Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!iuvax!cica!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!apple!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: tbvanbelle@watcgl.waterloo.edu (Terry Van Belle) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: a Christian motif that doesn't make sense to me Message-ID: Date: 29 May 90 06:43:49 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: University of Waterloo Lines: 29 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article qpliu@andy.princeton.edu (Quowong Peter Liu) writes: >``Jesus died for your sins,'' meaning that the Death (and the >subsequent Miracle) of Jesus allows my sins to be forgiven. >this idea is not self-evident to me, and what Christians seem >concentrate on is the gruesome details of the Crucifixion and not why >such an act causes the sins of a Christian who has Accepted Christ as >Their Saviour (whatever that means). It means that although we deserve hell as punishment for our sins, Jesus has died instead, and thus, we are spared from hell if we want. You can think of it as a fantastically large debt we have run up which Jesus has offered to pay instead. Remember, part of Christian doctrine is that he not only was crucified, but also went to hell for a time (wherever that is). To accept Christ as your saviour is to admit that: 1) your sins form a huge barrier between you and God, which you are adding to daily, 2) the eventual result of this barrier is hell, 3) there is no way for you to get rid of this barrier, except by allowing Jesus to do it. At least, that's how I always understood it. >qpliu@phoenix.princeton.edu >qpliu@usc.pppl.gov Terry Van Belle tbvanbelle@cgl.waterloo.edu