@nichodemus
Haha no worries. Because you asked and you're so welcoming, here is what the Scriptures says:
1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius[a] for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went.
“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’
7 “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.
“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’
8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’
9 “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’
13 “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
(Matthew 20:1-16)
To answer your question, a man like Hitler is capable of salvation just like any of us are. I believe that to God, we are all as condemnable as Hitler. Even the "good" man. I put good in quotes because he is human, subject to our sinful nature but also under the grace and mercy of the God. You might find someone who is the nicest person you ever met, but that person may have lusted for something or thought about something wrong once in his/her life. Unless the person is Jesus, you can assume the person has sin in his heart. (But as Christians, we are not called to be judgmental, but to understand that each one of us needs Jesus. Everyone is on the same level of hopelessness.) As you can see in this parable, this man's generosity was offensive to the workers who worked more than the others, just as God's sacrifice is offensive to us. I hope you see the analogy. This doesn't mean that we have to work for our salvation. The point is that no matter how much sin we have committed and no matter how much sin we did not commit (because we have probably sinned more than once) or good we do, the gift of Jesus is still worth our lives. So don't let the gospel be offensive. It's a free gift for all.
@EmperorPalpatine
This adds the moral stance that killing infants is the only way to absolutely ensure that they get there, which is not sustainable.
I do not believe in this moral stance. I don't even support the killing of anyone. There is another way. (Hint: through Christ)
Do you believe the bible/scripture is inerrant? Which version?
I would say so. I guess any version that ultimately does not change the meaning of the original text. I haven't really looked into it.
Do any biblical laws actually matter? Ten Commandments? The other hundreds in Leviticus and elsewhere?
Of course they do. Please allow me to explain another time. It is getting late over here. But essentially, laws can be categorized by the covenants of God.
Not here it can't.
I definitely won't push people away from the argument. But I might as well be pushing them away from the truth if I stray from the message of the gospel.
