Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!crabapple.srv.cs.cmu.edu!fs7.ece.cmu.edu!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!howland.reston.ans.net!wupost!uunet!dziuxsolim.rutgers.edu!igor.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian
From: vbv@r2d2.eeap.cwru.edu (Virgilio (Dean) B. Velasco Jr.)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian
Subject: Re: "Accepting Jeesus in your heart..."
Message-ID: <Apr.12.03.43.13.1993.18790@athos.rutgers.edu>
Date: 12 Apr 93 07:43:14 GMT
Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu
Organization: Case Western Reserve Univ. Cleveland, Ohio (USA)
Lines: 31
Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu

In article <Apr.10.05.32.36.1993.14391@athos.rutgers.edu> gsu0033@uxa.ecn.bgu.edu (Eric Molas) writes:
>
>I was raised in a religious atmosphere, and attended 13 years of
>religious educational institutions..  I know the bible well. So well
>I can recognize many passages from memory.  

[stuff deleted for brevity]

>Christianity is an infectious cult.  The reasons it flourishes are 
>because 1) it gives people without hope or driven purpose in life
>a safety blanked to hide behind.  "Oh wow..all i have to do is 
>follow this christian moral standard and I get eternal happiness."
>For all of you "found jeezus" , how many of you were "on the brink?"

Your very starting point is wrong.  Christianity is not based on following
a moral standard.  "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith...
NOT BY WORKS so that no man may boast."  (Eph. 2:7-8)  You say that
you know the Bible well, and can recognize (do you mean recite?) many
passages from memory.  That could very well be so.  However, it looks like
there are a few more passages that you should pay attention to.  (Titus 3:5
and James 2:10 are among them.)

Obedience to the moral law is imporant.  However, it is supposed to be the
result of turning your life over to Christ and becoming a Christian.  It is
by no means the starting point.

-- 
Virgilio "Dean" Velasco Jr, Department of Electrical Eng'g and Applied Physics 
	 CWRU graduate student, roboticist-in-training and Q wannabee
    "Bullwinkle, that man's intimidating a referee!"   |    My boss is a 
   "Not very well.  He doesn't look like one at all!"  |  Jewish carpenter.
