Friday, May 22, 2015

Defend or reject the thesis that every human person will be saved according to Christian principles.

While the question fails to define what "Christian principles" are, and setting aside that omission for the time being, there is no clear theological or Scriptural support that every human person will be saved (notwithstanding Bishop Robert Barron's hypothesis to the contrary). Rather, the weight of credible Christian scholarship and Biblical texts reveals that salvation is only through Jesus Christ and for those who freely choose it (there is the possibility of salvation for those who were never afforded the opportunity to make that free choice, but that must be left to God's Grace, infinite goodness and mercy). For example, Jesus Christ Himself refers to the reality of Hell (eternal separation from God) and its punishments (Mt. 5:22; 10:28; Mk. 9:43) and declares on numerous occasions throughout His earthly ministry that man's free-will decision to reject God bears with it the consequence of eternal separation from Him (Mt. 13:41-42). Jesus even refers to at least one human soul that is in Hell when he identifies His betrayer Judas as the “son of perdition” who was lost (Jn. 17:12). In light of the foregoing, because we know that Hell exists and that at least one soul has been lost to it, we can conclude that every human person will be saved.


This is a philosophical hornet's nest. "Christian principles" can mean a lot of different things. As of 2015, the Pew Research Center reported about 2.3 billion people in the world identifying with some form of Christianity, including Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, and other affiliations. A major division among Christians is that of "fundamentalist" vs. "non-fundamentalist" beliefs. Those who subscribe to the former believe that the Bible is the irrefutable, unerring message of God, and that every word in it should be considered authoritative truth. As time has gone by, more and more people have warmed up to "non-fundamentalist" Christianity, which still professes Jesus Christ as the primary/only representative of God in human form, but does not necessarily ascribe as much infallibility and authority to the Bible. Even within Biblical fundamentalism, there is still discrepancy as to how to interpret the messages of the scriptures, given the many different translations available, the various ways that some words can be defined, and the idea that spiritual/metaphysical truths and concepts may be difficult or even impossible to encapsulate using human words.
Generally speaking, fundamentalist Christians are likely to insist that whoever does not believe that the blood and resurrection of Jesus Christ are the only path to salvation, will not be saved and will be subject to eternal punishment. There are many Bible verses to support this notion, just to cite a few:
Matthew 18:8 "And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire."
Matthew 25:41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'"
Matthew 25:46 "And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
2 Thessalonians 1:9 "They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might"
Revelation 20:15 "And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."
Those Christians who challenge the infallibility of the Bible (non-fundamentalists) vary greatly with regards to their outlook on the fate of non-believers. Many argue that the idea of eternal separation from God is in stark conflict with the basic conceptions of God. Almost all Christians would agree that God is both all-powerful and loving and merciful toward His creations. With these conceptions of God in mind, and putting aside blind acceptance that the Bible cannot possibly be in error, it is difficult to understand how such a God could be running a universe where eternal separation from Him, eternal punishment, has any place. If God is all-powerful, and infinitely loving, then it can be well argued that God should have infinite patience and infinite forgiveness to offer to His creations, with "infinite" extending well past the confines of a single human lifetime, which the Bible itself compares to "a blink of an eye" in the grand scheme of things. Many argue that the idea of eternal separation from God / eternal punishment was invented by officials in the church who would have control over people, and that these ideas were passed off as the actual word of God.


Defending the thesis that every human person will be saved according to Christian principles, it is right and true to say that every Christian be saved according to Christian principles. The various beliefs about salvation many similarities and most of them originate from the religious books which interpret salvation as redemption from sin, Christian principles argue that what separates human beings from God is the sin. Regardless of the different interpretation of the religious books or the bible to be precise, all Christians agree that people can be saved by the grace of God only through forgiveness of sins.
Reference: The holy bible


Whether defending or rejecting this thesis, you will have to determine the meaning of "Christian principles," especially in regard to salvation, and what Christians believe happens after we die. It would also help to have familiarity with the story of Jesus Christ (e.g., the New Testament of the Christian bible).
There are a couple of links below for more in-depth information, but here is a nutshell summary: moar Christians believe that all persons who accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior will be rewarded with eternal life. A special part of their being, called the soul, will live forever with God in Heaven, which is a world generally believed to be high above the sky and even the universe. All they have to do is genuinely believe in Jesus Christ and his teachings.
Generally speaking, Christians believe that people who do not accept Christ as their savior will not live forever in Heaven. Instead, their souls will be in a different world, commonly called Hell. But there is a broad range of Christian belief. Most Christians believe that those who have not heard about Christ when they die will not go to hell. Nor will young children. The Catholic religion, a branch of Christianity, believes that some people's souls go to a place called Purgatory, a world between Heaven and Hell. There, they get something like a second chance to gain entrance to Heaven.
https://cbmw.org/topics/culture/15-principles-true-christianity-teaches/

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