Archangels and other heavenly creatures

Originally posted by Melanerpes
but one of the big problems is when people try to attain God via their "own efforts"

this is what the pharisees were doing and it is what many "religious people" continue to do to this day -- but Jesus made it clear that all they were doing was "cleaning the outside" and then proudly patting themselves on the back.

Jesus instead called on people to ...[text shortened]... re "righteous" a person was, the more likely it was that they would oppose Jesus.

I dont oppose JC but I will also not give up on my own efforts

Originally posted by karoly aczel
I dont oppose JC but I will also not give up on my own efforts

phlababit's comment about "rolling an 18" gave me an insight about what the whole Narrow Gate thing is about.

How do you enter a narrow gate? -- you have to become very very small so you can fit through it. You have to roll a zero. Typical "religious effort" is when you try to enter the Kingdom by rolling an 18 so you'll have the strength to break through -- but all that does is make your body larger, so it becomes even harder to fit.

Jesus is calling on us to do the very opposite of typical "religious effort"

Originally posted by Melanerpes
phlababit's comment about "rolling an 18" gave me an insight about what the whole Narrow Gate thing is about.

How do you enter a narrow gate? -- you have to become very very small so you can fit through it. You have to roll a zero. Typical "religious effort" is when you try to enter the Kingdom by rolling an 18 so you'll have the strength to break thr ...[text shortened]... to fit.

Jesus is calling on us to do the very opposite of typical "religious effort"

The process of transending the ego can be tricky. Some have to roll an 18, some a 0