Do you have to be Christian to be "saved"?

The only way i am able to explain who God is to me, is that he feels like he is my father, and he loves me in the same way our physical fathers do. He has the same emotions, and the same desire for love and happiness. We talk him into giving us chance after chance to come back home, even after we act like rebelious teens wanting to leave and do things on our own. I know that my kid does things over and over again despite my orders not to! I cant just stop loving my son, and even tho i may become very angry with him, i will allways give him the chance to come back to me. I believe God is the exact same. If you really want his forgiveness, then how could he refuse you? His love is real after all. I think there is more to Gods love then just being a Christian, and God knows you very well. Titles wont change his decisions

No. You need only be a righteous person. Christianity or any other religion which IMO are only man made methods of worship of the same God [there is only one} have no bearing on ones entry to heaven. If indeed there is such a place.

Disclaimer: This is from the info and attitude I've been presented with from Christians. I myself am not a Christian.

If by "saved", you mean accepting the Lord into your heart no matter where you stand in life - then of course! It's like a mini-convertion :wink:

I've been, technically, saved around...mmm, 6 times. By my own will, of course. I just never felt the light of God and so..I kept demanding him into my soul, in a quiet little room in the back of my church on my knees underneath a table. Who knew?

If you are referring to this type of 'saved', then no - other religions can't be saved; at least from my experience. You have to believe in the one omnipotent God, who goes by the name "God" (not Allah, or Adoni, oh no!) in order to accept him into your heart. I highly doubt that at a Christian ceremony of forgiveness, a non-believer will be faired too well. I mean look at me, some fricken four year old stole my cookies afterwards.

Now, if you are talking about 'saved' as in when someone dies, rather than going to hell like was planned, they got a chance to explain themselves and be welcomed into heaven.

Going on what I've been taught personally - no. One of God's number-1 rules is that you can't worship anyone other than him. You break it, you pay. And as much as we, level-headed, rational people know that God, Allah, and Adoni (and whomever else) is merely a title referring to the same surpreme being, there are many - God included - that seem to be very opposed to the different aliases.

It's all or nothing - and if you're wasting time devoting yourself to someone other than the first, new and improved, original-scent God, then you're kinda screwed.

Sanctuary
In looking over your offering. I note the God of the Hebrews was Adoni and Muslems is Allah what is the god of the Christians called? Just plain wrapped God? :wink:

Jesus said 'nobody enters the kingdom of heaven save through me'. That to me is not the same thing as saying that only Christians are saved. The American indians went 1500 years without ever hearing about Jesus and there's no logical way they can be judged that way.

Jesus Christ Sr.?

Saved from what? If we are in trouble, it was caused by us, and therefore (regardless if a god exists or not) only we can get ourselves, as a species, out of it. On an individual basis, i have no idea what people are asking to be saved from.

Sanctuary
You have just lost your ticket to heaven. :wink:

Gungasnake: That's my view, but the Bible states otherwise, so I was trying to get a majority response to see who believed the Bible. I find that notion terrifying, as it hearkens back to the days of predestination(Your fate is decided before you're born, nothing you do can stop it), which i find horrific. Thanks for the response.

**Clarification: I'm not asking which everyone thinks should be the rule, but which you think is.**

It's not totally obvious to me that it does. At least not from the words of Jesus himself.

He said:

I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

That cannot possibly require an American indian having never heard of Jesus to have professed belief in him in this life. I believe it meant that all people will have to deal with Jesus after they die, whether they lived as Christians or no.

Why should I care if I am saved or not...

If I have a choice of what happens after my death, I think I would go with the American Indians.

You might want to qualify that and say that you'd rather go with that portion of the American indians who led reasonable lives. There are a$$#oles amongst indians just as there are amongst white men.

I don't think anybody gets "saved".

But if I were a Christian, I would tend to agree with Gungasnake. I interpret Jesus' claim that none come to the father except through him to mean that one has to live a virtuous life, and that this, not declarations of blind loyalty, would be the basis of judgement. Deeds, I would think, matter more than words.

Obviously, many churches with a vested interest in growing their membership here on Earth will disagree.

Of course you are right-- people are people and there are jerks the world over.

It is just that I am living a reasonable life. If the Bible is correct, I am going to hell. It is just nice to know I will be with some other nice, reasonable people for eternity.

Won't the Christians be surprised when they die and find out they have been on the wrong team. :wink: