This is where it gets really interresting, discussing the differences between the denominations and one's personal beliefs. At my university, they have a society called the Campus Crusade for Christ. Despite the fact I do not subscribe to their religious doctrine I agreed to do one of the little discussions they have about their beliefs and so on purely out of interest sake. In the end they indirectly deemed me as some kind of twisted Christian who fails to follow the faith properly.
I personally believe that God is with each and everyone one of us, we do need to invite him in with us because he is already there, we simply need to recognize his presence. My feeling is that our guilty conscious is God speaking to us and guiding us when we have sinned. As for having to choose to open our hearts to God and let him guide us. That is where I seem to have a difference of view with at least the people I talked to from the CCC. They believed that one must let God steer your actions. I believe that God gave us the power of rational and logical thought and that it is up to us to use this intellect to make rational decisions to follow the teachings of God: peace, charity, and compassion. If we fail to do so, that is what confession is for.
In the end, I do not feel that one must be perfect to get into heaven, indeed even if we have sinned throughout life and not followed the teachings of God, if in the end if we repent, we will still be welcomed into his kingdom. In the Parable of the lost son (Luke 15:32) "But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found." In other words, God designed man with rational and logical thought and when we go astray, which is natural for humans are not perfect, if we ask for forgiveness we shall receieve forgiveness and be welcomed into the kingdom.
In the end it was rather funny because the look of the faces of the two I talked to after I went through my whole little thing about rational and logical thought rather than letting God steer our actions and some of my other beliefs regarding nature, they seemed rather shocked and a tad angry.
Anyway, its a fascinating subject to discuss.
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FM/ESN Corran "Arturus" Hargraves/Nazgul 1-2/Phoenix Wing/M-SSD Atrus/VE/VEN/(=A=)(=SA=)(=*MA*=)(=JCPA=)(=SCPA=)[MC:1](x2)[SV][BRC][LSM][LoC]