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Salvation: Historic and current Christian beliefs

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Background:

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

The general historical belief among Christians is that one's default destination will be the torture rooms of Hell with its unending agony due to flesh-eating worms, flogging, darkness, isolation, excruciating heat, unbearable thirst, etc. But some humans -- presumably a small minority -- will be "saved" and go to Heaven to be in the presence of God and Christ. Heaven is viewed as a glorious destination, wonderful beyond description or comprehension, but often for a select few that often consist only of Christians from one's own denomination.

The Christian Scriptures appear to be ambiguous about the criteria for salvation. Unfortunately, for those who believe in the existence of Hell, salvation is perhaps the most important topic over which people urgently need certainty concerning their personal fate and those of their family and friends.

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

	Whether a person is saved solely through faith only, works only, rituals only, 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 gain and then 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

Author Rob Bell (1970-) is an evangelical, an author, a Christian speaker, and the founder and former pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church -- a megachurch -- located in Grand Rapids, MI. He has written a number of books about salvation:

• His 2011 book, "Love Wins" is shaking conservative Protestantism to its roots because of his opinion that God gives second chances -- that a person who is not saved during their life on Earth will be given a second opportunity. ₂ This is the Universalist belief system, a belief condemned as a heresy by most Christians down through the centuries. Christianity was never quite able to completely suppress the belief. As Bell writes:

  "At the center of the Christian tradition since the first church have been a number who insist that history is not tragic, hell is not forever, and love, in the end, wins and all will be reconciled to God." ₃

This book created a firestorm within fundamentalist and other evangelical theologians and believers. Three thousand of his congregation's left. He resigned to organize a new congregation which allegedly has 10,000 members by late 2012.

• His 2012 book, co-authored with Don Golden, is "Jesus Wants to Save Christians: Learning to Read a Dangerous Book." ₄ A book review by Spirituality and Practice says:

  "Bell and Golden present a clarion call for a justice emphasis within Christianity and, given the nightmarish developments in the U.S. and the world, it could not have come at a better time!: ₄

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 does salvation require 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 "Chasing Jesus:" Do only Christians have a chance to attain Heaven??
	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: Diverse Christian beliefs in salvation: Who gets to go to Heaven; who to Hell? Comparing the strengths & weaknesses of belief systems about salvation. Do any make sense? 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. Gross reviewed the following book:
   
   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 4.7 star rating (near the highest possible) by Amazon customers.
   
   
2.  Rob Bell, "Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived," HarperOne, (2011). List price: $22.99. Amazon.com sells it for $13.79 in hardcover and $9.99 in Kindle eBook format. Read reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store
3. Ibid, Page 109.
4. Rob Bell & Don Golden, "Jesus Wants to Save Christians: Learning to Read a Dangerous Book," HarperOne, (2012), List price: $14.99. Amazon.com sells it for $10.94 in paperback and $13.43 in Kindle eBook format. The latter is a rip-off price estabished by the publisher. Read reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store

Copyright © 1997 to 2013 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2013-MAR-20
Author: B.A. Robinson

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