Reply #43: It sounds harsh to non-believers but you are correct

[akvo]

So a murder victim who happens to not have "accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior" is "unsaved" and goes to hell. However if the murderer some time later has a change of heart and "repents" and "accepts Jesus Christ" then the murderer is "saved" and is let into heaven.

Correct. The salvation door is always open and people can always repent and be saved. The theology is that acceptance leads to salvation, not being a victim.

Actually for myself I did once "accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior", and found that my having done so, and supposedly being "saved", and supposedly having a "personal relationship with Jesus Christ", had been of absolutely no help to me in enabling me to deal with any difficult or distressing circumstance or issue in my life, or with anything that was a source of pain, frustration, or unhappiness with me, and certainly did not help in enabling me to do any noticeably more or better "good works".

I eventually came to see that I needed to part company with the Christian faith, and particularly to absolve myself of any duties and obligations specifically imposed by the faith (as opposed to those incumbent on any good or moral person). I am much happier and much more at peace with myself for having done so. I am as certain as I am of anything that parting company with the Christian faith was the right and healthy thing for me to do.

I consider the Bible to be no more than a book written and put together by a bunch of fallible human beings, and at the very best exhibiting human fallibility and human prejudice just like anything else that has ever been written.

I'm sorry to hear that you changed your mind, but that does lead to an interesting issue. Some believe "once saved, always saved". Christians sin but that doesn't negate their salvation since its salvation through faith, not works, and works don't negate faith. I suppose if a person drifts away then they are still saved, but if someone honestly rejects their salvation ands faith then they are not saved any longer.