i have a question for christians..................................?

Question

this is an honest question for you guys. ever since i was little i couldnt beleive in the bible and christianity. and its not that i WONT beleive it, its that i CANT. i truly cannot be a christian without being miserable. i feel that they use fear in the church to keep you beleiving in it. i used to go to church with my family but as soon as i listend to the stuff that they were teaching i knew right from the beginning that i would not beleive in god. even in the sunday school that they had, i asked my teacher these questions and she said that if i dont beleive that i will be going to hell, and that what got me so freaked out. its impossiblee for me to beleive in that stuff and i realy truly tried at first but nothing worked and they told me i was going to burn. this happend when i was 8 and i couoldnt beleive what they were teaching and i they said it was a merciful and loving god. it seemed evil to me. what do you guys think??

Answer 1

Maybe you need to look at a different Church.

Christians should NOT be miserable....

I became Catholic.....

Good Luck!

Answer 2

The fact that you are seriously asking this question is a good thing. Maybe the Holy Spirit is at work in your heart. I am not sure what church you attended but not every church is the all and all of Christianity. Maybe another church is in order here.

Set aside the fact that non-believers go to "hell" (whatever that may be) and think of the other side of this. You have the opportunity to spend an eternity in heaven. You have someone that loves you unconditionally! Yes that someone even loves the non-believers too (so no you don't have to be saved to be loved but you do have to be to go to heaven.) You have the opportunity to walk with your creator. To talk to Him and He you. No life does not magically get better. God helps those that help themselves. He is not your everyday run of the mill stop-n-shops. You can't just call in an order and expect it to show up in a timely manner. You do have to work. You will find that "man" does not have all the right answers in no matter what you do. So stop relying on everyone else to tell you what you should do. I think you already know what to do here. You maybe just don't want to admit it.
If in fact you are serious when you say that it is not that you don't want to believe but that you can't......then......pray. And pray. And pray. And pray.........and when you are finished with praying........LISTEN! If you really are seeking the truth you will find it. If you are not just looking for a "fire escape" then you will find what you need. God does speak to us in different ways. Some He speaks to their heart. Others he speaks through. But you have to be listening! And based on your question here today...I think He is speaking to you.

What will you say?

Answer 3

I felt the same way, why would a loving God do that to people.
In Luke, it is recorded he asked Jesus are those being saved few.
He said, "Yes, narrow is the way and cramped the road leading off into life and few are the ones finding it."
then the majority would be kept alive just to be tortured.
Then told he is a loving parent.
Didn't make any sense. until I learned that hell is the grave.
Read Matthew 27:60 Mary was at the memorial tomb, grave.
Acts 2:31 says Jesus was in hell.
then I got to thinking in the garden of Eden God said if you eat it you will die. Satan said, "No you won't'
Someone was lying. God even said what death was, "for dust you are and to dust you will return."
that's pretty clear. Some people really don't deserve to live.
Ecc 9:5 says the dead are conscience of nothing at all.
I came to realize those big religious organizations are in it for the money and scare tactics work really well. These old widow ladys donate everything to the church so they can go to heaven.
The preachers scare them of hell. NO one is perfect so the money is given to God. Only God doesn't get it they do.
I believe that hell is a symbol of complete distruction.
In Jeremiah they were throwing their babies into the fire. to sacrifice to these false gods. God said, "something that never came up into his heart to even think people would do."
Well if it never came up into this heart then there must not be a hell. I think the fire is a symbol of complete distruction.

Answer 4

Try reading the new testament in the King James version. You can buy a bible for a dollar at most dollar stores. I would reccomend reading Proverbs in the old testament for wisdom. I wouldnt give up, try a Non Denominational church. You could enjoy the song service and listen to the teaching. You cant get saved unless the Lord is calling you. When He does, dont put Him off. I wish you the best. God loves you.

Answer 5

I will tell you the reason I CAN and do believe...
I am LDS (mormon), one of the biggest reasons I am a member is the promise of eternal family. My family and husband are the most important things to me in the world and I want the chance to be with them forever, the Lord promises this IF we will do certain things to gain that. I do not believe people will go to "heaven" or "hell"...I believe in 3 levels of heaven...Celestial (where God and Christ dwell), Terrestrial and Telestial. Joseph Smith saw a vision of the lowest - the Telestial - and said its beauty was beyond all understanding...imagine how beautiful the Celestial Kingdom is! (We also believe in outer darkness but this is reserved only for those who have accepted Christ and then rejected Him.)
Most people who ever live will end up in the Telestial Kingdom. You can read about the criteria/characteristics of each kingdom in Doctrine & Covenants section 76. It is an account of a vision had by Joseph Smith of the kingdoms.
I promise you, the true gospel is on the earth, it is here to stay. It is a wonderful plan of eternal happiness, peace, love, divinity... Christ will personally reign upon the earth and those who follow his teachings will be with him.
If you want more info, go to LDS.org, talk with some local missionaries or contact me and I can answer your questions.
Good luck!

Answer 6

Don't go to the church your family went to! Fear is not a motivator for salvation. Iwould suggest trying a Southern Baptist Church, though they are NOT perfect, I think they are usually the good. Salvation is all about having a relationship with God. It's not about fear of going to hell or fear of anything else. The Bible guarantees that if you genuinely seek him, you WILL find him. So keep seeking him!!

Answer 7

That is truly sad...If a christians faith is so weak as to say your going to burn instead of asking questions honestly, then I'd say you were going to a very legalistic and judgemental church. There are answers to your questions. Some you might agree with, some you might disagree with and some that are iffy. As a believer, I would try my very best to answer all the questions you had in honesty. The bible can stand on it's own 2 feet.

Answer 8

I completely agree. I was raised Catholic and was NEVER able to believe what I was taught. I honestly tried to make myself believe and convince myself to believe but I just couldn't. Everything seems so hypocritical. Like you said, they claim God is merciful, forgiving, loving, etc. but it is also said that he smites people, floods the entire world save for 2 people because they are 'sinning', and condemns people to Hell. None of those things sound merciful and forgiving to me.

Basically what I think is that if you cannot and do not believe in your heart that it is true, there is nothing that can change that. You can't make yourself believe something - either you do, or you don't. And I also think that believing in God simply because you are scared of 'Hell' like most Christians do is absurd. Hope this helped!

Answer 9

I am a Methodist and i personally do not believe in hell. I believe that id God always forgives me and Jesus died for my sin, then there is no reason for anyone to go to hell. we are ALL children of god. we all came from Adam and Eve. A parent can play favorites among his children, but he ultimatley loves them all.

I disagree with the practice of using fear to make people believe. that doesn't seem like the godly way to do it. rather than the caring, paternal, loving welcome that the bible says we'll get; fear tactics give us the empression that God is the mafia and if we don't do what he says, we'll sleep with the fishes.

i totally respect your belief because my sister is an agnostic, person who doesn't know if they believe or not. she doesn't come to church with my family unless i am speaking, in which case she is coming out of repect for me. i don't believe in pressuring others into believing. i hope you live your life in the way that makes you happy the most. if that doesn't include Christ, i'm sure he will forgive you.

Answer 10

Some people do a horrible job at trying to explain some of the theology or doctrine of the Bible. This is what causes the confusion. It is not a scared straight type of method. The point is that there is consequences for your decisions. God says choose me and live. He is not going to foce you... He loves you enough to allow you to make the decision for yourself. Look at it this way. I am a Christian and try to life my life according to Gods Word. If i died today and found out that God did not exist what have i lost...i have a wonderful wife and daughter.. great job.. I would just cease to exist... But if i live my life like i wanted to as if God didnt exist and died and found out He did... i have lost everything. Lastly, how would you deal with a person you created...sent your son to die for, and all they had to do was believe that you did it... and they choose not to. When we choose not to believe... you are telling God that i dont believe that let allow your Son to die a horrible death for me. Its like a slap in the face.

Answer 11

You were obviously in a fundamentalist church. There are plenty of Christians who don't believe the sort of stuff that bothered you, and who tolerate a wide diversity of thought and opinion among their members.

Try visiting an Episcopal Church, a church of the United Church of Christ, or a Unitarian church.