[r9etb]

Why preach the gospel then? Why should missionaries die working to translate scriptures? Why not just make sure Muslims are very good Muslims, Buddhists are very good Buddhists, etc.

Why not read what Rev. Graham actually said, rather than (rather unbiblically) consigning him to hell? Yes, we're to go out and preach the gospel, so that people know from Whom their salvation comes.

However, as St. Paul noted in Romans, the law is inscribed on our hearts. His point, and Billy Graham's, is simply that there are some folks who're already members of the Body of Christ, even if they don't know it.

Mr. Graham is saying neither more nor less than that.

[The Ghost of FReepers Past]

I didn't consign him to hell; you should read what I said.

If our message is simply "here's the name of the guy that has already saved you" then it certainly isn't worth risking life and limb for.

The law is written in our hearts. We will therefore have no excuse on judgement day if our names are not written in the Lamb's book of Life.

[AaronInCarolina]

His point, and Billy Graham's, is simply that there are some folks who're already members of the Body of Christ, even if they don't know it.

I respectfully reject this philosophy as completely counter to my reading of the New Testament and my understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel that I understand is about willfully accepting Jesus Christ as your saviour, acknowledging His death, burial, and resurrection, confessing one's sins, repenting of one's evil ways, and being baptized for the remission of one's sins.

I can find no way to fit into this Gospel the ability to be saved without knowing it. Questionable (IMHO) interpretations of single-line verses that suggest loopholes in the above-defined gospel can not be made equivalent to that Gospel.