34
votes
Accepted
If both the Orthodox and Catholic Church affirm salvation by grace through faith, why did the Protestant Reformation happen?
Because the Catholic Church doesn't teach that we attain salvation only through the reception of God's grace by faith. That's why the Protestant teaching is called sola fide!
The Catholic Catechism ...
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17
votes
How do believers in eternal conscious separation/torment reconcile their belief with Jesus' words at Matthew 10:39?
Your argument that writhing in the lake of fire constitutes life is your flawed premise.
That's the second death.
That may not comport with your preconception of 'life'; that is, any conscious state, ...
16
votes
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Did the disagreement between the Catholic Church and Protestant Church on the issue of salvation by grace alone end in 1999?
The Joint Declaration on Justification
The document that bishop Palmer is likely referring to is the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, created in 1999 by the Lutheran World ...
- 2,353
15
votes
Looking for an apologetic to the "Cosmic Child Abuse" objection
According to the doctrine of the Trinity, Jesus being the Son of God means that He is fully God made manifest in human form (John 1:14). Jesus is simultaneously both fully God and fully man. As such, ...
14
votes
Accepted
Was universalism the majority belief of the early church?
Background
Obviously, this topic suffers from dogmatists on both sides. Universalists are desperate to overstate their case, and traditionalists are desperate to prove the early church didn't have ...
- 1,249
13
votes
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Is Pope Francis holding and professing different views (even personally) from any of the traditional Catholic Church doctrine?
In September 2016, four cardinals, with the support of many other clerics, questioned the orthodoxy of Francis's document on marriage and the family, Amoris Lætitia, in the form of five dubia ("...
- 41.5k
13
votes
Would salvation have been possible if Jesus had died without shedding His blood?
This is an impossible question to answer and not profitable to consider, IMHO. If Jesus could have died without bleeding and still saved us there are so many other aspects of the entire Scripture ...
- 21.1k
13
votes
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How do non-universalists account for these passages talking about the salvation of all?
Once one logically considers the relevant extant documents (by the genuine methodology of truly scientific textual criticism) ; once one has accurately translated these same documents ; once one has ...
- 26.9k
13
votes
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Did Joseph Smith go to heaven according to Protestant Trinitarians?
Did Joseph Smith go to heaven according to Protestant Trinitarians?
Charles Spurgeon was a very effective Baptist evangelical Pastor, whose preaching brought thousands to repentance and faith in the ...
- 8,965
12
votes
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Can someone be saved if they willingly live in sin?
If a person should be aware that God forgives sins and should yet purpose to live a sinful life, then (whatever they theorise about an unknowable future) they are already in danger of perdition, of ...
- 26.9k
12
votes
Do Christians believe that Jews and Muslims go to hell?
There are two kinds of Christianity that will give you two different answers.
The first kind believes that we are saved by the works that God graciously performs in us. The second group believes that ...
- 34.2k
11
votes
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How do proponents of Apokatastasis deal with the "Everlasting punishment" texts in scripture?
Those who believe in Apokatastasis believe Revelation 20:10 is grossly misunderstood. The Greek says:
καὶ ὁ διάβολος ὁ πλανῶν αὐτοὺς ἐβλήθη εἰς τὴν λίμνην τοῦ πυρὸς καὶ θείου, ὅπου καὶ τὸ θηρίον καὶ ...
- 2,492
11
votes
What are the predominant Christian views on whether Jesus had to specifically die by crucifixion? Could he have chosen another kind of death?
I am mostly familiar with the evangelical perspective, which I think is shared with mainstream Protestant denominations, since they all rely on Bible evidence alone (instead of relying on the writings ...
- 25.6k
11
votes
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According to believers in the inexorable damnation of the unreached, how is God not unfair for letting someone be born in unreachable conditions?
There are three common landing points that most believers fall into: (personally I progressed in my own thoughts along all three and don’t think its of absolute importance as to which place a person ...
- 34.2k
11
votes
How do non-universalists account for these passages talking about the salvation of all?
I read through a Universalist's web-page and I think you meant to refer to Colossians 1:19-20 (and not 3. Corinthians 1:19-20). Assuming that to be the case, I will just deal with that one proof-text ...
- 37.2k
11
votes
How do we know from the Bible that Adam and Eve have been saved from the lake of fire?
After God judged Adam for his transgression, cursing the ground (but not cursing humanity) and cursing the serpentine spirit by whom sin came into the world, and after God banished the first man, Adam,...
- 26.9k
10
votes
Accepted
How can there be Five Sola's (Solae) in Reformed theology?
I can see how this would look confusing and logically incoherent, but the reason that 5 statements, each about "something alone" can co-exist is that each of them achieves something different "alone". ...
- 420
10
votes
Accepted
Is the choice, or decision, to accept Salvation through Jesus Christ a Work?
You've fallen into a common trap of examining a single piece of a theological system by importing that piece into your own construct rather than seeing how it fits into its own context. A Reformed ...
- 37.5k
10
votes
How is God's judgement of man fair when he judges them without considering their deeds?
Comparing the representative democracy of America with the kingdom of God is an unparalleled category error. The entire reason American jurisprudence holds a person innocent until proven guilty is ...
- 21.1k
10
votes
According to Protestants who hold that belief in Trinitarianism is necessary for salvation, what happens to those who assent but don't understand?
It is generally acknowledged that the precise nature of God is beyond human comprehension. God is infinite, and all humans are limited, fallible beings. He is much more than our limited understanding ...
- 32.5k
9
votes
Accepted
Do Lutherans define Justification and Atonement as different things?
Articles 3 and 4 of the Augsburg Confession (part of the Lutheran Confessions) talk about this: The Augsburg Confession (Chief Articles of Faith: Article III: Of the Son of God and Article IV: Of ...
- 1,101
8
votes
Accepted
Which theory of the atonement did C. S. Lewis hold?
This brief addendum is intended only to corroborate OP's considered conclusion that Lewis
does not see any need to settle on a particular theory of the atonement, considering it to be something ...
- 1,267
8
votes
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What is the distinction between Justification and Salvation? (Orthodox/Greek/Eastern View)
Salvation (σωτηρία)
Like non-Orthodox, Orthodox believe that salvation culminates in the attainment of eternal life in God. The path to this attainment in the Orthodox view, is one of purification ...
- 5,688
8
votes
Accepted
How does repentance fit into the doctrine of sola fide ("by faith alone")?
There are two primary ways that sola fide theologians deal with this issue, and there is ongoing debate between them over it (cf. Lordship salvation controversy). I'll first address the historical ...
- 42.6k
8
votes
What, exactly, happened to the good thief on the cross, and why? (Catholic perspective)
Much of the Question has already been answered, so I will address the concern of the OP.
“It would seem that he did no or minimal good works, and it's most likely that he wasn't baptised.”
As to his ...
- 2,828
8
votes
Accepted
What is the/any Arminian/Catholic interpretation of Hebrews 10:14?
In paragraph 480 of St. Thomas Aquinas' Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, he explains that the way sacrifice was done in the past was to wipe out past sins. The people sinned, and then a ...
- 416
8
votes
Accepted
On what basis do Protestants extend the New Covenant to include gentiles?
1. The New Covenant is the Gospel of the Cross
Luke 22:19-20: And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do ...
- 20.8k
8
votes
According to Protestantism, are we saved by faith into a repentance of law-following?
Although it is true that Christians believe salvation comes through faith in Jesus Christ, it is not true that Christians believe they are under the Mosaic Law. Jesus came to fulfil the Law and has ...
- 33.9k
8
votes
Would salvation have been possible if Jesus had died without shedding His blood?
Would salvation have been possible if Jesus died without shedding His blood?
The only answer is possibly, but this is what God willed.
Ultimately God could have chosen another way to save mankind, but ...
- 74.5k
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