Obama's interview with Cathleen Falsani, recently published on Beliefnet, has re-ignited not only some political wars but religious fights that have persisted for almost 2,000 years: what does it mean to be a Christian?
Joe Carter, Rod Dreher, Rick Santorum and several posters in the comment area of the blog post have suggested that Obama can't call himself a Christian since he seems to reject the idea that acceptance of Christ is required for salvation:
Obama: ...There's the belief, certainly in some quarters, that people haven't embraced Jesus Christ as their personal savior that they're going to hell.FALSANI: You don't believe that?
OBAMA: I find it hard to believe that my God would consign four-fifths of the world to hell.
I can't imagine that my God would allow some little Hindu kid in India who never interacts with the Christian faith to somehow burn for all eternity. That's just not part of my religious makeup.
What's more, I'm told by people who attended Obama's meeting earlier this year with several Christian leaders and that Franklin Graham pressed him on this point. His answer was similar: that he had a hard time believing that his mother, who was not Christian, would be burning in hell.
Carter and others argue that Obama therefore cannot call himself a Christian. They note that even Mainline Protestants accept the Apostles Creed or the Nicene Creed, both of which make that same declaration.
But here's the rub for orthodox Christians: millions and millions of people call themselves Christian, worship at Christian churches and believe that acceptance of Christ is not required for entry into heaven. In a recent Pew poll, 70% said "many religions can lead to eternal life." 66% of Protestants and 79% of Catholics said they agreed with that idea.
It was also a view shared by many of the Founders.
"I believe with Justin Martyr, that all good men are Christians," said John Adams.
Like Obama, Adams doubted that those around the world who hadn't accepted Christ could be damned. In a letter to Jefferson, he claimed that according to Christian doctrine nine tenths of the population would suffer for eternity as they were not schooled in Christianity. Why, he asked, would God allow "innumerable millions to make them miserable, forever"? The explanation often given, said Adams, was, "For his Own Glory." This answer disgusted Adams. "Wretch! ...Is he vain?" he asked about God. "Tickled with Adulation? Exulting and triumphing in his Power and the Sweetness of his Vengeance? Pardon me, my Maker, for these Aweful Questions. My Answer to them is always ready: I believe no such Things."
Many liberal Christians argue that Christianity is defined through actions not theology, and some dispute the idea that John 3:16 should define Christianity on this point.
Theologically, I don't have a dog in this fight but I will merely point out that if Joe Carter, Rick Santorum, Cal Thomas and others drum Obama out of the bugle corps for that reason they will need to expel a sizable percentage of Christiandom.
Add to Del.icio.us
Add to Technorati
Add to Digg
Add to Newsvine
Add to Facebook
Add to StumbleUpon
Subscribe
Jammie, nice post, but it is still too long. Edit it down to this and you really have something:
"... I do not believe that people who live good lives are going to hell. Religion is made by man."
Jammie,
You are dead wrong. John 14:6, and 1 timothy ch 2..read it...
Jesus said, i am the way the truth in the life, and no man comes before God but through Jesus..The bible also tells us that nobody is good, not one..all have sinned..Living a good life will not get you to heaven, only faith in Jesus Christ and being born again from above, regenerated by the Holy Spirit will you reach eternal life..it is not by works, by God's grace...that kind of thinking leads people to hell...if we were good, then Jesus would not have had to die..think about that....
Innocent, and kid (child) are the key here, an innocent child who has never been taught and does not yet know Christ will be saved. Anyone who has been taught christ but still rejects him will not be saved.
So many things are starting to unfold, seriously, even if you don't believe right now, you should watch for the signs and study further, there is still hope for those who are lost.
It's always interesting to see how so many people are so afraid, and get so angry when they are confronted with Jesus (who was such a peaceful man). For the lost, they should continually try to realize that just because many say they follow Christ, does not necessarily mean they do. Beware of those who would "demean, and threaten you," they are misled and not following the true word of Christ. REally, you must read the bible, but not just once and not with a closed heart. If you read the bible with the intent to find a mistake, or you are angry, you will surely find a way to reject it, but if you are open minded, you will begin to find truths.
I am on my 3 rd reading and am still finding things in those words that I would never have realized in the first time through. Sometimes I think by believing if you do good things, it makes it okay for you to do bad things just as long as you do some good things. This is the attractiveness to believing in a God that is truly not God. It's like saying I can do bad, sin or whatever, be cruel be selfish be self-absorbed, put others down, judge and whatever else, but as long as I am nice to a few people (I kinda like) or give some canned food on a food drive, I'm okay and God will think I'm okay in his book.
Truly think that over, do you really think that would do the trick? If nothing else, it's something you should think about.
I do believe that all who are regenerated will and do have faith, but deny that the "faith" -- that is, the believing response to God -- is in all cases "cognitive" or "informed" faith -- for cognitive faith necessarily depends on hearing the rational proclamation of the gospel; rather, I do not hesitate to affirm that it is, in all cases, below the level of consciousness -- Lazarus-like, the sinner responds believingly to Christ in response to His Divine fiat in regeneration, being made willing in the day of His power, believing according to the working of His mighty power, and coming to Christ in "vital" relationship (Ps. 110:3; Eph. 2:8; Eph. 1:19; Jno. 6:37, 44). Cognitive faith is indeed present in some, but the gift of faith is present in all of God's children; hence, I concur that no one goes to heaven without faith, but deny that no one goes to heaven without rational knowledge of the truth. A teaching does indeed take place in the new birth, for God teaches the heart directly and immediately to know Him (Jno. 6:65). Cognitive faith, however, must necessarily come after this initial work of grace in the soul, for it depends on the instrumentality of the preached word. Obviously, if such cognitive (or evangelical) faith is necessary to eternal salvation, then every infant who dies in infancy and every individual without average mental capacities would miss salvation. But my position -- i.e. the position that defines "saving faith" (if I must use the term) as that faith that is given to the soul in the work of regeneration -- is adequate to include every potential case in which a person is in need of salvation. By the same token, I do believe that the ultimate evidence that a person possesses salvation is an evangelical faith in the Lord Jesus Christ -- a faith that expresses itself in voluntary obedience to Christ. Where such faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is present, a person gives indisputable evidence of salvation. – from footnote 6 – page six > http://www.pbpage.org/TimeSalvation.pdf
I primer on the sovereign act of Jesus Christ in Regeneration and quickening unto eternal life of millions of His elect around the world who will never have the opportunity to audibly hear about him through the Gospel which was canonized in only 325 AD. Rev, 5:9; 7:9; 16:4 and Acs 10:35 testify that there will me many out of EVERY nation, kindred [family], tribe and tongue [language]in heaven, many of which have obviously been extinct long before the advent of the Christ [the only way to heaven], and before the Psalmist and before the Law Giver and necessarily before the great flood of Noah in which all perished except the eight in the ark. These links are believed by millions of "Old School Type Baptists" for centuries. Jesus saves alone. He does not need our help and He does not want our help in His saving work of grace upon the hearts of His elect - that is absolutely effectual towards eternal salvation - making YOUR faith an evidence ONLY of what He has already accomplished.
www.SavedHow.com
www.judaizers.com
www.CognitiveFaith.com
www.JesusSavesAlone.com
P.O. Box 100
Fountain Inn, SC 29644-0100
Post a Comment
By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.