The Idea of Salvation

Originally posted by KellyJay
You don't have a clue.
Kelly

Your faith promotes the very things you decry. With wondrous Christian salvation, a murderer can be rewarded, while a decent person gets condemned.

You sound just like the people at my former church. I know only too well about that worldview.

Originally posted by SwissGambit
Your faith promotes the very things you decry. With wondrous Christian salvation, a murderer can be rewarded, while a decent person gets condemned.

You sound just like the people at my former church. I know only too well about that worldview.

All have sinned, and all can be saved that is the bottom line, but a
simple prayer isn't what it takes as you seem to think is true.
Kelly

Originally posted by vistesd
I posted this in another thread, but I thought it might have some relevance here, in terms of salvation considered as some escape from ultimate, after-life condemnation.

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These seem to be the “cosmic judgment” possibilities:

(1) Nobody gets away with anything.

(2) Nobody gets away with everything. (Or some ...[text shortened]... l just let that go. The personal history involved is too complex, and is not up for debate here.

If salvation is only getting away with one's sin in your opinion you
have missed it. The best part about being a Christian is God, sin
and be cleaned from it is a by product, if your focus is just yourself
you miss the best parts of the whole thing.
Kelly

Originally posted by KellyJay
If salvation is only getting away with one's sin in your opinion you
have missed it. The best part about being a Christian is God, sin
and be cleaned from it is a by product, if your focus is just yourself
you miss the best parts of the whole thing.
Kelly

That’s not my notion of salvation, but it does seem to be one expressed on here by Christians quite frequently.

If salvation in your view does not mean to you that you are not held accountable for your sins (i.e., that you will now “get away with them,” in terms of judgment in the after-life), good. Note that I stressed those sins that one had committed before accepting Christ (although some in the OSAS camp would include sins thereafter as well). If salvation means, at least in part, that you will not be held accountable for your sins, then you come under category (3), even as a by-product.

Actually, I think you may be one of those Christians who would remain a Christian even if you didn’t believe that it would “get you off the hook.”

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I wish you and I were in closer time zones. You are always coming on here when I am packing it in. 🙁

Originally posted by vistesd
I am skeptical that salvationist religion has any significant impact on morality at all; that is, on average, I suspect that religious people are as likely to be kind/hateful, violent/nonviolent, honest/dishonest as non-religious people.

Me too, which is why I brought this topic up. Are there any non-salvationist religions in the world that are flourishing? I would say Buddhism is non-salvationist but I believe Nirvana could be described as a form of salvation.

Originally posted by vistesd
I posted this in another thread, but I thought it might have some relevance here, in terms of salvation considered as some escape from ultimate, after-life condemnation.

______________________________________

These seem to be the “cosmic judgment” possibilities:

(1) Nobody gets away with anything.

(2) Nobody gets away with everything. (Or some ...[text shortened]... l just let that go. The personal history involved is too complex, and is not up for debate here.

Sin does damage, even sin that you are forgiven of does not mean
that you will not suffer consequences for sin in this life, and in the
life to come since it robs us of much in this life too. I’d point out
that someone who cheated on their spouse and caught AIDS can be
forgiven of cheating, but they still have AIDS, someone who murders
will still stand trial and if convicted serve their time, or whatever they
get. Sin also eats at our very soul and our faith; it damages us, it
eats away at our relationship with God where we lose our boldness
going to Him, it stunts our growth with God and so on.

I know a guy not a Christian who seemed to get away with everything,
his life was filled with cheating and lying, but he always seemed
to ‘get away’ with it. His life was also what he made it, so there really
isn’t a getting away with it, there is simply a chance to be forgiven and
a chance to turn away from that which damages ourselves and those
around us.
Kelly