Considering the 'new threads' feature on the home page, I'm gonna guess the first few commenters will be non-denominational evangelicals.
Anywho, when I was a teenager, I attended a Southern Baptist Convention summer camp in which former NFL quarterback, Jon Kitna, was the main speaker. He spent an awkward amount of time talking about Internet inappropriate contentography and praising females over males. I hold no respect for the SBC.
The most jarring thing he said is that if you are not absolutely certain of your salvation, you will go to Hell. I have never seen anything in the Bible that says one's salvation is dependent on one's confidence. Even as a Baptist, I was uncertain. I never was a good Baptist past elementary school days.
Even the Baptists who do not believe salvation is obtained through a little prayer do believe in certainty somehow, yet they have no way of pinpointing a time in which that certainty began, or if there was a window of time between the obtaining of salvation and the beginning of one's certainty.
Is certainty of salvation worth anything to Orthodox? There are plenty of Baptist children that stay up at night crying because they are told they are supposed to be certain, when in reality they don't feel certain. If they don't feel certain, then that's a strong indication they are not saved. I can imagine Orthodox children being in a similar situation, only with the fear of Judgement Day instead. How much confidence, if any, should we feel? (1 John 5:13)
Anywho, when I was a teenager, I attended a Southern Baptist Convention summer camp in which former NFL quarterback, Jon Kitna, was the main speaker. He spent an awkward amount of time talking about Internet inappropriate contentography and praising females over males. I hold no respect for the SBC.
The most jarring thing he said is that if you are not absolutely certain of your salvation, you will go to Hell. I have never seen anything in the Bible that says one's salvation is dependent on one's confidence. Even as a Baptist, I was uncertain. I never was a good Baptist past elementary school days.
Even the Baptists who do not believe salvation is obtained through a little prayer do believe in certainty somehow, yet they have no way of pinpointing a time in which that certainty began, or if there was a window of time between the obtaining of salvation and the beginning of one's certainty.
Is certainty of salvation worth anything to Orthodox? There are plenty of Baptist children that stay up at night crying because they are told they are supposed to be certain, when in reality they don't feel certain. If they don't feel certain, then that's a strong indication they are not saved. I can imagine Orthodox children being in a similar situation, only with the fear of Judgement Day instead. How much confidence, if any, should we feel? (1 John 5:13)