uh, God is our father and his mercy is wide and deep. You make him out to be a boogey man out to catch you in a mistake, who then gleefully will smash you and send you to hell.
No wonder so many people think Christians are hard nosed judgemental snobs.
One of the earliest arguments in Christianity was about how good and decent pagans would get to heaven. If it was based only on deeds (e.g. the Last Judgement as told by Jesus) then we didn't need Jesus to die for you. But if it was only based on "faith", then you end up with the idea that you can go around sinning like hell but still have a "get out of hell free" card because you "believe" in Jesus.
Catholics say: Yes, both. We are saved by grace: as paul said By the grace of God I am what I am, but his grace in me has not been fruitless.
Decent pagans might not "know" Jesus intellectually, but their actions show they "know" him in their heart, and they are seeking him , so receive "baptism of desire".
That is why at the last Judgement, a lot of folks ask: When did we see you hungry or thirsty (etc) and Jesus answered: When you do it for the least of my brethren you do it to me.
God is our creator, but only the Father to His children, those who accept Jesus. And He is gracious and merciful and will pardon any who come to Him in faith, but does not grant blanket forgiveness to those who are in rebellion to Him.
You make him out to be a boogey man out to catch you in a mistake, who then gleefully will smash you and send you to hell.
Um, no.
God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked.
Ezekiel 33:11 Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?
People are projecting when they read that much into a comment about our sinful state. There's a world of difference between God warning us of the consequences of our sin and Him taking *glee* in those consequences. Anyone who projects that onto God is revealing what is in their own heart.
No wonder so many people think Christians are hard nosed judgemental snobs.
Projection again. People don't like to hear the truth about themselves and attack the messenger.
One of the earliest arguments in Christianity was about how good and decent pagans would get to heaven. If it was based only on deeds (e.g. the Last Judgement as told by Jesus) then we didn't need Jesus to die for you. But if it was only based on "faith", then you end up with the idea that you can go around sinning like hell but still have a "get out of hell free" card because you "believe" in Jesus.
And that lie is still getting mileage today. While it's true that if it were based on works, Jesus didn't need to die, but the second part is not true. Nobody who is born again, born from above, and has the Holy Spirit living in them, will think that flippantly about the death of Jesus that redeemed them from the penalty of sin.
Paul says in Galatians 2:21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
Works are the fruit of salvation, not the cause of it.
Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Decent pagans might not "know" Jesus intellectually, but their actions show they "know" him in their heart, and they are seeking him , so receive "baptism of desire".
A fabrication of the Catholic church. There is nothing in Scripture indicating that.
Nor are there any *decent pagans*. WE, as humans, look at each other and judge each other as *good*, comparing ourselves to ourselves, but God's standard is absolute perfection and the soul that sins will surely die.
That is why at the last Judgement, a lot of folks ask: When did we see you hungry or thirsty (etc) and Jesus answered: When you do it for the least of my brethren you do it to me.
That's not spoken to those in the church age.