A view of what faith is

Fair enough.

The answer is yes thatbags.

I will keep my answers shorter.

'Most of us will have died'? What does that mean?
I think Philip Pullman comes close to explaining the idea of returning to dust. (The Dark Materials)
His take on it makes sense to me.
There is a significant difference between evangelising and taking part in a discussion about faith.

Soon am I right in thinking that further back on this thread you said that if a sinner repents on his deathbed he'll go straight to heaven but also that heaven is only for christians.
How can you take that seriously?
You'd condemn good honest people to 'hell ' but would permit wicked evil ones to go to 'heaven' if at the last moment they declare themselves to be christians.
Sorry to use such simplistic terms but that seems to be appropriate in this discussion!

Earth is going to keep right on going right up until the moment of judgement. So by definition, most people will have dies, but the earths population on that day will still be alive.

mcem, re repenting. That is what the bible says.

Once anyone repents, they are forgiven.

So by that doctrine, you could spend a long life hurting and destroying others, or wrecking the planet (or the universe that god created) so that no other living creature could have any kind of existence, and then when death is near and the mouth of hell is yawning before you, you could earn eternity in heaven by saying the right thing?

But if you spent that life helping others, saving lives, preserving the wonders of the planet the further stars and universe, because you loved your fellow-men and you valued the miracle of creation, you would then spend eternity in hell?

Do you have children? Would you only feed and clothe the ones who admitted that you were the boss and the most wonderful mother or father that ever existed?

A father who condemns his children to damnation until they worship him would be condemned himself for emotional abuse.

soon are we really heading for a discussion about what the bible says? I don't know if you've noticed but there are rather a lot of silly statements in there, which even you would not agree with!

Such as the creation story with Adam and Eve and the serpent!

How am I going to answer all these questions without it looking like a sermon?

I will keep it all very short I suppose.

Elegran. I dont make the rules.
If you think of an extreme example like Jimmy Saville, how can a persons' good works alone be enough for Heaven?

when and Galen.
I agree with more than most christians. I try and agree with all of it.

Let's just not rely on the bible for facts, soon. What you quote will be refuted by those who know these passages well and can counter them with opposing biblical statements or decisions by the church to pay no heed.

By the way, I will disappear for a few days soon. Christmas is calling.

when, that is my only point of reference. Others, including christians are free to believe what they want to believe.

You mean Jimmy Savile the devout catholic who received a papal knighthood, soon? .......or some other Jimmy Savile?

...or the Jimmy Saville who would have gone to heaven if he repented in his dying moments?

That's the doctrine. Theology is soooo interesting!

Soon does that mean that you believe in the creation myth?

Yes, it is not a myth.

Jimmy Saville, the liverpudlian?

Do you honestly believe that the world was made in 7 days and Adam and Eve created in the way described?

Yes, Lilygran theology is endlessly interesting, but I'm not sure which branch of theology we're talking about here. Is there a continuum of religious belief? I thought the creation myth was not one that many christians subscribed to?

But if they do subscribe, I know there is no point in even trying to argue. Closed minds, I am afraid.

I couldn't care less that you might condemn me to your hell, soontobe, since I, along with other humanists, don't believe in life after death and therefore much of this discussion is irrelevant. I know I have no more chance of persuading you of my point of view than you have of persuading me of yours. Happy Saturnalia.

I was referring to the doctrine of justification by faith, not to the creation story. There is more than one way of believing and truth in any narrative is open to interpretation.