
Thanks for your post, Sephiroth!
Sephiroth said:
Christians see the sacrifice of Christ as the opening of a door, that when a sinner would walk through it (i.e. accept the covenant), all his sins would be forgiven.
All his previous sins? So for the billions of Christians who are not converts, none of their sins are forgiven?
The son of God was crucified only to remove the sins of a Christian, prior to his acceptance of Chrsitanity?
So you are telling me that if I accept Christ as my saviour, the sins that I have done are removed, but ALL the remaining sins I commit in my life remain? And my God was crucified for this? I haven't committed any major sins. Accepting Christ as my saviour would make no difference!
In this way, if a man has led a wicked life, but later comes to realise the truth of God's word, if he repents and accepts Christ, then his sins are forgiven.
That is no different from Islam. Once someone becomes a muslim, and he repents for his past sins, he is forgiven. Why does a God have to be crucified for such a small and simple matter?!
The confusion lies over two issues for our sins:
What needs to be repented for?
What needed the sacrifice of Christ?
Now there is some disagreement between Christian sects whether there might still be punishment for the sinner who has accepted Christ's covenant, or not. Some would say that though a father may forgive his children, he would still punish them.
So what on earth did we get out of killing our God?
Catholics are basically of the opinion that accepting Christ will save you from an eternity in hell, but if your deeds are grave, you may have to go to purgatory, a place where you are punished and cleansed of worldly sins and flaws. Catholics also believe that even those who are of other religions, who do not accept Christ may go to heaven through their works, if they are good.
So why the need for God to die for us? Crucifixion is no joke. It is not some minor thing. Getting your flesh nailed to a cross is excruciatingly painful.
And according to Christianity, this wasn't any human getting crucified. This was GOD HIMSELF! WHY?!?
Such a huge event! The crucifixion of the creator of the universe! And it all happened for....nothing?? We never even needed it? We can keep repenting and doing good deeds and still get to heaven?
My Goodness.
Others believe that there is only an eternal hell and that accepting Christ saves you from it, but if you continue in sin, then it is evidence that you had not really obtained God's grace through your faith, and that your acceptance was just lipservice and not really valid, and therefore the grave sinner would still go to hell.
So this group is saying that
-believe in Christ and
previous sins are forgiven (no different from a repenter whose repentence is accepted)
-any sins that follow will still be punished even though your God supposedly took all your sins
Still others believe that accepting Christ saves you from hell regardless of your actions, though I don't quite understand the logic of that position.
I'm with you on that one! Perhaps there
is no logic to it!
So this position is saying that Hitler and the Crusaders get a free ticket to heaven.
btw, would this position be the one held by southern batptists?
Because in my past discussions, this is the one they held.
Others still believe that God, because he is omniscient, chose those who would go to heaven at the begining of time and that nothing you can do would change it, but that those who are elect (chosen) would act according to his laws and have great faith: the injunction of these sects is to act as if you are elect, although you may not be.
interesting. So according to this position, God getting himself crucified by his creation was for nothing since he had already determined which ones would go to heaven.
I personally believe that accepting Christ saves you from hell, but that the person who continues in sin gives evidence that he has not truly accepted the covenant.
So which sins of yours did Christ take? The ones you made prior to becoming a Christian, or the ones you will make in the future?
Why did God die for us if we still have to repent for our sins and do good deeds? What difference did it make?
One is not made perfect by God, but better, and when he falters, he must repent and pray and let the Lord increase his righteousness.
Compare this with the Islamic position that just says, do righteous deeds and repent for your sins and you will earn paradise. Very simple. Why the need for Christ's death?
See, that is what it all boils down to. I can't understand the Christian doctrine of salvation because no Christian has ever been able to explain to me one point:
Why did Christ die for us?
Which of our sins did he remove?
Because if we still have to repent and do the good deeds we were doing all along before his death, why the need for God to enter the flesh of a man and get crucified on a cross?
I really appreciate your detailed response and your analysis of the different Christian groups.
Thank you.
