Anyone knowledgeable on bible scripture? If I acknowledge the possibility of Jesus and God and the story of creation/salvation as a valid possibility and claim that if in actuality those stories are true, that that is the side I want to be on (the side of Jesus, righteousness, and salvation,) is that enough to be saved by scripture? I'm not going to believe something I can't prove with facts as true, but if it is true then I do want Jesus to save me.
No, you have to accept jesus as your lord and savior... Its a belief, and a belief isn't a maybe, its a yes or no, you either believe or you do not... But jesus died for our sins, so to be saved you have to accept him as your lord and savior... John 3:16 and john 3:3 Edit* also, god rewards faith, and that's what faith is, believing without proof...but without faith you won't reep the rewards Hebrews 11:6
Tbh, you have to contemplate and meditate on the scriptures. The priestly class should be bypassed and you should cultivate your own understanding. The message is really simple and you don't need to look at the bible literally. In fact, it's far better if you don't. You should do research on other writings and religions to complete your understanding of the religion and the whole religious experience. I've seen many people who believe in a religion, but they are not good, and I have met people who are religious and they are the best people I know. Religion is a wonderful thing sometimes.
I'd agree with 13 Amp but add one additional note. According to the bible all sins can be forgiven, all but one. That one being blasphemy against the holy spirit. That's according to both Matthew 12:31 and Mark 3:29. That's why there was the "blasphemy challenge" thing a few years ago. My wife about brought some kid to tears with that one. He wouldn't stop pestering her so she finally explained it to get him to leave her alone. I don't think he was aware of that before. On edit since the question was "is that enough to be saved by scripture" there's at least one more angle you'll want to look at, there's also some argument on if faith alone is good enough or if that has to be backed up by deeds. There's a bunch of conflicting references on it so that one isn't clear but might factor into your thinking somewhere.
It bothers me that you have say Jesus is your Lord and Savior or burn in Hell forever. Doesn't seem like a loving and compassionate choice. Seems like a choice ISIS would force you to make.
What does it prove? Fearful allegiance. All the free will challenges and long paths toward redemption, none of it matters in the end. Just fearful allegiance to a name. What a ruse.
So basically...to get into heaven you have to become a robot and believe everything everyone tells you without questioning anything?
Good point, and I need to point out that MOST people take that verse out of context. Blasphemy against the holy spirit is not saying "fuck the holy spirit" blasphemy against the holy spirit is believing with all your "heart" and mind that Jesus performed miracles through the power of the devil, not the power of God. Most people think that if you say fuck the holy spirit you're damned, that is not what that verse means.
Yeah, the context issue is part of why I try to avoid debates on the religion. Stating an opinion I'll do but I'm not going to try to talk anyone into agreeing with it. Too many differing views and everyone sure they are right. So in your reading of it a person is ok if they think the whole thing is just a story but they are screwed if they believe it but take the wrong side? Actually I like that way of reading it better, the idea that Hitler could be saved while someone who told stupid jokes could be screwed was always more than a bit distasteful to me. Doesn't change the odds of my believing in religion but it makes it less of an issue worth arguing over. Got a reference for it in case it comes in handy later? I like collecting odd bits of info
What does what prove? It's just another path. One can fall in the pit on any path. It's meant to be narrow. It works for some.
Not even that simple to be damned. You have to believe that Jesus performed miracles through the power of Satan. So first you have to actually believe fully in the creationist story to be damned, THEN you have to believe Jesus operated under the power of Satan, to be damned. I'll look for the link. This is not the original link I read which explained this cut out more in depth, but it's basically saying it. https://www.tgm.org/Blasphemy.htm "So what I believe this is saying is that “speaking blasphemy against†the Holy Spirit is like when someone one knowingly and deliberately as a legal witness attributes the works, operations and/or gifts of the Holy Spirit to the Devil or attributes the works, operations of the Devil to the Holy Spirit."
this link explains it better http://carm.org/what-blasphemy-holy-spirit-can-christian-commit-it in explaing about Matt. 12:22-32 "Let me review this section briefly. In verse 22, Jesus healed a blind and dumb man. The Pharisees accuse Jesus of casting out demons by the power of "Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons" (v. 24). Jesus responds by saying that a kingdom divided will fall (vv. 25-28), and how the devil must first be bound before you can plunder his house (v. 29). In verses 31-32, He states that blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven in this age or the age to come. By simply looking at the context it becomes apparent that blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is saying that Jesus did His miracles by the power of the devil."
It's more than enough, I'm fair with search engines so as long as it points me in the right direction i should be able to take it from there. Thanks for the link, I appreciate it.
Sorry to burst your bubble but Jesus is not god, god is god, Jesus was his prophet/messenger, just like Abraham, and Jacob, and Isaac etc before him. He specifically said not to worship him, but the one and only god. Unfortunately, the words of the scripture were messed with and now you have a load of crap New Testament written by men. The entire logic of Jesus being god's son is based on the fact that Mary conceived him without touching another man,therefore god is his father. If so, then what about Adam? He was conceived neither by a man or woman, does that make him a super child of god and also god? 3 gods? Wow hah Christianity..or Modern Christianity is no longer a monotheistic religion, they have fallen into polytheism with all of this "father son Holy Spirit 3 in 1 , 1 in 3 " stuff. Seriously, wake up. Sent from Neptune
In all my years being interested in and researching the bible, i think ive reached the conclusion you would need multiple ph.d to truly understand it. Mainstream Christianity is a testiment to this. You can almost have your mind made up and find a church that preaches what you already believe. So many flavors because so few understand what it is they are reading IMO.
