Those who never heard about Jesus?

[Antipas]

Originally Posted by mfblume

Satan quoted the word of God to Jesus, but his biggest and overall principle and philosophy was extreme error. Same with Buddha and Krishna. It was not God whatsoever working in these men like it was Christ. They taught things like dualism, reincarnation, etc. These things fly directly in the face of biblical teachings. To say there is a "whole of divine revelation" with inclusion of Buddhist thought and these others, is to say God conflicts with Himself, since the teachings conflict one another.

God doesn't contradict himself. Limited human interpretations of divine truth contradict themselves. Reincarnation is mentioned in the Bible, it is tradition that rejects the notion. Here is an example.

Malachi 4:5
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:

This was said long after Elijah had died. For this reason the Jews believe that Elijah will appear and herald the coming of Messiah. Yet the New Testament teaches that Jesus is the Messiah. Where was Elijah? God promised to send "Elijah the prophet", did God forget? No. We read that God did indeed send Elijah.

Matthew 17:12-14
12 But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.
13 Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.

John was Elijah reincarnated. There are also many other references to reincarnation that fly in the face of Christian tradition. But they are there.

When one religion emphasizes a given truth and another doesn't, or is completely silent on a truth, that doesn't mean that said truth is error.

When Jesus spoke of all who came before Him, he was referring to people bringing a way of salvation to the world. Moses LED TO Christ, as did all of the other biblical prophets. Buddha and Krishna came AS CHRIST.

Buddha and Krishna predate Christ. Wouldn't it be more appropriate to say that the One who was in Buddha and Krishna is also found in Christ? Jesus does practically quote them in several places.

The Old Testament has words to Israel to reject anything from any other religion and not incorporate any of it into their faith, and that He specifically through prophets and men of Israel alone would guide them. This accusation of exclusivity being evil is another direct conflict with the Bible.

It only conflicts with the exclusivist interpretation of the Bible.

What happened to you, Antipas? You believe everyone eventually gets saved, and now you believe all these religions are of God! When did THAT change take place?

I don't believe that every religion is of God. It is quite the contrary. I believe that every religion, as we know it today, has been distorted by human translators, theologians, and leaders. As a result, every religion on the planet is in error. However, in spite of the error, various divine truths can be found in every religion. Thus no religion on earth is absolute truth. But very religion contains truth. The spiritual seeker who is pure in heart will find these truths.

Is Hell forever? Yes and no. When I hear this question, I think of a short exchange between Alice and the White Rabbit from, Alice in Wonderland.

Alice: How long is forever?
White Rabbit: Sometimes, just one second.

The soul evolves and changes through time. Many souls are in unrest because they have not forgiven themselves, feel unworthy, deny that they are dead, or because they have not accepted the spiritual realities they are now experiencing due to those experiences being contrary to their religious dogmas. It is often the most "religious" that find the greatest trouble passing over. This is an everlasting "Hell". But eventually every soul will surrender, find peace, and enter the Light. Those who do enter the Light return to the Source of All, God, and are as rain drops returning to the sea. They will once again emanate from the Source as naturally as water vapor once more arises from the seas in the midday sun. In this, the Source (God), experiences all things (including himself) in innumerable ways. He desires to know and be known. And so through this He both knows and is known. This has been the process since all life evolved from a single celled organism roughly 3.5 billion years ago. He is the All In All.