MovieChat Forums > Risen (2016) Discussion > A simple question for Christians

A simple question for Christians


The world has >7 billion people, the vast majority aren't Christian.

Do you truly believe that anyone who does not share your religious beliefs is by definition going to 'hell' and not deserving?

Let's say there's a person living in a remote country who hasn't been exposed to Christianity (e.g. no missionaries). He lives a good, moral, decent life. But because he doesn't share your 'God', he's not worthy, right?

btw this is not how the religions like Hinduism/Buddhism work - they accept anyone and are based on your actions in this life.

Christianity is based on intolerance - you're 'with us or against us', sound familiar? You know what other religion shares this basic tenet - Islam. Both are very similar - one god, one prophet, non-believers are considered heretics.

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[deleted]

The only way we go to hell is if we choose to go there.



What about the souls that want to go to Heaven, but are denied and sent to Hell? God decides who goes to Hell and sends them there, no? You seem to be putting the blame on the person and not the judge. Who would willingly send themselves to jail?


Part of God's mercy and empathy is looking at our situations and circumstances in our lives and taking these things to account. If he lived a life where there was not ever an opportunity for him to even learn who God is, that's not his fault and of course how good he was as a person will then be considered. With God you're only judged based off what you know and how you judge others.



Can you please post the verses of the Bible that support this? Didn't Jesus say that the only way to Heaven and salvation was through him? You need faith, not just works, according to many passages in the Bible, no? Otherwise, why would you need to be baptized into Christianity at all?


Christians believe God is Three Persons (Trinity) and we believe Jesus is fully God and fully human. Islam only thinks of Jesus as a prophet, but Christians think so much more of Him



The Trinity is not Biblical though. It is a man made concept, voted on long after the fact. Even Jesus claims to not be God, only God's son, in many passages of the Gospels. Plus, if Jesus was fully God, why would his death be any great sacrifice at all? He got to go right back to Heaven after 43 days or so.

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[deleted]

hi defcon79, check out this website, any question you can think of, put it in their search engine.




http://www.gotquestions.org/never-heard.html

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If everyone was automatically going to be let in to God’s kingdom, Jesus never would have died on the cross for our sins.

Matthew 7:13-14

13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

I belong to Jesus: my Lord, Savior, my eternity, my everything. I love you, Jesus!

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[deleted]

Hi Jenny, you say its possible for anyone to get to Heaven.

Thats actually incorrect. Theres only 1 way.

Not 2 ways

Not 3 ways

Not many different ways.

Only 1 way.

Ready?

"Believe in Jesus"

Thats it.

Believe that he is the son of God, and that he died for your sins in your place (he took the punishment we deserve) Every human being on this planet, is doomed to hell, unless we accept Jesus's sacrifice on our behalf.

It is so simple, and easy, and straightforward, even a child can understand.

3 words can save you. "Believe in Jesus" Does it get any simpler?

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[deleted]

jenny you are an fool, please read this:


http://www.gotquestions.org/salvation-by-works.html

there is only 1 way, im not going to repeat myself.

i dont have time to argue with you.,

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[deleted]

Alright then. Well my point still stands.


No.

It doesn't stand. Its wrong.

please read this:

http://www.gotquestions.org/salvation-by-works.html


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Question: "Why is salvation by works the predominantly held viewpoint? Why do so many people believe that we can be saved by works?"

Answer: The simple answer is that salvation by works seems right in the eyes of man. One of man’s basic desires is to be in control of his own destiny, and that includes his eternal destiny. Salvation by works appeals to man’s pride and his desire to be in control. Being saved by works appeals to that desire far more than the idea of being saved by faith alone. Also, man has an inherent sense of justice. Even the most ardent atheist believes in some type of justice and has a sense of right and wrong, even if he has no moral basis for making such judgments. Our inherent sense of right and wrong demands that if we are to be saved, our “good works” must outweigh our “bad works.” Therefore, it is natural that when man creates a religion it would involve some type of salvation by works.

Because salvation by works appeals to man’s sinful nature, it forms the basis of almost every religion except for biblical Christianity. Proverbs 14:12 tells us that “there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Salvation by works seems right to men, which is why it is the predominantly held viewpoint. That is exactly why biblical Christianity is so different from all other religions—it is the only religion that teaches salvation is a gift of God and not of works. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9).

Another reason why salvation by works is the predominantly held viewpoint is that natural or unregenerate man does not fully understand the extent of his own sinfulness or of God’s holiness. Man’s heart is “deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9), and God is infinitely holy (Isaiah 6:3). The deceit of our hearts is the very thing that colors our perception of the extent of that deceit and is what prevents us from seeing our true state before a God whose holiness we are also unable to fully comprehend. But the truth remains that our sinfulness and God’s holiness combine to make our best efforts as “filthy rags” before a holy God (Isaiah 64:6; cf. 6:1–5).

The thought that man’s good works could ever balance out his bad works is a totally unbiblical concept. Not only that, but the Bible also teaches that God’s standard is nothing less than 100 percent perfection. If we stumble in keeping just one part of God’s righteous law, we are as guilty as if we had broken all of it (James 2:10). Therefore, there is no way we could ever be saved if salvation truly were dependent on works.

Another reason that salvation by works can creep into denominations that claim to be Christian or say they believe in the Bible is that they misunderstand passages like James 2:24: “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.” Taken in the context of the entire passage (James 2:14–26), it becomes evident that James is not saying our works make us righteous before God; instead, he is making it clear that real saving faith is demonstrated by good works. The person who claims to be a Christian but lives in willful disobedience to Christ has a false or “dead” faith and is not saved. James is making a contrast between two different types of faith—truth faith that saves and false faith that is dead.

There are simply too many verses that teach that one is not saved by works for any Christian to believe otherwise. Titus 3:4–5 is one of many such passages: “But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.” Good works do not contribute to salvation, but they will always be characteristic of one who has been born again. Good works are not the cause of salvation; they are the evidence of it.

While salvation by works might be the predominantly held viewpoint, it is not an accurate one biblically. The Bible contains abundant evidence of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8–9).

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[deleted]

@marty-130-840-283

"But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, ‘Raca,’ shall be in danger of the council; but whosoever shall say, ‘Thou fool,’ shall be in danger of hell fire."

Telling people they are foolish is bad enough. But then you tell her that you don't have time to waste on her, but you want her to waste time reading your material?

Now that you have been thoroughly refuted, you really ought to respond. If nothing else, you ought to apologize for being rude.

@jennyasnow

Excellent job of using Marty's own material against him. We must all remember that faith without works is dead.

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Marty, you crack me up. Your contribution to the debate is "go read this and convince yourself otherwise."

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Better to have never known him than to know him and reject him.

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Better to have never known him than to know him and reject him.


Hi Yucahaor, what do you mean? Sorry, I don't quite understand your point.

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It says in the Bible that God would rather someone not know Him at all than to pretend to know Him or to outright reject him.

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Nope. Sorry sir/ma'am, you have a very warped view of true Christians. You don't have to have the EXACT beliefs as Christians, you just as to believe Jesus died to save you, believe that God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are one and the same, believe they are all powerful, and accept him into your heart. Also keep the commandments as best as you can, but obviously no one's perfect so everyone's bound to mess up.

As for living in a remote area, well, no one's ever TRULY cut off from the rest of the world, and everyone has at least heard of the religion or Jesus or something of that nature. God is graceful and will make sure that everyone hears something about Christianity at some point, but it's that person's choice whether or not they follow up on it.

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As far as a person secluded from the knowledge of God and Jesus ........ I can offer this. Each person eventually reached the age of accountability. This is the point in their life where they are aware of their impending eternal result. The age of the person is not relevant. Some people will never have the capacity to comprehend at all due to mental health or perhaps their environment.

In other words if you have ever sat and wondered for even a split second, "what if they're right" or "is there really a hell and could I go there if I don't accept God?". Well then your heart is officially under conviction. At this point you have reached the age of accountability and you are officially making the decision to accept or refuse god's plan of salvation.

I am a Christian but I will admit to not reading my bible to the point of quoting. So I can offer the exact scriptures. This is just what I've learned through church and teachings. So I am not an expert. I'm also not here to ague with anyone. I hope I lenses something useful

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I believe that anyone who rejects God will end up spending eternity separated from Him. It is not for me to say what that separation will exactly look and feel like but Hell is indeed the popular term for it. As for people who have never heard the name of Jesus, I believe that God will deal with them in a perfectly just and loving manner. The book of Romans says that God is revealed in Creation itself and that no one is without excuse. The Bible says that everyone will know deep down in their heart that there is a God who made them and loves them. What they do with this information is up to them. They may reject it and forget it in the same instance they realize it or they may pursue it with whatever knowledge and means are available to them. I have heard stories of people (Muslims especially) meeting Jesus in dreams and becoming Christians that way. In some way, form, or fashion the offer of salvation from sin will be offered to everyone and they will respond to it in some way. God is just and He will always do what is right.

I don't believe that intolerance is such a bad thing if Jesus is indeed the only way to be saved and have our souls cleansed of darkness. I have heard is said in a Christian book series that it is not intolerant to tell someone that there is only one way to breath. One may respond that air is available to everyone and so is Jesus. If we are intolerant, we are intolerant of religions or lifestyles that will ultimately harm the person practicing them. This may sound harsh but you asked what I believe and I have told the truth.

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To the original poster & those asking questions of the Christians: Most Christians can only quote the Bible. Ask any of them how the books were chosen to make up the Bible, what took place in early Christianity, and what happened during the Reformation, and they are clueless. Evangelicals are particularly bad about this. They are passionate, but are historically ignorant of how their faith came to be. On the other hand, serious Catholics & serious Orthodox Christians have a much stronger grasp on all of this. This may be due to the age of those churches. Any time you get a Bible promoting Christian, start asking them detailed questions about the first 600 years of Christianity or events of the Reformation, and over 75% will be clueless and not have any specific answers. By saying this, I am not saying it's wrong. I am saying they are passionate about something in which they are vastly ignorant of the details of the origins. To me, this hurts the credibility of their PERSONAL message as to the importance and validity of their faith.

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OP posted a controversial post on February 12 and disappeared. Textbook troll. Ignored.

Found an IMDB troll? Remember:
The best thing you can do is report + ignore them.

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