Punainen Suomi wrote:Ammostan wrote:No, the whole point is there is nothing that we humans can do to ever be worthy of a place before the throne. That is why Christ died. He paid the price as a living sacrifice for our transgressions.
Outer Acharet wrote:Works are meaningless in Christian theology because you could never do enough. The standard one is held to without salvation is no less than
perfection, and no human is perfect. Part of salvation is a belief and acceptance of one's own sin. I can say "Oh lawd, I's a sinner", then go out and hit it up at a strip club, not having meant any of what I said, and guess what? I'm no better off in the eyes of God.
It doesn't excuse my bad behavior because I must repent of my sins earnestly for them to be forgiven.
Then what are the requirements for being granted entry into heaven? You say that you must 'repent' of your sins, what does this repentance consist of? How does it match up to the weight of the sin?
I would refer you to the Gospel, particularly the Sermon at the Mount, for the answer to this question, if you feel like reading about it. I can't answer fully, especially because I'm not necessarily trained in theology and the study of religious works, but in a nutshell my take on it is that admission into heaven is attained through a lack of sin. Keep in mind that this is attaining "eternal life", not necessarily avoiding eternal torment. This purity is impossible, for numerous reasons, be it Original Sin if you lean that way or simply the fact no one can be kind and giving to everyone. But Christianity's liberation is that we can be forgiven. The death of Christ is held to allow for one to attain forgiveness for sin, if one believes that they have committed wrong in their core, thus replacing the original requirement of purity. Therefore, a Christian is forgiven for their sins, but knows that they are now enlightened as to the fact they have sinned, and must therefore live a life that at least tries to avoid wrongdoing. As Jesus is held to have lived a life without sin, that is achieved by emulating him and following his teachings. The analogy I would use is this: A child breaks a pot because they are bored. The child's mother confronts them about this and scolds them.
If they acknowledge that yes, they have done wrong in breaking the pot, then their mother forgives them and moves on. If they don't acknowledge breaking the pot is wrong, then there is animosity between them, the child is punished, and their relationship is flawed.
You're free to think whatever you want about this. This is just my take on what I know of Christian theology, and my only experience in this field is reading the primary sources.
Jedi Council wrote: now, I sense looming by the Mods if we continue this particular line of debate in this thread.
And that's why I won't post regarding this again, thanks!