A man was walking through the forest looking for mushrooms. He had been collecting them for years, and selling each harvest in the market.
One day, while looking for mushrooms in all the usual places, he saw something unnatural protruding from the ground as he dug. It was the top of a clay jar that had been buried in some ancient time, and when he dug it up and looked inside he discovered an unimaginable treasure of gold coins from the Roman era. Worth millions of dollars he took the treasure home and he never dug for mushrooms again.
You can be looking for something of little value and in the process, find something immeasurable. Once you find the treasure, you will abandon the former pursuit.
The only way to God that would also lead you to heaven goes via Jesus, and this way can only be adopted by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. Let us examine from a logical point of view, that how exactly this all works out.
Before we unfold this mystery of God, let us first look at a few examples from everyday life. A 19-year-old guy was arrested for reckless driving in California, and was found guilty of breaking the Californian law. After finding the boy guilty of his crime, the judge fined him $100. But then the judge took off his robe, came down to the boy, and wrote a cheque of $100 to be paid on behalf of that boy. The reason for doing that was that the judge was actually the father of that boy too. But since he was also the judge, he had to do justice; and couldn’t let the boy go unpunished, just because he was his son. In the same way Almighty God, being the perfect judge, has to do his justice, and can’t let anyone undermine his justice and righteousness. But he loves us too; therefore he decided to pay the penalty by offering his only son Jesus on the cross, so that we could be saved from the punishment of hell fire. But he would do that only to those who would accept and trust in Jesus as a atonement or ‘Deeyat’ (Arabic) for our transgression of God’s law. Only those who would accept Jesus as their saviour, and put their trust in him will be saved from the punishment of hell, and enjoy eternal communion with God.
I feel the Pope errs when he only acknowledges “religions”. All souls belong to God and will be judged on that Great Day. Religious, atheist, agnostic, Satanist, and Pagan alike.
I take it literally when Jesus told the Pharisees, by not accepting Him, they remain under The Law of Moses, and by such they will be judged. I think this applies to all religious people. On that Day, they will be judged according to the laws of their religion. That is unless they were told The Good News and decided to not partake. We all know, no man is righteous and we all fall short of God’s perfection. Man can not even remain within their own, man-made laws. So, all will fall short and be banished to the lake of fire, without the promise of Jesus.
Can we realistically believe that the historical Jesus made the incredible, nothing-like-the-Synoptics claims he makes in John? I lean toward NO.
Even if he did, must the claim that no one comes to the Father except through him be understood as a claim of Christian exclusivity? I lean toward NO.
Is the Pope a loonybird who doesn’t realize the gravity of what he is suggesting (or perhaps even the Antichrist)? I lean toward NO. I don’t know exactly what was in the Pope’s mind - perhaps that the Holy Spirit can work through all religions, perhaps that Jesus will judge all by some standard other than whether they said the magic come-to-Jesus prayer and attended the local Baptist church - but my guess is, he knew the can of worms he was opening and will address it more fully in due course.
Do you have any rational basis for believing the Pope is trying to take the place of God, or is this the all-too-typical knee-jerk anti-Catholic response of many Protestants? (Lest anyone leap to conclusions, I’ve never even been inside a Catholic church.)
Here is an article which explains how the Pope’s statement is entirely consistent with the Catechism of the Catholic Church (and happens to be entirely consistent with my own views as well).
Do you have any rational basis for believing the opposite? God has absolute authority; His word goes. The Pope, by saying what he said, is trying to say that his words hold more authority than God’s. That’s all sin really is: trying to make ourselves higher than God. Read Genesis 11.
You consistently expose your theology as the one-dimensional, I-know-the-mind-of-God-and-you-don’t, I-know-how-to-read-the-Bible-and-you-don’t sort of theology that I referred to as kindergarten-level Christianity in my recent thread about the problem with most Christian forums. Your posts are Exhibit A, and I know how discussions with such folks go (i.e., nowhere). Believe it or not, 50 years ago I said the sorts of things you say now. Then I grew up.
I’m actually trying my best to not come off that way. I’m trying to come off as someone who read the book, asked the author to verify my understanding on the book, and pointing out things that don’t line up with the book.
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The basics are the most important part of the Christian faith. Read 2 Corinthians 11:3-4. The basics are very important.
Ah, well, if The Author of The Book has “verified” your “understanding,” then those of us who are 50 years older, have been Christians 50 years longer, and have studied 50 times more deeply can only bow to your divinely verified wisdom. Believe me, some day you’ll look back at the you of today and wince. “I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now.” - Bob Dylan.
No. I’m not saying that and you know it. When it comes to Christianity, physical age, spiritual age, experience, knowledge, etc. means absolutely nothing. The only thing that matters is whether that person has the Holy Spirit or not. I’m not saying that credentials are worthless, I’m just saying they’re not necessary. My favorite example of that is Peter and the Day of Pentecost; a simple, uneducated fisherman led over 3000 people to Christ.
Shouldn’t every conclusion you draw about the bible be divinely verified? And it’s not my divinely verified wisdom; it’s God’s wisdom, and it’s right there in the book for everybody to read.
I probably will. But not because of the reasons you think. I’ll probably wish I had communicated clearer. I already do wish that.
Believe me, some day you’ll look back at the you of today and wince. “I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now.” - Bob Dylan.