Salvation – Who Understands It? Three summers ago, I attended a Christian theological debate camp with other young people from Arkansas. While the entire week was a wonderful learning experience, the actual debate and discussion within and between the various small groups I was a part of was frustrating. The topic of the debate was salvation, which was fascinating, but at the same time delicate to deal with because it is literally a matter of life and death. Although each of the campers had attended similar debate seminars and theology plenary sessions, it was clear that many students simply didn't get it. They developed strong feelings about the position and beliefs they had regarding salvation and were not open to the ideas of others. The fault of many students was that they based their ideas solely on emotional grounds, making statements like, “A good God wouldn't condemn unbelievers for their unbelief because that doesn't seem 'good' at all.” I found it impossible to empathize with the purely emotional position of those specific students. My goal is to revisit the topic of salvation so that I can gain further understanding and respect for ideas I personally do not believe in and to build an intellectually and emotionally balanced case for the need of the Church. In defining “salvation,” the New Oxford American Dictionary says: “Those who have faith receive salvation; they are reconciled to God in the present and saved from the dangers of future judgment (Stevenson and Lindberg).” In this text those who have faith are the body of the Church. The New Testament standard for “membership” in the Church is through repentance and confession of sins against God and faith that God raised Jesus from the dead (English Standard Version, Romans 10:9-10). Once these terms have been defined, the priority remains the explanation of what Christians wish to found the Christian doctrine