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irateplatypus · 11-25-2003, 05:09 PM

to echo some of the other posts, from a Christian perspective... no measure of doing good will not get you into heaven. As humans, we are bound to mess up as a matter of course. But, to diverge from some of the posts, the plain belief in God will not in itself bring salvation either. A person can believe in God but totally reject him. You have to recognize that you have failed (as we all have) to meet God's law and recognize that the only way you can be reconciled with the divine is through the request of forgiveness and the acceptance of Jesus' suffering in your place.

as for the situation of your friend...

I believe that God will judge us by the same standards, but with infinitely more wisdom than I can hope to perceive. But, one must remember, both your friend and the tyrant will have sinned at some point in their lives. Perhaps the volume of sin is irrelevant in some way? (speculation, of course) If that tyrant realizes that truly he is at fault and has only the grace of Christ to cover his shortcomings... then I believe it changes the complexion of the situation. Your friend on the other hand will have spent his whole life sinning less often, but will not have the asked for the mercy of the Father in recognition of his weakness.

In short, I believe the recognition of fault coupled with the request of underserving forgiveness is the most important element of salvation in the understanding of Christian faith.

11-25-2003, 05:09 PM	#14 (permalink)
irateplatypus can't help but laugh Location: dar al-harb	to echo some of the other posts, from a Christian perspective... no measure of doing good will not get you into heaven. As humans, we are bound to mess up as a matter of course. But, to diverge from some of the posts, the plain belief in God will not in itself bring salvation either. A person can believe in God but totally reject him. You have to recognize that you have failed (as we all have) to meet God's law and recognize that the only way you can be reconciled with the divine is through the request of forgiveness and the acceptance of Jesus' suffering in your place. as for the situation of your friend... I believe that God will judge us by the same standards, but with infinitely more wisdom than I can hope to perceive. But, one must remember, both your friend and the tyrant will have sinned at some point in their lives. Perhaps the volume of sin is irrelevant in some way? (speculation, of course) If that tyrant realizes that truly he is at fault and has only the grace of Christ to cover his shortcomings... then I believe it changes the complexion of the situation. Your friend on the other hand will have spent his whole life sinning less often, but will not have the asked for the mercy of the Father in recognition of his weakness. In short, I believe the recognition of fault coupled with the request of underserving forgiveness is the most important element of salvation in the understanding of Christian faith. __________________ If you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly, you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance for survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves. ~ Winston Churchill Last edited by irateplatypus; 11-25-2003 at 05:16 PM..