 | Pastor Dave grew up in northern New Jersey in a very diverse cultural area. He attended Central College in Pella, Iowa received a BA in sociology and psychology. He was an offensive guard for their NCAA Div III National Championship team in 1974. In speaking for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, he sensed a call to full time ministry. Meeting is future wife Sandy at Central, went to Michigan to finish her college while Dave started Western Seminary in Holland, Michigan. Dave married Sandy in 77 and completed his Masters of Divinity degree in 78. Pastor Dave’s first church was in Fort Lee, New Jersey, home of the George Washington Bridge. Their three children were born there and he also served as a Police and Fire Chaplain for the city. In February 1991, they came to Wichita to start Harvest Community Church. In 2006, he received his Doctor of Ministry degree from Covenant Theological (Presbyterian) Seminary in St Louis. During that year he gained a daughter-in-law with now 2 grandsons of 3 years and 6 months old. Besides Pastoring at HCC for the past 20 years, he has been Director of the SCSD & WPD Police Chaplains for 11.
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Religion
2012-01-25 15:57:05
Requirements to enter Heaven?
Q: I read recent articles in The Q & A Times and other places on Heaven and what it will be like. What are the “requirements” to enter Heaven? Are there different requirements for people of different religious persuasions?
A: First, I want to handle the second question concerning the different requirements of varying religions to enter heaven. Now, there are several world religions but also some religious groups that are more philosophies then they are religions.
Buddhism is more like a philosophy in that the goal is reaching nirvana, the elimination of desires and to escape suffering. One follows an eight fold path or system freeing the Buddhist from desire and eventually achieving nonexistence.
Transcendental Mediation™ is similar but they believe you are god within. Doing good in excess of evil (or kind of like your good has to outweigh the evil side) in order to finally achieve the highest state of union of self with Brahman, but there is no heaven or hell.
Hinduism sees one going through many cycles of reincarnation, which can take many life times. This is done by mediation and yoga. A person is reborn in the cycle to pay for sins of the previous life. Final salvation is being absorbed into Brahman or like a drop of water being absorbed into the vast sea.
Islam believes humans are basically good but need guidance. The balance between good and evil deeds determines whether one goes to heaven or hell. Everyone needs to live in fear of Allah and his judgment day because he can arbitrarily tip the balance one way or another. They believe in the bodily resurrection and that righteous men will go to paradise which is designed with virgins to give them sexual pleasure.
Kabbalah, which is an off shoot of Judaism, has caught media attention with Madonna ascribing to its teachings. Man carries the spark of the creator and is repairing god the universe by right living and grasping more of the Creator’s light. Salvation comes when we are able to understand and practice living in harmony with the spiritual laws of the universe. Man reincarnates and climbs the tree of life to god and returns to restored Eden of Paradise.
Judaism believes by prayer, repentance and obeying the Law salvation is achieved. To some in Judaism there is resurrection and is achieved by obedience that one lives forever with God and the unrighteous suffer. Another branch of Jews do not believe in the conscious life after death but live on through one’s heritage.
Scientology believes hell is a myth and heaven is delusional thinking. There is no need of repentance but freedom comes when an “auditor” works with the individual on cleansing engrams (negative experiences of the past) so one achieves the “Clear” state. Progression takes many stages to reach the “Operating Thetan” state. This is when one is in control of “MEST” or Matter, Energy, Space and Time.
Christian Science believes human are already saved and sin, evil, sickness and death are not real. They are states of mind as well as heaven and hell. The deal for them is oneness (At-One-Ment) or harmony with god.
Mormon’s believe resurrection by grace and salvation or exaltation to godhood (becoming a god) is by good works, Mormon baptism, faithfulness to church, tithing, ordnances, marriage and sacred Temple rituals. One must be a Mormon to be saved and at death one goes to one of three grades of heaven judged by performance.
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe one must be baptized as a Jehovah’s Witnesses and go door to door in faithful work to be saved. Only 144,000 go to heaven as spirits and the rest of the righteous live on earth in perfect obedience for 1,000 years or they will be annihilated.
All these are well meant people and sincere in their belief but contrary to what the Bible says. Heaven is a free gift of God, not by works otherwise we could brag about it (Ephesians 2:8-9). Try to live a perfectly good life by God’s standards as Jesus described them in His elaborating on the 10 Commandments in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:21 through 7:28. How do you measure up? Man at conception is born in the state of fallenness and sin (Psalm 51:5). Everyone is a sinner (Romans 3:23). The payment we deserve for sin is eternal death but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23). We are saved because of God’s mercy to us by washing us in the blood of Jesus’s sacrificial death and the Holy Spirit giving us that rebirth and renewing us in Jesus (Titus 3:5). Knowing this intellectually is not enough, we need to accept by faith and trust Jesus Christ by an act of the will that He alone will save us. (Romans 10:9). This truly is Amazing Grace because Jesus did for me what I could not do for myself! Secure in Him.
