Can anyone explain...?

Question

I saw a show on tv that talked about a preacher who dismissed the idea that there is a "true" Hell but instead "Hell" is a state of mind. I was interested in learning more about this ideaology. And why do innocent people face "hell" everyday of their lives? Especially abused children, etc.

It wasn't a marketing pitch or anything. It was a Dateline episode. They were exploring different religions and faith.

And Big Carrot; The "innocent people" I'm talking about are people in the world starving to death and innocent children being beaten and molested. My question is "Why?"

Question for no1home2day: You say that if I answer yes to one or all of those questions then I'm a sinner, doomed to hell, etc. But if I accept the Lord Jesus Christ as my savior, etc, then I'm forgiven? So I can go out and committ sins but if I acknowledge them and ask forgiveness then I still go to hell? Where is the line drawn? And how can someone who lies or cheats be put in the same "category" as a mass murderer (for ex.)?

*go to Hell; correction: go to Heaven*

Answer 1

There is no such place as a hell where the wicked go to be tormented forever and ever. The fate of the wicked is death, Romans 6:23. What is sin?
1 John 3:4.

The vast majority of TV ministers and professing Christians are basing thier beliefs of the afterlife on false pagan ideas that pre-existed Christianity.
The concept of hell was adopted from a play by Dante called "the Inferno", which in turn was adapted from various pagan myths about the afterlife.

These two articles are worthy of study:

http://www.cog21.org/site/cog_archives/booklets/Life%20After%20Death.htm

http://www.cog21.org/site/cog_archives/booklets/What%20Is%20Man.htm

There is much more on the web, you could go to www.biblestudy.org and type in "hell" or "death" or "heaven'" in the search box in the upper right hand corner and get multiple articles about these subjects (and almost any other Biblical topic you wish to understand better).

Answer 2

Yeah I saw that show to. That preacher's mother had recently died. Do you remember him saying that? He also stated that his mother was not a Christian. (I'm sure you know that Christians believe that if you do not accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven but will go to Hell instead) It is obvious that this preacher was refusing to accept this fact. And if you read the beginning of the Holy Bible you will see that we live in a fallen world, that is why there is so much bad stuff in the world. Satan caused this mess and continues to do it till this day. God does not like it. But He will reward those who suffer in Heaven. Try to realize that there is more good in this world than bad. The media for some reason does not show you the good things that are going on in the world, only the bad. For some reason allot of people seem to get off on that. But like I have said before if you fell down on the sidewalk and was badly hurt, people would flock to help you. Sure the World Trade Center was a complete disaster but look at how many people came to try to help other people afterwords; look at the many volunteers at Katerina; the tsunami; etc. Try to look on the bright side, God puts more good in the world than Satan does bad. Proving yet again that He is mightier.

Answer 3

Our concept of hell has evolved throughout church history. Originally it did not play a major role in the belief system until unwilling converts started objecting that nothing would happen if they didn't want to go to heaven. As hell developed, the church invented purgatory as a means of rationalizing what would happen to those that weren't really good or bad.

The whole concept of heaven and hell is rather silly as an all-knowing and powerful deity could certainly come up with a much fairer and direct choice. Consider this if we used the same method of choice in marriage it would go like this:
You find a suitable mate and then mark everyone else off for eventual genocide. You court your "beloved" and hope that they choose to love you back but if they don't you hire a hit man to rub them out.

Answer 4

Children and innocents do not face hell.

Only the guilty have to worry about hell.

Jesus gave a warning to those who abuse His little ones: It would be better for that person that a millstone were hung around his neck and tossed into the deepest sea, then the judgement they'll have to face from GOD!

Now, as to the reality of hell, Daniel described it as "Everlasting shame and contempt." Daniel said "The fire is never quenched, and the worm (ie the people there) never die." Jesus quoted Isaiah, but added to it, "Outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth." Jesus told a parable of a rich man and a begger named Lazarus, showing that there is great torment in hell.

Who goes there? The guilty who refuse to accept God's offer for a pardon.

Are YOU guilty? Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever taken anything that doesn't rightfully belong to you? Have you ever looked at another person with sexual desire? (Jesus said that if you do, then you are already guilty of adultery). Have you ever been angry at another, had murderous thoughts, thought bad about another? Jesus said that in God's eyes, you are already guilty of murder. Have you ever used God's name in vain, as a swear word, or in a manner not worthy of a Holy God? That is called blasphemy.

If in the honesty of your heart, you had to say "yes" to these questions, then by your own confession, you are a lying, thieving, adulturous, murderous blasphemer.

But even if you didn't say "yes" to EVERY question, The Bible indicates that if you have broken PART of the Law, then you are guilty of ALL. And once guilty, time does NOT remove the guilt - only the penalty does that.

Imagine with me, if you will, that you are driving 45 miles an hour in a 15 mile an hour school zone. While you are driving, you approach a signal light which is red. You drive right through causing a 3-car crash in which 2 are injured and 3 are dead. Now, my question for you is, how many red lights do you have to stop at before you are no longer guilty of driving through THIS red light?

You see, once a Law is broken, you never suddenly become NOT guilty of breaking that Law.

So, do YOU fit the picture? Are YOU guilty of breaking God's Law?

If so, I have some wonderful good news for you.

God came to earth as Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and took the penalty for YOUR sins upon Himself, and paid it in full!

Now, God can offer YOU a pardon, since Jesus was crucified, shed His blood , died, was buried, and rose again the morning of the third day! God so loved the world (that means YOU), that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in, trusts in, clings to, and relies on Him (Jesus), shall NOT perish (spend eternity in hell), but have everlasting life!

The offer is real, the pardon is real, but the offer expires when YOU do.

Right now, Jesus will be your Savior, but if you wait to meet Him AFTER you die, He will be your Judge.

The choice is yours.

Answer 5

in a lot of other religons the christians go to hell. "why do innocent people face "hell" everyday of their lives?" probably because god wants them to... no, but seriously, i think people should start thinking for themself - that is in regards to worldviews. i don't like the idea of someone basically "brainwashing" me as a child to believe a certain way... and now that i'm "on my soapbox", why do we need to believe all this "mumbo jumbo" magic for it to come true, anyway? why can't people just apreciate diversity? it seems to me as though indifference and conceit abounds - perhaps it's genetic or cultural; i just don't understand their egocentric ways of thinking. form an adult belief system. is everything your parents say the truth? hell doesn't stand a chance against "naive idealism".

it's good that you're curious about other spiritual opinions. being openminded is a sign of confidence and adaptability, or at least i think so.

Answer 6

hell is the self doubt and regret we live with when we are unsure about our future.

Don't confuse this kind of hell with people in less than fortunate circumstances or bad times.

Abused children are in horrible circumstances but they can survive and move on and find love and strength. The abusers are the ones living in Hell and they will never be able to get away from it.

Answer 7

Jesus said hell is real, and eternal. It is a place. It is not just a state of mind, or some bad circumstances in this life. It is a place where people go if they reject to their dying breath the belief that Jesus, who is God, died for their sins and rose again.

So whatever "preacher" said what you said, is a liar.

Answer 8

They put into word "Hell" their miseries, troubles, frustrations, failures and deep regrets on something. Biblically, hell will come 1,000 yrs after the 1st resurrection on judgment day. Those unbelievers and the wicked shall rise from the dead with satan and his angels and will be thrown in hell that will burn forever and ever!

Answer 9

the preacher clearly was making up his own stuff. And yes there are abused children I was one of them and I was severly abused but I don't blame God people are responsible for themselves and I certainly believe in hell and being a lot worse than anything I have ever experienced.

Answer 10

Hell is not a state of mind...it's a real place son. I'm sorry to break the news to you that that is false doctrine. no where in the bible does it ever insinuate anything of that nature regarding what that preacher said.