Cronus wrote:You sound a little too much like a Westboro Baptist for my liking there.
They WBC are hyper-calvinists who ignore the wealth of scripture instructing us to spread the good news. They just want to sit back and laugh at everyone going to Hell.
I want everyone to come with me to Heaven, therefore I do my best to spread the Gospel.
Quote:How do you know 'your' God is the correct God? How can you be sure? There have been any tens of thousands of Gods worshipped throughout human history and in the vast majority of cases the one we end up worshipping is only through accident of birth.
There is only one God. The Alpha and the Omega. It's not a case of choosing a God among many, there is only one.
And I'm particularly interested in what you mean by 'accident of birth'. Can you develop that point?
Quote:Until the last 50 years the majority of the planet's population wouldn't have had the opportunity to be exposed to 'your' God - how do they get the chance to be saved? Doesn't seem quite fair to me. Billions doomed to hell without a chance of salvation.
Those who humble themselves before God and do not rely on their own righteousness should be OK. I can't say for definite because of John 14:6.
In any case, those who are saved were always going to be saved. It isn't about chance. God chooses who goes to Heaven, we cannot take, pass or fail a 'test'.The unsaved are in Hell because they deserve to be there. The people who are in Heaven also deserve to be in Hell, but they have been saved because God has elected to show them mercy.
You may have read the above and think it is unjust that God chooses some for Heaven and some for Hell. It's a fair question, so let me explain why it is just.
First of all, read Romans 9. This chapter explains how God elects certain individuals for redemption and prepares others for destruction. Secondly, let's remember why people go to Hell. The Bible tells us that we are all sinful and deserve Hell. An omnibenevolent God is a just God, and we all deserve God's righteous judgement. Therefore, those who end up in Hell cannot complain. They are where they deserve to be.
You probably think that it is unfair that God chooses to forgive some individuals, almost at random it seems. But why do you think everyone should be treated the same? If I went up to a group of people queuing in a bank and started handing out £10 notes to every third person, are the ones who don't receive money from me being treated unfairly? No, because they never deserved £10 from me in the first place. It is my money and my prerogative to spend it this way.
It's the same with sinners. God chooses some of us for salvation and prepares most for destruction. That is not unfair.
Well then, you might say, “Why does God blame people for not responding? Haven’t they simply done what he makes them do?” No, don’t say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?” When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into? In the same way, even though God has the right to show his anger and his power, he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for destruction. He does this to make the riches of his glory shine even brighter on those to whom he shows mercy, who were prepared in advance for glory.Romans 9:19-23Quote:I also made some points on page 12 I'd like you to respond to please.
Quote:On another note, what's your view of the Nativity tale? A literal, historical account?
Matthew and Luke provide an accurate, historical description of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. So I guess my answer is yes.
