(January 31, 2016 at 5:23 pm)Nihilist Virus Wrote: Pascal's wager, for the one or two of you who don't know, says that because there is between a 0% and 100% chance of Christianity being true, and because the consequences of unbelief are infinite, one ought to believe in Christianity. There are many rebuttals to this, but to me the most obvious one is that one cannot actually force oneself to believe in something that is irrational no matter what the stakes are. Can you force yourself to believe in unicorns?
But if you already believe in Christianity, then you have to answer to the atheist version of your own wager. You should sell all that you own and give to the poor, then wander the world doing good works and preaching the gospel. There is clearly a 100% chance you'll get into heaven if you do this (provided your heart is right and all that jazz), but there is NOT a 100% chance that Jesus will accept you into heaven if you sit on your wealth while children starve to death. Jesus did say that many will do good works, thinking they're Christian, but yet will still be cast into hell. So if you live like a king in your Western world, occasionally going to church and giving a manageable tithe, there's no guarantee you will get into heaven.
You are saved by grace through faith, but faith without works is dead... so there is no guarantee that you are doing enough unless you do all that you can.
"Faith without works is dead"....
This is true, but the "works" that you gave an example of is not what that scripture is talking about.
Quote:John 14:12
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
Jesus walked on water, through faith Peter also walked on water.
Quote:James 5:15
And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
Quote:Mark 16:17-18
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
That being said, there is nothing you can do to earn your way in to heaven, you can only get there by the grace (unmerited favor) of God.
It's a free gift.
