RE: A Methodist in Your Midst
March 27, 2012 at 4:43 pm
(This post was last modified: March 27, 2012 at 4:45 pm by Faith No More.)
fr0d0 Wrote:Then either they were wrong or you misunderstood. Faith is in fact essential. Faith should be demonstrable by its product but the product alone is meaningless. There is only one route to salvation in what is widely regarded as Christianity and that route is via Jesus.
Ok fr0ds, I looked this up to clarify and it seems I was partially right.
Quote:
Do United Methodists believe that faith in Jesus Christ is necessary to go to heaven?
Yes, United Methodists do believe that faith in Jesus Christ is the only way the Bible gives as clearly God's gift and way of salvation and heaven. God can save anyone that God chooses to save and we cannot decide whom God will save. We simply trust the plain teaching of scripture. See John 3:16, Acts 4:12 and many other texts.
Our belief in this unique path of salvation can never be used to put down other religions and the gifts that they have to give to the world, even to Christians. That we have a gospel to proclaim is not grounds for hurting others. We can and must be friends with Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and others. In dialogue with them we learn and they learn. In a time when religion is so much in the news and on our minds, we need to be vigilant against our own hostility and follow Jesus in the way of love.
Our Book of Resolutions says, "While we as Christians respond faithfully to the call to proclaim the gospel in all places, we can never presume to know the full extent of God's work in the world, and we recognize the reality of God's activity outside the Christian church. It is central to our faith that salvation is accomplished not by human beings, but by God. We know that judgment as to the ultimate salvation of persons from any faith community, including Christianity and Judaism, belongs to God alone."
http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=1&mid=1386
So yes, they do believe faith in Jesus is necessary, but then in the part I bolded they say that the ultimate salvation belongs to god. So it seems I was right that their position is that they don't know exactly who gets in and who doesn't.
LastPoet Wrote:I have a degree in "intensive heroin use" passed by the local dealers. Yay, I'm a doctor, now, respect me!
A specialist, eh? I got my degree in general drug use.
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
