# What are "Saved Christians" saved from? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 9, 2009, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-saved-christians-saved-from/485120 "2009-02-09T19:24:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Clu-Me-In](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@Clu-Me-In](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clu-Me-In)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-saved-christians-saved-from/485120/1 "2009-02-09T19:24:10Z")
I was chatting with a co-worker who kept telling me how she was saved and if I wasn’t saved, I was sure to go to hell. So, I asked her what saved means, and don’t you know that I never could get an answer… her answer was if you don’t know what saved means then you’ll never know. So, I’m asking here… what are “saved folks” saved from? ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-saved-christians-saved-from/485120/2 "2009-02-09T19:27:07Z")
[http://www.riverpower.org/answers/salvation.htm](http://www.riverpower.org/answers/salvation.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-saved-christians-saved-from/485120/3 "2009-02-09T19:27:40Z")
Hellfire? ---
**Author:** ![Clu-Me-In](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@Clu-Me-In](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clu-Me-In)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-saved-christians-saved-from/485120/4 "2009-02-09T19:33:29Z")
So they’re saved from hellfire from the point they are saved and hence forth regardless of what crap they do cos this lady does so much crap yet claims to be saved. ---
**Author:** ![Clu-Me-In](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@Clu-Me-In](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clu-Me-In)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-saved-christians-saved-from/485120/5 "2009-02-09T19:36:29Z")
Interesting… Thanks. Now I see why she’s a jackass. She believes she’s already in heaven. Thanks again. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-saved-christians-saved-from/485120/6 "2009-02-09T19:38:10Z")
She is saved from suffering in Hell for eternity. That was an easy question to answer. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-saved-christians-saved-from/485120/7 "2009-02-09T19:39:29Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Hellfire? That’s what my upbringing tells me. Well, specifically, the message of salvation I was raised to believe boils down to John 3:16 (sorry, it really is the most succinct version): God loves us, so he sent his son to serve as an atonement sacrifice for all human sin so that no one would have to suffer his judgment and live in eternal damnation. This presupposes several facts, perhaps most obscurely that all of us have eternal souls which cannot die, so the important thing is what becomes of them after this life. Answering the question of why it’s God’s job to _save us_ from _his own judgment_ (rather than just skipping the whole judgment thing), well, that gets us into **GD**. ---
**Author:** ![Clu-Me-In](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@Clu-Me-In](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clu-Me-In)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-saved-christians-saved-from/485120/8 "2009-02-09T19:44:46Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > That’s what my upbringing tells me. > > Well, specifically, the message of salvation I was raised to believe boils down to John 3:16 (sorry, it really is the most succinct version): God loves us, so he sent his son to serve as an atonement sacrifice for all human sin so that no one would have to suffer his judgment and live in eternal damnation. > > This presupposes several facts, perhaps most obscurely that all of us have eternal souls which cannot die, so the important thing is what becomes of them after this life. > > Answering the question of why it’s God’s job to _save us_ from _his own judgment_ (rather than just skipping the whole judgment thing), well, that gets us into **GD**. So what happened to folks before Jesus came and folks who never ever heard of Jesus or the Bible? What happens to those folks - off to hell - wherever it is I imagine huh? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-saved-christians-saved-from/485120/9 "2009-02-09T19:52:29Z")
> [@Clu-Me-In](#): > > So what happened to folks before Jesus came and folks who never ever heard of Jesus or the Bible? > > What happens to those folks - off to hell - wherever it is I imagine huh? Wikipedia says that the Roman Catholic Church still says the same thing Dante believed: [limbo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limbo). I believe more fundamentalist Christians believe those folks go to hell, go straight to hell, and don’t concern themselves too much with the details. That’s why they’re so anxious to get everyone saved, as I understand it. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-saved-christians-saved-from/485120/10 "2009-02-09T20:00:07Z")
Missed the edit window: Sorry, all that only answers the “folks who never ever heard of” part. I was taught that Jesus was the New Covenant between God and men. So anyone who died before Jesus gets judged by the Old Covenant. Circumcision. Kosher. Whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Gbro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Gbro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gbro)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-saved-christians-saved-from/485120/11 "2009-02-09T20:14:49Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Missed the edit window: Sorry, all that only answers the “folks who never ever heard of” part. I was taught that Jesus was the New Covenant between God and men. So anyone who died before Jesus gets judged by the Old Covenant. Circumcision. Kosher. Whatever. That’s the way i understand it also. Saved by WORKS. And that was for the Jew only. The new Covenant is for **ALL Believers**. Its not saved by works, just by faith. > [@](#): > > For the message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, But to us who are being saved, It Is The Power Of God. 1Corinthians 1-18 There is much debate over the Once saved, Always Saved belief. I do not believe we can go on sinning after being born again, as being a Christian would impel us to live a better life. That we would live for Christ not sin. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-saved-christians-saved-from/485120/12 "2009-02-09T20:51:04Z")
> [@Clu-Me-In](#): > > So what happened to folks before Jesus came and folks who never ever heard of Jesus or the Bible? > > What happens to those folks - off to hell - wherever it is I imagine huh? Yep, hell and then Christ descended to hell to save them while He was dead. > **[Catechism of the Catholic Church - PART 1 SECTION 2 CHAPTER 2 ARTICLE 5...](http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p122a5p1.htm)** > > Second Edition English Translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church with Index, Cross-references and Search Utility You’re right that some folks claim to have accepted Christ as their savior and believe that they are saved no matter what they do. Instead, He says one is saved and should **go sin no more**. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-saved-christians-saved-from/485120/13 "2009-02-09T21:20:39Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Wikipedia says that the Roman Catholic Church still says the same thing Dante believed: [limbo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limbo). I believe more fundamentalist Christians believe those folks go to hell, go straight to hell, and don’t concern themselves too much with the details. That’s why they’re so anxious to get everyone saved, as I understand it. The Catholic Church has pretty much backed off the idea of Limbo. It was never official Church teaching anyway (as the Wikipedia entry makes clear). The Church says that the unbaptized can indeed be saved. The “invincibly ignorant” (i.e., those who haven’t heard of Christ or the Church, or those who cannot, for whatever reason, be receptive to the idea of Christianity) can be saved. Yes, baptism is necessary for salvation, but there is such a thing as “baptism of desire,” which pretty much covers the virtuous non-Christians. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-saved-christians-saved-from/485120/14 "2009-02-09T21:34:13Z")
I always thought “saved” was the result of how you answered the question “Do you accept jesus christ as your lord and savior?” If you accept him “ta-da” you’re saved. If you deny him “bzzzt” you burn. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-saved-christians-saved-from/485120/15 "2009-02-09T21:40:40Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > The Catholic Church has pretty much backed off the idea of Limbo. It was never official Church teaching anyway (as the Wikipedia entry makes clear). > > The Church says that the unbaptized can indeed be saved. The “invincibly ignorant” (i.e., those who haven’t heard of Christ or the Church, or those who cannot, for whatever reason, be receptive to the idea of Christianity) can be saved. Yes, baptism is necessary for salvation, but there is such a thing as “baptism of desire,” which pretty much covers the virtuous non-Christians. Ignorance fought. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-saved-christians-saved-from/485120/16 "2009-02-09T21:45:19Z")
> [@Clu-Me-In](#): > > I was chatting with a co-worker who kept telling me how she was saved and if I wasn’t saved, I was sure to go to hell. So, I asked her what saved means, and don’t you know that I never could get an answer… her answer was if you don’t know what saved means then you’ll never know. > > So, I’m asking here… what are “saved folks” saved from? There are [numerous references](http://www.biblegateway.com/keyword/?search=saved&searchtype=all&version1=31&bookset=2) in the New Testament to people being “saved,” often without a definition or explanation of what they’re saved from. From passages such as this one [QUOTE=Matthew 19:16-25] Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do **to get eternal life**?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” “Which ones?” the man inquired. Jesus replied, " ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’ " “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to **enter the kingdom of heaven**. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can **be saved**?” [/QUOTE] it appears that “being saved,” having eternal life, and entering the kingdom of heaven are all roughly synonymous. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-saved-christians-saved-from/485120/17 "2009-02-09T21:47:34Z")
Can someone expand on the “baptism of desire” thing? Or should I just Google it? :: cracks knuckles, prepares to Google :: ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-saved-christians-saved-from/485120/18 "2009-02-09T21:49:27Z")
> [@Gbro](#): > > The new Covenant is for **ALL Believers**. Its not saved by works, just by faith. Doesn’t the RCC reject that “faith alone” is the way to salvation? I seem to remember there was a bit of a scuffle on this point, although of course that was 500 years ago, so things may have changed. Some Protestant denominations believe even that faith cannot save you – some are chosen by God for reasons of his own, some are not. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-saved-christians-saved-from/485120/19 "2009-02-09T21:57:41Z")
> [@Clu-Me-In](#): > > So they’re saved from hellfire from the point they are saved and hence forth regardless of what crap they do cos this lady does so much crap yet claims to be saved. This is at least a denominational thing. Some have the “once in grace always in grace” theory although sometimes they have the out if you do really bad things you were never really saved. The church I attended as a child had the concept that all that mattered was your status at the instant of death. That is, the most evil person could potentially be forgiven right before they died and go to heaven. The most “good” person could commit a sin right before they die and go to hell. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-saved-christians-saved-from/485120/20 "2009-02-09T22:03:07Z")
> [@Clu-Me-In](#): > > So, I’m asking here… what are “saved folks” saved from? You apparently haven’t spent much time playing computer games. You’re advised to save your game often, so that if you die (or if the power goes out)—hey, no problem: you’re saved! 😛 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-saved-christians-saved-from/485120.md?page=2)