Salvation from what?

[Peter]

Christians are always going on about salvation and how I should want it. Exactly what threat do I want salvation from and who or what is the source of this threat? Is this threat real or imagined? Can I talk to someone who has suffered by ignoring this threat? Maybe I'm atheist simply because nobody has been able to convince me a real threat exists. So convince me.

[LightSeeker]

The Father threatens no one. If a gift is offered, you simply accept it or don't.

Christ came to teach that we are offered life. Through has knowledge we learn that we are in a physical illusion understanding the spiritual in ignorance. The truth is to understand the physical through awakening our spiritual. If not, we die and death wins. If we do, we do not die (spiritually) and we truly live.

How can one think they are living when their path leads to death? Most are being fooled, even many who profess Christianity.

[Zzyzx]

.

The Father threatens no one.

Religionists often threaten everyone who does not conform to their worship preference.

If a gift is offered, you simply accept it or don't.

Are there any strings attached or conditions? If so, it is not a gift but a bribe or payment for services rendered (yes, worship is a service rendered).

Christ came to teach that we are offered life. Through has knowledge we learn that we are in a physical illusion understanding the spiritual in ignorance. The truth is to understand the physical through awakening our spiritual. If not, we die and death wins. If we do, we do not die (spiritually) and we truly live.

Perhaps the illusion is the claim of spiritual life.

How can one think they are living when their path leads to death? Most are being fooled, even many who profess Christianity.

There must be great appeal to the proposition of "life after death" for those who buy into that concept and actually believe that their "soul" (that cannot be shown to be anything more than imaginary) will live on after they die.

[Peter]

The Father threatens no one. If a gift is offered, you simply accept it or don't.

You make it sound so simple and unimportant. I'm sure you've heard that my everlasting soul (different debate) depends on me accepting the "gift." That's kinda important to me if it's true.

Christ came to teach that we are offered life. Through has knowledge we learn that we are in a physical illusion understanding the spiritual in ignorance. The truth is to understand the physical through awakening our spiritual. If not, we die and death wins. If we do, we do not die (spiritually) and we truly live.

You're kinda losing me here. It sounds good though.

How can one think they are living when their path leads to death? Most are being fooled, even many who profess Christianity.

Yeah, that seems to be a persistent theme with theists. "Everyone else but me has it wrong. I alone know what a god is thinking so believe me or not but hey, my consicience is clear."

[Divine Insight]

How can one think they are living when their path leads to death? Most are being fooled, even many who profess Christianity.

If anyone has been "fooled" then they have not made an informed free will choice.

A God who allows his children to be "fooled" by unrighteous demons would himself be a totally untrustworthy fool.

You can't claim simultaneously that people are being "fooled" and that they have made an informed "Free Will Choice". Only one of these two accusations can be true.

Since this religion demands both, we can clearly see that it is a false man-made scam that hasn't even been well-thought-out.

Moreover, everyone speaks about what a person feels in their "heart", and that God has supposedly "written" onto the hearts of men a conscious understanding of what's right or wrong. Therefore the whole idea that someone could be "fooled" into believing they are totally at peace and harmony with God when they aren't would be impossible.

Yet this is what people are being asked to believe.

I know that I am not at odds with any God. I am totally at peace in my heart with any God that might exist. Therefore if I were to be condemned by this God then everything he supposedly stands for would be a lie anyway. And so that's just yet another oxymoron.

You can't have a supposedly "righteous" God who is nothing but a lie. That makes no sense. The Christian God is necessarily an unrighteous evil monster precisely because the Christians demand that this must be so. It's the only way they can justify their bigoted religion that spreads hatred in the name of their God toward all who refuse to worship their cult.

It's no different from Islam in that regard.

Preaching hatred in Jesus' name is such an oxymoron. Yet this is all Christians ever seem to do.

Claiming that people who aren't Christians are fools is not only a hateful thing to do, but it's actually an insult based upon the highest form or religious bigotry.

And like I say, it's no different from Islam in that regard.

[ten10ths]

Christians are always going on about salvation and how I should want it. Exactly what threat do I want salvation from and who or what is the source of this threat? Is this threat real or imagined? Can I talk to someone who has suffered by ignoring this threat? Maybe I'm atheist simply because nobody has been able to convince me a real threat exists. So convince me.

Salvation is a word that's used to create a want to become part of the christian cult/belief system. They use it, and other words/terms, as a means to guilt people into being part of their group.
Fact is, if God is real and can do anything, there would be no need for salvation because there would be nothing to be saved from. That or He simply has a hidden agenda that His followers blindly ignore.
I went to chruch for many years. There's nothing much to it really other than a person's own desire to be good. In other words, it's only what you make of it.
If you don't see God or any god to worship, then don't. And don't concerne yourself about what all the other hypocrites tell you.

[atheist buddy]

The Father threatens no one. If a gift is offered, you simply accept it or don't.

Christ came to teach that we are offered life. Through has knowledge we learn that we are in a physical illusion understanding the spiritual in ignorance. The truth is to understand the physical through awakening our spiritual. If not, we die and death wins. If we do, we do not die (spiritually) and we truly live.

How can one think they are living when their path leads to death? Most are being fooled, even many who profess Christianity.

Right, but why should we take this mumbo jumbo more seriously than words that encourage us to worship Allah, or to become scientologists, or to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo?

You are just making baseless assertions, and all sorts of other people are making equivalent assertions about mutually exclusive claims.

Why should we take any of your voodoo seriously?

[ttruscott]

Christians are always going on about salvation and how I should want it. Exactly what threat do I want salvation from and who or what is the source of this threat? Is this threat real or imagined? Can I talk to someone who has suffered by ignoring this threat? Maybe I'm atheist simply because nobody has been able to convince me a real threat exists. So convince me.

I don't consider it to be my job to convince you and doubt if it is even possible. Such things are reserved for GOD...

Our salvation is both a salvation from our enslaving addiction to evil AND HIS necessary judgment upon those who cannot have their addiction broken, making their banishment a necessity.

Peace, Ted

[1213]

Christians are always going on about salvation and how I should want it. Exactly what threat do I want salvation from and who or what is the source of this threat?

The salvation is from death that comes for those who are unrighteous (sinful).

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23

If person lives in sin (is Godless and unrighteous) he will die permanently. But if unrighteous person receives the words that Jesus told, he can have sins forgiven, repent and become righteous.

These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
Mat. 25:46

[ttruscott]

...

Fact is, if God is real and can do anything, there would be no need for salvation because there would be nothing to be saved from.

...

Here is where you miss the mark: "if God is real and can do anything" Even if HE is real HE cannot do anything a pagan lie based on Greek philosophy, not HIS self revelation. HE cannot do evil, HE cannot go against HIS promises and HE cannot go against HIS own methods for achieving HIS goals.

In short:
HIS goal is a heaven of pure loving holiness shared with HIS creation. HIS method was to find those who wanted to share that with HIM by their free will, and that meant HE had to allow the option of a rejection of HIM, leading to the necessity of a salvation from that decision.

Peace, Ted