NPmom

So, I take it many of you believers don't think there is a correlation between what we do and what are "fate" may be in the end? I wholeheartedly believe in the grace of Christ, the crucifixion, and that only through Christ are we saved. However, in reality, it is not that simple.

I think you have to practice and live what you believe. If you believe you need to "spread the gospel to the four corners of the earth", which is a noble cause, and something I have actually spent time in other countries doing, then I commend you. But, you can only teach the willing. You can't change someone's mind when they are dead set against their percieved logic of religion (or lack thereof). You only make more people convinced that they are right and there is no god. People like that are only going to change when they are forced to believe in god by circumstances in their life, which usually are illness, death of a loved one, extreme financial crisis, etc.

I do believe that by the grace of Christ we are saved, but we have to do our part by 1. Loving god, 2. Loving our neighbor as ourself (this includes not being obnoxious about the fact that they CHOOSE not to believe, and accepting them for the good people they most likely are), and by 3. Modeling our lives after Christ, and making choices that reflect what he might do in our situations. This is the hard part, and the problem I have with people who think they've accepted Christ and therefore are saved- not to take away from the divinity of that statement, but when it comes to us, we can't just be lazy SOBs and not incorporate any of Christ's teachings into our lives. My point about the atheist being a better person than the "christian" was that maybe that atheist, while not professing a belief in Christ, actually lives what could be considered a "christlike life" by being involved in charity, being kind to others all (most) the time, and doing things which are in accordance with a christian life, therefore believing by actions.

So, the kind of god I believe in is merciful and understands the limitations of each of our understandings. Therefore, if someone lives a good, christlike life, I believe they will have the chance to accept Christ sometime, either here or after death. A god who simply cuts people off because they intellectually can't grasp his existance, to me, is cruel and unfair. Didn't god say he was merciful AND just? And didn't he say he knows each of us like a shephard knows his flock?

I think when we LIVE what we believe, day to day, on a regular basis, and try our best to make choices that agree with christlike principles, we are good EXAMPLES to those around us who don't believe. When the time is right for them, they will come to us because they have seen the happiness our choices bring and then we can help them find Christ. This is what I practice, and I have seen it work in my own life with people close to me who didn't believe, but then came to believe after admiring the example of people who actually LIVE their beliefs.

So, in short, I believe in a merciful, just god, and I believe it is not up to us to decide who will be saved-that is so incredibly arrogant and presumtious that it goes against everything Christ taught. Just because we have accepted Christ doesn't give us power to say who will go to hell and who will be saved. That sort of arrogance just doesn't fit with the admonition to be "childlike" in our accepting of Christ and his teachings. This sort of back and forth distracts us from what we should be DOING in our daily lives.

Oh, and to the person that called me a dude, I'm not a he--check the avatar.