Themes and beliefs of Christianity

Menu

Salvation: Historic and
current Christian beliefs

Sponsored link.

Background:

The Christian Scriptures (New Testament) speak frequently about Heaven or Hell as one's eventual destination after death. From the beginning of the Christian movement, its followers have been concerned about what criteria determine which of the two destinations they will personally experience.

The general historical belief among Christians is that one's default destination will be the torture rooms of Hell with its flesh-eating worms, flogging, excruciating heat, unbearable thirst, etc. But some humans -- presumably a small minority -- will be "saved" and go to Heaven, which is glorious and wonderful beyond description.

The Christian Scriptures appear to be ambiguous about the criteria for salvation. Unfortunately, for those who believe in the existence of a Hell, salvation is one topic over which people need certainty.

Faith groups teach diverse beliefs about salvation. Down through history, Christian churches have taught a range of beliefs about:

	Whether a person is saved solely through faith, works, rituals or some combination of these three.
	Whether a person, once saved, will always be saved.

Paul Gross, in a book review, discussed the fear that religious conservatives feel about the possibility that they or their family members might not gain -- or might lose -- their salvation. He writes:

"For nonliteralists and non-believers, such terror for the fate of self and loved ones is almost impossible to imagine. But for true believers it is all too genuine; the fear and pain are just as urgent as those ecstatic feelings of release and righteousness that come with the conviction -- once it really is conviction -- that one is among the saved." ₁

Topics covered:

	We recommend that you read these two essays first: Introduction to salvation from a Christian perspective The diversity of Christian beliefs about salvation
	Background Material: What is salvation according to the ancient creeds and the Bible?
	What must one do to be saved, according to: The Christian Scriptures (New Testament) Jesus -- what did he seem to teach about salvation? in Matthew 25 & Mark 10 Alternate explanations for Matthew 25 The early Christian church Southern Baptists and other evangelical/conservative Protestant denominations The Presbyterian Church (USA) Other faith groups The general U.S. public A Jewish man with his own beliefs
	Is salvation permanent, revocable, always attainable? Once saved, always saved? Or can a person lose their salvation? Can a person lose their salvation (or be prevented from gaining their salvation) by committing the "unforgivable sin"?
	Salvation for others: Can non-Christians be saved? i.e. Agnostics to Zoroastrians Can non-Christian theists be saved? i.e. those who believe in a God or Gods other than the Christian trinity Does the Roman Catholic Church believe that non-Catholics can be saved?
	Other topics: Comparing various beliefs in salvation: which faith group has it right? Catholic-Lutheran-Methodist joint declaration on justification Emails that we have received about salvation

Some related topics:

	What religious groups believe about the afterlife: heaven,hell, purgatory, etc.
	What does the Bible say about heaven, hell, purgatory, etc.?
	At what age are people "born-again?" At what age should evangelistic efforts be concentrated?
	What Christians believe happens to a person immediately after death

References:

1. Paul Gross, " Lying for God: The Dover Debacle," Skeptic Magazine, Vol. 14, #3, 2008, Page 73. This is a review of the book by Lauri Lebo, "The Devil in Dover: An insider's story of dogma v. Darwin in small-town America," New Press, (2008). Read reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store. The book describes the legal battle over the constitutionality of teaching Intelligent Design in the public schools of Dover, DE. It received a 5 star rating (the highest) by Amazon customers.

Copyright © 1997 to 2009 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2009-APR-28
Author: B.A. Robinson

Sponsored link

Web ReligiousTolerance.org