(Disclaimer: we are trying something new with this post. Both of us are weighing in on this subject. Hope it’s not too confusing. Israel’s part is italicised, Collin’s is Bold)

I have been mauling the idea of salvation over and over in my mind in the last two months. This is something that has already turned my world upside down, both in how I perceive scripture and how I perceive other people. I have been putting this off for a long time, namely because I wanted to have a few answers before I brought the idea up, but I’ve frankly tired of having these ideas bouncing around my head followed with nothing but the sound of their own echoes. So, enough with the foreplay:

A Dummy’s guide to rediscovering your faith

Let me clear that I have faith in Christ. I trust there’s a God. I have experienced multiple instances in my life that led me to believe that It’s real and It’s a sentient, feeling, deity. I believe It has revealed Itself through scripture and it seems to line up with my experiences so before you start thinking I’m pointing towards some kind of mystical universalism, I have chosen the life of a Christian (more on ‘the U word’ later, promise). However I have been going through what I’d like to call a reconstruction period in my faith that took a level of razing to start over including lots of questioning, journaling, research, new Bible purchasing, coffee shop discussions, podcast subscribing, chat sessions, more new Bible purchasing and so forth. This is important to me and I’m not willing to let a part of myself die by the wayside because it’s too heavy or difficult to think about. Or maybe I’m not as smart as Joe Agnostic or Jane Nihilist and am still entertained by the pursuing of truth. So be it.

A few questions: What is salvation? If you are a christian, how would you describe the term salvation as it pertains to your personal experience? Would you describe it as an act of redemption, would it be a constant ongoing journey or would it simply be a name-tag you picked up in the church lobby (Hello, my name is atonement)? I am finding that the more I look at what it means to be a sinner saved by grace the more questions about it have regarding the how/why/what’s it really mean without the stigmas we have attached to it in our christian-ese culture (ex: nowhere in the Bible does it say accept the Lord into your heart to be your personal Lord and saviour). I’m not arguing that point necessarily, but I wonder how we got to the point where a phrase like that equals living a life Jesus led by example for us to walk in every day. That kind of jargon is not digested by my mind. In one hole, out the other.

SO. Let me go back about half a year ago when the seeds of these ideas were being planted. I was having a nice chat/conversation with a friend of mine online who is in seminary interning as a chaplain at a hospital and was sharing with me some insight from his line of work. We got to the point of ministering with people that were lonely, sick or dying and he said something akin to “I’m amazed by the number of people I have talked to that have simply never heard the gospel”. This struck me as odd since he was at the time in rural Indiana, one of the more conservative buckles of America’s bible belt. I soon realized what he meant was that the only gospel that our christian culture has worked hard at spreading (notice I did not say sharing) is not good news, which is the literal translation of the word. It’s a conditional statement, an invitation to join in a religious organization for a small one-time payment of your belief, whether you believe or not. Belief in my opinion is not a choice—it’s a statement, an acknowledgement of conviction. He went on describing how he talked to people who had given up hope, who had given in to depression and misery and the literal change of demeanor when they heard that someone actually loved them and died for them. End of statement. No decision cards or contracts to sign pledging their devotion and money, simply the GOOD NEWS. If the Bible is true about God’s holy spirit being amongst us than it’s also true that it’s that same holy spirit that draws peoples minds and beliefs to God, not our conversion methods.

That was a big change in my perception of salvation, that it’s not our job to twist peoples arm using guilt or fear mongering (Hell anyone?), but the Holy Spirit’s. But questions remained. What did that mean about life and death, regarding eternal destination? What if that person dies and I didn’t get a chance to lead him down the Roman’s Road or say the Sinner’s Prayer? I say that cynically but not maliciously. I don’t mean to mock the things that we have all been raised in, but I would like to pose a question that was hard for me to answer because it seemed (at first) be to completely contradictory to everything I grew up believing about Christianity:

What if God already saved us all inclusively instead of exclusively? My salvation wouldn’t be dependent on my belief, but on the sacrifice Christ paid for all time, past and present for all people (this reminds me of a previous writing regarding the prodigal son regarding what we deserve versus what Christ gives us). It wouldn’t seem fair, but is that because we are pious and demand equal pay or because God’s grace isn’t enough? I challenged myself to wrestle with this question for a long time and found myself starting to look at the world differently. Instead of seeing a world of people I needed to convert and souls to win, I started to see people that are in the same boat I am, that need love and don’t know they’re loved.

I know what you’re thinking: this guy is on a one way train to sell-outville. Christian Universalism doesn’t exactly sound like good ”dinner with the relatives” conversation. I wrestle with that too, because peoples opinions are important to me (see Collin’s post #1). I’ve already anticipated the backlash. I have my reservations still and am weighing a lot of it, but right now this is where I’m at.

-wrestleswithGod (Israel)

If your head doesn’t hurt from reading Israel’s thoughts there, then you are a better person than I. I feel like my brain is about to explode.

This is a subject that I have been putting a lot of thought into recently as well. I have been having a lot of discussions, listening to a lot of sermons, and reading a lot of Wikipedia articles (come on, I don’t have a whole lot of time to read. At least it gives you the gist of things, right?). I am not sure that I am as far swayed in one direction than another, but I am just kind of trying to broaden my mindset more. Open up my thought process a little.

Let me, like Israel, say this first: I am a professed follower of Christ. The God of the Bible is the deity that I believe is real, and I believe His Word is true, relevant, and perfect (not necessarily perfectly interpreted, however, but that is a totally different discussion for a different day). I believe that Jesus’ teachings and lifestyle is THE perfect way to live. That’s the top level of what I believe.

I started thinking about Heaven and Hell. In Jesus’ teachings, he never really uses the word “hell” to describe a place that is underground, with a bunch of skinny dudes in red jumpsuits running around with pitchforks. The “hell” he talks about is the place outside the city wall where the trash is burned and the lepers are forced to live. He describes Hell simply as a place where no one wants to be. Now there are definitely scriptures (Matthew 13:40-43, for example) that I believe are speaking of a supernatural place of rest, so I am not convinced of the lack thereof. I am not convinced of Universalist thought. What I am convinced of is that we are missing the point.

My friend Asa and I were discussing this a few weeks ago. He was talking about how we, as Christians trying to “convert” the world to our lifestyle, put way too much emphasis on Heaven and Hell. I couldn’t agree more. Jay Bakker said in a recent message, “if we make life about Heaven and Hell, we make life Hell. And maybe Heaven for us.” When Jesus told us to “go and make disciples of all nations,” was he telling us to go and make people feel bad and wrong about their lives, and scare them into believing in him? Personally, as hard as I have tried my whole 18 years of being a follower of Jesus, I can’t make myself believe this.

I believe Jesus’ point was this: there is a better Way to live. Now THAT is some good news. I believe that God wants what is best for us. Jesus paved the way for it. Regardless of if I believe that if I don’t accept this, I will suffer eternally, or if Christ’s death automatically entitled everyone to an eternal rest with my heavenly Father, I know that God wants us to step into this abundant life. I think that if we spend a little more time loving people, and letting them know that they are loved, and letting them know there is a much, much better way too live than anything they have ever known (Christians: this statement applies to you too), instead of being eager for the damnation of people who don’t subscribe to our ideologies, we might be one step closer to the peace that we all long for. I think Jesus said it best:

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” – John 10:10 (NASB)

-Collin