(Original work by Stephen Knapp. Abridged by Anurag. The article is supposed to point out the fallacies in the Christian theology. What Jesus might have said has been lost in translation and what we follow today is nothing but our interpretation of His words. This is NOT an attack on Christianity. All religions deserve equal respect.)
Most Christians feel that they are bound to go to heaven simply because, as they say, Christ died for their sins. This is one of the basic principles of Christianity, which was idea originated from the apostle Paul. So, many Christians believe that even if they can't give up all of their sinful habits, all they have to do is believe in Jesus and that he died for their sins, and they will be saved. Its very simple!
Yet, mere belief in Jesus and his crucifixion as being all you need to be saved is a controversial point. Not all of the gospels that were in circulation when the New Testament was compiled agreed that the crucifixion was an act of atonement. This means that it may not be so easy just anyone to claim to be Christian and have an easy path to Heaven.
Firstly, Jesus was a Jew. His message was primarily for the Jewish people.
These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles and do not enter a city of the Samaritans
But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. - Matthew 10:5
And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed."
But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, "Send her away, for she cries out after us."
But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
Then she came and worshiped Him saying, "Lord, help me!"
But He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs."
And she said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table."
Then Jesus answered and said to her, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire." And her daughter was healed from that very hour. - Matthew 15:22-28
So, do all Christians go to heaven? Not when you consider all the rules for exclusion. According to the books in the New Testament, Jesus left specific instructions that have to be followed or entrance into heaven may not be as sure as many Christians say.
He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. - Matthew 10:37
For God commanded, saying, 'Honor your father and mother'; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.' - Matthew 15:4
But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.
For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. - Matthew 12:36
But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."
Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. - Matthew 16:23
And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or mother or father or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. - Matthew 19:29
Now we can see that requirements of getting into heaven have become more demanding. Many Christians may feel that faith alone is all they need to be saved, but these biblical quotes of Jesus certainly indicate that he expected and required much more than that. The list of rules is not exhaustive by any means. Open your copy of the Gideon Bible for more details.
So what happens to all those who cannot measure up to the proper standard?
The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and all those who practice lawlessness.
And will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. - Matthew 13:41
If all the rules that Jesus explains must be followed perfectly in order for Christians to go to heaven, then this furnace must be a mighty big place. According to Christian theology, people are given only one lifetime to have one chance at either becoming perfect and righteous or go to eternal hell. What is the value of eternal punishment if it never ends and the soul does not get a chance to rectify himself?
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6 comments:
Interesting Post... Seems you have been mighty affected by these words of Stephan Knapp. I recommend you to see "The Man from Earth". Its a movie which is so seriously science fiction that you'd love to believe it to be real science. Also, it is my belief that Jesus came to India during his youth and met Buddha, getting influenced by his ideology which, btw, is that The only Heaven is the Heaven on Earth only if Man learns to Love his fellow Man. Consider that angle. Finally, You have not concluded satisfactorily. Perhaps a commen about what you have derived from the whole idea needs to be added.
The scripture quotations you quote are not referring to salvation. Just because Jesus came first to the Jewish people does not mean salvation is not for all. You also have to be careful of confusing verses about discipleship with verses about salvation which you do in Matt. 10:37. The high moral teachings such as the Sermon on the Mount were meant to show that trying to get to Heaven by keeping God's law is impossible for anyone. Throughout the Bible, being right with God has always been on the basis of faith, not by any works we can do. This is taught in both the Old and New Testaments. In all other religions, people try to get to Heaven based on what they can do to earn it. Where Christianity is different is that it teaches that Christ has already done what is necessary for us to get there. All we have to do is rely upon him.
@Dave
Don't you find it strange that Jesus has made a a pretty easy path for Christians...
and yet, followers of other religions who may be far more zealous than some Christians, have been denied this opportunity?
Anonymous, I don't know if you would call it strange or not, but you could think of it like a father doing something for his child that the child could not do himself. The Bible calls this grace. One problem is that people don't understand how holy God is. There is no way a person can be holy enough to stand before God and be justified on their own merits. Aren't there things in your life you would be ashamed to have revealed? Christians believe Christ died for all our sins and he offers that payment to everyone. This includes people of other religions as well. As far as the truthfulness of the Christian teaching is concerned, I realize it is hard for someone raised as, say a Buddhist or Muslim, to turn their back on their upbringing and believe the Christian gospel. In fact the Judeo-Christian Bible says it is impossible to believe unless God gives you the faith to believe. The good news is that this faith is promised to anyone who is willing to accept it. This is taught in John 7:17. What this verse teaches is that if anyone is willing to do the will of God, God himself would give that person the faith to believe it. In another place Jesus says that the will of God is to believe in him (Jesus). God never turned down an honest seeker of the truth. If you really want to know whether Christianity is true or not, you only have to be open to receiving it and God will reveal it to you. I personally have seen it happen time and again to honest inquirers. That is why, in other countries, Muslims are coming to accept the Christian faith in record numbers. (And I am talking million here, my friend.) The statistics are on the web if you want to do a little research.
At the risk of being a little long-winded, let me give you an example. Suppose you broke the law. You are taken before the judge who is a friend and he pronounces a fine for you to pay or you go to jail. You say, "But Judge, I have done a lot of good things in my life." He replies, "That may be true, but that does not outweigh the fact that you broke this particular law and justice has to be served."
You don't have any money and obviously don't want to go to jail but seem to have no choice. Then the judge stands up, takes off his robe and comes down from the bench. He says, "I am now not acting as your judge, but as your friend. I will pay the fine for you if you will let me." You then have a choice to accept his payment and go free or to pay the penalty yourself. That is what Christ did for us. You say this is an easy path? Yes and no. Sometimes it is a journey which takes some time to come to the realization of the truthfulness of all this. Yes, most people think it is hard to be right with God and they expend themselves trying to get to Heaven. The truth is there for you. You just have to be open to accepting it.
@ Dave
HI. I hope I have not hurt any religious sentiments. I believe that the only way to BELIEVE is to question the FAITH.
If done correctly, it only strengthens our beliefs. I know you did.
My sincere apologies if you feel angered by this post but, thanks to you, i know more about Christianity than I ever did.
Hi Anurag,
Don't worry, friend, you haven't hurt any sentiments. I am also glad there are blogs like yours where people be polite to each other even if they may disagree. I agree with you that a belief which has not been scrutinized, analyzed, and tested isn't much good if it can't stand the test. I went through a period years ago where I intensely looked at what I believed. I wanted it to be my belief and not something my parents or others had taught me. I did change a few beliefs but the basic core beliefs remained. For me personally, they stood the tests. I think that is true of most people. Our beliefs are always in a state of flux and change somewhat during our lifetime, but we will eventually settle on some core beliefs.
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