You have to read history instead of the biassed position of the r/c church.ST Constantine was also the authority who gave Christ the 12/25 birthday. He made it that date so as to have it at the same time as the sun god. He did this so worshippers of the sun god could switch over easialy. Also when Constantine took power Christians were still being sent to the lions in Rome. He stopped that. Why did the pope not take authority over the Nicene Council instead of just sending 2 representatives just as all the other branches of the church and also submitted to all of their decisions? Constantine didn't convert until his death but he was very influential in saving the Christians and their religon.

Of course this is only a concern if you are a Christian and believe Christ as your saviour to be the only way. The bible is the point of reference from a Christian perspective.

If you were born and raised by a family living in India, Iran, or Japan, for example, odds are you wouldn't give this a second thought because it would not be part of your belief system. The vast majority of people grow up believing what they do because of where they were born and/or what their family may have practiced and believed. There are exceptions to be sure, but they are in the minority.

So are all others doomed?
Could you be persuaded to convert to Islam, Buddism, or any other religion? They obviously feel their beliefs are the "correct" point of view and would no more likely convert to Christianity than most Christians would convert elsewhere. After all, it is perfectly natural to hold fast to what you were raised to believe and understand.

Or could it be that God, in a greater wisdom, is present in some form throughout all religions and there is no one way that trumps the others... simply different paths?

Just throwing that out there... thoughts?? :)

GOD has manifested GOD(we do not really know what form(s) GOD takes or how manifastations HE has taken. They are all valid and probably all correct. I personaly like The Great Spirit of the Indian nations but I believe in The Holy Catholic Church of the Nicene era

If you go back over this question, you will find many different answers in only the Christian religon alone. Think of all the different ways there are in the others. I believe only THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE TRUTH.

When I was a child growing up in a Missouri Synod (very conservative) Lutheran home, I believed that only Missouri Synod Lutherans would be in heaven.

When I got a bit older, I decided Lutherans from other synods would be in heaven.

In college, after taking some theology courses, I decided to allow Protestants in general and also Catholics into heaven.

When I hit middle age, it seemed okay to allow members of the other two monotheistic religions into heaven. (I worked with a Muslim girl and Jewish woman, and they were both very godly people.)

Now I'm retired, and throughout my library career have worked with and dealt with many people with all sorts of beliefs about the nature of God and people who are not sure and people with no belief.

What used to be so simple to me as a child is now a huge puzzle. I do believe God comes to us where we are, Doula, and the afterlife is a very big place.

You need to read the so called "biased" position of the Church in order to eliminate from your thinking the biases of those who hate the Church.

The date of 12/25 is from the Bible. YES. From the Bible. From the Old Testament at that. And from the knowledge of Jewish doctrine.

Count back 9 months from December. That gives you March 25. Count forward seven days. That gives you April 1. The first day of the year in the Jewish Calendar.

What is significant about March 25. It is the first day of Creation. And Jesus birth was considered the first day of the New Creation.

I hope that helps.

Only since the advent of Luther. Prior to Luther, Christians understood that Jesus did not write even one word of the Bible. But that Jesus established a Church and commanded that Church to teach His Traditions.

And yet many have converted to Christianity. Why? Because they recognize the superiority of the wisdom of Christ.

God has revealed to humanity the way which trumps all others. It is up to us to embrace that way.

No doubt, but I don't judge before time. And God gave us a commandment to teach all His doctrines. So, whether they will be in heaven or not is not my job to decide. He is the just Judge.

Whether I am to teach those will listen, that is my job. It is our job. Otherwise, we may also be lost.

Neither did I.

We agree? :eek: ;)

You weren't kicking me?

Moi?

But again this comes from a Christian prospective. Many have also converted to other religions... why? Because they too felt another religion to be superior in their understanding. It is no different.

Many, in years past, had little choice but to convert to Christianity... as was the same for many religions who wanted or needed to obtain valuable acquisitions and grow their flocks.

The vast majority of people do not seek out to fully learn about other religions and will follow what they were raised to believe. For them there is no reason to learn more than perhaps the fundamentals as they obviously believe their own beliefs to be justified and proven over time.

What Christians believe to be the ultimate trump card is not what others believe... and that would be understandable and expected, otherwise they wouldn't be Christians... :)

That is the reason for the Great Commission.

From my own experience and many whom I've spoken to over the years, there seems to come a time when people question the validity of what they've learned. Yes, even Catholics.

True. But are you arguing that because some people have not been exposed to the trump card, they should never be exposed to said trump card?

You don't seem to be arguing that all religions are equal. But I'll ask, are you?

Is there a contest going on?

Not really arguing a point at all, and my apologies to the OP for the hijack.

Only point I am trying to make is that for the vast majority of people, their beliefs are based on where they happened to be born in this world, and what the prevailing religion was in that country and/or their homes as they were raised which is evident as you find religious majorities around the world.

I don't believe anyone would change my way of thinking in my own beliefs anymore than I would presume to try and change someone else's if they felt steadfast in what they believed to be true. My own husband is a case in point... we have vastly different beliefs due to how we were raised, personal experiences, and what makes sense to us. Those are the ways people come into a religion.

Sharing what you have learned and believe is one thing, and sharing that information with those who want to know more is great, certainly nothing wrong with it... most religions encourage it. Refusing to understand that others will not believe the same and will holdfast to their beliefs just as strongly as you might, and/or suggesting they are "doomed" because they believe differently is another. (you in a general sense)

I am quite sure that if I were to have been born in another country, within another family, and raised to believe differently from the circumstances I happened to be born into, my beliefs would probably be very different than they are. It only stands to reason.

I think God is more likely to be inclusive than exclusive given the various beliefs that people around the world hold and knowing what is in people's hearts. It is man that takes issue with differences, as is done in every other area in life.

I think God would have a better understanding.

Same destiny, simply different paths in the journey.

I wasn't aware of one. Just a discussion. Does argument necessarily mean contest or debate?

I have bolded the meaning I intended from my use of the word.

Definitions of argument on the Web:

* a fact or assertion offered as evidence that something is true; "it was a strong argument that his hypothesis was true"
* controversy: a contentious speech act; a dispute where there is strong disagreement; "they were involved in a violent argument"
* a discussion in which reasons are advanced for and against some proposition or proposal; "the argument over foreign aid goes on and on"
* a summary of the subject or plot of a literary work or play or movie; "the editor added the argument to the poem"
* (computer science) a reference or value that is passed to a function, procedure, subroutine, command, or program
* a variable in a logical or mathematical expression whose value determines the dependent variable; if f(x)=y, x is the independent variable
* argumentation: a course of reasoning aimed at demonstrating a truth or falsehood; the methodical process of logical reasoning; "I can't follow your line of reasoning"
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

Judging from your opening sentence and Wondergirl's response, my input must be making you uncomfortable. Sorry about that.

Sincerely,

De Maria

Neither of us is uncomfortable -- at least I'm not.

Doula makes several good points. We should start a new thread.

Nope... not uncomfortable at all... just discussing various points of view... :)