dwmoeller1
New Member
You have answered wrong, and according to the Scriptures a person would not be able to enter into heaven based on that answer.
Furthermore, it was a serious question, albeit hypothetical, and had nothing to do with jokes. To take lightly one's salvation is not a joking matter. Do you think that eternity is a joking matter? Seriously?
Can you point out in Scripture where such a question will part of entering into heaven? EE popularized that question, but its purpose is to get people to give wrong answers. The hope was that they would say something like "Well I was good enough" which then leads the EE person into a spiel about how unsound a reason that is. Its a conversational piece, nothing more. Its not a sound basis for determining doctrinal correctness.
The question is too general, too hypothetical and too imprecise. I think we can all agree that God will be letting us into heaven based on His own reasons, not the reasons we give. This question however, makes it appear that maybe the opposite is true - that maybe we will be getting is dependent on how good our answer is. Or it might be taken as a question of how well we can guess God's reason. Or it might simply illicit a doctrinally sound response which is, in the end, false for that particular person.
So, the question can be taken in several ways and answered validly in several ways, yet you seem to be expecting a much more narrow set of answers. Thats called a loaded question.
So, really, while HPs answer isn't what you or I would give, its not really a false or doctrinally unsound answer - its merely one possible answer among a whole wide range of answers which are acceptable depending on how one sees the question.
Its a great conversation starter because its so open ended, but its a very poor way to determine doctrinal correctness.