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There are many interpretations of what it means to follow Christ. The rational interpretation is Christ's own interpretation, the historical gospel story, from
by jorangreef 14y ago
There are many interpretations of what it means to follow Christ. The rational interpretation is Christ's own interpretation, the historical gospel story, from the beginning of the Old Testament right through to the end of the New Testament. The Scriptures are historical, they provide the facts of the events. Thankfully they are also theological and interpret the meaning of the events. Did it happen? What does it mean?
- chris_wot 14y agoAgreed - however, I was merely pointing out that Alan Kay stated that Christians believe that "You can't go to heaven unless you're baptized", which is about as far as possible from the position of such a considerable number of Christians it's unfunny! So it's not that I disagree with any assertions that there are many interpretations of what it means to follow Christ, but that I disagree that the statement was accurate for all Christians. It is my opinion that a very small minority of Christians really believe that. I realise that I've been voted down for pointing this out, but I thought it was an important viewpoint to bring forth in the discussion, given that Alan Kay made it the basis for his "Socrates should go to heaven" argument. Alan Kay might be excellent as a Computer Scientist, but his digression into the Christian religion was remarkably uninformed.
- sp332 14y agoFundamentalist radical literalist Christian here :) It's simple: when Jesus and two thieves were being crucified together, he told one of them that he would see him in paradise that day. Ergo, baptism is not a necessary requirement of getting to heaven. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke%2023&version=HCSB https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke%2023&v... (I would start around verse 32)