Otter, are you saying that only the people that know they're committing a sin while they are committing a sin can be forgiven? what if hitler had an epiphany as everything around him was crumbling to the ground and he saw the light?
are you implying that only the people that realize and believe they are committing a sin at the time they are committing one can be forgivin? or are you saying people that realize and beleive they are not committing a sin at the time they commit one will never realize they committed one? or are not capable of realizing or believeing they committed one so they will never ask for forgiveness?
if that is true, the whole forgiveness thing is even scarier, using that rational, only the people that realize and believe they were committing a sin at the time they commited one are the ones that are forgiven?
seems more logical to forgive those that didnt realize or believe they were sinning at the time, as opposed to those that did, maybe thats just a grey area? I guess the christians have it all worked out?
Twisted:
You're begging the question! Many people go throughout life not knowing or understanding what "sin" is. They are apatheists (don't know, don't care). But we're not talking about apatheists, we're talking about Hilter - a devout Atheist. An Atheist fully understands the concept of sin, but denies that it exists. The Atheist world view actively and consciously denies any such thing as a universal moral law (despite proofs) and attributes it to "genetic predisposition", "will to power". or other such nonsense.
The answer to your question then is: everybody can can be forgiven of sin, provided that they are sincere in the asking. Hitler's heart was hardened by hatred (10+ Million can attest), it would take nothing short of a miracle to change that.
To your second question: I am indeed implying that only when people realize what they are doing is wrong (an act contrary to the Word of God) can they ask for forgiveness - why would they otherwise? Better put - how COULD they otherwise? Certainly, someone who honestly thought they did no wrong couldn't honestly ask for forgiveness for the same act.
For extreme crimes, this is what the courts call "temporary insanity" - the person at the time was unable to discern right and wrong, and therefore should be acquited (or subject to a lesser punishment). In our courts, it works for murder, but doesn't do much for stealing a candy bar. However, all sin in equal in the eyes of the Lord.
Perhaps this is a better topic to take off-line. If you'd like to discuss the issue via email, I'd be more than happy to hear your views, provided you extend me the same courtesy. I honestly feel that, given full intellectual honesty, you will understand what the Christian world view is (even if you might not agree).
I look forward to hearing from you.
Many people worship TV and pop stars too. Don;t get me started down THAT path!
