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?
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.
This community is centred on Christianity, which accepts the Bible as the universally infallible scripture. Paul wrote a good portion of it. So dismissing Paul, who was personally chosen and appointed by Jesus on the road to Damascus, doesn’t work in a Christianity-centred discourse.
The only reason people who may linger within Christian circles do reject the authority of Paul from what I can tell is just because their carnal desires go against what he writes. Such a thing is called eisegesis - only reading the Bible through your cultural lens first and letting your culture hold authority over the Bible. Eisegesis has no place in Christian discourse.
How do you figure? Books have been added and removed for millennia.
Your own sect is not the arbiter of the entirety of the faith. Plenty of sects would disagree with what you’ve written here.
That’s just demonstrably false, or a massive misrepresentation at best.
The 27-book canon of the New Testament (and the wider 66 book canon of the Bible) which contain the writings of Saint Paul that I was citing is accepted by every Christian denomination. They have never been under dispute as part of the canon and was solidified, done and dusted by the end of the fourth century (despite us having plenty of evidence of those books being used by the start). While it is true some denominations may have additional books, as well as additional creeds and other important texts, rulings or councils, they all can agree on these 66 books.
Like what sects? The Nicene Creed (typically this is used as the measuring point between Christianity and heretical spinoff religions) states:
And even then if you went into the other religions that identify as Christian - such as Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, or Christadelphians - they all also hold to the doctrine of there being a Judgement. Heck, this doctrine even made it’s way into Islam!
Sure, different denominations and different religions have different views on what exactly will happen on this judgement day or how exactly it’ll play out, but the fact of the matter is, it is a fact of Christianity that there will be a Judgement, and that carrying out Justice is one of God’s characteristics.