The Salvation Prayer
"That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9).
This scripture is used thousands of times every day with those near death. This is one of the first scriptures taught and memorized under Christianity. Since Christianity is so prevalent in Western culture, most people living under this culture are aware of this scripture.
I contend that the believing in the principle of this scripture promotes massive irresponsibility and non-accountability. In fact, I believe it gives license for a person to live a monstrous life (example: Hitler) with the knowledge that heaven is assured as long as he/she confesses and believes as stated in the Salvation Prayer.
As far as I'm concerned, believing such drivel approaches being a crime against humanity. Anyone with any sense of morality knows this is a sham! It's amazing how gullible people can be.
Subscription Note:
Choosing to subscribe to this topic will automatically register you for email notifications for comments and updates on this thread.
Email notifications will be sent out daily by default unless specified otherwise on your account which you can edit by going to your userpage here and clicking on the subscriptions tab.
@MBrownec: "Does Christianity Promote Irresponsibility?"
I totally agree. The salvation prayer is the escape clause that allows priestly pedophiles to do their evil. They know the church hierarchy will protect them in this life, and that by confessing they can ensure salvation in the next. As you say, it's a crime against humanity.
Yes, I agree with you entirely, mbrownec. The bible emphatically directs christians to direct all their energies and passions on the life to come, and teaches that worldly concerns are to be avoided. That worldly concerns are sinful. Jesus went on and on about it, along with Paul, John, Peter, and James' epistles. The gospel and epistles advocate abandoning one's fellow man in servile obedience to their father in heaven. "Build ye up treasure in heaven where moth doth not eat and rust doth not corrupt" or some such rot was part of the sermon on the mount. And this point only concerns material responsibility. Moral responsibility is where the far greater damage is done, which is the point you've made. Christians who look for it can easily find license to live despicable lives with the assurance of eternal salvation. The Southern Baptist faith is at or near the bottom on moral accountability, and they earn their spot at the bottom in part with their "Once saved, always saved" dogma. Tens of millions of Southern Baptists from Virginia to Texas were "saved" at around the age of 7 and assured from that day onward that their place in heaven is secure. Doesn't matter what you do. Murder is no disqualifier. The only cautionary point made is that one ought be be careful not to "offend the spirit." Holy Spirit, that is. How might one do that? It's largely interpretted as a warning not to question god's word. You're saved as long as you remember to "pay no attention to that man behind the curtain." Outside of critical thinking you are set for eternity. Moral license to live however you please. So yeah, I completely agree with you.
Totally agree. It is kind of like a life-long "get out of jail free" card. Any "sin" or bad deed can be ignored with a simple prayer, no moral responsibility or atonement.
That's a common idea in some religions, that if you're a member of the clique you have an eternal get out jail card. It's similar to the idea expressed in the Jewish Babylonian Talmud in Hagigah 27a that no rabbi can ever go to hell because his good deeds outweigh his bad deeds.
"BUT THE SAGES SAY: BECAUSE THEY WERE OVERLAID [WITH METAL]. On the contrary, since they were overlaid, they were susceptible to uncleanness!8 — Read: ‘But the Sages declared them Unclean because they were overlaid’. Or, alternatively, I can explain: The Rabbis say it to R. Eliezer: What have you in mind?9 The fact that they were overlaid?10 But their Plating was quite nullified in regard to them.11 R. Abbahu said that R. Eleazar said: The fire of Gehinnom12 has no power over the Scholars. It is an ad majus conclusion [to be drawn] from the salamander.13 If now [in the case of] the salamander, which is [only] an offspring of fire, he who anoints himself with its blood is not affected by fire, how much more so the Scholars, whose whole body is fire, for it is written: Is not My word like as fire? saith the Lord.14 Resh Lakish said. The fire of Gehinnom has no power over the transgressors of Israel. It is an ad majus conclusion [to be drawn] from the altar of gold. If the altar of gold, on which there is only a denar thickness of gold,15 is not affected through so many years by the fire, how much less so the transgressors of Israel, who are full of good deeds16 as a pomegranate [is of seeds]; for it is written, Thy temples are like a pomegranate split open.17 Read not ‘thy temples’ [rakkathek] but ‘thy worthless ones’ [rekanim shebak].18
Footnotes:
(8) For were they not overlaid with metal, they would belong to the category of wooden utensils made for resting things on them which are insusceptible to uncleanness (v. p. 168).
(9) I.e., what is your reason for declaring the altars to be insusceptible to uncleanness solely on the ground that Scripture terms them earth, but not because they are utensils made for resting things on them?
(10) And are consequently to be regarded as metal vessels, which are susceptible to uncleanness.
(11) Because Scripture terms them ‘wood’ (Ezek. XLI, 22; cf. p. 170).
(12) V. p. 82, n. 1.
(13) A fabulous animal generated in fire which, according to the Midrash, must burn incessantly for seven days and nights; but Rashi here postulates seven years, and the Aruch (s.v.) seventy years. For a fun account of the legend, v. J. E. vol. X, pp. 646-7.
(14) Jer. XXIII, 29.
(15) Denarius, v. Glos. For Moses wonder at the miracle, v. Tosaf. s.v. ושאין
(16) Lit., ‘precepts’.
(17) Cant. IV, 3.
(18) Lit., ‘thy empty ones’. The thought is the reverse of Eccl. VII, 20; there is none in Israel that sinneth, and yet doeth not good, for even the transgressors, devoid of merit as they may seem, still have innumerable good deeds to their credit."
http://juchre.org/talmud/chagigah/chagigah2.htm#27a
When religions have those escape clauses it helps to ensure their longevity and financial stability because people are more willing to support them for the reward even if they screw up. So in the case of Christianity a believer is saved if he says some magic words and in Judaism he's saved just because of who he is.