ronnie,
This was the idiot's first post over there:
Saved from what?
Hi, y'all, it's me, DeepFat. Your friendly neighborhood atheist.
Seriously, there must be some distress from which you must be "saved". The orthodox reason is Original Sin from the story of Adam and Eve, but I won't insult you with the notion that you believe that. It's obviously metaphorical for the imperfect nature of the human condition.
That leaves us with the realization that humans are imperfect. So what? The better ones among try to lead good lives, the worse among us try to do evil, lots of people just muddle along and the world is no better or worse for their existence.
From what do we ALL need vicarious redemption? Nothing. We are the creatures we are, either created or evolved.
The essential story of Jesus is therefor nullified. There is no Original Sin, this much is clear, and for the imperfect nature of humans, we only have God to blame. Or not. In either case, there is no reason for universal salvation. It's a farce, and a fraud.
We're having some fun now, eh?
THE ABOVE IN RESPONSE TO JOY'S POST:
I am positive I am saved.
I feel the Holy Spirit's conviction when I do something outside of God's will, his joy when I do something in God's will, his filling when I cannot do something by myself, his intervention when I am about to do something harmful to me or another person, his revelation and power when I read scripture or pray and I had a supernatural experience when I surrendered in my late 20s. I asked Christ to be my Savior, accepted him as Savior at age ten, but did not know about the surrender part until God taught me that it's Savior and Lord...so I did that in my late 20s.
God has never left me, even when I was acting a fool as a teen. He never let me enjoy my sinful lifestyle. I was miserable until I turned away from that and began to follow his will for my life. I have been saved since the moment I asked him to save me at age 10. His presence is all over and in my life. I believe his word is true because of the power it has when spoken by me or anyone else...therefore the promises within are true as well. No one can snatch me from the Father's hand, including me. All of the above is why I am positive that the moment I am absent from the body, I will be present with the Savior.
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Tell me that ain't weird.
