In your opinion, what do you understand it takes for a person to get to heaven

[Oh Shoot]

I was not belittling anyone's beliefs. I just asked why he believes that (by wanting supporting scripture). That is the way mature people respond. Not by telling people to grow up simply for asking a question.

He only said he wasn't taking the bait and you criticize his belief system for THAT? You see "I have done a fine job of not taking bait :)" as some statement of metaphysical bent?

- OS

[Guest bkelm18]

I was not belittling anyone's beliefs. I just asked why he believes that (by wanting supporting scripture). That is the way mature people respond. Not by telling people to grow up simply for asking a question.

You didn't ask him a question. You made a statement accusing him of having no idea what he believes and why simply because he didn't want to discuss it when it is of ZERO consequence to you what he believes and why he believes it. If we want to get bent on "maturity", a simple "Ok, understood" would have sufficed.

[Guest nicemac]

He only said he wasn't taking the bait and you criticize his belief system for THAT? You see "I have done a fine job of not taking bait :)" as some statement of metaphysical bent?

- OS

But the problem is, I wasn't baiting him… I wanted to know why he believes that.

[Guest nicemac]

You didn't ask him a question. You made a statement accusing him of having no idea what he believes and why simply because he didn't want to discuss it when it is of ZERO consequence to you what he believes and why he believes it. If we want to get bent on "maturity", a simple "Ok, understood" would have sufficed.

Go back and check my direct response to his statement (post #37). It is one word: Understood.

[Oh Shoot]

But the problem is, I wasn't baiting him… I wanted to know why he believes that.

Why he believe frigging WHAT? Why he believes he doesn't want to discuss it any deeper?

Why don't you send PM's to all the members of TGO who haven't participated in the thread at all, and accuse each of not knowing his own belief system.

- OS

Edited January 23, 2012 by OhShoot

[Guest bkelm18]

I love these threads. Always full of win. Once you get OS riled up, you know it's gonna be a good one.

[Mike.357]

Or, you have no idea why you believe what you believe.

Personally i do not believe in any of it. It was what i was taught.

There are too many contradictions in life for me to believe it.

[Mike.357]

And nicemac i was not referring to you specifically as bait.

It was a comment in general aT the topic of this thread.

It seems by not stirring up pooh i stirred up some pooh.

I'd love nothing better than to speak my mind.

Edited January 23, 2012 by Mike.357

[Oh Shoot]

Go back and check my direct response to his statement (post #37). It is one word: Understood.

THAT is not even what Bkelm and I jumped on your for. It was this:

Don't get me started. I answered the OP's question and commented on OhShoots response.

What little i think i know would have been learned in parochial school religion classes....

Or, you have no idea why you believe what you believe.

[Oh Shoot]

Personally i do not believe in any of it. It was what i was taught.

There are too many contradictions in life for me to believe it.

There. NiceMac should be all happy now.

- OS

[Guest nicemac]

Why he believe frigging WHAT? Why he believes he doesn't want to discuss it any deeper?

Why don't you send PM's to all the members of TGO who haven't participated in the thread at all, and accuse each of not knowing his own belief system.

- OS

Why are your pants in such wad? Mike does not seem nearly as torqued up about this as you are…

[daddyo]

All I'm gonna say is that eternity is the one thing I don't want to be wrong about.

[Guest nicemac]

And nicemac i was not referring to you specifically as bait.

It was a comment in general aT the topic of this thread.

Sorry, I took it directly as an answer to my post.

[Oh Shoot]

I love these threads. Always full of win. Once you get OS riled up, you know it's gonna be a good one.

edit: Never mind. I'm gonna call my first wife, more rewarding.

- OS

Edited January 23, 2012 by OhShoot

[Guest nicemac]

Like conversing with a changing wind. Jumps back to comments before the one he was being criticized for. I'm done with the cat, worse than a "discussion" with my first wife.

- OS

No, the problem is that I was not conversing with you to begin with- and threads update while responses are being written that become out of date before they are even finished (and without the author knowing).

I have no problem with you being done with me (if I am "the cat"). Believe me, my life will not change one bit because of it.

[Mike.357]

There. NiceMac should be all happy now.

- OS

Why are your pants in such wad? Mike does not seem nearly as torqued up about this as you are…

Dude had my back, its what friends do.

[PolePosition]

I'll try to address one of the points somebody brought up earlier about the sense of justice. That is, a horrible, wretch of a soul, being allowed into Heaven through faith, whereas the other, a person much better by generally accepted standards, is not allowed to pass due to a lack of faith.

Justice in the eyes of God is like this: Everyone has messed up and no one is perfect. Big or small, your foul-ups (sins) warrant an eternal separation from Him, because He is holy and cannot allow such filth in His presence. A white canvas is tainted by a black spot no matter how small the spot is. It isn't perfect anymore, even though it only has a minor blemish. God's justice requires a sentence to be pronounced. But God's grace and mercy is seen in the fact that His perfect Son, Jesus, says something to the effect of: "Ok, I don't deserve to be punished for something I didn't do, but in order for you to restore your broken relationship with my Father, I'll take the punishment on your behalf. I'll die so that you may live." This might be an oversimplification and there might be holes but I think the core tenets hold true.

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

"The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

"For it is by faith you have been saved, through grace - and this is not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast."

"But God demonstrates His own love for us in this, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Faith leads to action. Faith in the Bible is not simply a mere acknowledgement, but results in a changed life that reflects who God is and what He has done. In the end, it is God who gets the glory, praise, and accolades, and those who have restored their relationship with Him partake of this joy and live out the rest of eternity in His presence forever.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away and behold, new has come."

"Faith without works is dead. Show me your faith without good works and I'll show you my faith by my works."

"Let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise our Father in Heaven."

"But in keeping with His promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness."

I have faith in God, through Jesus, because He opened my eyes and made me aware of my flaws and showed me that if He was willing to suffer for the wrongs that I did, then He is most certainly worthy of my affections and worship.

[Guest db99wj]

Has anyone ever thought of the possibility that no one is going? I certainly believe there's a God, but why would I not be surprised to see him come back one day and say to man:

Okay, I promised I'd come back and I did. Well, I was going to do all this really cool stuff for you guys. Things your paltry minds could not have fathomed. I look at you now though and I ask myself...Why? Man is so pathetic, why should I bother. So I'm back to announce, I have officially changed my mind. I get to do that see, because I am GOD. You had much promise when I made you, but I gave you freedom of choice and this is what you've done with it. I'm ashamed of you, and I'm going somewhere else. You're on your own, best of luck to you.

A lot of people would cry or scream and hate him for it. I wouldn't. I wouldn't blame him at all, and would continue to hold him in high regard knowing there can be nothing to gain from it.

I could understand that, but that is not the way it is. God has unconditional Love for us, no matter what. The story of the prodigal son is one story that describes this Love. Luke 15:11-32. For a son to do what this guy did to his father, was like him saying to his father, you are dead, you are nothing, I am taking what is mine, and I don't care what happens to you. After he blew through the money, he had no where to go, there was a famine in the country he was in, he decided to come home to his father and beg to be one of his fathers servants. Before he got back home, his father saw him from afar and ran to him, put a ring on his finger, clothed and fed him, and welcomed him back into the family, all was forgiven. This is God's love for us.

I'm Catholic, for those that have problems with organized religion, I can understand that. I believe that Jesus started the Church, He gave Peter the position and authority of Pope, the Catholic Church was started in approximately 33AD when Peter fled Jerusalem to Rome. He Said: "Thou are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it...Feed my lambs; feed my sheep" Matt. 16:18,19; John 21:15,17

The Bible tells us we must have faith in order to be saved (Hebrews 11:6). It also tells us that our works are as important. According to Jesus our works are important, (Matthew 25:31-46). The people rewarded and punished are done so by their actions. And our thoughts (Matthew 15:18-20) and words (James 3:6-12) are accountable as well.

Confession:

John 20:21 - before He grants them the authority to forgive sins, Jesus says to the apostles, "as the Father sent me, so I send you." As Christ was sent by the Father to forgive sins, so Christ sends the apostles and their successors forgive sins.

John 20:22 - the Lord "breathes" on the apostles, and then gives them the power to forgive and retain sins.

James 5:16 - James clearly teaches us that we must “confess our sins to one another,” not just privately to God. James 5:16 must be read in the context of James 5:14-15, which is referring to the healing power (both physical and spiritual) of the priests of the Church. Hence, when James says “therefore” in verse 16, he must be referring to the men he was writing about in verses 14 and 15 – these men are the ordained priests of the Church, to whom we must confess our sins.

As a Catholic, I believe that all can go to heaven, whether they are Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Muslim, etc, but with one requirement, it has to be through Jesus Christ. I believe those that are good can and will go to Heaven. I think things will be revealed to us, and if accepting of Jesus Christ, our sins will be forgiven, confessed or not confessed, and we will enter into Heaven. If not, well there's always Hell.

At the end of the world, Judgment Day, we will have to directions that we can go, Heaven or Hell. I choose Heaven and God willing, I will be there one day.

I'm not a Bible scholar, religion scholar, or expert in anything, I'm a Catholic, trying to do the best I can and figured I would share a few things that I believe. I tried to support my information as much as possible. Is the Catholic faith perfect? Nope. Is organized religion perfect? Nope. Man runs these organizations, and man is not infallible and are subject to screwing things up. The have and will continue to screw things up. I believe, as evidence from some posts in this thread and previous threads, that some were hurt by organized religions, including the Catholic Church, I don't deny that, I believe that things have happened, and unfortunately, will happen again in the future. This is a fault of man. These are some of my thoughts and beliefs, some may agree, many might not, I'm ok with that, I might respond to some comments on what I have said, but I might not, it might take me awhile to find the appropriate information. I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything, my first priority is me, my wife and my children, my job is to get her into Heaven, her first job is to get me into Heaven, and together, our job is to get our children into Heaven. If my example has a positive influence on others, or if I can help someone else, that is what I will do.

Why do I believe this? Faith in Jesus.

Why did I write and put this all together since I've never really gotten deep into these discussions? No clue.

Luke 15:11-32 NIV - The Parable of the Lost Son - Jesus - Bible Gateway

BIBLE SAYS FAITH AND WORKS NEEDED FOR SALVATION

Friar Jack's E-spirations - The Where, Who and How of Heaven

[Caster]

I could understand that, but that is not the way it is. God has unconditional Love for us, no matter what. The story of the prodigal son is one story that describes this Love. Luke 15:11-32. For a son to do what this guy did to his father, was like him saying to his father, you are dead, you are nothing, I am taking what is mine, and I don't care what happens to you. After he blew through the money, he had no where to go, there was a famine in the country he was in, he decided to come home to his father and beg to be one of his fathers servants. Before he got back home, his father saw him from afar and ran to him, put a ring on his finger, clothed and fed him, and welcomed him back into the family, all was forgiven. This is God's love for us.

Right, but the son needed the father, the father didn't need the son. He'd actually been better off without the leeching bum. Same goes. I suppose it's a testament to the power of love over what's more efficient.

[Guest db99wj]

Right, but the son needed the father, the father didn't need the son. He'd actually been better off without the leeching bum. Same goes. I suppose it's a testament to the power of love over what's more efficient.

Very true, God does not need us in that sense, but he wants us, because of his Love for us, and that is what is great, no matter how bad we mess up, He is there with open arms, if we choose to do so. That whole free will thing he gave us too.

[Caster]

Very true, God does not need us in that sense, but he wants us, because of his Love for us, and that is what is great, no matter how bad we mess up, He is there with open arms, if we choose to do so. That whole free will thing he gave us too.

Yeah, lucky us:)....very lucky.

[Guest No Ammo]

Acts 4:10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 He is " 'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.' 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

Romans 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Seems fairly simple to me. But, who am I?

Amen Brother,

[Smith]

Each man will come to a reckoning. He better be sure of how he reckons.

[kb4ns]

I believe there's a form at the gate. It asks if you've ever started a thread about religion on a non-religious forum. If "yes", you're cast to the demons for creating disorder, panic, and despair.

By that logic, if your house is on fire I should only let you know about it if you're logged into a forum on house fires?

Regardless of the forum I'm currently logged onto, starting a thread is a poor way of notifying me of such a pressing issue. What if I'm only halfway through the classifieds when the fire breaks out??

I hate it when people ruin a decent post by commenting with their lack of humor.

[Guest bkelm18]

Regardless of the forum I'm currently logged onto, starting a thread is a poor way of notifying me of such a pressing issue. What if I'm only halfway through the classifieds when the fire breaks out??

I hate it when people ruin a decent post by commenting with their lack of humor.

How dare you bring humor into a religious thread.