Jim wrote:In Christianity, all one needs to do is to believe and accept this.
This is a grave oversimplification of the Christian doctrine.
There are some scriptures where Jesus and other say this (i.e. the ubiquitous John 3:16), but there are quite a few others that say the opposite. Modern American religious people tend to take the easy scriptures (that say they are OK) and ignore the rest. You could ask the question of what it means to believe.
Taking the words of Christ, and the Bible as a whole, it certainly means you will change your life and live differently. American churches ignore this.
Consider Matthew 25 (which should be part of any course in religion)
Quote:
"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
Consider this stern warning from Jesus to believers in Matthew 7...
Quote:
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?'
Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
And finally this passage from the book of James chapter 2.
Quote:
What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace