Friday, August 02, 2002
What About Those Who Have Never Heard?
by Gabriel Fackre, Ronald H. Nash and John Sanders
If you're an orthodox Christian, you believe that the only way to get right with God (and avoid an eternity in hell) is to believe in Jesus Christ as one's Lord and Savior. Meaning, of course, that you believe that you should follow His teachings and that His death on the cross has paid the price incurred by all the times you haven't followed His teachings. If you're any sort of a thoughtful Christian, you'll eventually wonder about what happens to people who never get a chance to hear about Jesus. (Sometimes this question will be brought up for you, should you associate with thoughtful non-Christians.) This book does not have the answer. Nor does it claim anything like that. This question has been with the church for centuries and the bottom line is that the Bible does not give an answer to it. It's one of those issues in which one just needs to trust that God is good and knows what He is doing. Anyway, the authors of this book look at three possible answers to the question. Each writes an essay on his own position on the issue and then the other two offer a short rebuttal. I didn't totally agree with any of them, but it was interesting to read their arguments and think about my own understanding of the issue. I was even tempted at one point to get myself a copy of the book, but later decided against it. Unless you're teaching a class in comparative theology, this issue is one that each Christian should answer for his or herself. This book can help you make or confirm that decision, so I would strongly recommend that you check it out.
LibraryThing link
If you're an orthodox Christian, you believe that the only way to get right with God (and avoid an eternity in hell) is to believe in Jesus Christ as one's Lord and Savior. Meaning, of course, that you believe that you should follow His teachings and that His death on the cross has paid the price incurred by all the times you haven't followed His teachings. If you're any sort of a thoughtful Christian, you'll eventually wonder about what happens to people who never get a chance to hear about Jesus. (Sometimes this question will be brought up for you, should you associate with thoughtful non-Christians.) This book does not have the answer. Nor does it claim anything like that. This question has been with the church for centuries and the bottom line is that the Bible does not give an answer to it. It's one of those issues in which one just needs to trust that God is good and knows what He is doing. Anyway, the authors of this book look at three possible answers to the question. Each writes an essay on his own position on the issue and then the other two offer a short rebuttal. I didn't totally agree with any of them, but it was interesting to read their arguments and think about my own understanding of the issue. I was even tempted at one point to get myself a copy of the book, but later decided against it. Unless you're teaching a class in comparative theology, this issue is one that each Christian should answer for his or herself. This book can help you make or confirm that decision, so I would strongly recommend that you check it out.
LibraryThing link
Labels: CheckItOut
// posted by John @ 3:26 PM 
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