I'll leave it to others to judge God's justice and mercyAnd all the EO church does is leave plenty of room for God to do as He will, while confessing at the same time that we humans are too weak and lacking in knowledge to comprehend the love and mercy God has for us all.
Too much Augustine contamination in western Christianity has given you a much too bleak outlook for God's children.
Scripture says quite plainly "God is love". Where else does it say what God *is*, in the Bible? Just curious.
Too much Augustine contamination in western Christianity has given you a much too bleak outlook for God's children. Scripture says quite plainly "God is love". Where else does it say what God *is*, in the Bible? Just curious.
Scripture teaches plainly that without the redemptive work of Christ in us, we are children of the devil.
The article is not truthful about this. Only those who are saved are children of God. Perhaps you don't believe me so I'll offer a quotation from an expert in these matters whose reputation is even more highly regarded than the author of this article:
"Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded and came forth from God; I came not of My own accord, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear My word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But, because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. Which of you convicts Me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears the words of God; the reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God." (John 8:42-47 RSV)
I guess that people will just have to choose which writers and authorities they wish to believe.
Among men, children of God, i.e. those who are in Christ, go to heaven. Children of the devil go to hell.
There is a great deal of this ecumenical all-dogs-go-to-heaven nonsense being peddled as Christian teaching. It sounds good, tastes good, feels good, appeals to the highest and noblest sentiments of man, no doubt. But it is antiscriptural and it is in direct contradiction to the teachings of Jesus.
This is a kind of theological political correctness which is seeping into many churches. I think very few have been immune to it. But that doesn't mean that it's true. It will kill off missionary work. It does keep people from witnessing for Christ, the Roman church abandoning the evangelization of Jews being the prime example in recent years. And if Jews don't need Christ just like anyone else, Jesus and the apostles wasted most of their time.
In another earlier thread, peoples here say that God's name attached to wars perfectly good....gad so far from Orthodox mentality.