[Harv72b]

re: the Hitler question.

Even if Hitler had repented in his last days, opened his heart up to Jesus & all that, Hitler's last act on Earth was to commit suicide. As I understand it, that in itself is a sin, and would prevent him from getting to heaven. Point is therefore moot.

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To answer your question though - A person simply needs to accept Jesus as Lord to be forgiven. Baptism is NOT a requisite for entrance to heaven. It is a step that Christians are encouraged to take as it is an outward sign of your commitment to Christ, but it is not required. Living a life that follows the rules set out by Jesus/God in the Bible is not a requisite.

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I don't doubt your own sincerity, but this goes against what I've been told by numerous other Christians, Catholics chief among them. A life without sin is not required, no, but I have never before heard that baptism was only encouraged. In fact, I have often heard the opposite--that if a person is not baptised, he/she will not gain entry to Heaven no matter what else they do. This may be dependent on your particular church, though; I have noticed that different congregations often interpret things in a different manner.

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Your point that right/wrong are somehow hard wired into us is valid. But here's my question : WHY are we hard-wired like that? Did our creator hard wire us that way? How did we become hard wired with a (very broad and general) sense of right and wrong?

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We were obviously not hard-wired like that, originally, at least if you believe the Biblical depiction of early man. You have Adam and Eve's transgression in the Garden of Eden, the story of Cain and Abel, Pharoah's murderous enslavement of the Israelites, and the immoral activities in Sodom and Gommorah, to name a few. I rather think that it is an evolutionary trait, which has grown into our subconsciousness as we became a societal race.

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hmmm.... my Old Testament is (embarrased to say) a bit rusty.

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You should re-read it. I've read the Bible numerous times (not something most atheists have done), and I've found the books of the Old Testament to be fascinating in places. I personally think that the Book of Job is one of the greatest literary pieces in history.

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You are correct that there is a HUGE HUGE HUGE shift between the old and new testaments. Jesus came as the Messiah, the Son of God to fulfill the prophecies and the law of the old testament. Its not a "kinder gentler God", its the same God but reaching out to all of mankind through His only Son. The loving caring God is there in the old testament as well.

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You really need to re-read the Old Testament. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] The core message definitely changes from one to the other, as does the personality of God. I will not speculate on why this is, because I know from experience that there are literally thousands of ways to explain it without blaspheming or implying that God changed (or that there are two different gods of the Bible).

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You'll be forgiven even if you commit the same sin again and again -- provided you truely truely truely are repentant of the sin and that you truely have accepted Jesus into your heart and accepted his forgiveness and mercy.

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I just had to point this out--do you see the contradiction in that sentence? [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]