many people into "believing" in Jesus as an insurance policy, while driving the majority away.


7) What happened to all those "souls" before Jesus died?

If you believe the immortal soul myth, what happened to humans who passed away before Jesus died for their sins on the cross? Is salvation retroactive?

              That is: 1 -   If all mankind is born as a spiritual body (soul)
  living within a physical body.
                   and 2 -   The soul goes to heaven or hell when the body dies,
  depending on whether or not the person believed in
  Jesus.
           and since 3 -   Today is the day of salvation,
                    and 4 -   The wages of sin is death,
                    and 5 -   All have sinned,
                    but 6 -   Jesus had not yet died for their sins.
                  then 7 -   What happened to the "souls" of those who
  died before Jesus?

It would appear that they are all burning in hell since no one had as yet lived a sinless life and died in their stead. Some were fairly nice individuals: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Noah, Solomon, Job, Daniel, Moses, and many others. Is David, whom it is said that God loved, burning in hell? After all, he was a murderer.

This appears to be a real problem for those believing the immortal soul myth. Herein lies the problem: If all who do not believe in Jesus are condemned to eternal torment in hell, then all who lived before Jesus was born are unjustly condemned. How could they possibly believe before Jesus ever existed as a man? Of course, additional billions have died after Jesus without having ever heard the good news of salvation through His sacrifice. These condemned represent another slight problem of unfairness!

I do not have the problem because I believe what the Bible teaches. I do not believe the lie Satan told Eve. All of these people are dead and buried. David, of whom the Bible says God loved, is still in his grave and not in heaven or the fires of hell:

For David is not ascended into the heavens...   (Acts 2:34)

After Jesus returns these individuals will be resurrected at the second mass resurrection as physical beings since they are not Christians. They will then learn of Jesus and as they accept Him they will be born again at that time as a spirit:

Behold, now is the day of salvation.   (II Corinthians 6:2)

This scripture does not mean that our short first physical life on earth is the only time one can accept Christ. That is, we must make a decision before we die the first death. This is another misinterpretation caused by the immortal soul myth.

We are living in the day or age of man. Man was given dominion over the earth during the Genesis recreation. This day, the age of man, is man's day of salvation. When man's day is over, his time to seek salvation will also be over. The day of man will end when the age of Jesus Christ's rule on earth begins. This occurs after completion of the second resurrection when every human being's case has been judged, and every human body has either been born again as a spiritual body or cast into the lake of fire and suffered the second death.

The case of every single human who has ever lived will have been accounted for, the reward given (eternal life when born again as a spirit), or the sentence carried out (the second death). Thus, when there are no more human beings alive, the age or day of man is over. The day of salvation for men will then be over also since there are no more men to save. As long as one man exists, God is willing to save him! Our first physical life on earth may not be our only physical life on earth. Those who died as nonbelievers will be resurrected as physical bodies. Since the day of man is still in progress, they can still be saved! They are not being raised as mortals again to simply suffer the second death in the fires of hell. They are raised as mortals and given their first true choice to accept or reject Jesus with the scriptures unsealed and Satan locked away!

The age of Jesus Christ's rule over the earth begins when there are no more humans alive. The only caretakers on the earth will be spiritual beings, many of whom were former humans which have been born again as spirits. The place Jesus has been preparing for us, New Jerusalem, will then descend from heaven:

And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:15)

NOTE: The age of man is over here. No humans are alive any where in the universe. All Christians now have spiritual bodies equal to the angels. Jesus now brings the place He has been preparing for those who believe in Him to the earth. He would not bring it down until all nonbelievers had received their punishment. Why reward them? The very next verse begins the Age of God on Earth:

 
NOTE:   The age of  man  is over  here. No  humans are  alive any
  where in  the  universe. All  Christians  now have spiritual
bodies equal to the angels. Jesus now brings the place He
has  been  preparing for  those who believe in  Him to the
earth.  He would not  bring  it down until all  nonbelievers
had  received their  punishment. Why reward  them? The
very  next  verse  begins  the  Age  of  God  on  Earth:


And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (Revelation 21:1-2)

The first prophecy about the future occurs in Genesis as God curses the serpent:

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (Genesis 3:15)

There will be enmity between the serpent's offspring and Eve's. Every human ever born is indirectly the offspring of Eve. "It shall bruise thy head," refers to a male offspring of Eve's who will bruise the serpent's head or defeat the serpent. This is how one might fight a snake. The serpent will bruise his heel. Serpents are down low on the ground, so it would probably bite one in the foot area. This hints at the crucifixion, as a crucified person's feet are nailed to the cross. If this male offspring of Eve will bruise the serpent's head, and the offspring's feet are struck to a cross, then the offspring described is Jesus. Jesus will defeat Satan and provide the path of salvation and eternal life for every human through His sacrifice on the cross. His sacrifice will save those who believe in Him from the second death, from which there is no return.



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