This morning I was following the President's speech on Prayer.  He made the quote, "Love they neighbor as thyself" and implied that all religions profess this - not just denominations or the christians catholic. Finally it was crystal clear - we, as Christians have been confronted with a new age spiritualism.  As Christians, many of us accept other Christians, not necessarily based upon Denomination, but based on their profession of faith. Roman Catholic to Independents, I only look for their profession of the Lord Jesus Christ as the fundamental doctrine. They pronounce Him as Lord, Savior and the sacrifice of His body on the cross, His burial, and His resurrection as the basis of their salvation. I guess what bothered me about the quotation is the connotation of what it actually meant.

Follow up:

We, the citizens of the United States have moved so far to the left, that generally speaking we accept the notion that ALL RELIGIONS LEAD TO GOD, THEY JUST TAKE DIFFERENT PATHS. I will accept the notion that many denominations lead to Christ, but each person must accept the grace of Jesus Christ. It isn't a collective act, and it does require acceptance of the deity of Christ. I love my fellow brothers and sisters in this world - however, I also share my faith and the work of Jesus Christ because of that love. I do not want them to go to hell, in whatever form it may take. I wish them to be part of the fellowship with our Lord and Savior, but in the absence of their acceptance of Jesus Christ, I do not delude myself into thinking God is going to accept people just because they are "on the path to god".

It appears that the minute we started to disregard scripture we started moving towards collectivism in religion. God tells us that "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" and then adds, "The wages of sin is death". Pretty simple conclusion - we sin, we die.  Not really a lot of room for interpretation. The standard argument of collectivist theology is that "Billions of People don't follow Christ, and I don't belive God would destroy that many people".  First off, God didn't condemn them - their choice to not believe condemned them. I respect your right to believe collectivism, but understand I will continue to pray for you because YOU are choosing death, not God. God sets a question before you, "What think ye of the Christ?" You have a choice to make - You can say it doesn't matter, or you can claim him as your Savior, King, and God.

Theologically there are many other things that can make our prayer and spiritual life more fulfilling, but fundamentally Jesus Christ is the only one that can bring salvation. Any religion that does not accept the deity and work of Jesus Christ is just not part of my circle of 'religion' (or a route to God). Finding God is not Episcopal, Catholic, Baptist or Protestant - it is faith in Jesus Christ. Not sure where all of this is heading, but I feel in my heart that the time for preaching the Gospel is draining away. People are becoming without conscience and do not fear God. They have become satisfied with life and the course it takes. Watch here, I am sure I will be changing my own words to be more specific regarding God's message to us. Telling someone they are in danger of eternal death is not fear-mongering; it is a loving embrace that offers an answer in the person of Jesus Christ.

Tags: Jesus, Christ, Salvation, collectivism, Lord