What do I have to believe in order to be saved?

[Machiavelli]

I've heard various creeds that try to outline this.
The one I was subjected to was this one....the Methodist Church.

I believe in God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;
the third day he rose from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sitteth at the right hand of
God the Father Almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick
and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.


But even within the creeds I'm familiar with, there is nothing that says that just believing this will save you.

Am I mistaken that according to Christianity, what saves a person is simply believing in something? But what?

[Stumpjumper]

I've heard various creeds that try to outline this.
The one I was subjected to was this one....the Methodist Church.

But even within the creeds I'm familiar with, there is nothing that says that just believing this will save you.

Am I mistaken that according to Christianity, what saves a person is simply believing in something? But what?

That's pretty much the Nicene Creed slightly altered. Most Christian doctrine, which obviously varies greatly by denomination, states that it is faith and works which is necessary for salvation. You also have Luther's "Grace through faith alone." Yet, Luther believed in the doctrine of the elect so you couldn't believe unless you were one of the elect. So once you are the "elect" you are saved by grace.

If you ask me, I would say that faith in God helps, but is not a requirement, to achieve a full and rich life. But then again I'm a universalist so maybe a Calvinist will stop by :)

[CowboyHeretic]

a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?


Luk 10:26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?


Luk 10:27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.


Luk 10:28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.


Luk 10:29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?


Luk 10:30 And Jesus answering said, A certain [man] went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded [him], and departed, leaving [him] half dead.


Luk 10:31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.


Luk 10:32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked [on him], and passed by on the other side.


Luk 10:33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion [on him],


Luk 10:34 And went to [him], and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.


Luk 10:35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave [them] to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.


Luk 10:36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?


Luk 10:37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

[JGL53]

But if there is no life after death for the personal identity (and there is no evidence that there is ) and if there is no hell (and there is no evidence that there is), then what is the problem? If you create an imaginary problem out of nothingness, how is that a real problem? This is all a big waste of time.

If you perceive a need to believe in some sort of saved/unsaved crap, why not go with the oldest traditional religion - Vedanta (Hinduism)? - it was old before the jews started stealing ideas from the Babylonians and other more sophisticated peoples, and very old before christians started stealing ideas from everybody else.

[seebs]

Am I mistaken that according to Christianity, what saves a person is simply believing in something? But what?

Not all Christians agree on either the first or second part. Many see the question of faith not as one of assent to claims, but of faithfulness. To quote this one guy, "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled."

I see the question of assent to claims as largely irrelevant, because it creates serious and foundational problems in the theology. I believe simple exclusivism ("believe this or be punished!") to be contrary to the Gospel. On the other hand, the fact that people think that way is pretty much a part of the Gospel message; the other part is that we can stop if we want to.

[steamer]

Luk 10:27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

To my mind Christians haven't the foggiest clue what this love might be.

Shall I commit genocides and call that love?
Shall I dash the infants of my enemy against the rocks and call that love?
Shall I send lying spirits into my prophets and call that love?
Shall I have bears rip apart children and call that love?
Shall I offer my virgin daughters to the mobs and call that love?

Whatever Yahweh might be he is not a god that knows anything about love. How much safer is your neighbor that is ignored and unloved than the one that receives a Christians idea of love?

[Alethias]

Depends on the flavor of christian.

As examples, church of christ(which i grew up in), focuses a lot on this scripture:
Acts2:38 "Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" So in the church of christ you are saved when you are baptized in the name of jesus.

With baptists it's more Romans 10:9-10: "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved". So you say a prayer out loud in which you say jesus is lord, and tell the person witnessing to you that you believe in your heart that god raised him from the dead, and that's when you are saved.

I can't confirm this, but i understand that if you're a mormon, you can get baptized for someone and that saves them. So you can be an atheist and still be saved. Ain't that koolness??

I understand with catholics you are saved when the priest sprinkles some water on ya and recites some latin, but i'm not sure on that.

[Killer Mike]

Its like you have lost your virginity. But god only accepts virgins into the kingdom of heaven (because he's an asshole).

So what can you do?

Only two options. Either remain a virgin till death or find a way to regain your virginity.

But god comes to the rescue. He sends a messanger who can give you the secret ritual that will give you back your virginity.


All you have to do is face east while naked and hold a Bible over your penis/vagina. At exactly 12 midnight say the following three times: I am a virgin again

Then face north and tap your heels together three times and say: there's no place like home.

Then face west and look up and say: god, forgive me for I am no longer a virgin.

Then face south and look down and say this three times: I wish to be a virgin again.

After the third time you say "I AM A VIRGIN AGAIN"

AND PRESTO: YOU HAVE REGAINED YOUR VIRGINITY

[DISSIDENT AGGRESSOR]

Luk 10:37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
Yeah but which one shewed mercy?
The priest probably thought the guy was getting his just rewards, [perhaps the fellow was some guy he saw sitting on a park bench...

The Levite saw the priest pass by the guy so figured he didn't want to against the priest.

The Samaritian probably thought he'd get blamed for robbing the guy. He should of called a cop, or let the guy die, he was already half dead.

What became of the guy isn't explained. The theives probably saw he was still alive, caught up with him raped his wife and daughters when to prison...

[trendkill]

I can't confirm this, but i understand that if you're a mormon, you can get baptized for someone and that saves them. So you can be an atheist and still be saved. Ain't that koolness??
Not true. You gotta be a Mormon to be saved in Mormonism. Even dead souls awaiting judgment have to convert and get baptized or be damned (that's where the baptisms for other people, i.e. the dead, come in). There are some exceptions, such as those who die in infancy, but on the whole Mormonism is extremely exclusivist.