How many folks here were motivated to become Christians primarily because you were afraid of going to Hell?

Question

I keep getting told that only Christians get to go to Heaven. So I'd like to know how many became Christians primarily so that they could avoid going to hell.

And please be honest. After all, lying is a sin (and even thinking about sinning is a sin).

Answer 1

I don't believe in hell. It is not a Biblical teaching primarily because Hell or Sheol in the Hebrew/Greek forms mean the common grave of mankind, not a fiery place of torment where the bad people are sent to burn eternally. Second, I do not believe in the immortality of the soul. It also is not a Biblical teaching. Ecclesiastes says that the dead are conscious of nothing at all, there is no devising, no thoughts, no feelings after death. Third, I am a Christian because I follow Christ's teachings and commandments out of love for him and his Father, Jehovah God. I am not a Christian because of any reward or merit I might receive, in fact, I would die to keep my integrity. Fourth, I believe in what the Bible says about the resurrection. If I do die faithfully, then I hope I will be resurrected to perfect life on a paradise earth.

Answer 2

I'm a Christian, but I'm the type most fundamentalist Christians probably wouldn't approve of. I don't believe that only Christians will go to heaven, and I believe that every religion that exists is necissary, because each person on earth needs a different type of spiritual fulfillment. I'm defintely terrified of hell, but I'm not a Christian because of that. I honestly, with all my heart WANT there to a God. It's comforting to me. Call it wishful thinking then, by all means, but it's what works for me. Although those that call themselves Christians just out of some social obligation or fear are not Christians.

Answer 3

I think through history the vast majority of people largely became christians because they know they would be burnt or hung or ostracized in some way. I also think allot of christians are christians because of fear of hell. I have a question, if I live my life Christlike but don't believe in christ will I go to hell?

Answer 4

When your younger and more immature, those types of arguments do have a greater impact, especially in regards to sin. As you grow in understanding you begin to realize the conflict isn't whether you'll go to hell or not, it's do I want to live without the Lord in my life for eternity. That to a believer who has had the reality of God's presence in their life is much more frightening.

Answer 5

Lots of people have been brainwashed into all sorts of religious fear. Religious people are so cruel to their children – God is just a monster.

Nothing could possibly be more mentally damaging to children than telling them over and over again from birth there exists an invisible person (God or whatever) who is unwilling to prove he exists watching them every second of every day, reading their thoughts, and if they don't believe in this invisible person they will be tortured for eternity.

Yet we tell the same children that monsters don't exist so it's silly to be scared of monsters. Religious believers are so hateful and venomous towards normal people.

First up, I have to say in fairness to some posters (religious believers) that there are some decent fair-minded and balanced people amongst you. However, scan through the various religious questions, including my own, and a trend clearly emerges.

Most of the religious believers and followers become very aggressive towards non-believers and/or those posters who are Atheist and try there best to help others sitting on fence unsure whether to follow religion or not, and also try to help believers leave religion due to its severely negative and damaging influence on humanity.

Most religious posters seem unable to debate logically, lack intellectual reasoning, tend to be typically repetitive cut/paste artists due to their lack of skills, and are typically venomous towards fair-minded balanced Atheists just trying to guide people away from religion so they can have a happier peaceful life.

So if religious people treat folks like that, just imagine what it does to the more gullible mind when they scare them about fictitious places like Hell.

Answer 6

Probably the majority of Christians who ever lived.

Think about the way religion was presented in the middle ages, to them the was a literal hell and it was in the centre of the earth.

The whole idea of hell is to make you conform to their way of thinking, the church is a business, all they want is your money. The best way to get money? scare the hell out of people but offer them salvation.

Answer 7

Wow! You have a very limited understanding of Christianity then. Too bad you looked to fundemental Christian zealots for info on Christianity. F.Y.I. don't ask a member of the Teliban for info about Islam, k? lol

xoxo, Badass Art Girl

Answer 8

I'm not a Christian....I don't believe in heaven or hell. It sounds like you can get a headache thinking about this stuff.

Answer 9

I would never become a Christian and since I do not be live in that I also do not believe in Hell. I shall pray to my Goddess and live and die happily ever after and noone can take that away from me.

Answer 10

I feel that the motivation of going to heaven and the fear of going to hell unless you are converted no longer obtains and also was not a drivng force in the past as well. It it was the fear of hell here and now. The Poltugese inquisition in Goa forced many to convert just to save themselves. Also the bigoted ideas of losing ones religion by just partaking food with persons from other religions. In Goa it was enough to throw a half-eaten(by a Christian) bread crumb in the village well to convert the entire village drawing water from there.The Portuese adoped a tactful way also. They concentrated their attention of covertting leaders of the society-the landholders, office hearers. This led to their dependents following suite. The Portugese also used guile .It appeared that the text of Yajurwed of the Hindues was not available at the time. One clever Jesuit priest composed it in Sanskrit basing it on the Bible. People who eagerly fell for the recovery of their sacred text followed him. He also took care to ensure that the outward appearance of a Jajurvedi(as his followers were called)resembled educated Brahmins with the sacret thread with a cross at the end, dhottee and no clothes exceot a shawl pulled over and of course the caste mark-the vermilion applied on the forehead in the likeness of a cross etc.Many upper caste Hindues fell for this ruse and there was a regular following. When finally the whole things was exposed the Jajurwedies stood permanently converted as there was no permission for such persons to be purified and accepted back.A Hindu mahant Brahmendraswami Dhaavadhikar had started such a recoversion but it did not get adequate response among Hindus. This emphasis on conversion of the elites by the Portugese is reflected in the people of Goa where many Christians are from the upper castes. Elsewhere the conversion was concentrated on people from the lower strata of the society. The promise of a better life which conversion motivated many to cross over. And it has to be accepted that the Missonaries also at least partly made good their promise by opening schools for them as also hospitals. On the failure of the 1857 uprising there were many forcible conversions on pain of liquidation.There were a few--just few conversions of conscience but these were infinitsemil. Noted among it was the conversion of Marathi poet Narayan Waman Tilak and his family.The Hindu religion was so conservative that such a prominent political leader as Lokmanya Tilak had to face censure for having tea in the company of Christian Missionaries in a MissionThe Panch Houd MIssion) in Pune(India). So the conversions here were not for fear of hell but were motivated by more mundane factors.