winstonjen

How do theists (especially Xians) justify the unfair chances and opportunities people have to be 'saved'? For example, different upbringings and different lifespans give different people a different chance, which is patently unfair. How do theists justify or reconcile this?

Radorth

Everybody gets to hear the Gospel and accept or reject it. They also will be judged by their own rules. Nothing unfair about it.

Rad

Strawberry

They send missionaries to cut off people's hands if they don't convert to jebus.

winstonjen

Nothing unfair? What about preachers who are more persuasive, and the fundies that drive people away from religion? Or those who live in places where the so-called 'holy word' does not reach, so they don't get to hear about it. That's really fair.

Bumble Bee Tuna

How can you say this with a straight face?

winstonjen

Simple. Indoctrination.

Radorth

I'm hardly surprised Winstonjen and BBT are asking the same goofy questions.

Kindly read the Bible before commenting on it. It clearly says Jesus preached to those who had died and Paul said those ignorant of the Gospel would be judged by their own consciences, and by what they knew. (Rom 2:14,15) Jesus gives the example of "the Queen of the South" who will "rise in judgement with this generation and condemn it" because she traveled "to the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon....."

Those ignorant of the Gospel are not lost by definition and there is no verse which says so.

Of course in your case, you aren't particularly ignorant of the Gospel, so I suggest you worry about how holy you are instead of how holy God is.

Rad

Bree

We have to worry about how holy God is - we are commanded by the Bible to live like He lived, so in order to follow that we must ponder upon the holiness of the One who commanded it.

Bumble Bee Tuna

The Bible clearly says the Jesus preached while he was dead. It does not clearly say that he preaches to people today when they die.

As for those who have not heard the gospel being saved based on their will to follow the law- this does not equal hearing the gospel. I juts read Romans 2:14-16:
(KJV)
14 When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them 16 on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

This says to me that those who have not been exposed to the Bible but still obey the laws within are judged appropriately by Jesus. It does not say that after they die they hear the gospel and get a chacne to accept it or reject it- it says they are judged according to how they obey the Bible's Law. Of course, the Bible has so many counterintuitive laws that this will never be the case, but a liberal reading of this could at least interpret it as "someone who tries to abide by the laws of their society" instead of someone who abides by Biblical Law.

However, there is NO biblical support that I know of for the statement that "Everybody gets to hear the Gospel and accept or reject it."

-B

Radorth

You're avoiding the main point, that there is something inherently unfair in how people are judged or dealt with. What is it?

You have not shown that people do NOT hear the Gospel after they die in ignorance. Jesus preached to "those in prison." Who are they? It seems logically absurd that one who is alive for all eternity will never hear the Gospel, whether from Jesus or one of his servants.

And it is patently obvious that the "Queen of the South" is saved along with the "men of Ninevah." So even if they never heard it, they are still saved.

Again. Where is the unfairness?

Rad