Re: Is there no other Way?
Submitted by Dakota on February 19 2002 12:56:12
In reply to Is there no other Way? submitted by Splash! on February 19 2002 00:23:51
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As I said before in another post, I'm very undecided on this issue. I was not "raised" as a Christian, but since I was saved in high school, the churches I've attended all preached that Christianity was the onlu way of salvation. There is certainlu enough in the Bible to back that up, so that is what I believed. But as I went out into the world and saw so many other people sincerely worshipping God, but in a different way than I did, I began to question if these people were not also redeemed. I mean, there are some people in the Christian community that believe all Catholics will go to hell, and in turn some that believe all non-Catholics will go to hell. So we can't even agree whether Christianity alone is always enough. I don't doubt the Bible when it says that Jesus is the only way. But when it says that He died for all our sins, "all" must include even those who have never heard of Jesus and those who have heard but follow a different path. The big question is if those different paths leads to the same place. As I said, I don't know. But I DO know that God is loving and just and I find it hard to believe He would condemn anyone simply for not following the "enclosed directions" to the letter, if you know what I mean. Jesus dieing on the cross made it possible for everyone to be redeemed. And I'm not so sure that that grace doesn't also extend to people that perhaps don't believe that Jesus was God's son. Let's say that you are asleep in your house and it catches on fire. You will die unless someone saves you. So Jesus rushes in and pulls you out, thus saving your life. But when you regain conscienceness, the only one you see is one of the firemen, kneeling over you to make sure you're ok. So you assume the fireman was the one that saved you and thank him profusely, giving him the credit. Does the fact that you aren't acknowledging Jesus, your true savior, make you any less saved? I'm not totally convinced either way on this issue. I have to trust in God's judgement. But as for your Muslim friend, remember that God loves him as much as anyone else. If he would end up in hell without your instruction on the gospel, I have to believe that the Holy Spirit would put a burning desire in you to do so that you couldn't ignore. After all, the Bible says quite clearly that it is not God's will that anyone should perish. Dakota |
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