Christ's sacrifice in vain? (Jesus Christ, beliefs, doom, church, sin)

[K.Venugopal]

I appreciate the responses to my thread. Many of the responses are indeed enlightening and all responses have been in goodwill. Christians are becoming more Christ-like! However, my basic question whether believe is sine-qua-non for connecting to Christ remains.

As far as Christianity is concerned, it is a truism that “Jesus died on the cross for our sins”. But the Church and Missionaries still say all of us are sinners. So what was Jesus’ sacrifice all about? For the Church and Missionaries it is about believing Jesus, as if his teachings weren’t good enough to transform us. Further, the Church thinks we have to couple believe with becoming members of the One True Church. The missionaries think we have to denounce all religions except Christianity (the pernicious conversion enterprise!). I think Jesus himself meant it is about awakening to the divinity within and without us – as so many of the best teachers of mankind taught. The only “sacrifice” Jesus made and all of us need to make for everlasting life is to reject the hold of the material upon us. Jesus was an example. You don’t need to believe in examples. You have only to understand it.

[emiliano]

To K. Venugopal: I think that you are getting close to get an answer. ““However, my basic question whether believe is sine-qua-non for connecting to Christ remains”. It isn’t that hard for us believers, we have the witnessing of those that walked with Him. Saw what He did, heard what He taught, we have the Gospels, we believe in the gospels, and we have peace within ourselves, we have Faith, that is hope to obtain things unseen (Salvation/the Kingdom of God) if one doubt or does not believe that “Jesus died on the cross for our sins” there is no hope for a better afterlife, if you don’t believe that there is an after life, you don’t hope for this kingdom and your happiness is in the pursuit of other things, certainly no missionary work (I am told that requires lot of personal sacrifices). Christianity teaches that we a saved by Grace though Faith and that the price for our sins was paid at Calvary, that is an unmerited gift from God, we believe that humans have a capacity to choose to accept or reject this Grace, if one does not believe that this is truth, then Grace is rejected as a consequence of unbelief (having no Faith in Him)