A Quote by Shadia Drury
Far from being an aberration that is not representative of Christianity, the persecution of heretics follows logically from the connection of faith and salvation as presented by Jesus in the Gospels.
Quote Topics
Quote Author
Related Quotes
Faith that trusts on Jesus alone for salvation, and not on your respectable life, and the obedience that follows Him, are the indispensable steps to salvation. You admit that you have not taken these decisive steps. Then, however near you are, you are not in Christ.
If one takes full account of the persecution of heretics, the frequency and savagery of the religious wars which Christianity had endangered, the harm caused, especially to children, by the pernicious doctrine of original sin, a case could be made for saying that the world would have been better off without Christianity.
We're in danger of losing an even more foundational belief of Christianity: that salvation is only possible through faith in Jesus Christ.
If the resurrection of Jesus cannot be believed except by assenting to the fantastic descriptions included in the Gospels, then Christianity is doomed. For that view of resurrection is not believable, and if that is all there is, then Christianity, which depends upon the truth and authenticity of Jesus' resurrection, also is not believable.
Jesus himself, and most of the message of the Gospels, is a message of service to the poor, a critique of the rich and the powerful, and a pacifist doctrine. And it remained that way, that's what Christianity was up... until Constantine. :Constantine shifted it so the cross, which was the symbol of persecution of somebody working for the poor, was put on the shield of the Roman Empire. It became the symbol for violence and oppression, and that's pretty much what the church has been until the present.
What has been presented as Christianity during these nineteen centuries is only a beginning, full of mistakes, not full blown Christianity springing from the spirit of Jesus.
Christianity began with 120 in the Upper Room, within three centuries it had become the predominant religion of the Roman Empire. What brought this about? The answer is deceptively simple, while Christianity was being presented to unbelievers in both Word and deed, it was the deed that far exceeded the Word in evangelistic effectiveness.
The most devastating thing though that biology did to Christianity was the discovery of biological evolution. Now that we know that Adam and Eve never were real people the central myth of Christianity is destroyed. If there never was an Adam and Eve there never was an original sin. If there never was an original sin there is no need of salvation. If there is no need of salvation there is no need of a Savior. And I submit that puts Jesus, historical or otherwise, into the ranks of the unemployed. I think that evolution is absolutely the death knell of Christianity.
We cannot have faith without belief, but we can believe without having faith. Belief is the foundation of faith. Faith is trusting in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The scriptures contain many assurances of salvation to those who exercise faith and obey the commandments... Faith is the motivating force that impels action.
Christianity is anything but safe. Jesus made clear that trouble and persecution stood in the future for His followers.
The blessed Paul argues that we are saved by faith, which he declares to be not from us but a gift from God. Thus there cannot possibly be true salvation where there is no true faith, and, since this faith is divinely enabled, it is without doubt bestowed by his free generosity. Where there is true belief through true faith, true salvation certainly accompanies it. Anyone who departs from true faith will not possess the grace of true salvation.
The trouble with Christianity was that by about 150, there were hardly any Jews left in the Christian church, and so from that time until the last part of the twentieth century, the only people reading the gospels and interpreting the gospels and writing commentaries on the gospels were gentiles who were simply ignorant of the Jewish background, and I just thought they were prejudiced.
Christianity teaches salvation by grace through faith, every other religion teaches salvation through works and merit.
Jesus is the Son of God, we have a chance for God's blessings, God's salvation through our faith in Jesus Christ and all of us are sinners who fall short of the glory of God, and the wages of sin is death but through our faith that Jesus Christ, we can be saved.
You can't get too far into the Gospels without noticing that Jesus made a pretty lousy apologist.
The greatest proof of Christianity for others is not how far a man can logically analyze his reasons for believing, but how far in practice he will stake his life on his belief.
Related Authors
Abigail Van Buren Quotes
American
Columnist
Amy Dickinson Quotes
American
Columnist
Byron York Quotes
American
Columnist
Celia Rivenbark Quotes
American
Columnist
Franklin P. Adams Quotes
American
Columnist
Haroon Moghul Quotes
American
Columnist
John C. Dvorak Quotes
American
Columnist
Michelle Singletary Quotes
American
Columnist
Mona Charen Quotes
American
Columnist
Rachel Held Evans Quotes
American
Columnist
Sheilah Graham Westbrook Quotes
American
Columnist
Thomas Boswell Quotes
American
Columnist
Yasmin Mogahed Quotes
American
Columnist