I was raised in the church Bethany (I'm sure you've seen it on television) and graduated from their high school. I recently have been going back to a new church and trying to get my life on track. The problem is that no matter how hard I try to believe, I always wonder "what if" none of this is real. I pray for God to help me get rid of doubts and just believe. Does this mean I'm going to hell?
2007-01-09 00:52:03 · 29 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
If you have repented of your sins and have trusted in Jesus as your personal savior, giving your heart to Him, and depending on Him for help, then you are saved.
Sometimes our minds play with us, and doubts can come up. Just get with a pastor or another believer and pray together to help give you the assurance you need. Your salvation is not dependent upon your doubts, or your faith level, but on the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, and His grace toward you. So it is Him that gets you into heaven , not you.
2007-01-09 01:03:59 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
The answer I believe is categorically NO.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell
From what limited information I have on the place, Michigan is quite a nice place and not anything like the Wikipedia definition of Hell. Somebody really should tell those guys at Wikipedia to get with the program - sheesh some people! Next they'll have us all thinking that if we don't subscribe to the Christian view, Hindu view, Islamic view, Judaic view, Buddhist view, Ancient Greek view or the good old Chinese view, that there must be something wrong with us!
Well I'm not an Atheist because I do not have an adequately advanced understanding or knowledge regarding the subject of religion and neither was my choosing to suspend belief in deities in any way brought about by biblical brain washing as a child.
Lucky for me I had parents who were happy with their lives and didn't really think a second life was worth bargaining for and were able to be accountable for their own thoughts and actions. It is a choice I made for the same reason that you find yourself asking this question.
Am I wrong to think for myself... um... NO!
Am I wrong to ask questions of faith... um... depending on who you ask (sadly)... yes... this is where I draw the line... nobody has the right to masquerade as the "thought police" and if they do, then they better be prepared for a lot of resistance... half the world it seems doesn't know their own mind.
Above all - Know thyself.
No more evil exists in the world than in the heart of mankind.
Any King James Bible, is filled with these disclaimers and these "cautionary" anecdotes as well.
One last thing worthy of mention is denial of theism is in essence, Atheism and is not a movement, never was and never will be, it is is the disbelief in the existence of deities or gods and not anything to do with lacking spirituality.
It is the right of the individual to hold or express any idea, thought, concept or belief, without prevention from any other person, law or institution, provided that it is of no harm to other members of society or the common law.
To seek an answer is to question and by doing so you will find your own truth. But you first of all must seek.
2007-01-09 09:12:11 · answer #2 · answered by Glen H 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Why would the Creator let you go to hell for having doubts?The more questions you ask of God,the more answers you will receive,but you must look for those answers and recognize a lesson learned when they happen.When Jesus was on the cross,it is said that he asked Father have you forsaken me?If Jesus was a little worried I imagine that shows that God may seem late but He's always on time so the search for truth is a very interesting and confusing search.I always am sure of only this,I am a creature made in God's image after the like ness of He and who ever it was that caused Him to say after our image and our likeness.I am not sure if it's important if Jesus is the actual son of God and I really don't care,I respect Jesus as the most wonderful of prophets and have always felt inspired by the Christ's ability to be among them and not be as them.I am truly a Believer in God and all the rest of the sayings and other people's opinions matter naught to me,just God and only God for I have walked through the valley of the shadow of death many times in my life without any regard to my own life,just living for the moment,but for some reason God felt He needed me for something, and I am still here ,trying to make the invisible God visible through my every day actions and words.Hope this wasn't too much,but I really am a believer and hope that others will someday learn that God is and does .
2007-01-09 09:07:53 · answer #3 · answered by punkin 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I consider when I die, that's it, teats up! So I plan to be cremated so I will not take up much land from future generations. With this belief you do not have to go through life worrying. If there is more, then it is a bonus.
I especially do not believe in hell, as in fires and eternal damnation, that was just a guilt trip created by McChristianity to raise money. It is no more true than "heaven" being up the way and blue skies with angels playing harps.
Live the best life you can here and now and if there is a god let it do it's job, don't worry about it and especially do not let any self righteous preacher lay a guilt trip on you!
2007-01-09 09:07:01 · answer #4 · answered by kellring 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No one but Christ "knows" if you are but I can sure say one thing Christ came for ALL sin, not just the littel stuff not just the big stuff. You see He knew we would fail the law no one can live the law perfectly save for him, so your doubts and concerns are part of your growth. Don't let folks beat you down with "Blind" faith there are many very good and strong points to be taken with everything.
Look at it this way, you are going to have faith in something. You do everytime you get on a plane or in a car you have faith that this time you won't end up a vegitable or splattered on the concreate. This is the same thing some have faith that there is no God others through the supporting evidance given by scripture and the gospels believe there is. When thinking about it you need to ask yourself what do you have faith in that this is all just a biological mishap that will spin out of existance as the universe expands into the nothingness of space eventually ending all life and that everything you do today or tommarow is a meaningless motion of chemicals and that the people you for some odd reason care about even though your just a scrub of chemical reactions will pass on into nothingness. Or will you have faith that Jesus is real that the early Christians didn't just let thier children get eaten by lions for refusing to abondon there belief in God, that it was realy that important not 500 years after the fact such as budisim and other myths but with in 50 years historical records showing the persicutions?
I think your ok you just have been hanging out with to many chemical reactionists folks thats all, your the Bride of Christ gal don't let folks get you down, pursue your questions just be very diligent about getting the right answers and be mindful of false teachers.
2007-01-09 09:14:17 · answer #5 · answered by Saved Son 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It is human nature to have questions and doubts. All that is needed is a little faith.
You have been set free. Free! Don't worry about being human. Continue asking question, find your path.
Take a look at, The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel. Amazon has is used shipped to your door got about 5 or 6 bucks. It may even be at your library.
The book will help with some questions about Jesus. Jesus was not Santa Clause or the Tooth Fairy. He was real. The book will help show some real history.
You go to Hell. Nope, You will find your way. Remember it is not about doing good deeds.
2007-01-09 19:41:00 · answer #6 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no
neither will you go to hell if you deny the holy spirit, murder a child, rape a nun, or vote republican. Hell doesn't exist. I know that is disappointing, as it is a nice to think the "sinners" will get theirs in eternity....but this earthly existence is it. And the even sadder corollary is that heaven doesn't exist either....again, I'm terribly sorry. All that wasted praying, believing, etc. when you could have actually been doing something useful with the one short earthly life we have.
I was never as deep into the church as you appear to be, but I struggled with niggling doubts for a few years after I left. If you've been indoctrinated into these bizarre beliefs since you were a child, it becomes part of you...it hurts to lose faith. I cried when I finally realized Santa Claus didn't exist too, but then I got angry at my parents for telling me those lies. I was angry about the god lies they told me too, it's just they didn't realize they were lying cause they believed.
Just keep reading and learning. Study the bible if you want...but with an open mind, and read the whole thing cover to cover...not just the bits they read in Sunday School or they preach about. It's an eye-opener. Read atheist literature...find out why we don't believe. There really are some very good reasons. Maybe you will strengthen your faith, or maybe you will realize it is an illusion.
The disgusting thing to me is all the answers you are getting from Xians telling you to ignore the doubts, just trust in Jesus, the doubts are put there by Satan or demons, just accept on blind faith, don't trust your logical mind....what self-serving anti-intellectual bullshit. If your god can't stand a little scrutiny then he is not worth believing in.
If you want more info or some good websites of ex-christians let me know...I get too many reports and thumbs down when i post them here.
EDIT
DOUGIE (below me) You lie when you say "once saved always saved" I was once "saved" (actually twice, just to be sure) but I rejected it as nonsense eventually. I meant it completely when I said it...i accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal saviour and that he shed his blood on the cross for my sins. etc.
But now I don't believe that, so now I'm not saved anymore.
FACTORYWENCH
You do realize that pirate dress is the official garment of believers in the church of the Flying Spaggheti Monster?? RAmen. ARRRRG
2007-01-09 09:00:44 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
No it doesn't. First of all the hell you fear is non-existent. Hell is simply mankind's common grave.
Your questioning what you are taught is actually excellent. Even people taught directly by the Apostle Paul & another disciple, Barnabas, had their teachings questions. A group of people known as Beroeans were praised for "being more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica for they received the word with great eagerness of mind regularly examining the scriptures daily as to whether these things are so." - Acts 17:11
If you are seeking truth. Pray. Ask God for wisdom and to directly you to the right way HE wants you to worship him. Check your bible, verify what you are being taught and if the two don't mesh, you might ask whether you are in the right place.
2007-01-09 09:25:46 · answer #8 · answered by Q&A Queen 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. That is a lie that Satan wants you to believe. If you confess with your mouth that you are a sinner, and accept in your heart, the sacrifice that Jesus paid on the cross, you are a Christian. I would suggest talking one on one with your pastor. These doubts about "WHAT IF" are things that we as humans all experience. Things like, "What if I am wrong and there is no God?" Romans 1 spells it out clearly that God's existence is proven through His creation, so that man is without excuse. You know the truth, you accept it. Move on, the rest is just trivial baloney that you shouldn't trouble yourself with. Give God credit, if He loved you so much that he gave Jesus to die for you, He can certainly save you from your doubts. And as far as losing your salvation, remember when Jesus was on the cross and said it is finished? That was when He defeated death, hell and the grave. Do you think He would have done that to give you the gift of salvation if you could just turn around and lose it by sinning? ONCE SAVED ALWAYS SAVED, IF YOU MEANT IT WHEN YOU ACCEPTED JESUS AS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR! I Love you sister.
2007-01-09 09:02:39 · answer #9 · answered by dougie 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I went through something similar for about a year - I was in my mid-20s at the time.
One thing that helped me was to think about...what if I were God? Me, a (sinful) human, wouldn't punish people for 100 years for commiting sins. How could an infinately just and merciful God punish me for honest doubting? If a sinful human wouldn't do that, how could a god?
If god is real, he can stand a little examination. Real things don't fear thought and examination. Look at your beliefs. Think about the morality of hell and if you really believe and why.
2007-01-09 08:57:57 · answer #10 · answered by Laptop Jesus 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋