Am I going to hell? (read the question and say something thoughtful if you are going to say anything at all)?

Question

I have a friend whom I have known for a very long time. Me and her have had very close talks and had helped each other throw many hard times. Spontaneously one day I asked her if she thought I was going to go to hell. With some hesitation she responded, "yes, you do not believe in Jesus Christ, so you will go to hell".

I was rather taken back. Hell as depicted in scripture is a very horrible place. Full of fire and pain it's an outright nightmare. Yet this "friend" of mine was certain that I would end up in this miserable place simply because I had not let "Jesus Christ into my heart".

How can Christians so cold-heartedly believe that good, honest people should go to hell simply because they do not believe in Christianity?

Answer 1

The usual response from a Christian would be something to the effect of "Jesus Christ made such a HUGE sacrifice for you! He only asks you to BELIEVE in him"

I'm all for respecting sacrifice, but to me, that's like guilting someone into loving God. You can't do that. thats not love, thats compunction, and to some extent fear. you dont get much farther from love than that.

faith is blind. that is why its so dangerous. the world is very black and white when it comes to belief in absolute truths. You get the ultimate reward(heaven) or the ultimate punishment (hell). there's no room for middle ground.

I've always wanted to ask my devoted Christian friends that, but I've never had the guts to actually ask because I always knew what the answer would be. and it hurts.

Answer 2

Please don't sterotype Christians as all the same. There are over a billion Christians in the world and a lot of them would never say to a non-Christian friend that they are going to Hell.

Your "friend" is rather cold-hearted indeed to say this to you.

I have a question back for you though. What are you worrying about going to Hell? You're not a Christian. Heaven and Hell and God and Jesus and all that stuff doesn't exist for you. There is no Hell for you to go to because you don't believe in it, right?

Don't sweat it.

If a Buddhist told me that I'm going to be reincarnated as a mosquito because I haven't let "Buddha into my heart", I wouldn't worry about it. I'm Christian. I'm going to Heaven. Period.

(Note: Not picking on Buddhism here. Just using it as an example. I have nothing but respect for that ancient and honourable religion)

Answer 3

Are you speaking of sepulchre hell, cave, tomb or grave as Acts 2:27-35; Jesus was resurrected out of here, David is still there.

You can't be speaking of Jude 6; 1Pet.3:18-20; 2Pet.2:4; Angels that sinned in Gen.6:2,4; and will be judged by the saints 1Cor.6:2,3;

You can't be speaking of Tophet, Gehenna or the valley of the son of Hinnom. People do not sacrifice there children [ death and burial by fire ]; to their gods any more as 2Chr.28:1-4; Jer.7:30,31;
19:2-5; and in the day of Jesus it was Mark 9:42-48 this was the city dump of Jerusalem since about 628 before Christ, and I did hear from people over there that they would chop off hands of the thief.

Jesus told his disciples not to fear death and burial or burial by fire, [ what if we accidentally have death by fire or death and burial by fire in a valcano ]; or he can resurrect then, no one but him can destroy a person.

Matt.25:31-34 Speaks of separating the sheep from the goat but 41 and the everlasting fire [ is it so ]; but for devil and angels Luke 20:34-36 angels do not die, but where in the bible does it say people do not die, even after resurrection, people die a second death, even if it is death and burial by fire. If it is damnation, as they deserve death for ever, so be it.

Rev.21:1-5 ALL IS MADE NEW 8 is the second death.

Rev.20:7-10; This is final cleansing of earth. Humans are devoured by the fire that rains down from heaven, they are not in heaven, Satan is alone thrown in the lake of fire where the false prophet and beast have been for 1000 years.
Hell is mentioned 31 times in the O.T.
How do you throw death and the grave [ or hell ], into a lake of fire?

Answer 4

I am a Christian and I will tell you that you are NOT going to hell if you do not believe in Jesus Christ. In fact, only a very few people will actually end up in that awful place. Christian faith and belief in the eternities teaches that Christ's atonement was a free gift to ALL mankind. Everyone born into this world will live forever. That is a free gift from Jesus Christ.

Eternity is a long time, and there are "many mansions" in God's house. Meaning, that we will live in different places and live according to different laws depending on choices we make while we live on earth. Some people are more obedient than others, and deserve to be rewarded for their efforts.

The only people going to hell are those who receive a witness, or a testimony of Jesus Christ and then deny it. They are also called sons of perdition, and their numbers will be very few.

I hope this helps.

Answer 5

I'm not sure which question you want answered, so I will answer both.

Are you going to hell?

Hell is defined by the religion you believe in. Some religions view it as fire and brimstone, while others define hell as "not going to heaven and therefore your soul will no longer exist". (I couldn't think of a good way to put this). Hence, to be going to Hell you must first define the hell you are going to. Since people who don't believe in Jesus Christ don't necessarily believe in heaven or hell either (usually the case), by their definition, you will not be going to hell because it doesn't exist. However, to Christians, you will be going to hell for exactly the same reason.

Summation: You are not going to hell unless your definition of hell places you there.

How can Christians be so cold-hearted?

I don't view this question as entirely valid. Christianity is based off of the bible, like several other religions. Since the bible is open to interpretation, different people interpret it in different ways. Several of my Christian friends tell me that my soul will simply cease to exist, others tell me I am destined for fire and brimstone.

Summation: Christians aren't any more cold hearted than any other group of people, per se. Some Christians interpret the Bible very rigidly, and since there is no room for further interpretation, they come across as cold hearted (but they do not view it as such).

Answer 6

Well your friend is right however some people however don't use a lot of I guess tact when answering that question. The Bible teaches that yes the only way to heaven and to the father is through Jesus Christ.
The last thing Jesus did before returning to heaven was this : he was hanging between two thieves one cursed him the other saw Jesus for what he was and Jesus responded to him "this day you shall be with me in paradise"
I have been in the preaching ministry since 1985 and I have prayed for a lot of people and have prayed with them as they have accepted Christ as their savior.
I have a very simple web site on geocities here on yahoo go to : www.geocities.com/revfergy/jfministries.html
I think it explains salvation very easy . Read John 3:16 that is a scripture that I use when people ask me that question that you asked your friend.
Your friend cares for you a lot because she cares about where you are going to spend eternity don't shut her out.

Answer 7

this is your friend, who you've known for a long time. she cares a lot about you, enough to tell you what she believes is the truth. that is not cold-hearted. I wish I had that courage.

As for your question:
"good, honest people" make mistakes. EVERYONE does, even (especially) Christians. If you're less than perfect--you're not God. God is infinitely holy. No one who is less than perfect can enter God's presence (heaven). That is why people need Jesus. Jesus is what makes up the gap between God's perfection and being human. I'm simplifying, paraphrasing, but trying to explain what your friend probably believes. Its not the goodness in people Christians ignore, its the sin and darkness they recognize. Jesus is the light that takes all the shadow off a person's record. That's why You need Him, to get to heaven.

but if you don't believe in her God, then you don't believe in that hell, right?

I hope you ask her this as well. I bet she'd really like to talk to you about it. good luck, God bless

Answer 8

You, my friend are in good company. Even God himself does not believe in the hell you describe as a Christian belief. (See Jeremiah 7:31 to get his thoughts on burning children alive in fire). Unfortunately, your friend is more informed on church teachings than Bible teachings. Perhaps the two of you should request the book, "What Does the Bible Really Teach?" published and distributed free by Jehovah's Witnesses and have a Bible study looking up all the scriptures cited in the book and then see what you think.

Answer 9

While i am christian, i disagree with a lot of christian beliefs (does that make me not christian?) I think if you are a good person at heart and have not done anything like kill someone, you will go to heaven (if there is a heaven) I think the only people who go to hell (if there is a hell) are those who have no good in them at all and purposely hurt someone severely (mentally or physically) without feeling any remorse the rest of they're lives and never try to solve of fix what they did. You sound like a good person, helping out your friend when they need it. There should be no reason you don't go to heaven in my opinion.

Answer 10

I am a Christian and I believe what the Bible says, which is the inspired word of God. We (Christians) don't believe that good people should go to hell, but we do believe that people will go to hell. God created us and it's His plan and instruction. We can only get to the Father through the Son, Jesus. It's not about believing in Christianity..it's about believing in Jesus, who he was what he did and who he is now. Jesus is the Son of God and lived on earth as a man, died on a cross so that you and I can be forgiven for our sins and then he went to heaven. He is sitting at the right hand of God praying and interceding for you right now. God wants NO ONE to die or go to hell. He wants everyone to accept and receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior. He is available to everyone. However, God does not make us do anything. He will not force us to believe. That is our choice. If we refuse to believe we have chosen the path. Heaven and Hell are real. Suggestion: read the New Testament of the Bible and find out for yourself what it says about Jesus. Find out what God/Jesus says about heaven and hell. Before you start reading ask God to help you to understand what you read. Also...get a NIV (New International Version) Study Bible. It will help you study and understand.