(November 18, 2017 at 8:55 am)Aroura Wrote: Are you only OK with the different possible paths all because you believe you have chosen the correct path, though?
Not sure what you mean by "OK with."
Quote:Also, I want to be clear about your answer to CL. You do not think most people who are not exposed to the word of Jesus still get into heaven. Is that correct?
Since I believe that life begins at conception and I subscribe to an age of accountability doctrine, most people go to heaven. You're only considering adults.
Quote:My question then is, why are they going to be punished when they didn't get the same choice, just for "inventing a false religion?"
First, they're not punished for just inventing a false religion. As the Romans 2 passage shows, they're punished for all their sins.
Second, you're using a general sense of fairness. When you consider it as matters of justice and grace, there's no need for God to offer the same grace to everyone, as grace is by definition unmerited.
Third, it can be argued that everyone gets a final shot at accepting salvation after death. I haven't studied it enough to have a firm opinion. Check 1 Peter 3: 18-20 if you're interested.
Quote:Lastly, is it your belief that only belief matters, and not other actions/choices in this life? What about harmful acts to others, or even the 10 commandments?
Nope.
We're condemned for our sins, which include both actions and thoughts.
We're saved by confession and belief.
We earn eternal rewards through our actions here in this life.
Quote:For instance, if there is a man in Nepal who is a Buddhist for life, and he spends his life taking care of the poor street children, finding them food and medicine, even going without himself sometimes so they are taken care of, he does not accept Jesus (or God), he's destined for hell. But a person who truly accepts Jesus, but gets drunk and kills a whole family driving, or beats his wife because he has temper issues he can't seem to deal with, he's destined for heaven?
If the man in Nepal has heard of Jesus and rejected him, then yes, that's correct.
Quote:It doesn't bother you that other people who call themselves Christian, for instance, would entirely reverse that...and would you still consider those people true Christians?
Bad theology bothers me, but no one's theology is perfect. Mine is different than it was 30 years ago. I basically go by the Apostle's Creed as the minimum shared beliefs necessary for me to consider someone a Christian. I also distinguish between leaders (more responsibility for truth) and lay people (less responsibility).
Quote:(Reminds me of a boy I dated in my late teens. His gran was evangelical, and she did not like him dating me because I was Catholic, which she viewed as basically pagan as we have Mary and all those Saints put just a step below Jesus. I was not a true Christian in her eyes.)
One of the things I'm most fascinated by is how different groups of believers rarely agree on anything.
Is life a test? Some adamantly yes, some adamantly no. Some not sure.
Is there a literal heaven and hell? Same, some yes, some no, some not sure.
How to get into heaven? Depends on who you ask.
Can non-believers get into heaven? Yes, no, maybe.
Are parts of the bible allegorical or factual? Some parts, maybe all parts, dependson who you ask.
And all of this can vary even within sects, because people feel more free nowadays to reject some parts of their own faith, insert what makes the most sense to them personally, then claim it with any confidence at all. "Well, I think...." That's nice, but that is't what your faith teaches, what's in the bible, etc.
And on and on and on.
And these are all people who band together and claim to believe in the same God. They have no more in common with each other, belief wise, than we do with them. /Ironic
See above on Apostle's Creed.