Posted on 01/02/2005 9:06:26 PM PST by freedom44
This is a mouthful.
So every single person who was born into indigenous tribes around the world before the Europeans showed up wanted to go to Hell? That seems to be the implication here.
Excellent. Thank you.
APf
What I was taught growing up was that those who have no way of receiving the Word will go to heaven.
Did you miss #6?
The souls of everyone will "know" the way to salvation after death. We will all have a final choice.
Christianity was spread by Jesus's remaining disciples and the Apostles as far east as India, and the Roman Empire. Even after the fall of Rome, Christian religion flourished in the Middle East, even traces were in the Mongolian Empire who in turn introduced it to the Chinese after they conquered them in the 13th Century. The spreading of the Word of God did not rely on the Europeans only.
Waiting for a saviour who will never return is like watching the water recede before one's very eyes and hoping that you will discover sunken treasure on the wet sand in front of you.
Pointless, dangerous, futile, stupid and sad.
THANKS. GREAT POST AND SERVICE.
BLESSINGS,
re: 6. What about those who've never heard about Jesus?
Jesus made it a point to provide a parable about a ruler who was going away for an indeterminate length of time and left explicit instructions for who would be in charge while he was gone. During the ruler's absence new servants were hired but not told of the rules. When the ruler returned he punished severely the ones who knew of his instructions and failed to comply with them. But, Christ said, those who were ignorant of the ruler's commands were punished with "few stripes".
BTTT
read later
READ
SAMUEL MORRIS and the MARCH OF FAITH.
Son of a chief in Africa who's tribe tended to lose chronically to a neighboring tribe. The utterly TRUE story is around the turn of the century 1900.
Yet again his tribe had lost. As a teen, he was yet again tied to a post and had been tortured for 3 days to encourage the payment of ransome by his tribe that had lost--a tradition for hundreds of years.
In the middle of that night, he heard a voice tell him to get up and run. He thought he was delerious and ignored it--it didn't make sense. He had no strength and was bound tightly to the torture post. Finally, the third, louder, more insistent time, he found he had strength to stand and that his bonds were loosed.
He quickly ran out of the clearing into the jungle. He found that in the jungle there was a strange light that led him to water and food and through the jungle for 2 weeks. Finally it led him to a walled compound. The voice told him that in the compound, 'Sammy" (as he became to be called) would "learn of me." Of course, it was a mission compound.
He would go on to speak to large gatherings throughout the Western world. In the largest of auditoriums, even though people had no way of knowing he had entered the back, side or other door--the moment he crossed the portal, masses of people in the audience would spontaneously RUN screaming confession and repentance to the front of the room.
He would tend to pray in a simple, child-like way with his eyes open and looking up. He had incredible faith and God confirmed it with miraculous signs following.
The Bible says:
HE THAT SEEKS ME [evidently earnestly from an sincere heart, persistently] SHALL FIND ME.
Sammy is an excellent example of that.
Besides,
guess what . . .
GOD IS THE BOSS.
And you aren't God.
And you don't even BEGIN to be as big and powerful as HE IS.
Thankfully, you don't begin to be as Loving, either.
The Bible teaches in Romans chp 1 that mankind is without excuse.... all have been provided an opportunity to either accept or reject revelation as it is offered to them. Those who accept Christ will go to heaven... those who reject Christ and the revelation offered to them are on their way to the "other" place. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth & the life... no man comes to the Father except by me". This isn't my opinion... just what's stated in the Word of God.
I believe that's true for some--especially those who have earnestly sought God out of a sincere heart.
I don't believe that's so for all.
In any case, waiting until then is super hazardous.
We might say, eternally hazardous.
Particularly since The Bible doesn't clearly say such a thing is true.
Evidently you haven't had the experience in terms you'd recognize or accept.
It must, therefore, be rather easy for you to what . . . smugly knock it?
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