Holiness

[Avatar4321]

What does it mean to be holy?

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Religious without all the bad stuff.

 

[Care4all]

I think the only one capable of being completely Holy, is God....being Holy is divine! Being Holy would therefore mean, being God or being Godlike.

 

[Care4all]

Sacred, is another synonym that comes to my mind...

 

[Luddly Neddite]

I think the only one capable of being completely Holy, is God....being Holy is divine! Being Holy would therefore mean, being God or being Godlike.

I almost agree.

Where this falls apart is that no gods, that we know of, are holy.

I've always wondered why humans imagine such foul tempered gods. Why don't they make up more nice gods?

If the OP is asking what it takes to be a holy human, it would require an enormous ego and being completely out of touch with reality.

Or falling on a shotgun.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Sacred, is another synonym that comes to my mind...

Isn't that a value judgment?

Isn't it what humans decide about gods or beliefs?

 

[shart_attack]

What does it mean to be holy?

Thanking your neighbors for good posts on a message board is a good start.

It's what Jesus would do.

Prolly Moses and Mohammed and Buddha and Confucius and Pliny the Elder, too.

 

[G.T.]

Being holy is like being shot up outside the liquor store

 

[Avatar4321]

I think the only one capable of being completely Holy, is God....being Holy is divine! Being Holy would therefore mean, being God or being Godlike.

If God is the only one capable of being Holy, then why does he require men to be Holy? Why would He require something of us that is not possible?

 

[Care4all]

I think the only one capable of being completely Holy, is God....being Holy is divine! Being Holy would therefore mean, being God or being Godlike.

If God is the only one capable of being Holy, then why does he require men to be Holy? Why would He require something of us that is not possible?

He's asking us to be Godlike, or try to be Godlike in all that we do....I try to do as he asks, with every breath that I take, with every word that I speak, with every thought that I have....but I just can't accept that I am even close to being Godlike, to being perfect....to being worthy of being labeled Holy.... maybe I am my own worst critic...I dunno?

 

[Delta4Embassy]

One of the Jewish commandments is 'immitate God and His upright ways.' (Deuteronomy 28:9)

My usage of holy differs from the textbook definition which simply pertains to anything specificly religious in functionality. If referring to people I'd apply it to those that reflect well on their religion. And not embarass it.

The current Pope is a good example. First holy Pope of my lifetime.

 

[AVG-JOE]

What does it mean to be holy?

According to The New Testament it means to separate oneself from the things of this world and to live 100% for The God of Abraham, as described in The Torah, The New Testament and The Koran.

I would bet that the two other ancient stories centered on that particular god have similar denotations for 'Holy', but The New Testament is the only one I've really studied.

 

[AVG-JOE]

One of the Jewish commandments is 'immitate God and His upright ways.' (Deuteronomy 28:9)

My usage of holy differs from the textbook definition which simply pertains to anything specificly religious in functionality. If referring to people I'd apply it to those that reflect well on their religion. And not embarass it.

The current Pope is a good example. First holy Pope of my lifetime.

Wouldn't that be for The God of Abraham to judge?

I would be extremely reluctant to make that call without the stated caveat that it was my HUMBLE opinion.

God only knows what porn a mere man has on the hard-drive of his inner thoughts.....

 

[Care4all]

I think the only one capable of being completely Holy, is God....being Holy is divine! Being Holy would therefore mean, being God or being Godlike.

If God is the only one capable of being Holy, then why does he require men to be Holy? Why would He require something of us that is not possible?

AND I said that God is the only one capable of being COMPLETELY Holy, because "we ALL fall short of the Glory of God", I didn't say that He was the only one capable, I repeat, I said He is the only one capable of being completely holy...

 

[JakeStarkey]

The principle of Holiness, a development from Methodist perfectionism into the practices of conviction and walk of the Nazarene sects today, greatly influenced early Mormonism, particularly the ministries of John Taylor and Wilford Woodruff.

 

[AVG-JOE]

Sacred, is another synonym that comes to my mind...

I disagree. I see 'Holy' as applying to the living while 'Sacred' would apply to inanimate things like books and buildings that people define as Sacred, because they see them as things of God.

Kind of an exercise in semantics, though.

 

[Indeependent]

I think the only one capable of being completely Holy, is God....being Holy is divine! Being Holy would therefore mean, being God or being Godlike.

If God is the only one capable of being Holy, then why does he require men to be Holy? Why would He require something of us that is not possible?

That's an ancient Talmudic question.
Leviticus 20:26...
The word for Holy, which REALLY means "separate" is koe-desh.
The Hebrew letters are kuf-vav-daled-shin
The holiness that God asks of the Children of Israel is spelled WITHOUT the 2nd letter vav.
Why? Because it is impossible for a human to be perfectly "separate" from the physical world.

 

[Pennywise]

Even though I don't follow any faith at this point in my life, the greatest attribute of truly faith-filled people is they are always trying to be better. The world is an ugly place, if you see it that way, and it's a wonderful place if you see it that way. How we interact with one another is the key to "holiness" if you ask me. It's why people who constantly put down others make me so angry. My lashing out at those I see as subhuman is not exactly holy, but I think some people need to be beaten, while others need a hug and it's often fairly easy to tell which is which.

 

[Care4all]

I think the only one capable of being completely Holy, is God....being Holy is divine! Being Holy would therefore mean, being God or being Godlike.

I almost agree.

Where this falls apart is that no gods, that we know of, are holy.

I've always wondered why humans imagine such foul tempered gods. Why don't they make up more nice gods?

If the OP is asking what it takes to be a holy human, it would require an enormous ego and being completely out of touch with reality.

Or falling on a shotgun.

Well, Luddly, I disagree with you....on what it would take to be a Holy human as far as an ego and being out of touch....someone truly Holy, would be well in touch, and be empathetic and merciful....in my opinion of course!

Not that I can't understand where you are coming from, when it comes to humans and what we have created or imagined as gods over the millennia

 

[AVG-JOE]

I think the only one capable of being completely Holy, is God....being Holy is divine! Being Holy would therefore mean, being God or being Godlike.

If God is the only one capable of being Holy, then why does he require men to be Holy? Why would He require something of us that is not possible?

How does God require holiness? If all is forgiven before we are born, what difference does it make?

Assuming that we're sticking to The New Testament here, and assuming that being Holy means being presentable to The God of Abraham, did not Jesus paid the price for EVERYONE who believes to be so presented?

Under those assumptions, all who accept Jesus and the stories of The New Testament are indeed as Holy as can be, eh?


Is it possible to be 'sort of holy'? On the road to holiness? I see it as an all or nothing proposition, with 100% holiness being bestowed at the moment of acceptance of The New Testament as Truth.