Can God only do GOOD works?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Religion is chance.

You were born into a Catholic family - chance. You were born into a Protestant family. You met the man of your dreams, and he decided to convert to Judaism for you.

It's not about a god coming down and change your views. Whoever was around you from a young age on shaped your beliefs.

Had you been born in Iran, you might be a non-Muslim, but chances are you'd be a practicing Shi'i Islam.

chance
geography
upbringing

So which god is the REAL god, by the way?

Christians know -- even Christians who think good atheists go to heaven (and probably good Muslims and Jews too) believe that Jesus is the son of God who came to redeem us.

Yes.

So if Jesus came to redeem those who believe in him, how can people who don't believe in him go to heaven?

They can't.

And then there are those who don't even know about him.

all going to hell - all of them, despite their squeaky clean lifestyles

That's not what we're taught in our Christian religion. Just so you know.

Correct -- some liberal Christian denominations teach that good atheists and people of other non-Christian religions can go to heaven, but that's clearly not what Jesus taught and not why His Father sent him here. Some, not all, modern-day Christians have watered down their religion to make more sense to them in a modern world, where good people are, or should be, rewarded with eternal life simply for for being good. But Christianity is very clear that all that is needed to get into heaven is claiming Christ as your savior. The worse criminal can enter the kingdom of heaven if they ask to be forgiven of their sins, no matter how heinous, and accept Jesus. The best atheist cannot go to heaven, because they refuse to do this.

Some liberal Christian denominations are watering down their beliefs to keep modern liberal people engaged in the good works of the church and to keep it financially afloat. Can't blame them for that. They can't deny the simple teachings of Jesus, however. In the end, it's believe or burn.

Burn huh? For how long?

Does the bible teach that the soul is eternal, indestructible, or does it teach that it can be destroyed? Forget what religions teach...what does the bible say?

Start here...Matthew 10:28...which is part of Christ teaching...

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Destroy both body and soul in hell?

Rev 20:14

..."The lake of fire is the second death"

There are a whole lot of other verses that support death as the end result...you can find them easily...and I know religions teach that separation from God is what that second death is...but how does that line up with all other mentions of death? What are the wages of sin?

Wouldn't a just God simply promise life or death eternal? Isn't eternal death a more just punishment for those who either never had the chance to believe and follow Christ as well as those who did and chose not to?

Seems logical but that's not what CHristianity teaches and God isn't logical -- it's about faith.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Religion is chance.

You were born into a Catholic family - chance. You were born into a Protestant family. You met the man of your dreams, and he decided to convert to Judaism for you.

It's not about a god coming down and change your views. Whoever was around you from a young age on shaped your beliefs.

Had you been born in Iran, you might be a non-Muslim, but chances are you'd be a practicing Shi'i Islam.

chance
geography
upbringing

So which god is the REAL god, by the way?

Christians know -- even Christians who think good atheists go to heaven (and probably good Muslims and Jews too) believe that Jesus is the son of God who came to redeem us.

Yes.

So if Jesus came to redeem those who believe in him, how can people who don't believe in him go to heaven?

They can't.

And then there are those who don't even know about him.

all going to hell - all of them, despite their squeaky clean lifestyles

That's not what we're taught in our Christian religion. Just so you know.

Correct -- some liberal Christian denominations teach that good atheists and people of other non-Christian religions can go to heaven, but that's clearly not what Jesus taught and not why His Father sent him here. Some, not all, modern-day Christians have watered down their religion to make more sense to them in a modern world, where good people are, or should be, rewarded with eternal life simply for for being good. But Christianity is very clear that all that is needed to get into heaven is claiming Christ as your savior. The worse criminal can enter the kingdom of heaven if they ask to be forgiven of their sins, no matter how heinous, and accept Jesus. The best atheist cannot go to heaven, because they refuse to do this.

Some liberal Christian denominations are watering down their beliefs to keep modern liberal people engaged in the good works of the church and to keep it financially afloat. Can't blame them for that. They can't deny the simple teachings of Jesus, however. In the end, it's believe or burn.

Burn huh? For how long?

Does the bible teach that the soul is eternal, indestructible, or does it teach that it can be destroyed? Forget what religions teach...what does the bible say?

Start here...Matthew 10:28...which is part of Christ teaching...

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Destroy both body and soul in hell?

Rev 20:14

..."The lake of fire is the second death"

There are a whole lot of other verses that support death as the end result...you can find them easily...and I know religions teach that separation from God is what that second death is...but how does that line up with all other mentions of death? What are the wages of sin?

Wouldn't a just God simply promise life or death eternal? Isn't eternal death a more just punishment for those who either never had the chance to believe and follow Christ as well as those who did and chose not to?

Seems logical but that's not what CHristianity teaches and God isn't logical -- it's about faith.

No...it isn't all about faith. Knowledge is important as well and if you believe in God and you believe in the bible it isn't about anything that Christianity teaches...it is about what is in the scriptures. Traditional teaching does not mean it is biblical.

Do some research into it on your own...I think you will be amazed. I also believe that in time the teaching of rapture and eternal burning in hell, which is against what the scriptures actually teach, will fall by the wayside for most. Some will hold onto tradition beyond reason even when shown that it is wrong.