Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The belief that there are many paths to God is a lie straight from the mouth of Satan who deceives the world. There is only one way to God the Father, and that is through Jesus Christ.
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
Acts 4:12 "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wardendresden
You have finally quoted scripture I agree with. Where we fall away is on our definition of what "way," "truth," and the "life" mean. If I understand the majority of your other posts your faith is completely in believing. Mine is in the "living" BECAUSE one has believed.
Fruit doesn't save, but absence of fruit is contrary to Jesus" statement that "ye shall know them by their fruit," and casts tremendous doubt on any claim of "faith."
And I don't understand why fundies attack the beliefs of universalists who over and over speak of showing Christ's love to everyone, while the fundies themselves limit it to half a dozen core "beliefs" that were never uttered from the mouth of Jesus.
Give me a man or woman who shows God's love first and foremost as a fruit of the spirit. Truth proceeds from the heart, not from a set of rules about being a Christian (Phariseeism).
You understand nothing of what I have said in my other posts on this forum, and you apparently never will.
What is the main reason that you believe traditional Christianity is the true faith of God?
I suppose this question is mainly directed towards the fundamental/evangelical believers. (That could include members of any denomination who believe that way.)
Almost all kinds of truth require faith to convey. Certain kinds of truth can only be reached by faith. No humans ever realized this, neither did religions except Christianity.
On the other hand, all religions boil down to a description of an afterlife which concerns everyone. So if the gods behind religions are truly loving gods they claimed, they should urge humans to believe them and should urge humans to spread the message as broader as possible. However, only Christianity emphasize the importance of such a "good news" (the Gospel) and urges everyone to 1) believe it, 2) spread it to the 4 corners of the world.
Almost all kinds of truth require faith to convey. Certain kinds of truth can only be reached by faith. No humans ever realized this, neither did religions except Christianity.
Truth can be categorized as follows;
1. Scientific truth
A scientific truth is discovered in a scientific way. However, it is conveyed to 99% humans through faith. You put faith on what have been written down by a small bunch of humans (called scientists) to get to such a truth.
That is to say, the existence of black holes could just be a myth as they are never been touched directly by you. Only the scientists are believed to have a direct contact. 99% others choose to believe what those scientists said as direct witnesses.
You may randomly choose to verify their works though. As the nature of science is that the phenomenon is always repeatable for verification.
2. Truth occurred at present time
Such as the existence of a human (can be a nobody) such as Barrack Obama. You can always verify his existence as he's presently there. However 99% don't bother to verify by themselves. Rather, they put faith on what the media said about him. You get to know Obama not be any evidence, but putting faith on a small group of direct witnesses called the reporters.
3. Truth occurred in the past (especially long past)
History (= his story) is hardly verifiable or evidenced. Under most situations, you rely purely on books/writings written by an extremely small group of witnesses (the historians). You put faith on them to get to any truth.
If it is said George Washington lived between 1732 ~ 1799. So what he's doing on Feb 21 on 1766? You'll never know unless it is written down by someone as a witness. Even so, it's hardly verifiable. Well, hope that you can tell that it's different from "he's doing nothing on that day because of no evidence".
4. Truth directly touchable by you
Say, water is wet. You can always verify by yourself. However, you may need to put faith on others to get to know the deeper nature of what water actually is. Collecting evidence of everything is never an efficient way to get to a truth. Putting faith on those who are believed to be the direct contact of the truth (witnesses) IS!
5. Truth unreachable by current humans
The existence of black holes is not reachable to humans in stone age. So if you are sent back alone to stone age, then you could be there Jesus. They have to put faith on what you (the witness) said to get to the truth that black holes do exists. There's no other way round. Gods, angels, hell and so forth can be in the same fashion. There's difference an unreachable truth and a falsehood, humans may not be able to distinguish though, before the time comes.
What is the main reason that you believe traditional Christianity is the true faith of God?
I suppose this question is mainly directed towards the fundamental/evangelical believers. (That could include members of any denomination who believe that way.)
Because I have had a personal encounter with Jesus Christ who gave me the free gift of forgiveness of my sins, by which I am able to approach God our creator directly and will one day see face to face. I have a peace and joy that is indescribable. It is something that no one can ever take from me nor can I forsake it. I am forever His child.
Almost all kinds of truth require faith to convey. Certain kinds of truth can only be reached by faith. No humans ever realized this, neither did religions except Christianity.
On the other hand, all religions boil down to a description of an afterlife which concerns everyone. So if the gods behind religions are truly loving gods they claimed, they should urge humans to believe them and should urge humans to spread the message as broader as possible. However, only Christianity emphasize the importance of such a "good news" (the Gospel) and urges everyone to 1) believe it, 2) spread it to the 4 corners of the world.
So you believe Christianity is the one true faith because Christians have tried to spread the Gospel?
Christianity is not the only religion that urges believers to "spread it to the 4 corners". Certainly Islam attempts to do so. Even a religion that does not proselytize, Bhuddism, was founded by a man who tried to teach others the way to Enlightenment that he had discovered.
You made some good points in your following post about truth requiring some faith to convey. Such as your example that scientific discoveries are not normally verified by the average person; however, it is possible to "spot check" and thus know which of these witnesses are reliable. So is there a reason you would consider the Apostle Paul to be a credible witness, but not the Prophet Muhammed?
I don't believe any one religion or denomination is "the one true one". It's absolutely impossible. And I prefer to err on the side of love and compassion rather than get caught up in bloody religious battles (Middle East? You hear me?)
I don't believe any one religion or denomination is "the one true one". It's absolutely impossible. And I prefer to err on the side of love and compassion rather than get caught up in bloody religious battles (Middle East? You hear me?)
What is the main reason that you believe traditional Christianity is the true faith of God?
I suppose this question is mainly directed towards the fundamental/evangelical believers. (That could include members of any denomination who believe that way.)
I don't know that Christianity is the true faith of God. I think Christianity is the true faith of Gentiles who have no other pathway to God (without converting to something else). I don't know what rules and regulations God may have placed on His other believers or what He expects of them. I don't think all the Jews and all the Muslims are going "burn in hell for all eternity " because they are not Christians. I don't think all the other religions of the world are going "to burn in hell for all eternity" because they are Buddhist, or Hindu or whatever.
It's like the illustration that I made in a different post
it is doctrine that determines the truth as to the who have the true the true Christian faith .... not somebody simply claiming it.
As was pointed out in an other OP... there really are but only six main tenants of Christianity in which they agree among themself as to the core principles. The core beliefs are:
1 ....... the Bible is the true word of God.
2 ....... God is Triune ..... Jesus is God
3 ....... the message of the cross
4........ Jesus rose physically from the dead
5 ....... By grace we are saved
6A ..... Saved through faith
6B ..... Works are the reflection \ the result of faith, not the contributing to being saved.
First I must disagree that "*doctrine* determines the truth as to the who have the true the true Christian faith." (I'm sure in here somewhere is a typo or two)
I must disagree that "*doctrine* determines the truth as to who have the true Christian faith." (I think that this is how it should read. If I got it wrong, I am sorry)
*doctrine* is church not Bible. Only God can decide what is true Christian faith and who has it. There is no check off list for one to follow.
According to the Bible, there are only 3 tenets to being a Christian. 1) One accepts God. 2) One believes that Jesus is the son of God. 3) One believes that Jesus, the Christ, died on the cross for our sins; that Jesus is the savior.
That is being a Christian. Christ=Christian=Christianity. Once you accept the Christ, then you are a Christian. Period. If you don't believe these three things, then you are not a Christian. You are a Jew or a Muslim or an Atheist or a Buddhist or a Hindu etc.
Now, whether you are a good or bad Christian, or whether you find favor with God because of your choices in life, or whether you do good works or not, or whether you believe Jesus is God or God is Jesus or neither, or whether you go to ABC or XYZ church or don't go to church at all, or whether you believe the world is 6,000 years old or 4.54 billion, or whether you live a righteous life or you are in prison for life is totally a different matter. None of these things "make" you a Christian. Neither do any of the things you mention above in your list.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
