iceage writes:
Whoaa right there... no comparison. I don't accept that evolutionary principles sound "retarded" to an outsider. Natural selection is such a simple and workable concept that T. Huxley once commented "How incredibly stupid, not to have thought of that myself"! I know for myself, after having the fundamentals explained, natural selection just made sense and provided a satisfying explanation of the workings of nature. I won't deny the details are complex, but the principle are simple and intuitive.
I understand, but I know that arguments from incredulity abound nonetheless.
I like it, but it is not gospel!
It is the Catholic interpretation of the same Biblical passages other denoms cite. See, we Catholics like to think that if something does not measure up to reality, it can not be possible. Since there is no case of a person receiving an unsolicited visit from Jesus in the middle of the jungle and with no prior knowledge, we do not take the passages about believing in Jesus' name etc. as literal readings.
The bible clearly and unequivocally states that salvation is only through Jesus and only by being born again. If a good Muslim dies without accepting Jesus then they are hell bound per scripture. Hey what is that I just heard... oh ya a chorus's of Amens!
I'm not turning this into Apologetics 101, But 'salvation thru Jesus' can be taken a few ways.
If we are created to worship God (as Riverrat believes), and the God described in the Bible is the one true vision of God, then there would be a detectable tendency for people when approaching God to align their worshiping impulses towards the core beliefs described in the Bible such as a triune Godhead, the necessity for water baptism, the nature of the Holy Spirit, or second coming. There would also be a steady defection from counterfeit religions. There would be a detectable core agreement on a set of Godly principles.
None of this is relevent to what I said about 'being created to worship God'.
I take that to mean that men, just by existing, bring glory to God. I may also believe that the soul has natural urges to worship, or join, with its Maker, but that would only be the catalyst for its searching and varying styles of worship. The soul may yearn all it will, but it is destined for subjugation to what the mind believes.
I just saw all of the OT warnings in this thread. If I tie my comments back to the OP, I will say that if a soul is made to know, love and serve God, then it may be at any moment that the mind chooses to listen to the spirit. Death beds are one moment, but you can't get water from a rock, nor Jesus from Allah. You can only acknowledge that there may be more out there. And no, I am not comparing Muslims to rocks!
Edited by anastasia, : No reason given.
Edited by anastasia, : No reason given.
Edited by anastasia, : No reason given.
Edited by anastasia, : No reason given.