According to christian beliefs, where's Gandhi now?

[Husar]

I would consider everyone who "has found Gandhi wanting" to be a complete idiot. Gandhi has done more for humanity than Jesus or almost anyone else has done, if that's not enough to your god, then your god is an evil one to me.

Now you're sounding like a silly fanboy...

[HoreTore]

Now you're sounding like a silly fanboy...

Add up the positive and negative sides of Gandhi. The result is overwhelmingly positive, and as such I can't see how anyone would consider him a bad man.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

I'm not misrepresenting anything. I didn't include that paragraph 'cause it merely underwrites what is said above: that if Gandhi heard about Christ, yet didn't accept the supposed messiah, then hey, no heaven for him, too bad you were a good man, have fun burning!

Christ embodies a message about hummanity's relationship with God and the way in which our universe works. You have completely failed to grasp this point thus far, it actually has nothing to do with saying "I am a Christian". However, rejection of Christ as Messiah implies a very likely rejection of his teaching.

I might also add I find the idea disgusting that rejection of Christ is necessarily a bad thing.

This is likely because you only concieve of Him as a person.

Or that being a good person apparently isn't enough, to Christians, for a person to be, well, good.

Why? You think a person should judged wholly on their actions?

Or that you presume to know what God thinks. Or that you apply your own (Protestant, apparently) view of Christianity to the entire religion.

I have found very few branches of Christianity (including Catholicism) that do not consider penitence and faith to be vital. The belief that Catholicism allows you to do good works in order to get into heaven is incorrect. Good works get you out of Purgatory, which just means you get to heaven quicker.

Also, I stated several times that I do not know what God thinks; including in my initial post. I said, however, that I would have a go at laying out the main issues concerning the question.

Or that every single Christian in this thread has said Gandhi has no place in the good afterlife 'cause he didn't believe in cosmic Jewish zombies. I can keep going on like this for a while.

Well, I haven't said that, so I'm obviously not a Christian.

I would consider everyone who "has found Gandhi wanting" to be a complete idiot.

So he was perfect? We've already acknowledged he wasn't; he was a racist.

Gandhi has done more for humanity than Jesus or almost anyone else has done, if that's not enough to your god, then your god is an evil one to me.

Nonsense, Ghandi engineered the (relatively) peaceful emancipation of India. What else did he do? How does that compare to preaching universal Peace and Love; or even to inventing Penecilin?

[The Wizard]

Christ embodies a message about hummanity's relationship with God and the way in which our universe works. You have completely failed to grasp this point thus far, it actually has nothing to do with saying "I am a Christian". However, rejection of Christ as Messiah implies a very likely rejection of his teaching.

Jesus is a religious prophet. No more, no less. Not accepting his message does not preclude the ability towards doing good.

This is likely because you only concieve of Him as a person.

In the interest of not dragging this thread into an argument without end (is there a god, yada yada etc), I won't react to this.

Why? You think a person should judged wholly on their actions?

Obviously. How else can you judge them? Or do you have some way to read people's minds? All we have to judge them buy are their actions and their words, and words are a form of action (expressing yourself).

Well, I haven't said that, so I'm obviously not a Christian.

You have intimated that if he rejected the "message of Christ" while knowing of its existence it automatically means he could not have gotten into heaven. Which is pretty nutty in my book.

So he was perfect? We've already acknowledged he wasn't; he was a racist.

Wait, perfection is real? That's news to me!

Nobody is perfect. But you know damn well Gandhi was a whole lot better than the vast majority of his contemporaries. It's an almost universal consensus amongst almost everybody, save some fringe nutjobs, that he was a good and righteous person.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

Jesus is a religious prophet. No more, no less. Not accepting his message does not preclude the ability towards doing good.

Never said it did; not a Calvinist. Stop putting words in my mouth; everyone else in this thread agrees this is not what I have said.

As far as Jesus goes, "just a religious prophet" is an oxymoron, particularly when the religion is a massive metaphysical statement about existence.

In the interest of not dragging this thread into an argument without end (is there a god, yada yada etc), I won't react to this.

Only Arrian theology considers Jesus to be less than an equal to the Father. If you want to discuss Christian theology you have to process the concept; you don't have to believe it.

Obviously. How else can you judge them? Or do you have some way to read people's minds? All we have to judge them buy are their actions and their words, and words are a form of action (expressing yourself).

I don't do the judging; an all-seeing God does.

You have intimated that if he rejected the "message of Christ" while knowing of its existence it automatically means he could not have gotten into heaven. Which is pretty nutty in my book.

Why?

Wait, perfection is real? That's news to me!

Well, no in this life for human beings.

Nobody is perfect. But you know damn well Gandhi was a whole lot better than the vast majority of his contemporaries. It's an almost universal consensus amongst almost everybody, save some fringe nutjobs, that he was a good and righteous person.

Perfect is what you need to get into heaven off your own back.

[Rhyfelwyr]

The standard in Christianity tends to be:

righteousness = perfection
sin = anything less than perfection

People might think that's harsh, but how could you take the idea of an omnipotent God and an absolute set of moral beliefs seriously othewise?

If the morals are absolute, you have to follow them completely, otherwise you are only partly following them.

If you only partly follow them, and God is ominoptent and a perfect judge, then how could God still be these things if he just lets a bit of sin slide?

[HoreTore]

So he was perfect? We've already acknowledged he wasn't; he was a racist.



Nonsense, Ghandi engineered the (relatively) peaceful emancipation of India. What else did he do? How does that compare to preaching universal Peace and Love; or even to inventing Penecilin?

Gandhi more or less instituted total nonviolence as a tool to change regimes.

That tops what Jesus has done by miles. Universal peace and love? The inquisition just called, and they blamed jesus.

[Beskar]

Gandhi more or less instituted total nonviolence as a tool to change regimes.

That tops what Jesus has done by miles. Universal peace and love? The inquisition just called, and they blamed jesus.

It is because Catholic Stalins' took over jesus's church of socialist dreams.

[HoreTore]

It is because Catholic Stalins' took over jesus's church of socialist dreams.

Yes....

Jesus also said "Give unto Ceasar what Ceasar is owed".... Or in other words, total obedience to the regime in power, also known as totalitarianism.

[Beskar]

Yes....

Jesus also said "Give unto Ceasar what Ceasar is owed".... Or in other words, total obedience to the regime in power, also known as totalitarianism.

To be fair, there was more to it than that. Asking being asked the question about paying taxes to the Romans, he says "Who's heads are on those coins?" the reply comes "It is Caesar's!" then he says "Give Caesar what is Caesar's, give God what is God's".

He did say love your neighbour as you love yourself, and other principles, turn the other cheek (preaching pacifism and don't be selfish), etc.

My point was about the church, not the preachings themselves.