Does it matter what we believe?

[Knight-errant]

**Disclaimer: This thread assumes that you accept the Bible as an authoritative text. If you don't care about the bible, then you won't care about this thread.**

Would you rather believe a lie because it feels good, or know the truth even though it hurts? If your like me, you'd rather know the truth.

A prominent view in today's religious communities is that it doesn't really matter what we believe. As long as you a "good person" then you'll be "saved." This sounds really nice at first. "Yay, we don't have to argue over doctrine. You believe what you believe and I'll believe what I believe. All we have to do is be nice to each other."

The problem? The idea isn't supported by the bible. And if you're a chrisitian, than the bible should be your main source for everything that you believe. If you can't find something you believe in the bible, then you should probably question it. But that's for another topic.

So what does the bible say about truth? Does it actually matter what we believe or not? Let's start by looking at an example of some people who preached lies. Quoting from Jeremiah 14:11-16

Jer 14:11 The LORD said to me: "Do not pray for the welfare of this people.
Jer 14:12 Though they fast, I will not hear their cry, and though they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence."
Jer 14:13 Then I said: "Ah, Lord GOD, behold, the prophets say to them, 'You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.'"
Jer 14:14 And the LORD said to me: "The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds.
Jer 14:15 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name although I did not send them, and who say, 'Sword and famine shall not come upon this land': By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed.
Jer 14:16 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and sword, with none to bury them--them, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. For I will pour out their evil upon them.

Basically, you've got some prophets going around telling everyone: "Don't worry! Everything will be fine. There aren't going to be any famines or wars." They were telling the people what they wanted to hear, but it was a lie. And even though it probably made those people feel really safe and secure, it was going to bring them to their ruin. God said, "Guess what? Those prophets who are saying no one will die by the sword will be slain by swords themselves!" And it wasn't just the lying prophets who were going to die either. Even the people who believed the prophets were going to die (v.16). Kind of scary isn't it? Because it places responsibility not only on the speaker, but on the listener as well. The advice the bible gives is to always check your sources. Check this out (Acts 17:10-11):

Act 17:10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue.
Act 17:11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

These people were hearing the words of the Apostle Paul, and yet they still looked up what he said in the bible to make sure it was true. We should be doing the same thing. Don't even listen to me just because I'm talking; do some more bible study yourselves to confirm/deconfirm what I'm saying.

So, we already knew that lies are bad. Everyone would agree. So why do people still say that it doesn't matter what we believe? They must think that all the beliefs out there are just variations of each other that are "close enough." What does the bible say though? Let's look up Galatians chapter one verses six through nine:

Gal 1:6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel--
Gal 1:7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
Gal 1:8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.
Gal 1:9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

God's word is clear: there is only one gospel. Not two or three, not one with different versions, but one, and only one. Paul goes even so far to say that if an angel from heaven preaches a different gospel that it was not to be listened to. Those are some hefty words. When the gospel was preached, it was right the first time, it doesn't need to be changed. Not once, but twice here Paul states if someone preaches a different gospel that they are to be accursed.

Jesus states that those who "believe and be baptized shall be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned" (Mark 16:16). But you can't believe and be saved if you're believing the wrong things.

To conclude, the bible is clear that those that those who follow lies will come to ruin right along with those that preached lies to them. It also clearly states that there is but one gospel. Does it matter what we believe? Without a doubt. In fact, it's not just kind of important, it's so important that it's a life or death situation.

What are your thoughts? Do I have any contenders?

EDIT: A lot of Christians think it doesn't matter what we believe, save that you believe that Jesus died for your sins. This is a topic mainly for Christians who think it does or doesn't matter what we believe beyond the sacrifice of Christ. Come here with either bible verses, or biblical thinking, because just about everything I respond with will come from the Bible, and that won't really mean much to you unless you read the bible yourself.

 

[Caturdayz]

I am a good person. I am nice to most everyone and I try to help people out. If there is a Heaven and Hell I sadly must take my place in the inferno. There is practically zero evidence supporting Christianity and so I will not beleive until it is either disproven further or proven that the idea is even plausible.

Of course this is not the thread for this however so on to my main point.

There are great people who are not Christians and do not deserve a place in hell. Buddhists for example. They are some of the most ethical and moral people on the planet, this of course is a brash generalization but bare with me. However according to that book of stories known as the bible they should burn in hell... Or Limbo if we are talking about Dante's Inferno style hell.

Honestly even if I knew god was real I am not sure I would want to associate with something that has caused more deaths than are imaginable.

The Crusades, "God Told Me To Kill []", Jihad, et cetera

 

[Lant]

I don't personally believe in God, yet does that make one a bad person? I try to be a pleasant guy when and where I can. Yet often people who furvently believe in thier chosen religion, are what other people would classify as 'bad', extremeists who suicide bomb etc.

In the end I suppose it boils down to personal views on what is good and what is not.

So I'm going to say no, It doesn't matter what we believe, it's what we do as individuals.

 

[Batchfile]

The Bible teaches us to have good morals. And every Religion does. These things serve to being rewards for good action.

Religions offer us a sense of spiritualality that a we don't need, but makes us better people according to Religous writings. Each Religion specifically specifies the condition you need to be granted life after death. And the Christian faith claims that the one and only condition to be given this is to believe that Jesus died for our sins and is the messiah.

This is strange that this has become a very popular religion to me. Imagine if somebody claimed that they were the son of God today. That person would be punished by death in many countries. And we would be sitting here laughing at him/her. But why would the people from the past believe that he was not lying. This is a questionable debate. Especially when this is violating the biggest law set to Christians.

In the end, I think we should all have good morals. Because good morals lead to a better world. And a world suitable to expand its potential and learn more about what makes the world tick.

 

[Knight-errant]

I don't personally believe in God, yet does that make one a bad person? I try to be a pleasant guy when and where I can. Yet often people who furvently believe in thier chosen religion, are what other people would classify as 'bad', extremeists who suicide bomb etc.

In the end I suppose it boils down to personal views on what is good and what is not.

So I'm going to say no, It doesn't matter what we believe, it's what we do as individuals.

You don't believe in God? I'm not trying to say your a "bad" or evil person, but I am saying that right now you're in your sins. So even if you're a "nice guy" it's not going to help you in the end. Anyways, I'm trying to show it matters what we believe based on what the bible says. So if you don't believe in God, and you're not open-minded to believing in God, then you've found yourself in the wrong thread. This really is more aimed towards Christians who don't think it matters what you believe. What I'm looking for are responses either for or against what I stated in the OP that have biblical evidence, or at least biblically based thinking.

The Bible teaches us to have good morals. And every Religion does. These things serve to being rewards for good action.

Yes, the bible teaches us to have good morals. My point is that it also teaches us that there's only one faith that's the true faith. As for whether or not our "reward" is based on our actions...well, that's another thread on faith vs. works.

And the Christian faith claims that the one and only condition to be given [salvation] is to believe that Jesus died for our sins and is the messiah.

Yes, mainstream christians teach that; however, there's more to it. But again, that's for a different thread.

I think I'll put an edit into the OP to clarify the kind of responses I'm looking for.

 

[Caturdayz]

Knight-errant. Religion is a Pandora's box on this forum... Be careful with it. I am open minded to beleiving that there may be a god if there was some evidence. However I do not beleive that you should say Lant or any other non-christian is in sin. What if you are wrong, maybe your God isn't the real god. This god is Benevolent and holds that you should no hold false idols... Well guess who is the sinner now?

Buddhists are just as likely to be right as you are.

Now its obvious I am no longer welcome on this board so I bid you all farewell.

 

[Knight-errant]

Knight-errant. Religion is a Pandora's box on this forum... Be careful with it. I am open minded to beleiving that there may be a god if there was some evidence. However I do not beleive that you should say Lant or any other non-christian is in sin. What if you are wrong, maybe your God isn't the real god. This god is Benevolent and holds that you should no hold false idols... Well guess who is the sinner now?

Buddhists are just as likely to be right as you are.

Now its obvious I am no longer welcome on this board so I bid you all farewell.

Yeah, thanks for the tip. I could argue the Bible's validity, but that's not what this thread is for. Basically, you're only going to find this thread truly interesting if you read the bible yourself.

And when I said "in [his] sins," I guess I probably shouldn't have, because it's a biblical phrase. What it really means is simply that he hasn't recognized God, and he doesn't care about God, so according to the bible he doesn't have eternal life. I'm not trying to be judgmental or anything, I'm just trying to let you know what the bible says. Take it as you will.

 

[IWontGetOverTheDam]

It doesn't matter what we believe, it's how we act. I believe in a higher power of some sort (maybe God, baybe not-I don't know for sure myself), but are people who don't bad people? Not necessarily; if they are, that isn't the reason.

 

[snex]

why would an ALL POWERFUL BEING care what we believe, or even how we act? the very idea is stupid. this entire thread is stupid - it doesnt belong in the debate hall because theres no debate. you have no facts, just your opinions about an ancient book.

 

[Knight-errant]

why would an ALL POWERFUL BEING care what we believe, or even how we act? the very idea is stupid. this entire thread is stupid - it doesnt belong in the debate hall because theres no debate. you have no facts, just your opinions about an ancient book.

Give me a break. I'm not talking about any "all powerful being"; I'm talking about the one specifically described in the bible. And guess what? In the bible it appears that he does care about what we believe.

A debate is a discussion about a topic that generates at least two opposing opinions. Some Christians say it matters what we believe and some say it doesn't. I have presented the argument for the side saying it does, and seeing if anyone responds for the other. How is that not a debatable topic?

And the points I made weren't just simple opinions; everything had a source cited from the biblical text. You don't take the bible as fact, but I and other Christians do (which is why I wrote in the OP that this thread really is only going to be interesting for people who read the bible)

Unless you have something from the bible please don't post here again.

 

[snex]

A debate is a discussion about a topic that generates at least two opposing opinions. Some Christians say it matters what we believe and some say it doesn't. I have presented the argument for the side saying it does, and seeing if anyone responds for the other. How is that not a debatable topic?

its not a debatable topic because youre just engaging in mutual masturbation about what a book says. there are no FACTS to present. you might as well hold a debate on which x-man is the toughest.

 

[Caturdayz]

Snex is you are being very brash and ignorant right now, please kick it down a notch. I know this is a heated argument but this is just glorified name-calling.

 

[Deleted member]

its not a debatable topic because youre just engaging in mutual masturbation about what a book says. there are no FACTS to present. you might as well hold a debate on which x-man is the toughest.

itz syclops!!!! omg syloclops is clarly the tuffist xman alive n evar creatid, omg~~~he can shot lasers from his eyballz!!!

dont u agree/ senx??

 

[cF=)]

Snex is you are being very brash and ignorant right now, please kick it down a notch. I know this is a heated argument but this is just glorified name-calling.

At least he's right, why create a topic where people holding another opinion are 'refuted' by a book which ain't fact, while religious zealots pat each others on the back for having ridiculous corresponding ideas?

I should make a thread debating milk in bags while we're at it.

EDIT: Professor X ftw, a wheel chair can't stop the beast from defending his turf and banging hot *****es.