SALVATION: WHY IS IT NECESSARY?

What we believe about salvation is an indication as to what we believe about sin. For instance, if we believe that we have no sin, we will not find salvation necessary or even worthy of belief. If, however, we do believe that we are sinful, salvation becomes a necessity. But what does it mean to "be saved"? Does it mean that we won't ever commit another sin? Does it mean that we are brought into a closer relationship with Jesus so that we have a greater capacity for avoiding temptation? Does it mean that we will automatically go to heaven after we die? And, what are we being saved from? Evil influences here in this life? Eternal damnation? A sick soul?

The Old Testament tells us that salvation is heavily connected to real-life events. People ask God to save them from their enemies, from threats of nature, from sickness, from sinful acts committed against them. The New Testament makes salvation more spiritual. Salvation, that is, an eternal connection with God, comes only through faith in Jesus Christ. Throughout the Bible, however, we are told that salvation cannot be earned. God offers salvation to all human beings. Our only "act" is to have faith.

Visit this link: http://www.landoverbaptist.org/news1099/hellhouse.html

After reading this advertisement, what do you think about the method that this "church" uses to spread the good news? What do their tactics for saving people say about their ideas of sin? Finally, do you agree that people can be coerced into faith, or that salvation can be forced upon people, as suggested in the article?

Exile and Immigration

The United States is the "land of opportunity." We are the wealthiest nation in the world; we have the most available natural resources and the technology to access them. As a whole, Americans believe in education for our children, accessible healthcare for all people, shelter and food for everyone, and the freedom to worship as one pleases. If you live in the USA, you can be anything you want to be, regardless of your social, economic, or racial status. Opportunities and resources for success are available for those willing to work hard. In a nation that thrives on captialism, anyone with heart, hard work, and imagination can live well.
But as Americans, we also know that not everyone in the world lives like we do. Many people in the world struggle just to put a roof over their heads and food on the table. Many people live in places where, for various reasons, basic needs are not available; places where abject poverty is the norm. For people who live in the midst of war, of famine, of government tyranny, of religious oppression, life holds very little opportunity. For those who have been exiled from their homes and countries because of forces beyond their control, or for those who have left their homes and their countries to seek something better for their families, life can be a state of isolation.
It is a fact that people from all over the world seek refuge in the United States. People come to the US looking for a better life, a life that can bring them happiness instead of despair, hope instead of hopelessness. Sometimes, the opportunities to be found in the US cannot be found anywhere else in the world, so displaced people come here to take advantage of those opportunities.
Immigration is a big issue in the United States right now, and will be a big issue on the Presidential platform for all candidates in the coming year. Taking into consideration that some immigrants are here legally, that some immigrants simply want what we all want, i.e., happiness and security, that some immigrants have been displaced from their own lands because of factors beyond their control, what do you think should be done about immigration? Does the USA, as the wealthiest nation in the world, have a responsibility to open its borders for those seeking refuge from war, poverty, and other factors? Does the USA have a responsibility to care for those who come to our land for hope?

Remember the Exodus?

(This blog entry is worth 20 pts and will cover the Exodus and the Covenant themes.)

Long before the exodus, God made a covenant with Abraham: "I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you are now an alien, all the land of Canaan, for a perpetual holding; and I will be their God" (Gen 17:7-8). After the exodus from Egypt, on Mt. Sinai, God said to the people of Israel, "Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:5-6).

The Exodus story is about freedom: freedom from slavery in Egypt under Pharaoh, freedom to worship God, freedom to work the land and provide a legacy for future generations. The Bible says that God chose the people of Israel to be a special, holy people, dedicated to worshiping God and to living as a community of faith in a land filled with non-Israelites. But in order to live in that land they needed first to escape slavery in Egypt and defeat the "foreigners" already living in the promised land. The Exodus story has provided hope for many people. During WWII, Jews, who believe very strongly in their covenant relationship with God, found hope that they would one day escape their imprisonment and flee to Israel to live on the land that was promised to their ancestors. During the 1800's, African-American slaves based their hopes for freedom on the Exodus story. Their music especially reflects their hope for freedom (www.negrospirituals.com).

But it must also be said that the Exodus/covenant story in the Old Testament has also caused some problems. For example, because the Jews believe that Israel is their promised land and that they are the chosen people, the Palestinian people (descendants of the Canaanites) have suffered death and destruction of their land. In addition, black South Africans were brutalized for centuries because white South Africans believed that South Africa was their promised land and that the "unbelieving black 'Canaanites'" needed to be conquered. One black South African says this: "Protestations to the effect that white people are misusing the Bible have neither empowered black people to deliver themselves from this white slavery nor successfully explained to anybody, except the beneficiaries of apartheid, why such a tradition of conquest exists in the Bible in the first place. My contention is that the only adequate and honest explanation is that not all the Bible is on the side of human rights or of oppressed and exploited people" (http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/joshua/apartheid.html). The problem is made even worse when one takes into consideration that in the New Testament Jesus becomes the new covenant and Christians become the chosen people. Many wars have been fought throughout the centuries because Christians believe in their superiority over peopl of other faiths.

What do you think? Is God on the side of all people, regardless of their "chosen" status? How do you know? What does the Bible say? What if you were to put yourself in the place of the "other"? How do you think you might read the Exodus/covenant story if you were a different color, ethnicity, or faith? In this multi-cultural, globally conscious world, who are the "foreigners" and are they truly the enemies? (Remember, this entry is worth 20 pts; think before you type!)