Theological Opinions

[Lief Erikson]

Originally Posted by Radagast The Brown

So in other words... you don't know. I accept that; but questions that cannot be answered by religion are exactly the thing which makes religion hard to believe in. Not only that it can't be proven, it doesn't fit the world I see around me.

The fact of the matter is, what you see around you when you look at the world is only a tiny fraction of what exists. There are countless mysteries of the universe that are beyond us. Even many of the aspects of who we are, biology and such, are still beyond us. So the idea that there should be spiritual things that aren't all ironed out for our understanding is very much in accord with the world we see around us, the state of which also is in countless ways way beyond our comprehension.

I would say that any religion that was all ironed out and left no mysteries unexplained because of that fact would be very questionable. It would not correspond with the universe of the unexplained that exists around us.

Originally Posted by Falagar

But, as you said earlier, God decides what people do since we don't have Free Will (tm). He decides that a person shall do evil, the person does evil, and God condemns him/her to eternal suffering. Doesn't sound like a very fair deal to me.

I am not convinced that the suffering in hell is eternal. There are passages that talk about the soul being destroyed. It talks about eternal destruction, but eternal torment I've only seen in one scripture in Revelation. That scripture was a vision of John, Revelation 20:10. I could get into discussing that one, for if one considers it to be actual endless suffering, there is a point I would make about it that might make one think twice.

There are many scriptures about hell, but I don't know of any others that talk about the final judgment being a place of torture. The temporary torment between now and the final judgment is described as torture, but the final one on the Day of Judgment I think is annihilation.


God plainly doesn't make all his creatures with the same purposes. Humans are higher creatures than insects. Some creatures are made for high purposes and others for low purposes.

An example from animals: We raise dogs for higher purposes (being our friends and household pets). We raise chickens (to be killed for food) for lesser purposes. Neither choice is evil.

God, infinite in wisdom and perfect in ability to choose, is in a good position to make judgments about the fates of men.

Originally Posted by brownjenkins

why is it necessary to have such a strong focus upon accepting or rejecting god?

does what you actually do during your lifetime have any weight at all?

Everyone's life touches the lives of everyone around him or her. Even a life that doesn't touch anyone touches God, since he experiences everything everyone does. I'm not sure what your question means.

Originally Posted by brownjenkins

what you, and other christians seem to be saying is that accepting god is all you need to do... as long as this acceptance is sincere, you can be as selfish in life as you want

We must accept Christ and follow him. Jesus said, "If anyone would come after me, he must pick up his cross and follow me." And Paul talked about the torment he was in as the nature of Christ in him strove against sin which also was in him. Paul said, "do not take your freedom [in Christ] to mean license!" Jesus talked about all the things people must not do, and what they must do. He set a very, very high moral bar when he said, "be perfect, as my Father in heaven is perfect." There is nothing in the scripture that says we can do what we like because we're saved. Such a view as that is complete lunacy.

We are saved when we accept Christ, but we must continue in him or we will slip aside into destruction.

I know that there are "Christians" who do what you accuse them of. They act as though they have license. They act as though, "once you believe, you're in, and you don't need to follow Christ once you believe in him." James scorned that view in the Epistles. He said, "You believe in God, good. EVEN THE DEMONS DO THAT, CUPCAKE!" Minus the caps and the cupcake .

We are saved from sin. Continuing in sin after accepting Christ is therefore rejecting the salvation we have received.

In my posts, I tend to emphasize and explain the belief in Christ part a lot because that's the part that people don't get. Everyone understands that good people should be spared. I believe that belief in Christ is the door to becoming good people though, the only door, and that's why I feel obliged to give it emphasis.

If a person accepts Christ into his or her heart, Christ transforms that person to holiness. Someone who accepts Christ and then refuses to follow him though has turned away from him.

Originally Posted by brownjenkins

i understand the sin/repent dynamic if you are a christian... what i don't understand is the need to accept the christian god and/or jesus to be saved

as i said, one could live the life of a mother teresa, but if they happened to be hindu, or buddhist, or muslim, or even agnostic in terms of their beliefs, they would not be saved

thus, living a "good life" alone is not enough... the focus is on how you act and what you believe, not just on how you act

You favor a religion based more on works than on faith. However, I say that works come from faith and cannot come without faith. When Christ enters a person, he saves them from evil. He transforms them and makes them good on an extraordinary level. In heaven, they will be perfect. On Earth, they are "running a race," as Paul puts it, to be transformed. Jesus said, "Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:27).

Living a good life is enough for God. The point is that no one can live a good life without God in it. You're right that Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims and agnostics live good lives by the world's standards, and there also are plenty of "Christians" who also live good lives only by the world's standards. But there are also those who are being transformed by God inside them who makes them holy. Our own efforts can only go so far and cannot create the inner transformation that Christ does. Our own efforts can never be enough to make us sinless. God must do that.