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ELI5: If you're a Christian, why do you have to be good if Jesus will forgive you no matter what?
(self.explainlikeimfive)
Simplifying Complexity, One Answer at a Time!
Rules
Once I decided to treat religion seriously (I'm an athiest) and understand it is a major part of society, history, and the lives many (possibly most) people in my life I tried to do some research and understand what Christianity really was. I essentially came to the same conclusion, and just the idea of what God is varies wildly.
The thing I always wonder now is whether Christians (or religious people in general) really know, or even think about, just how different their beliefs might be. Even if they call themselves by the same thing (Christian, Catholic, protestant, etc)
The few times I've tried talking to friends about this I've gotten the impression that they don't even understand or have never thought about this. I've just come to understand that there's no one answer to any belief system. You have to ask an individual, and they might not even have any answers because they've simply not considered it before.
The lack of consideration is another important factor. Even a single person might hold contradictory views and beliefs simply because they haven't really given them a whole lot of thought.