Is this a commonly held view within Christianity?

[ohfook]

I appreciate this post shows my ignorance somewhat, but this is something I've been curious about for years.

My parents raised me as a Christian and would describe themselves as very religious. Their belief system could be summarised as they believe that god is love, we don't need to worry about hell because god forgives and that all religions are just different paths to the same destination and it should be possible for them all to coexist.

I was much older when I realised that other Christian's take a far more bookish/learned approach to the religion. In particular an ex of mine had parents who knew the bible to the letter. They said a lot of things that totally contradicted the belief system that I'd been brought up in. One thing they said really stuck in my mind. They believed that the when the Antichrist came, he'd bring seven years of peace to the Middle East first and people would think he was a hero?

I was just wondering if a lot of people believe this? Mainly because if I was a politician, it would really put me off getting involved because I wouldn't want people to think that about me.

I have been wondering if Trump is the Antichrist

I want to comment on something you've written I remember once them saying that a muderer who later found god but repented would be more likely to avoid hell than a person who had lived a life free from sin but hadn't actually believed.

So yes a murderer who truly repents and accepts the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins will indeed be saved. However there is no person on the plant who has lived a 'sin free life'. There's also no salvation for someone who has done lots of 'good works' if they haven't believed in Christ. This is because we are not justified by works, but by faith alone. This isn't some niche interpretation of the gospel, this is a central tenet. People should not have their own interpretation of the gospels, which usually is code for saying 'I believe what I want to believe and leave out the bits I dislike'. I have seen a lot of that sentiment, 'God is love, he wouldn't send anyone to Hell'. This shows a misunderstanding of God's nature. He does not want to send anyone to Hell and has provided a means of salvation for all, but you have to choice to accept it or not.

Megan Phelps-Roper was in the notorious Westboro Baptist Church and it sounds like it really messed her up, it's an extreme example of what a Church should not be like! Louis Theroux did a documentary on them - The most hated family in America.

Haha I get it but the Antichrist will actually be a very popular person and leader, whereas Trump is very divisive.

Only a minority of Christians are bible literalists, especially when it comes to the more out-there bits like Revelations. Vanishingly few politicians would hold that sort of view at all, never mind anywhere near strongly enough to influence policy.

I would say I am a committed Christian and my beliefs (and those of many of my Christian friends and family) are very similar to your parents.

I don't believe in an eternal hell. I believe all will be forgiven and saved. You could read about Christian universalism.

I don't believe that all religions are of equal merit but I do believe that all paths, eventually, lead to God.

I definitely believe that following the teachings of Jesus, having that personal relationship with him, learning his voice and following his voice will enhance your life here on earth and will lead you on a quicker path to heaven. I dont believe God would ever rest until all of his creations/children are with him in heaven.

I take a bookish / learned approach - and also believe that god is love, we don't need to worry about hell because god forgives and that all religions are just different paths to the same destination and it should be possible for them all to coexist. Anyone who actually thinks that they comprehend the words and nuances of books that were written by humans who in their own deceit thought that they understandd God is actually following the dictats of people not God. Especially when most of them aren't even reading "the original", whatever that means; and storytelling as a means of teaching has always been a tradition even now.

That said, I might put some credence to the idea that Trump is the anti-Christ....

Anyone who actually thinks that they comprehend the words and nuances of books that were written by humans who in their own deceit thought that they understandd God is actually following the dictats of people not God.

So if you don't believe the books of the Bible are reliable in any way then what do you base your beliefs on? Aren't you then following your own understanding, how trustworthy is that?

If you don't know the answer to that then you wouldn't understand it. Nor did I say that they weren't "reliable in any way" - they are simply not a user manual for God.

@AlteredStater, I read a number of devotionals most days from different denominations for deeper understanding. Although there are doctrinal differences I do see an amount of unity amongst them. You might find this devotional and the prayer afterwards interesting.

catholic-daily-reflections.com/2023/06/08/a-true-image-of-christ-2/

I saved it because I like to include it amongst my prayers. A great one to pray in faith I believe. 🙂

So how do you know you are interpreting correctly? For me it is by faith. And it is a process, we grow in faith and understanding.

12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:12 NIV)

That's a really beautiful devotional. Thank you so much for that. 💖

So how do you know you are interpreting correctly?

For me, I can't do it alone. I will only get so much out of a passage, or maybe miss things, or important links back to other scriptures or misunderstand it, even. I do rely on several other teachers who are all pastors/vicars and teach the various scriptures. That helps me to see meaning I have missed or connections I have not found. I can ask questions and dig deeper. It is indeed a process, a life-long one.

There is absolutely no evidence anyone can point to in the Bible that provides any justification for the rapture myth. It’s pure American evangelical extra-Biblical fantasy.

Though I agree with the first few paragraphs of your post.

@AlteredStater you're very welcome. 🙂 I don't do it alone either. I listen to various teachings and read various interpretations and I also pray for greater understanding, according to God's will. And we can believe in faith He would have us understand according to His will. 😊

Yes same here

It's to do with the word "harpazo" which means to be caught up in the air in a blink of an eye, I've watched a few interesting sermons on it

Yes the word 'harpazo' in Greek. I have literally just finished about 12 lectures on Rapture doctrine and there are verses in the Bible that pertain to it. For example the most famous one:

1 Thess 4:16-17 "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord."

But at the end of the day this isn't a salvific issue so whether people believe in a rapture or not, or indeed the timing of the rapture, isn't something I'm going to stress about. The main thing is that as Christians we are ready for the return of Jesus and should be going about our business for the Kingdom.

Great Post @Treaclewell . Most Christians take the bible seriously but not literally. They never have until quite recently with the publication of a little booklet called The Fundamentals , produced after a conference in Chicago in 1920.

I'm a Catholic and that religion comes with specific dogma and even a catechism explaining the beliefs and the dogma. It is an organised and centralized religion.

Catholicism tends not to focus on end times or the specific elements of the Book of Revelation, and if Revelations does come into focus, ascribing specific prophecies to specific events or individuals is not done.
catholic-resources.org/Lectionary/Overview-Revelation.htm
It makes very rare appearances in the liturgy of the Word.

The focus on Revelation is a feature of millenarian protestant and other loosely Christian sects. It features prominently in the fundamentalism that is driving current American domestic and foreign policy. Themes of sweeping away old corruption and ushering in a golden age of Godly righteousness are easily visible in the rhetoric of 'drain the swamp' and various policy initiatives.

Catholicism also affirms the reality of hell, which is defined as eternal separation from God. We have the power and the free will to choose union with God or the alternative, and the RC Church offers its sacraments as a means of grace, including thensacrament of Reconciliation. The RC Church says we all have a free, rational, spiritual, and immortal soul, that we're not robots who can only choose good, and that we have real choices to make between real good and real evil. Our dignity as humans consists in our power to freely choose to rise above our essentially fallen nature and choose good.

I'm a Catholic and that religion comes with specific dogma and even a catechism explaining the beliefs and the dogma. It is an organised and centralized religion.

I do admire that about Catholicism, although I'm not a Catholic. It gives you a focus and keeps people on the straight and narrow.

How does one come to believe in God? If a person desperately wants to have a faith but has been raised as an atheist by atheists how are they supposed to do this?
Attending church and fervently praying for God to help them doesn't work.

I agree with every thing you've written.

I only truly started to believe once I started attending the EO Church. Everything else seemed hollow and empty.

@528htz what church is that?

Eastern Orthodox. Many of them now conduct services in English. We are the original Catholic and Apostolic Church.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Chrysostom

We follow the Divine Liturgy as written by this Church Father. It was this Liturgy that spoke to me so deeply and led me to Christianity.

They need to both read the Bible and keep praying to God. Faith is a gift from God, faith is trust in God so He must give that to you. It's absolutely essential to keep reading and re-reading the scriptures so that you know what God's promises are and keep asking him for the confidence to believe that.

@AlteredStater what's your take on the sheep and the goats story?