sorry but that’s really no right.man did not inherit any sinful nature from adam. You see, God made us like that. we were created with the capacity to sin from the start, Infact there is a passage in the koran…
A book which came 600 years after the time of Christ’s earthly ministry, dictated by a man with no ties to the Church or a Jewish tribe, and which contradicts everything that came before it. I bring this up only to bring awareness to this fact: Christians and Jews look down upon the Koran because it comes from the desert of Arabia from a random man who claimed to be a prophet, and presents beliefs and arguments that contradict everything the two theologies hold dear. When a Muslim looks back on Judaism and Christianity it has to do so through the lens of the Koran and what Mohammad taught, rather than what has always come before which is that God always confirmed what came before. If a religion forces you to hold presuppositions, that religion essentially forces you to lie. One example of this is in this very discussion: four precise accounts of Christ’s crucifixion are supposed to be ignored simply because of one vague line in the Koran. This is not serious theology.
In any case, I must admit I am rather shocked that you tell us God is the author of evil. Even Calvinists never go that far.
You see in islam we believe in the concept of resposibility. You are responsible for what you do. So if you sin you are responsible. Oh by the way you have made another false assumption on the koran and Allah. Unlike the christian concept of God Allah is not hindered by anything. He forgives and punishes as he wills. You see if i commit a sin. And i ask Allah for forgiveness then Allah will forgive me if he wills.
To quote Samuel L. Jackson’s character in
Jurassic Park…“hold onto your butts,” because guess what? Christians believe that too! There may be a few crazy Protestant sects that teach “once forgiven always forgiven,” but this is not orthodox (little “o”) Christian thought.
In the days of the OT the Jews regularly performed animal sacrifices which forgave them of their sins for that year - despite this, they were still expected to live godly lives. Similarly, Christians believe in responsibility, and every sin we will be held accountable for by a God who indeed forgives as He wills. This is why Orthodox and Catholics have confession: we ask God for forgiveness, and God forgives by His will.
The fact is what is the source of this forgiveness? For the ancient Jews it was the sacrifices, but for Christians it is the last and final sacrifice of Christ on the cross. This is why Christ is said to be the final sacrifice for all mankind. Christians are still expected to live godly lives, and we will be held accountable for our sins, but it is our striving towards Christ on the cross that frees us from that sinful nature.
No one has to die for my sins. That’s just sick. That’s the difference between you and me. You need jesus to die for you so that your sins will vanish. Me i need god’s forgiveness for any sins i commit. The onus is upon me. Whereas in christianity the onus is upon jesus.
This is just sad for me to read. You essentially deny any desire for someone to sacrifice for you. The fact is no one asked Christ to do what He did. For all mankind cared, we could still be separated from God and dead in our sins. God loved us greater than that. God loved us so much that He humbled Himself, entered into our sinful nature, lived a pure life, and died a perfect man. When He descended to the Pit He broke down the gates and saved all those inside who believed, or had awaited His day. He reunited humanity with God.
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” [Mark 10:45; NKJV]
Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." [Luke 24:46-47; NKJV]
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” [John 10:11; NKJV]
St. John the Theologian, the disciple whom Jesus loved, wrote:
By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. [1 John 3:16]
i seem to remember one christian brother who actually agreed with me based upon the chapter of ezekial in the bible where there’s a passage that says the soul than sinneth it shall die. i suggest you read that passge completely.
Cite the reference, and I will gladly read it.
another thing. God does not need to form himself into a man. You actually lower God by bringing him down to our level. God does not need to be a man to understand how we feel or how we think or guide us. he created us for Heaven’s sake. rather he picks a man of righteousness amongst us to guide us to the true path.
This is a misunderstanding of the incarnation. When God entered into creation He did not cease being deity - this is what Christians commonly call
the hypostatic union: Christ had two natures and two wills, both human and divine. He was fully God and full man. It was not to “understand how we feel or how we think,” but to save us from a curse we have had since the Fall.
You are right that, in one way, God humbled Himself. Paul spoke on this in greater detail:
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. [Philippians 2:5-8; NKJV]
Very straight forward and to the point. No trinity confusion here.
The Trinity is actually not confusing for those who have seriously studied it, rather than allowing others to define it for them. I find many who dislike the Trinity simply have never taken the time to study it, or believe in misconceptions from the Koran, such as the believe that it is “three gods,” or that God created another god. One is paganism, the other is Arianism - both of which have been condemned by Church Fathers throughout history since the time of the apostles.
I believe I read a passage of Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologica where he essentially approves of both beliefs. What aggravates me is when non-Orthodox hear we don’t believe in Original Sin and jump to the conclusion that we’re Pelagians, without doing further research on how we perceive the Fall.
