shrmn8rpoptart said:
um, blind faith? i live my life by faith, but i don't know if i would describe that as blind faith, at least in the way you term it. i think we all live every aspect of our lives by faith. nothing in life can be proven beyond a complete shadow of a doubt, but there comes a point where we all except things as we believe them to be.
and no, the Bible was not originally written in sanskrit. the Biblical languages, correct me if i'm wrong, are greek and hebrew. the Bible still exists in its greek and hebrew forms today, and the English translation comes from that.
and you are right that works and faith are not mutually exclusive. i think that macfistowannabe and myself have both stated that they can coexist perfectly and that they can exist seperately (though faith is dead without works and works are meaningless to God without faith).
you are also correct when you state that it would be shameful to do these works in an attempt to get into heaven. that would be the situation of "the playboy mansion". that is the case i've made all along, that works cannot gain merit in God's eyes, so to attempt this is to work in vain. works by their very nature are meant to aid other humans, God doesn't need our help, so good works are certainly not done for His benefit.
and, my statements regarding the pedophile hold true for any other sin and sinner (myself included). if i do not fully realize my sin, and/or do not truly repent of it, then my sin is not forgiven. if however, i do realize my sin, which is terrifying to me when i realize the consequences of sin is eternal death, and truly repent of this sin, then because of Christ suffering and dying, i am forgiven.
finally, entrance into heaven is not subjective. Christ died so that all the world might be saved through Him. everyone on earth is a sinner, and because of this deserve the punnishment of hell. however, Christ was sent to earth to take receive our punnishment for us. all that is required of us is a faith that Christ did indeed die for our sins, and the salvation that comes along with it.
but what did they speak when Jesus was alive? what was the language Jesus used to explain his message? was that Greek? was that Hebrew? already, translation issues, things written well after the fact, etc. the point i'm getting at is that the literal interpretation of Scripture is simply bad scholarship, bad reading, and would never past muster if we were to regard it as any other piece of writing.
and your above standard for getting into heaven is 100% subjective -- you've tossed aside all other religions, or even variations within Chrstianity. as a Christian, i'm sure this is what you believe, but to not understand the subjectivity of the faith you profess renders your interpretations and proclomations suspect, if not entirely moot. faith is predicated upon doubt.
i simply find your black-and-white view on all this unsettling, and has much more in common with our Islamofascist friends. there's very little of "this is what i/we belive" and very much "this is the way that it is." as i originally alluded to, that makes most of us who don't share your certainty and confidence want to ask for the bill and go home.
if we are of God, made from God and in his image, and we work to help our fellow man, how are works not then ways of helping God? who do you think is more in tune with the Jesus message: the atheist who cures cancer, or the true blue believer who might bang on some doors and evangelize about the importance of faith but does little else? one may have faith, and the other may not, but you've also missed my point about The Playboy Mansion -- the bogus "works" are those works done with the ulterior motive (gosh, gotta get myself into heaven!) and the real works are those done with the intent of alleviating the suffering of the earthly lives of God's children. the former is self-interested, the latter is humble and real.
finally, sin. how do you know if you've truly repented? how do you know if you've been absolved? how do you know you've understood the magnitude and implications of your sins? your paragraph sites the motivation of repenting as not the understanding of how your sin negatively impacts the lives of those around you -- like how molesting a child destroys him/her in myriad, almost unfathomable ways -- but the fear you have of eternal death.
in the end, the "faith alone" argument strikes me as terribly narcissistic.
is it in Scripture? i don't care. as i mentioned before, i'm going to listen to my mind and heart -- which, by extention, were given to me by God -- and use those instruments to guide me towards a life better lived.