emma@uw-june.UUCP (06/12/83)
Well, since Tim asked.... My own views (note I make no claim for the Church) on salvation are very close to those of C. S. Lewis. Essentially, something we see very clearly in this life is responsibility for your actions. You walk off a cliff, you land on the ground and so forth. My own view is that this extends into the afterlife as well. If in this life you choose to alienate yourself from God, you will find yourself alienated in the next as well, possibly with no better idea of the fact that you alienated at that point than you have now (Lewis spends most of "The Great Divorce" on this topic). I too doubt that God would consign anybody to an eternal weinie roast. As to whether only Christians are saved. I do believe that salvation is through Christ, and only through Christ. However, Paul spends some time in Romans (2:12-16) saying that those who have not heard of the Law are saved according to how they have behaved-- in other words, if you haven't heard of Christ it would hardly be sporting to blame you for not accepting His salvation. If you have heard and have chosen not to accept it, you have chosen alienation. If it has been preached at you but for some reason you don't "really" hear it, as with people who decide that the accounts of Christ's life don't fulfill some standard of historical documentation they choose to apply for example, well I'm not God and I'll just leave that question up to Him. -Joe P.
tim@unc.UUCP (06/14/83)
If in this life you choose to alienate yourself from God, you will find yourself alienated in the next as well, possibly with no better idea of the fact that you alienated at that point than you have now (Lewis spends most of "The Great Divorce" on this topic). I too doubt that God would consign anybody to an eternal weinie roast. Could someone clarify this for me? I was under the impression that Jesus in the Gospels spoke of Hell as a place of eternal torment for the unsaved, but a Christian could probably place the reference (if it exists) faster than I could. Joe, on what basis do you distinguish valid from invalid pieces of scripture? Does this not put you above the people who wrote it? If I won't know I'm alienated from God after I die, and I don't know it now, and I'm having a good time now, what possible reason is there for me to seek out this thing called salvation? Apparently, there is no punishment from my point of view. Why should I seek salvation? As to whether only Christians are saved. I do believe that salvation is through Christ, and only through Christ. However, Paul spends some time in Romans (2:12-16) saying that those who have not heard of the Law are saved according to how they have behaved-- in other words, if you haven't heard of Christ it would hardly be sporting to blame you for not accepting His salvation. If you have heard and have chosen not to accept it, you have chosen alienation. If it has been preached at you but for some reason you don't "really" hear it, as with people who decide that the accounts of Christ's life don't fulfill some standard of historical documentation they choose to apply for example, well I'm not God and I'll just leave that question up to Him. Ah! An oblique threat of damnation! This is a refreshing break from the direct threats I've been getting lately. About standards of historical documentation. Any standards that would let Christianity through would also let through at least a score of other religions. How would I distinguish between them? They are not an arbitrary barrier I impose between myself and God. They are necessary to a consistent system of belief, and that is why I have them. If God wishes to contact me as a human being, he will have to convince me as a human being. (In any case, I don't think that the historical veracity of a set of scriptures is nearly as important as their content.) Tim Maroney
zeus@houxf.UUCP (06/15/83)
If I believe in a religion which says that after I die I become the Christian god, will I then replace this god?