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Paul is answering a common question then and now, "how can a loving God send someone to hell, especially someone who has never heard about Him", the answer is He doesn't. God has revealed Himself and His truth to ALL people.
Rom 1:1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, a called apostle, separated to the gospel of God
Rom 1:2 (which He had promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures),
Rom 1:3 about His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who was made of the seed of David according to the flesh,
Rom 1:4 who was marked out the Son of God in power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead;
Rom 1:5 by whom we have received grace and apostleship, to obedience to the faith among all nations, for His name;
Rom 1:6 among whom you also are the called-out ones of Jesus Christ:
Rom 1:7 to all those who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Rom 1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
Rom 1:9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you
Rom 1:10 always in my prayers, making request if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come to you.
Rom 1:11 For I long to see you, so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, to you for the establishing of you.
Rom 1:12 And this is to be comforted together with you by our mutual faith, both yours and mine.
Rom 1:13 But I would not have you ignorant, brothers, that oftentimes I purposed to come to you, and was kept back until the present; that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other nations.
Rom 1:14 I am debtor both to the Greeks and to the foreigners, both to the wise and to the unwise.
Rom 1:15 So, as much as is in me lies, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are at Rome also.
Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
This is the prologue - I cannot see a universal question being addressed here or a suggestion that he is about to address such a question
Thanks for your input ILNC and cg81 but let me ask this from another perspective. Do you believe that a muslim who is deeply religious in his or her own faith and has no interest in Christianity or Jesus can go to heaven?
but people of whatever belief will go to the afterlife of their believing, won't they?
but people of whatever belief will go to the afterlife of their believing, won't they?
I believe so and moreso ALL will go in spite of what they did on this earth. We are not parts of a celestial craps game.
What happens the other side is of course open to the various Mythos traditions of various religions.
Christians will tell you you have to choose or else... but Jesus merely spoke of belief, AND THAT BELIEF OF COURSE IS SUBJECT TO MAAAANY DIFFERENT INTERPRETATIONS AND DOCTRINES (dANG cAPS)
Seeing no one can prove the other side we are left with faith and belief only.
but people of whatever belief will go to the afterlife of their believing, won't they?
Personally I don't believe that anybody is going anywhere after they die. If there was a separate system of Gods and heavens for every belief that exists that would mean that somehow all of these systems would somehow be coexisting with each other without interferring with the functioning of each other. How in the world could such a situation have ever come into existence in the first place? One thing is for certain and that is the fact that all of the major religions contradict each other and for the most part they state that those who don't believe in their particular God are going to suffer the consequences so obviously only one of them could be correct or else none of them are which is the point of view that I have.
Personally I don't believe that anybody is going anywhere after they die. If there was a separate system of Gods and heavens for every belief that exists that would mean that somehow all of these systems would somehow be coexisting with each other without interferring with the functioning of each other. How in the world could such a situation have ever come into existence in the first place? One thing is for certain and that is the fact that all of the major religions contradict each other and for the most part they state that those who don't believe in their particular God are going to suffer the consequences so obviously only one of them could be correct or else none of them are which is the point of view that I have.
In addition to what you said, all religions borrow from others. That is why most concepts of heaven and hell are similar.
And that brings us to he point that religions are man-made and the only way to salvation is through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour for those who shall believe in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus dying on the cross happened about 2000 years ago whereby America is is only 232 years old,so there has been many generations and many countries around the world before us that have heard of His crucifixion.
Last edited by noland123; 08-02-2008 at 06:09 PM..
but people of whatever belief will go to the afterlife of their believing, won't they?
No I don't think so based on what the Bible says. If you get on a train going to San Fransisco , but you believe it's going to Chicago, where will you end up? I agree with Noland, the only way to Heaven is through Jesus.
particular God are going to suffer the consequences so obviously only one of them could be correct or else none of them are which is the point of view that I have.
Study more Eastern religions. It is possible a great many of the world religions could be true, or at least "not false"- many Eastern religious will believe that truth is not exclusive, that there are just many paths, some more productive than others. Jainism goes further, and says that reality itself can only be understood by considering all viewpoints. Sounds trippy, but other people have considered it. Deep down, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Christianity's teachings are not that different. All teach there is a higher reality that can be known, that this reality does not involve our mundane sense of self, and that compassion, love, joy, and equanimity are important things to cultivate. In fact these attributes are known as the Bramaviharas or Four Immeasureable Minds in Hinduism or Buddhism.
Equanimity, you say? That's some kind of Buddhist/Hindu concept. Did Jesus really say that? Yes he did, he said that God "causes the rain to fall on the righteous and unrighteous" and "Love your enemies. Bless those who curse you, do good to those that despise you". and "Judge not, lest you be judged. For with what measure you judge, it shall be judged against you." Buddhism also cautions against judgement and condemnation.
Jesus himself also never preached the doctrine of Original Sin, and it is not found in the Eastern Orthodox Church as most Protestants would recognize it.
I once asked a holy roller if Gandhi was going to hell. He said yes. I told him, "then why would I want to go to heaven?, if all the good people are going to hell?". On the contrary, many Christians claim all sorts of dubious people will go to heaven, for no other reason than mouthing that they love Jesus. Do they lift a finger to live like Jesus, though... that is the real question. "Not everyone who comes to me saying "Lord, Lord" will be saved, but only he who does the will of my Father in Heaven".
Also, another parallel. Jesus was tempted by Satan, the Enemy, or also called the Deciever. The Buddha Guatama was tempted by Maya, the goddess of Illusion. Both of them spent years as ascetics. Something to think about.
Magnulus, that was an interesting and well written post. I must admit I know very little about Eastern religions and my thoughts on this thread are mainly directed at Christianity and Islam. I've never cared for the sadistic descriptions of what is in store for those who stray from the flock and the hostility that religions have for each other. Of course at the heart of the matter is the fact that I don't believe that God exists so that rules out most religions for me personally but as a philosophy of life the little I know about Buddhism does sound somewhat appealing.
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What Nation Will Have The Greatest Percentage of Their Citizens Go To Heaven?
