Liberal Christians: If everyone gets into heaven just cause, will REAL Christians enjoy more?

[Jeremiah Ames]

If people get into heaven anyway, like you propose, will people who really follow Christ get more? We’re the ones who dedicated ourselves to Christ.

So many things wrong with your post.

If people get into heaven, they do follow Christ.
So logically, no one could follow Him more than any other.
And who are the “we’re” you speak of?
Simply calling yourself a Christian does not imply that you follow Christ at all, let alone more.

Unfortunately, the post makes you sound like a person whose mind is super saturated with fundamental Protestant doctrine.

Look past the doctrine, and read Matthew 25:31-46.
Jesus tells us clearly who gets to heaven and who doesn’t.
Explain to me where ”the sheep” implies people who call themselves Christian and attend a mainline “Christian Church”?
Jesus tells us clearly the requirements. Please take note, and weigh it out with your own life. Not others, regardless of who they are or what they call themselves. To me, an atheist who follows the simple requirements set forth by Jesus are entitled to heaven.

If the words of Jesus are insufficient, try those of Paul.
Read Romans 2:5-16.
Paul provides us a complimentary guide to the one from Jesus.
He doesn’t limit the reach of heaven (or lack of) to Christians.
He talks generally about Jews and Gentiles. (Which pretty much encompasses everyone)

It’s not as complex as the religious leaders want us to think.

Your post made me think of the following

Luke 18:9-14 9To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people-robbers, evildoers, adulterers-or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' 13"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' 14"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."

 

[columbus]

Don't you think the Christian should be responsible for their feelings and emotions always?

I don't think people are much responsible for their feelings and emotions. Responsible for how they deal with them, usually. But the feelings and emotions themselves are a product of our human nature and interaction with the world. We are not much in charge.

Our "God Given Nature" I must point out. We don't choose to be born with it. We behave like clever apes with certain abilities, but God makes us that way. If God exists, He can do something different in Heaven.
Tom

 

[lostwanderingsoul]

Actually the Bible says that NO ONE goes to Heaven. It says Jesus is coming back to earth and will reign over His kingdom here on earth.

 

[BSM1]

I don't think people are much responsible for their feelings and emotions. Responsible for how they deal with them, usually. But the feelings and emotions themselves are a product of our human nature and interaction with the world. We are not much in charge.

Our "God Given Nature" I must point out. We don't choose to be born with it. We behave like clever apes with certain abilities, but God makes us that way. If God exists, He can do something different in Heaven.
Tom

I believe people are totally responsible for their feelings and emotions. You always have the ability to choose how you feel at any given time.

 

[columbus]

I believe people are totally responsible for their feelings and emotions. You always have the ability to choose how you feel at any given time.

I don't think so. Take the OP, if someone were feeling jealous of someone else, when they're in freakin heaven already, do you really think that they chose to be so ignorant? Doesn't seem that way to me, they just haven't learned any better.
Tom

 

[QuestioningMind]

If people get into heaven anyway, like you propose, will people who really follow Christ get more? We’re the ones who dedicated ourselves to Christ.

I really don't think that anyone who has dedicated themselves to Christ would be so very judgmental of others.

 

[BSM1]

I don't think so. Take the OP, if someone were feeling jealous of someone else, when they're in freakin heaven already, do you really think that they chose to be so ignorant? Doesn't seem that way to me, they just haven't learned any better.
Tom

If you are feeling jealous it's because you want to feel jealous. If you don't want to feel jealous (or angry, envious, sad, etc.) simply quit feeling that way. You have that power and control. Try it, you may surprise yourself.

 

[BSM1]

I really don't think that anyone who has dedicated themselves to Christ would be so very judgmental of others.

Ideally.

 

[Spice]

If people get into heaven anyway, like you propose, will people who really follow Christ get more? We’re the ones who dedicated ourselves to Christ.

Being a "Liberal Christian" does not necessarily mean one believes everyone will end up in heaven. That description is generally referred to as an "Universalist", but what you meant came through.

Could you please clarify how dedicating oneself to Christ would be a shoe-in move? Jesus spoke of only two things to truly focus on, and neither were "Christ". We're to LOVE 1) The Father, and 2) our neighbors.

 

[columbus]

Could you please clarify how dedicating oneself to Christ would be a shoe-in move? Jesus spoke of only two things to truly focus on, and neither were "Christ". We're to LOVE 1) The Father, and 2) our neighbors.

Exactly.
Mt. 22: 37-40 covers the basics. If something else seems to contradict that, you're misinterpreting the verse or something.
Tom

 

[Faithofchristian]

First of all, you would have to define, What's the difference between a real Christian and a false Christian ?

What does Christ Jesus give to know the difference between the real and false Christian ?

 

[ChristineM]

I am totally good with that myself, and fully expect that to happen. If science has shown us anything about God, it's that He likes cycles
I just don't think that is the whole story, any more than Newtonian physics were the whole story. They're not wrong exactly, they still hold up airplanes and such. But Einstein showed us a whole new world of physics that Sir Newton couldn't have imagined. And even when infectious illnesses were believed to be supernatural "animacules" did exist and cause them. We just didn't know that, have reason to suspect it, much less build the tools and develop the methods needed to find out the truth. I am sure many modern things will turn out the same way. What is now in the realm of "inexplicable, supernatural, mysterious" will come to be understood better. But I don't claim to know what, or how, or anything like that.


I avoid the word soul. Too many people think that they understand what it means, when obviously nobody does. But yeah, that's the best word I know of to mean what I mean. I just don't think anyone knows anything about them of importance.

One big difference between me and theists as a group is recognizing that what I believe on Faith is probably not even close to being The Truth. It's just the best I can do, for myself, with what I have to work with. Faith is what I believe because I prefer to live in a world where it's true, as opposed to any sort of truth claim I might make.
Tom

I just work with evidence and fact and leave faith to whomever needs it.

Doing the best you can do is what its all about though.

 

[Fool]

If people get into heaven anyway, like you propose, will people who really follow Christ get more? We’re the ones who dedicated ourselves to Christ.

you can remove a person from trouble but that doesn't doesn't necessarily remove the trouble in a person.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

If people get into heaven anyway, like you propose, will people who really follow Christ get more? We’re the ones who dedicated ourselves to Christ.

... but you didn’t read the Parable of the Prodigal Son, apparently. Or if you did, the message didn’t take.

 

[BSM1]

) our neighbors.

*...our neighbors as we love ourselves. Very important distinction.

 

[Jeremiah Ames]

First of all, you would have to define, What's the difference between a real Christian and a false Christian ?

What does Christ Jesus give to know the difference between the real and false Christian ?

The fruit.
Always a dead giveaway.

 

[Faithofchristian]

The fruit.
Always a dead giveaway.

If you do not know which fruit is which, so how would you know?

If a person goes out giving falsehoods and fables, that's the bad fruit.
The good fruit are those who teach according to what Christ Jesus taught and nothing more and nothing less.

Matthew 24:4-5--"And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you, For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many"

Note that ( Christ ) being abbreviated for Christian.
Christ = Christian.

Note Jesus said many shall come in my name, Who else comes in the name of Christ, other than Christians?

So here Christ is a prime example of false Christians coming in his manner that shall deceive many people.

 

[columbus]

If a person goes out giving falsehoods and fables, that's the bad fruit.

That's not how I see it. I see the fruit as the results of what people say and do.
For example, I don't think anyone who heard the parable "Lazarus and the rich man" mistook it for literal truth. It was a fable, a falsehood, but with a true message. That message might not be obvious, but it's there. Like all really good fiction, it is not true exactly, it's"truer than truth". It had good fruit, enlightened people.

The good fruit are those who teach according to what Christ Jesus taught and nothing more and nothing less.

I know almost nobody who does that. Every Christian I know of regularly teaches according to the OT and Paul and John, usually far more than according to Jesus.
Tom

 

[metis]

If you're in it for the reward and worry about "getting more", then you're probably not a "real Christian" to begin with.

Reminds me of what the Jewish sage Maimonides said, namely that if we're merely doing good in order to get into heaven, then we're doing so for a very selfish reason. And the chasidic sage Nachman of Braslav said that one cannot find God just with his head but must follow God with his entire "emotion". IOW, (s)he needs to immerse themselves into God.

 

[metis]

I see the fruit as the results of what people say and do.

Such as that which is found in the Sermon On the Mount and also the Parable of the Sheep & Goats (Matthew 25). IOW, does a person really believe in that which Jesus taught (the Sheep) or only some things about Jesus (the Goats)?