Is this the impression evangelicals give?

Meanwhile back at the desert ....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-6a25Yo2wE

The thief on the cross did

Sincere repentance is necessary though.

Yes, this is not at all limited to evangelicals. All Christians believe this.

Remember the parable Jesus told of the man who was good all his life, and fell at the end, vs the one who was bad all his life, and repented at the end? He said the latter was in heaven while the former was not. We (Catholics) believe he might have to do some Purgatory time, but it's about your state when you die...

Root of Jesse said:

Remember the parable Jesus told of the man who was good all his life, and fell at the end, vs the one who was bad all his life, and repented at the end? He said the latter was in heaven while the former was not. We (Catholics) believe he might have to do some Purgatory time, but it's about your state when you die...

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Correct. I don't think Christians are guilty of oversimplifying the fact that anyone can be saved at any point in their life by trusting in Jesus Christ for salvation. Catholics do add to that the concept of Purgatory, but they do not disavow the possibility of salvation.

bbbbbbb said:

Correct. I don't think Christians are guilty of oversimplifying the fact that anyone can be saved at any point in their life by trusting in Jesus Christ for salvation. Catholics do add to that the concept of Purgatory, but they do not disavow the possibility of salvation.

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I agree. There's nothing that could honestly be called an "oversimplification" if one truly looks at the "evangelical" understanding of salvation.

But does a cartoon strip that specializes in stinging satire engage in an oversimplification of the Gospel in order to make a joke? Sure. What else would we expect--Brian giving us a careful exposition of the Institutes of the Christian Religion?

Ofc, we have "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household" from Paul and Silas in Acts 16:31, which is similar.

I think of it like, as with philosophy or mathematics, theological statements can be simplified to near-axiomatic truths, except that in theology I consider axiomatic Truth to be much different than a mere concept, but that's beside the point. That they're simple doesn't make them any more false or true, but if true, they can summarize huge, complex theologies on many subjects. In other words, with well-formed statements, you should be able to unpack much more information than what has actually been spoken.

Your disagreement is probably cultural, unless you can pinpoint a doctrinal error.

Darth Bagel said:

And is it misguided?

I saw this episode of Family Guy recently, where Brian was giving Stewie a tour of different religions. Now, obviously Brian's explanation was oversimplified and in some cases factually wrong, but that's not what I'm driving at here. The setup for the cutaway that's featured in the video was Brian told Stewie "[Christians] believe that as long as you accept Jesus before you die, anyone can get into heaven."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm38xVMa5Ic

I think the video is a portrait of a tragic misconception that's painted in evangelical theology, and perhaps flirts with antinomianism.

How does this concept sit with you and do you have any reason to believe it's correct or incorrect?

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Not only overly simplistic but the very concept as what is shown doesn't sit right with me. I don't think it's as simplistic as that

bbbbbbb said:

Yes, this is not at all limited to evangelicals. All Christians believe this.

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"Believe the Gospel" /= "Accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior"

Tangible said:

"Believe the Gospel" /= "Accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior"

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I don't know why anyone would place a not equal sign there.

Billy Graham was a great evangelist who simplified the real Gospel to millions precisely in that equation making it an equal sign. He was even gracious enough to turn the people back to their own sects after bringing them in.

Tangible said:

"Believe the Gospel" /= "Accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior"

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^This.

Tangible said:

"Believe the Gospel" /= "Accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior"

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Agreed

LiberalAnglicanCatholic said:

Agreed

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I think there is some confusion here concerning the word "accept". If it is defined as the antithesis of "reject" as in I accepted your letter (i.e. I did not reject your letter, even though I did not actually agree with it) then it is patently false to ask someone to not reject Jesus Christ and then proclaim that he is a Christian.

However, most evangelicals use the word in the sense of to believe in or trust in. In that sense to believe in Jesus Christ is identical to believing the Gospel, unless you want to mix in works with the Gospel.

There is no Christian denomination that does not expect its members to believe in (accept, if you will) Jesus Christ.

bbbbbbb said:

I think there is some confusion here concerning the word "accept". If it is defined as the antithesis of "reject" as in I accepted your letter (i.e. I did not reject your letter, even though I did not actually agree with it) then it is patently false to ask someone to not reject Jesus Christ and then proclaim that he is a Christian.

However, most evangelicals use the word in the sense of to believe in or trust in. In that sense to believe in Jesus Christ is identical to believing the Gospel, unless you want to mix in works with the Gospel.

There is no Christian denomination that does not expect its members to believe in (accept, if you will) Jesus Christ.

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No confusion in my part...the gospel is not just about Christ...it's about following his example. therefore the terms are not quite equal, which is why I and Grace agree with Tangible's post.

Sorry you can't understand that but it's not my job to make you aware.

LiberalAnglicanCatholic said:

No confusion in my part...the gospel is not just about Christ...it's about following his example. therefore the terms are not quite equal, which is why I and Grace agree with Tangible's post.

Sorry you can't understand that but it's not my job to make you aware.

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Believing in the Gospel is about having a personal relationship with Jesus and growing more in holiness. But some denomations sadly make it complicated with sacaremental salvation...

yogosans14 said:

Believing in the Gospel is about having a personal relationship with Jesus and growing more in holiness. But some denomations sadly make it complicated with sacaremental salvation...

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Well said.

The Sacraments do not save, they are the life's blood of the church but they do not save.

LiberalAnglicanCatholic said:

The Sacraments do not save, they are the life's blood of the church but they do not save.

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On that we definitely agree, but there are sacerdotal denominations, as you know. I think his post was addressed more to members of those denominations than to us.