Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!cs.utexas.edu!bcm!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: hedrick@geneva.rutgers.edu Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Unforgiveable Sins Message-ID: Date: 5 Apr 91 10:16:43 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Lines: 41 Approved: christian@geneva.rutgers.edu Jeff Lindborg says he is unable to force himself to believe that Christ was the Son of God, and indicates that if we're right, this has to be a result of God's giving him of a sceptical mind. This would make God responsible for his damnation. I guess I'm not prepared to give up so easily on him. It's now pretty common for Christians to believe that people who have not heard of Christ can still be saved. Some Catholics refer to this as "anonymous Christians", people who have responded to Christ in their hearts even though they don't know him by that name. Of course they are still saved by Christ, and we expect that they will recognize him when they finally meet him after death. Now clearly Jeff has heard of Christ. But I'm willing to believe that there are some who have heard of Christ, but not in a comvincing way, who have also responded to him in their hearts. At any rate, I don't find preaching fire and brimstone very helpful. It may have played a role in a society where everyone was basically Christian, and the primary goal was to get people who just somewhat lazy or apathetic to think seriously about their spiritual situation. (In saying this I'm giving the approach more credit than I really feel it deserves.) However I don't see what use it can possibly play when dealing with those who do not believe the Bible at all. The impression Jeff has gotten -- and I think he's got some justification for drawing this conclusion -- is that God provides only the most ambiguous evidence for himself, and then tortures people for making an error in evaluating evidence which is stacked against them. I don't know about you, but I certainly wouldn't want to follow such a God. I don't blame Jeff for finding such a concept unattractive. I believe that God has actually provided everyone with a true opportunity to respond to him. This all seems to be implied in Romans, in Chap 1 where Paul claims that everyone, apparently including pagans who clearly could not have heard about Christ, has had the opportunity to know God, and in Chap 2, which talks about pagans who have God's law within them. I am not yet convinced that anyone will finally end up in hell (due to passages such as Rom 5:18, 11:32, 1 Tim 4:10, Tit 2:11 -- I do not find interpretations of "all people" as meaning "a few elect" very convincing), but I am convinced that if they do, it will be due to a responsible rejection of God, and not to a misevaluation of evidence.