Strange and funny theologies.

The church of my youth has a core theology that to this day is rejected by nearly all theologians. The Old LCMS believed in the bodily physical corporeal resurrection of the body. To put that another way, somehow, some way God at the last day will gather up the parts and pieces of every person who has ever lived and reassemble them like a giant jigsaw puzzle and raise them up. I know where the ideas come from, but the fact is you have to twist bend and contort the word of God to make this all work. Yes, I know all the verses that attempt to support this.

I won't poke fun at this theology. I have stumped the best of LCMS seminarians with a few questions. In this "Reassembly" what about the decomposition that takes place, and recycles in plant life, then in bovine product (Hamburger) that is then ingested by another, and then passed and re-absorbed into the earth, to become another part of the life cycle.

What about those burned in fire, dust scattered to the four corners, to become part of topsoil. Who's molecules are those anyway?

Of course I always get the answer which goes something like this, "Well, I don't know how but God has the power to do whatever he wants to do. Sure, he could make us all kitty kats in the after life too. That might be necessary if some of those cats ate mice that ate grain that was grown in the dust laden topsoil from that fire above.

The mercy stroke (Coup de Grace) is the question is the issue of the thief on the cross. Jesus said, TODAY you will be with me in Paradise. Was he kidding? Did the thief rise from the dead bodily? Is his body still in the ground? Paul said that to be absent from the Body is to be present with the Lord. So what happens when the Body is somehow reassembled? Is he then Absent from the Lord if he is represent with the Lord.

Even Luther didn't believed in this. In his writings he intimates more of a soul sleep. I don't know how this got all messed up. I wrote of what happens after we die. I am not trying to change your theology, but as a great theologian once said, "What does the text say". Follow that bunny trail and you will come to the truth. When you die you are absent from the body and present with the Lord, you shall be like him. That is all we need to believe. I don't know how many people have been put off by this poor theology, but we need to be accurate and not traditional.