Dunemeister
Well-Known Member
So, if this is the case, why did your answer begins with "it depends?" If I understand your post, anyone who do not believe in the Trinity will be doomed unless they change their belief, am I correct?
People who have come to faith in Jesus in the power of the Spirit will ultimately have their hearts softened toward the community of faith. They will want to remain in communion with the community whom God has called. Hence they won't actively oppose the teaching of that community. That's not to say that they'll understand everything. Thus a new convert may have some difficulty with this or that doctrine, but they will nevertheless maintain that it is true and wholesome and worthy of acceptance, although at the moment they have difficulty assimilating the doctrine or seeing its relevance or <other difficulty>. As earlier Christian scholars have said, ours is a faith seeking understanding. We trust before we understand everything.
Also, I can't help but believe that deeds matter more than words. Thus, even if a person believes something contrary to Christian doctrine yet lives a life that demonstrates love, forgiveness, repentance, and the whole panoply of Christian virtues, I'm reasonably confident that God will not turn them away. Nor will the church.
However, the situation is different for the person who actually teaches and promotes ideas contrary to Christian tradition. The Church must maintain discipline, so such a person, virtuous as he may be, will probably not enjoy full communion with the saints. Depending on the seriousness of the doctrine at issue, the person may yet be excommunicated. But all that means is that the person's relationship with the community of faith is temporarily imperiled. It says jack squat about his relationship with God, a matter about which it would be better to remain silent.