The "Good News"

[DarkProphet]

A friend of mine tried to break down the Christian message and I want to see if it's accurate.

Here is his version of what the Christian message is to non-believers...

You are a sinner, and because of that you are going to hell. God, in his love for you, sent Jesus to forgive your sins, all you have to do is believe in him in both heart and mind.

Aside from the MASSIVE plot holes and contradictions the Jesus story inherently has, is this an accurate version of the Christian message?
​

 

[ProScribe]

The Christian NT can be read by anyone as it expresses plain and simple truth.

John 3.16 is the basic and central message - good luck.

. . .

 

[ephraimanesti]

A friend of mine tried to break down the Christian message and I want to see if it's accurate.

Here is his version of what the Christian message is to non-believers...

You are a sinner, and because of that you are going to hell. God, in his love for you, sent Jesus to forgive your sins, all you have to do is believe in him in both heart and mind.

Aside from the MASSIVE plot holes and contradictions the Jesus story inherently has, is this an accurate version of the Christian message?
​

MY BROTHER,

The answer to your question would be--Yes and No.

YES, in that what you state is true enough.

But NO, in that what you state is taken out of context and thus is devoid of the fullness of its meaning and implications.

i think Catherine Marshall perhaps summed up the "Good News" a little better than did your friend,

"By giving humans freedom of will, the Creator has chosen to limit His own power. He risked the daring experiment of giving us the freedom to make good or bad decisions, to live decent or evil lives, because God does not want the forced obedience of slaves. Instead, He covets the voluntary love and obedience of sons and daughters who love Him for Himself."

Based on that Truth follows the Truth contained in John 3:16 which your friend paraphrased.

A BOND-SLAVE/FRIEND/BROTHER OF OUR LORD/GOD/SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST,
ephraim

 

[ebia]

A friend of mine tried to break down the Christian message and I want to see if it's accurate.

Here is his version of what the Christian message is to non-believers...

You are a sinner, and because of that you are going to hell. God, in his love for you, sent Jesus to forgive your sins, all you have to do is believe in him in both heart and mind.​

Aside from the MASSIVE plot holes and contradictions the Jesus story inherently has, is this an accurate version of the Christian message?​

It's grossly distorted by talking first about "you" in that it shouldn't be starting with the individual, and it shouldn't be starting with us at all. It should start with God, then with us as a community, and only finally get to speak about individuals.

A better summary would be:
God created the world to be good, but because of human failure it is full of suffering and death. But...
the good news is that Jesus Christ is risen and is therefore Lord, and death and suffering have defeated.
Therefore through Jesus we can be part of God's plan to redeem and restore creation, put it to rights and we can live citizens of the Kingdom of God.

Individuals are free to reject that if they so choose, but given that creation is redeemed there is no place in it for the unredeemed.

 

[DarkProphet]

"By giving humans freedom of will, the Creator has chosen to limit His own power. He risked the daring experiment of giving us the freedom to make good or bad decisions, to live decent or evil lives, because God does not want the forced obedience of slaves. Instead, He covets the voluntary love and obedience of sons and daughters who love Him for Himself."

God limited his power and gave us free will, a nice answer to the problem of evil but says nothing of hell. Is it not disingenuous to not mention it?

 

[DarkProphet]

A better summary would be:
God created the world to be good, but because of human failure it is full of suffering and death. But...
the good news is that Jesus Christ is risen and is therefore Lord, and death and suffering have defeated.
Therefore through Jesus we can be part of God's plan to redeem and restore creation, put it to rights and we can live citizens of the Kingdom of God.

Individuals are free to reject that if they so choose, but given that creation is redeemed there is no place in it for the unredeemed.

The phrase "redeem and restore creation" is meaning less to me, elaborate please.

One side note, not all suffering and death is of human creation and Jesus does not end suffering.

 

[ebia]

The phrase "redeem and restore creation" is meaning less to me, elaborate please.

To put right everything that is wrong with creation. All that causes broken relationships, suffering, death,...

One side note, not all suffering and death is of human creation

According to the theology of Genesis, yes it is. Even when we cannot see how the connection works.

and Jesus does not end suffering.

Jesus dealt with the root causes of suffering in his death and resurrection. The suffering itself won't disappear until the final resurrection.

 

[ephraimanesti]

God limited his power and gave us free will, a nice answer to the problem of evil but says nothing of hell. Is it not disingenuous to not mention it?

MY BROTHER--"Hell" is the absence of God just as "Heaven is His presence".

"Turning to God" to escape His wrath--solely to obtain a "Get-Out-Of-Hell-Free card, as it were--is not what He has in mind for, or desires from, His children. He wants our freely rendered Love, not our fear.

Rendering God this Love is the key to Heaven; refusing this Love creates one's personal Hell.

ephraim