Eg - what is required to be saved?
Is it solely faith - saying something like the Sinner’s Prayer and “giving your heart to Jesus”? Or do works/sacraments matter? Or is there universal reconciliation?
What about those who die in ignorance of Jesus and don’t get the opportunity?
I was raised Catholic, but my beliefs have evolved considerably. I believe everyone is “saved” eventually, but that can take more time for some than others. Anything less than unity and acceptance are incompatible with God, and it takes some people a lot of self-reflection to get there.
What role is Jesus’s death playing in salvation then? Is the idea that his sacrifice is such a powerful gift that it can’t be rejected?
Jesus was an example. He showed us what we could be, how we could treat each other. His death was a willing sacrifice, showing us the power of compassion, courage, and conviction. We are saved by emulating those qualities, by practicing compassion even when it comes as a personal cost.
I don’t get behind the get-out-of-hell free interpretation. Jesus didn’t die to give a sweetheart deal to sinners, he died to show the power of turning away from sin.
Have you ever considered that God is perfectly Just? That anything less than justice and letting sin go unpunished is incompatible with Him?
Why would he need to punish? Seems a bit petty for supreme being
Isn’t Justice a good thing?
How do you define it and what role does punishment play?
Apart from a slightly shorter lifespan, what fid Hitler get for the millions he killed? What about those in more recent times who murdered innocent protesters in the USA? Will they ever face justice? Deep inside, the majority of people feel a wrath against these people, those who senselessly killed and/or hurt other people. Human society from all across the world has always attempted some form of justice or judgment system. Justice is something that we all feel needs to be quenched somehow. It’s the same as how would you define love- it’s not observable, it’s not provable, it’s not material, but you can still see the effects love has on a society. The Bible speaks about God’s wrath a lot- and His craving for Justice. That He will deliver it. A god without Justice is a pushover and not a perfect God at all. If you saw a society where people were hurting each other, and the King presiding over it refused to punish anyone because “I’m a loving King no good loving King would punish his subjects” would you say that was a good King?
That didn’t answer either question, and just creates more.
Why are earthly human developments an argument for the nature of God? Why would the label of “pushover” apply or matter to a supreme being? Why the assumption that punishment is just? Do you think a king who punishes broadly and severely for minor offenses is a good king?
You seem to have confused justice for vengeance. Humans certainly have an appetite for vengeance, that can’t be denied. But how does vengeance right wrongs?
Romans 12:19
Eh, I’ve got problems with Paul.
But even then, the verse suggests it’s not our place to dispense justice. Nor do I think that divine justice would be recognizable to humans.