Do I have to believe in Jesus to be saved? (page 7)

unsure

@sparky1

That passage mentions A way to be saved but doesn't say it is the ONLY way

sparky1

unsure, I apologize profusely! I missed the part where Paul and Silas gave the jailer different options when he inquired: "What must I do to get saved".

jp1692

Unsure: That passage mentions A way to be saved but doesn't say it is the ONLY way

Ok, for the third time: What makes you think you need to be "saved"?

Can you answer that without using the Bible and specifically without using a WT spin on it?

Why do you keep avoiding this question?

hooberus

Ok, for the third time: What makes you think you need to be "saved"?
Can you answer that without using the Bible and specifically without using a WT spin on it?

Why does he need to answer it without using the Bible? The Bible is the foundation of the Christian worldview, telling us how we got here, why is there death and suffering, why there are sedimentary rock layers all over the world. What we need to be saved from, and what God did to save us.

Yes, this involves presuppositions (as any world view does). There are many resources defending the Christian worldview, from many perspectives, showing its superiority to competing belief systems such as naturalism.

https://creationresearch.org

(I have never been a JW)

waton

To help unsure to be more sure:.... To be saved from what? The effect of so called "adamic" sin, The lack of the "tree of life diet"? to be killed by the flaming sword?

As jp1698 brought out in other words: To be alive is glorious, to live in the now, that so -important moment lingering in our minds as we move on through time.

Looking for salvation keeps you from living to the best for all, and you.( Of course you have to improve yourself)

Unsure, you have to realise that the bible is not what you think it is. It is not the creator's word. Jesus is part of the story. His biographers , so called , believed in a flat Earth, a flood covering everest, dead leaving graves walking into Jerusalem, pigs being demonized jumping off cliffs. You need to be saved from believing in stories like that.

sparrowdown

If you are looking for absolute verifiable facts about Jesus and so called "salvation" you won't find them - anywhere.

That means everything on this subject is opinion. So what's your opinion, unsure, what are the other ways that one can be "saved"? Also define "saved" if you don't mind, as it means different things to different people.

jp1692

Hooberus: Why does he need to answer it without using the Bible?

Well that's the point. You can't.

When you're so indoctrinated that you don't even get that ...

The Bible is an obstacle to knowledge, not a source for it. The Bible offers the ignorant, limited world view of bronze and Iron Age agrarian people.

It's not exactly relevant for our 21st Century except perhaps for historical, anthropological perspective.

Anders Andersen

@unsure,

What the (i)F ;-)

In this thread you have mentioned several times that you 'what-if' everything until you exhaust yourself.

But do you really? And should you?

As for the first question, I assume you really don't what-if everything until exhaustion.

What if Zeus and his homies really exist?
What if Jehovah is the deceptive and evil one who has labelled the True God as Satan and makes Him look bad?
What if the spirits of my ancestors will get mad at me for not offering them food?
What if leprechauns can really give me a pot of gold?
What if the Thetans are really? Should I join Scientology?

My guess is that there are enough topics where you don't what-if too much at all, but reject the claims as baseless or nonsense quite quickly.

It looks like you're hung up on the Biblical/Christian what-ifs. Imagine you were raised in a strict Muslim cult, you'd be having the what-ifs on Quran/Muhammad. It's your background and past that give an air of credibility and validity to your many what-ifs. Change the topic to Mormonism, Islam or Scientology and you're quickly done what-iffing.

Now to the second question: Should you what-if ad nauseam?

Of course you can, but it's a waste of time and energy.

What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.

We do this all the time. Doing the opposite would be unworkable. So up to and until you have seen some credible evidence wrt the foundations of your what-ifs, there is no (logical) need to entertain them. But it may be a psychological process that helps you break free from the Watchtower chains....

Good luck!

Half banana

Unsure, I understand your request for ideas, you are asking for reality after having suffered from the JW fantasy world. You are searching for the guidelines for correct beliefs and that is where the problem lies because having "a religious belief" is a cultural thing, it is not a truthful or factual thing.

I agree with Anders above; what ifs only beg more what ifs. What you do need to do is to distinguish between "belief" and "knowledge".

Instead I suggest you try only "believing" things which have factual or testable evidence for their existence. If a belief is not testable (like "God is love") then don't waste your time on it.

By this criterion "salvation" becomes only a slogan of a religious doctrine, it cannot be tested, it's propaganda, it's a distraction from the world of reality.

Perhaps you are afraid to be yourself? Try it and learn what it is to be a mature human with free choices-- you are not a pawn in a religious lottery, you have every right to navigate your own course through life. You need not be beholden to invisible spirits which are unknowable-- try shaking off those superstitions my friend and get a grip on the real world-- learn critical thinking!.

unsure

@jp1692

I answered this on page 6

Do I have to believe in Jesus to be saved?

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