Topic1: Asked by Ed: It seems like the prevailing Christian view is, regarding accepting Jesus, that one has to accept Jesus to go to heaven. If we follow that logic, if one does not accept Jesus, that person goes to Hell. This says that the default is Hell. Unless one takes action, one goes to Hell.
What if that is backwards? If God loves us and wants us to join him, what if it is the other way around? What if the default is heaven? What if one has to reject Jesus to go to hell? If this were the case, it would explain why babies go to heaven. People who have never heard of Jesus and therefore, never had the opportunity to reject Jesus would go to heaven too. That answers a lot of questions.
Answers: God is just. A loving and just God will give everybody the chance they are due. Just as with the point of accountability (Dt. 1:39, 2 Sm 12:23, & Is 7:15), people who haven’t heard are not held to the same standard as those who have.
Romans 1:20 says “For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” Therefore, it can be ascertained that the proof of God lies in his creation. That creation is His signature of sorts. Although the whole truth may not be known, i.e. Jesus Christ in all detail, the simple acknowledgement of the true creator might be what God is looking for.
Also take note of Romans 2:13-15: “For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.)” It is well known that God knows the hearts of men and judges accordingly. He has the knowledge of a wicked heart that, given the chance, would reject him. And he has the knowledge of a good heart that, given the chance, would accept him.
Finally, Romans 10:14 says, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” and verse 17 says, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” Take into consideration Hebrews 11:1 which says “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” The very creation is evidence of a God that is not seen. The pursuit of truth that drives humans embraces the life within them and leads to the understanding that there is more beyond this life; this is the substance of the hope for life after death. If one takes an honest look at the world he or she lives in, that person will quickly realize how much suffering, pain, and death there is. This should clue them in that something is awry in the world. This is the evidence of sin. With these elementary levels of understanding, one can deduce that we are in need of a higher power. Our inabilities and finite lives are evidence enough that something or someone more is required to set things right. Could these rudimentary truths be the very thing to be understood from what has been made? Given an honest evaluation, I’d say that men are without excuse.
Scripture References: Deuteronomy 1:39, 2 Samuel 12:23, Isaiah 7:14, Romans 1:18ff, Romans 2:13ff, Romans 10:12ff
Topic 2: In Romans 8:29ff predestination is mentioned. Ed made the point that perhaps God, knowing the hearts of men, predestined them to be born in places in the world that would basically doom them to be one religion their whole life, i.e. Islam. He mentioned that 99% of all people die in the religion they were born into and this seems like a case for predestination in action. The topic was not covered thoroughly and will be picked up again next week.
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