In Christianity salvation is a cornerstone. I along with all other self-professing Christians believe that in order to get to Heaven, within our faith system, you have to have an understanding and a life altering experience whereby you ask forgiveness of your sins and you confess Jesus as your Savior and Lord of your life going forward. This redemption is achieved through our belief that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin named Mary and that He died on the Cross and three days later was resurrected and now sits in Heaven at the right hand of God and makes intercession for humans. If you believe all of this and feel that you are being urged and drawn into prayer by the Holy Spirit you can ask forgiveness and you will be 'saved'.This is Salvation 101. There are many nuances and added behaviors after this that each denomination deems as 'necessary' but in my 41 years and much research of my own denomination (and I have been a part of 5 over the past 41 years) this is the crux to your ticket into Heaven.
After much consternation and prayer and meditation on my part and questioning and soul searching I decided many years ago that I believed in this process and for me Christianity and Salvation was my path to Heaven through salvation in Jesus Christ. That was my individual decision. Of course my family encouraged that decision but in my reading and understanding of scripture it has to be an individual decision. No one can make that decision for you once you are old enough to understand the concept of sin and the concept of salvation.
One thing that occurred to me over the past few years is how collective most people are with their salvation. Although the idea itself is individualized we expect that once that decision is made that the process of individualized salvation ends. It's now a collective action whereby we must conform to our family, denomination, or particular congregation. If the newly minted saint does not conform to the convictions of the group it nullifies the redemptive quality of Christ. At least that's the view by many.
One area this tends to solidify is within families. If a family member does not carry the same convictions of their family then regardless of their affiliation with Church or Christ they are ostrocized and discounted as heretical. The place of acceptance, family, is often the root of outcasting.
Salvation itself is a commitment between the individual and Jesus. Scripture does give directives on how we are to behave and treat each other. In a legalistic and traditional environment these directives are taken literally and although many things in scripture are misinterpreted the perpetuation of antiquated convictions continues. It's amazing to me how many people believe their denomination or particular conviction 'set' are the only path to Heaven.
When we read the life of Christ we do not read where he denoted denomination as a key to salvation. In fact he had much anger toward the 'church' of His day. The mission of salvation is one of inclusion. It is not one of exclusion. Salvation was also not delivered as a message of judgment but of love and mercy. I believe God is a God of Judgment but I believe salvation is rooted in the belief that man needed to be reconciled to God and this reconciliation was through the birth, death and resurrection of Christ. Nothing in this process was judgmental.
I am proud of my heritage of faith but I want to always be aware that there are many who did not have the richness of my Christian upbringing. I want my interactions with people to show the love of Jesus and hopefully they will see characteristics and values that appeal to them. I don't have to wear a bumper sticker, bracelet, or shirt denoting my faith if I let my faith lead my life.
jamie
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