Those Who Have Never Heard
- Submitted by: theaterrgeek
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- Category: History: Religion
- Date Submitted: 02/07/2010 09:18 AM
- Pages: 2
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“Those Who Have Never Heard” Critique
“Those Who Have Never Heard”
Personal Conclusion
Honestly, I have never thought seriously about this question. I’ve heard the question maybe two, three times in my entire life. It seems to be a question that Christians don’t want to discuss. I’ve always assumed the answer is the same as when I used to ask my parents about mentally handicapped people or unborn/infants that died. “How can those people go to heaven if they never heard the salvation story?” I was told, probably with a Bible verse that I conveniently don’t remember, that because they didn’t have a chance to know, God took them straight to heaven. It never occurred to me that this could be a controversial position. I thought the article was very interesting and – surprise surprise – I actually enjoyed it. The reasoning behind the sins of the men and women of the Old Testament being forgiven after the fact, therefore why couldn’t that same grace extend to future generations seemed logical to me. I also distantly remember a scripture talk about how God is known through His creation, so the example of tribes who believed in a god of the universe seemed reasonable, however unlikely it might be. It also made sense to me that, since man is made in God’s image, it seems plausible that man would have an innate understanding of God. This seems more believable to me, since every culture throughout history has created a god(s) to worship, no matter who the people may be. As far as my personal belief, this article has convinced me that yes, God intended for every man to know Him, with or without the story of salvation, this being entirely different than a growth of the Christian’s spiritual life.
“Those Who Have Never Heard”
Personal Conclusion
Honestly, I have never thought seriously about this question. I’ve heard the question maybe two, three times in my entire life. It seems to be a question that Christians don’t want to discuss. I’ve always assumed the answer is the same as when I used to ask my parents about mentally handicapped people or unborn/infants that died. “How can those people go to heaven if they never heard the salvation story?” I was told, probably with a Bible verse that I conveniently don’t remember, that because they didn’t have a chance to know, God took them straight to heaven. It never occurred to me that this could be a controversial position. I thought the article was very interesting and – surprise surprise – I actually enjoyed it. The reasoning behind the sins of the men and women of the Old Testament being forgiven after the fact, therefore why couldn’t that same grace extend to future generations seemed logical to me. I also distantly remember a scripture talk about how God is known through His creation, so the example of tribes who believed in a god of the universe seemed reasonable, however unlikely it might be. It also made sense to me that, since man is made in God’s image, it seems plausible that man would have an innate understanding of God. This seems more believable to me, since every culture throughout history has created a god(s) to worship, no matter who the people may be. As far as my personal belief, this article has convinced me that yes, God intended for every man to know Him, with or without the story of salvation, this being entirely different than a growth of the Christian’s spiritual life.