Is it only Christians who are saved?

[MikeF]

Also God do not want humans to only have one religion. God want different religions to exist.

This Bible verse explains.

Genesis 11:1-9
Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
8 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9

It struck me reading this that in line 7 it says "Come, let us go down ..".

Who does "us" refer to?

 

[loverofhumanity]

The hell written about in the Bible would be the source i would use. But since i am not a Christian it was more a question to understand the Christian way of sending non Christians to some sort of Hell.

What hell could be worse than to be far from God and which heaven more great than to possess His love in one’s heart? In the end it is God Who will judge us but God is most forgiving and merciful.

 

[Vinayaka]

A totally irrelevant question to many non-Christians or perhaps non-Abrahamics, as there is no concept of hell, or 'saved'. Saved from what, exactly? Since it was placed in interfaith, I responded. I think the question was directed at Christians.

 

[Spirit of Light]

That is not what Bahaollah said. He said a messenger (manifestation of Allah) haws to be accepted without any question, and one who differs, will face the wrath of Allah. Have you started reading Kitab-i-Aqdas?

Yes I have.
I have many questions i seeking answer to, and I believe it is good for any Baha'i to ask as many question as possible to understand the teaching better.

And no, I do not think Baha'u'llah's words mean one should blindly follow everything he said without asking questions.

If you believe different that is ok

 

[Psalm23]

I hope this question does not offend anyone.

Sometimes it seems like a few Christian people think they are the only people who can get saved and enter heaven. But my question then is.

What with the rest of us? Are we doomed to your Christian hell?

The Bible teaches in many different verses that only through Jesus and faith in him is one saved.

Here are some verses: John 3:16 , 1 John 5:12 , John 14:6, Ephesians 2:8-9, 1 Timothy 2:5.

 

[mikkel_the_dane]

I hope this question does not offend anyone.

Sometimes it seems like a few Christian people think they are the only people who can get saved and enter heaven. But my question then is.

What with the rest of us? Are we doomed to your Christian hell?

Well, as an atheist, who voluntarily pays church tax to a Christian church, I can answer that.

It depends on what version of God that is in play. My version allows everybody into Heaven, if there is a God and Heaven and if they are Good. But that I leave to God as to what Good is for all humans.
But in practice I don't judge other humans using Good, because I leave that to God, if there is a God.

 

[Kenny]

I hope this question does not offend anyone.

Sometimes it seems like a few Christian people think they are the only people who can get saved and enter heaven. But my question then is.

What with the rest of us? Are we doomed to your Christian hell?

Christians didn't create hell, the last time I checked.

Why insist that Christians be the judge of hearts? Are we God? Are we the Judge of all?

Are you saying there are more than one way to be united in spirit with God's Holy Spirit? Do you trust what was written about what Jesus said? And if not, what do you trust?

PS

Heaven isn't the ultimate destination

 

[stvdv]

The Bible teaches in many different verses that only through Jesus and faith in him is one saved.

Here are some verses: John 3:16 , 1 John 5:12 , John 14:6, Ephesians 2:8-9, 1 Timothy 2:5.

The Bible is given for Christians as a guide

Other Scriptures are given for other beliefs

Imposing Bible on others is not okay

 

[Psalm23]

The Bible is given for Christians as a guide

Other Scriptures are given for other beliefs

Imposing Bible on others is not okay

@Seeker of White Light asked about Christian belief and I answered according to what the Bible says.

 

[Spirit of Light]

Christians didn't create hell, the last time I checked.

Why insist that Christians be the judge of hearts? Are we God? Are we the Judge of all?

Are you saying there are more than one way to be united in spirit with God's Holy Spirit? Do you trust what was written about what Jesus said? And if not, what do you trust?

PS

Heaven isn't the ultimate destination

First of all, the OP is not an attack on Christians
The idea come to me yester day when i read a few of @Muffled replies in discussion and debate.
Of course there is only a few Christians who believe only Christians can and will be saved.

 

[Wildswanderer]

I hope this question does not offend anyone.

Sometimes it seems like a few Christian people think they are the only people who can get saved and enter heaven. But my question then is.

What with the rest of us? Are we doomed to your Christian hell?

Only those who truly accept Christ are saved, regardless of what labels they wear or don't wear.

 

[Spirit of Light]

Only those who truly accept Christ are saved, regardless of what labels they wear or don't wear.

What happens to good people of other faiths?

 

[Wildswanderer]

What happens to good people of other faiths?

Two possibilities I see in scripture: annihilation or eternal separation from God.
There may be a third, but I find purgatory to have very little actual scripture support.

 

[Wildswanderer]

What happens to good people of other faiths?

BTW, according to basic Christian theology there's no such thing as good people, so your question supposes something that isn't reality in the Christian worldview.

 

[muhammad_isa]

Only those who truly accept Christ are saved, regardless of what labels they wear or don't wear.

Oh dear..
There's going to be a lot of disappointed people in the world, who have been praying to God for nothing.

 

[RAYYAN]

Good non-christians is not going to hell. Why?

Because of this:

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. " 1 John 4:7

So, accepting Jesus is not needed to be saved?

 

[Wildswanderer]

Oh dear..
There's going to be a lot of disappointed people in the world, who have been praying to God for nothing.

I imagine so. If I pray to a god that doesn't exist, like Thor for example, I can't expect to be saved by an imaginary being.

 

[muhammad_isa]

I imagine so. If I pray to a god that doesn't exist, like Thor for example, I can't expect to be saved by an imaginary being.

..but I'm not referring to "a god" ..
Jews believe that Moses is a messenger of the same God that you believe in.
Muslims believe that Muhammad is a messenger of the same God that you believe in.

Are you saying that only people who pray to "the Son", Jesus, will be saved?
Doesn't "the Father" figure in this at all?

 

[Wildswanderer]

..but I'm not referring to "a god" ..
Jews believe that Moses is a messenger of the same God that you believe in.
Muslims believe that Muhammad is a messenger of the same God that you believe in.

Are you saying that only people who pray to "the Son", Jesus, will be saved?
Doesn't "the Father" figure in this at all?

Of course, Christians do pray to the Father, but are saved only through the blood of Jesus shed for the atonement of their sins.

 

[It Aint Necessarily So]

Sometimes it seems like a few Christian people think they are the only people who can get saved and enter heaven. But my question then is. What with the rest of us? Are we doomed to your Christian hell?

Christian theology is evolving to adapt to its increasing rejection by Western society. In the past, one could be as scary as he wanted, teaching young children about eternal torment while threatening the adults. It was the face of Christianity as I experienced it as a Christian in the seventies. There was no mincing with words like we see today. The Left Behind series and the Chick tracts were very much fire and brimstone. Those people would tell you that you were hell-bound if you didn't accept Jesus (become Christian).

But today, much of that has softened. Some of the church remains fundamentalist, but much of it has been moving toward more loving and inclusive interpretations of that same scripture. We've seen it in this thread already - God doesn't send us to hell, we send ourselves, and hell's torture is merely separation from God and heaven. Also, we see many of the faithful simply changing the doctrine from "one way" to more than one way to achieve salvation and attain paradise apparently.

I do not think Baha'u'llah's words mean one should blindly follow everything he said without asking questions.

Baha'is more familiar with the faith than you disagree. You started a thread recently where many expressed that, although they don't use the word blindly. Yet, every one of them did just that regarding the Baha'i doctrine in question in that thread. They all basically said the equivalent of God said it so I believe it.

The Bible teaches in many different verses that only through Jesus and faith in him is one saved. Here are some verses: John 3:16 , 1 John 5:12 , John 14:6, Ephesians 2:8-9, 1 Timothy 2:5.

Yes, this is the Christianity I was taught.

Good non-Christians is not going to hell. Why? Because of this: "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. " 1 John 4:7

And this is how it's done. The words can't be changed, but their meanings and emphasis can be and are as needed. New scriptures are pointed to as the theology evolves.

Also God do not want humans to only have one religion. God want different religions to exist. This Bible verse explains. Genesis 11:1-9
Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” 8 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9

And more adaptive revisionism. I don't see where this supports your claim. And there is no freedom of religion in Christianity. The Baha'i might accept the Christians, but the Christians don't accept any other religion as legitimate.

We send ourselves to hell, in effect, by turning away from righteousness.

And more revisionism. God no longer sends conscious souls to a torture pit for eternity. Too mean for modern sensibilities. So, we send ourselves. I generally tell people who claim that that it's good to know, because if that's the case, I'm not going. None ever says that I will have that choice.

All of this revisionism de-tooths the religion.

What hell could be worse than to be far from God and which heaven more great than to possess His love in one’s heart?

Yes, I've seen this from Christians as well, although you're not a Christian. My answer is that I am quite familiar and comfortable with being far from God, and could easily spend an eternal afterlife without one if that were an option. The problem for Christianity is that it offers both the carrot of heaven and the stick of hell, and it turns out that the carrot just isn't very appealing, so softening the stick or putting it down means the horse slows or stops. To survive, Christianity requires access to children, respectablitiy, credibility, and protection from challenges to it, all of which it has lost or is losing. It also apparently requires hell theology be threatening. If it gives that part or all of that up to gain adherents, it probably won't work.

In the end it is God Who will judge us but God is most forgiving and merciful.

And more revisionism. Again, I don't know if you speak here as a Baha'i or for Christians, but there is nothing forgiving or merciful about Judgment Day. In heaven, there are no juries and no appeals, and the punishment for a reasonable mistake - unbelief in this god - is eternal suffering. That the opposite of just, forgiving, or merciful.

I don't see any of this new kinder-and-gentler saving Christianity from ongoing loss of cultural hegemony in the West. And please note that these are all movements in the direction of humanism, the primary source of the rejection of this kind of doctrine in the West. It's humanist sensibilities at last being promoted culturally through the advent of atheist bestselling authors, atheist celebrities (Tyson, Carlin, Maher), and the Internet that are taking root and pushing the religions toward more kind and inclusive doctrine not because it wants to. It wants to survive, and that is what the younger demographic that it is trying to appeal to is demanding now.