Originally Posted by davobrosia

Original sin is inheritance of Adam's sinful nature in one's soul. Jesus had no literal, biological father. He was the embodiment of God and the holy spirit; his soul was God. So his soul was born clean. He didn't start with that, and everyone else does.

Originally Posted by Brother Kania

So what if someone denies him yet lives more morally than any other Christian ever has?

Originally Posted by Wowee 22

Yes.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. -Ephesians 2:8-9

It is key to note the "not a result of works" -- here's another example of this:

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

According to Christian belief, a person's works do not get them into Heaven. Even the people that "do works in His name" (could even be modern-day preachers) are not allowed eternal life with Him unless saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.


Also, a very hard concept for me to understand, but here's a verse on Accountability, which has been brought up in this thread:

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse Romans 1:20

According to this verse, every man has the opportunity to know of God and is without excuse. The question then is, "What about the people who have mental [or memory] disabilities or children who don't have the mental capacity to understand?"

From my knowledge, we are not explicitly told that the pre-born, infants, those with serious mental impairments who cannot understand the Gospel will or will not not be held accountable because they did not accept it. However, the Bible gives an account of David's son dying (2 Samuel 12:23) and there, David makes the claim that he will join his son after death.

Also, in the book of Luke, John the Baptist was “filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb” (Luke 1:15). From these passages we can at least deduce that it is possible to be saved as a pre-born infant.

My position (which is that God does not hold these people accountable) is based in large part on Romans 1. In this chapter, Paul makes an argument about the guilt and condemnation of unbelievers based on the fact that they are surrounded by evidence of God’s existence, but they deny that evidence. I believe that infants, the un-born, and those with serious mental disabilities are not held accountable because they lack the ability to deny evidence they are not able to be given.


*EDIT*
What serious questions did I leave out? If anyone has any other Christian-teaching questions, or even just questions about passages in the Bible, I'd be glad to try and explain them. There's a lot I don't know, but I will do my best. I suppose you can just write on here or simply feel free to send me a PM.

Originally Posted by Wowee 22

According to Biblical scripture, this is correct. Which is why he is the "perfect sacrifice".

Originally Posted by Brother Kania

They've always been telling us in Catholic school that Jesus was a man. I love how you believe in human sacrifice...makes me think of paganism.

Doesn't that seem extremely f.cked up to you? I don't know about everyone else, but the thought of a guy who serves the poor his whole life and gives up all of his possessions to help this cause going to everlasting torture and punishment because he didn't believe that some stoned hippie from 2000 years ago was the savior of mankind, yet lets all this bullsh.t happen in today's world go on.

Originally Posted by SticknYOU

Ok i am not biased towards this answer in any way, its just one that i am confused by. So if a knowledgeable Christan could answer please.

Do you have to accept Jesus Christ as your savior to be granted access to heaven?

Thank you, and once this is answered will a mod please close.

Originally Posted by General AI

Actually, he did technically contribute by:

1. "Supporting" someone else's argument.
and
2. Correcting someone else's post by pointing out that the question was regarding Christians alone.



Anyway though, is there any to be more "moral" then Jesus by Christian standards? Let's say you did more good then he did.

Original sin is a b..ch.

Originally Posted by truethinker

Original sin as taught by Roman Catholicism is some kind of mystical what-have-you.

In reality, "original sin" is just a term describing the fact that human beings are utterly and completely depraved - they love sin and rebellion and will continue to sin unless restrained by society, societal expectations, or their own (selfish) desires. That's original sin.

Originally Posted by NiceGuy

You mean religious fascism, converting (by command or coercion) people and indoctrinating children to their concept of good and evil which I and many others of ethicists agree is a poor one.

Originally Posted by truethinker

Personally, I'm glad that ethicists with university degrees don't create the reality of good and evil. Having letters after your name doesn't make you any more or less moral. I should know.

What's religious fascism - Roman Catholicism or the fact that people aren't naturally good?

Originally Posted by Brother Kania

Protestant sects are much more into inhibiting peoples thoughts and choices than Catholicism is. Catholicism is very liberal when compared to many Protestant sects.

Originally Posted by truethinker

Personally, I'm glad that ethicists with university degrees don't create the reality of good and evil. Having letters after your name doesn't make you any more or less moral.