u/Material_Positive_70

Hi guys! Getting an mpfl reconstruction and wondering if it's feasible to crutch over to classes during my recovery :0] Thanks

Hi, guys! Sorry to ask a boilerplate question, but it's important to me. I'm sure it gets tiresome addressing the same things over and over, especially when it might make you feel that your faith has been misrepresented or is being interpreted in bad faith. This is not that. I'm actually hopeful that I'll come across a new perspective that will help me understand. Somehow it's a lot more meaningful when asking someone who is 'really there' (in conversation with you), and the material available online can be pretty overwhelming.

In your view, taking into account tradition, scripture, etc, is it true that human beings are essentially evil, and is it therefore true that what we all actually deserve is to suffer eternal torment? If we can be saved through Christ, is that because our nature is repaired, or is it because we are simply given permission to enter the kingdom while remaining forever evil sinners through God's mercy?

Sidenote: If it is true that our nature is deeply evil and our salvation is not deserved, that everything about us that does not originate from Christ (and therefore everything that is actually us) is vile, then I am not sure I would want to claim salvation. I know how annoying that sounds; it makes zero sense to choose Hell, but if I can only be saved by making some self-interested choice while in fact being a monster, there is genuinely a part of me that would rather suffer or be erased. Hypothetically, why would I want to exist at all? It feels wrong to accept that an innocent/perfect being was punished for my crimes instead of taking responsibility myself. It feels like a choice that only could be made out of self interest. For me to accept salvation, I might need to believe that something about me is intrinsically worth saving, and that that part is truly me. However, I'm not sure whether this idea is supported.