[Chicory]

I said: “Among Protestants there is a wide variation in how one becomes a Christian—how does each person decide which is correct? What happens to those who pick the wrong opinion to agree with?”

Metmom responded: “Like what? Catholics keep making comments about the widely divergent views on topics that Prots are supposed to have but never come through with concrete examples.

“Would you care to be the first?

“So what is that wide variation?”

First, like what I mentioned: Protestants have a wide variety of ideas regarding what is necessary to be saved, from saying a little prayer and one is saved for life to the necessity of sacramental baptism. Obviously, how one takes the first step towards Heaven is **vitally important,** no?

Specific differences among Protestants regardinf baptism:

Baptism: 1. sacramental (imparts faith); 2. sacramental (offers the recipient to God; 3. symbolic of being born again; 4. symbolic sign of obedience to God;

5. full immersion necessary; 6. water poured over head;

7. infants can and should be baptized; 8. infants should jot be baptized;

9. baptism is necessary for salvation; 10. baptism is not necessary for salvation.

Now I hope you will answer the questions I asked which were quoted at the beginning of this post.

[metmom]

Those are not *wide variations* on how to be saved.

You presented two options.

One is by faith.

One is by baptism (works).

How the baptism is done is inconsequential.

You either trust Christ or you trust something else.

What the something else is doesn’t matter because NOTHING else can save. You’re just as lost trusting one religious activity as another.

[CynicalBear]

>>“Among Protestants there is a wide variation in how one becomes a Christian—<<

First of all there is a problem answering that question because you must first define what a Protestant is. Catholics have defined most all who are not Catholics as Protestant. I for instance am not a Catholic but neither am I a Protestant nor any of the other denominational tags.

That said, I think the answer to your question for true Protestants would be a resounding NO. There is no "wide variation" in how one becomes a Christian. Across the board for all Protestants when one places their faith in Christ alone for salvation they become a Christian.

[Elsie]

Now I hope you will answer the questions I asked which were quoted at the beginning of this post.

Ah...

The twitching tail of the lizard...