Fundies: can you please stop telling people they are going to hell?

Question

If there's anything that irks me in Yahoo besides slander against Catholicism, its people who tell other people they are going to hell. That really torques me.

Only God decides who is going to hell. I hear people saying Muslims are going to hell, Catholics too, the pope is burning in hell, etc. etc.
I'm a tradiotional Catholic, and Bible believing to the core, but I can NEVER bluntly tell someone they are going to hell, and neither can you.

SCENARIO: A Muslim child lives in a desert village, never hears about Christ, and dies at age 9. He was always a good boy. Is he going to hell? OF COURSE NOT! If you think he is then you are insane. If he goes to heaven, will it be because of the sacrifice of Christ? Yes, I believe it will be. But, God can apply the salvation Christ won for us to whomever He chooses.

You may want to read this quote from the Catechism:
http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect2chpt3art9p3.htm#839

Comments anyone? Does anyone feel like I do?

Answer 1

I agree with you and when it is blasted out like that, it sounds vulgar. I had a hard time once, however, when someone asked if they don't repent, will they go to hell? I had to say the Bible says; God says. Like you said, I'm not saying it; God is. How do you handle that? I have to believe children, before the age of 'knowing' do go to Heaven. The only verse I could think of was when Jesus said, "Become as little children" when discussing how to enter into Heaven. (Matt 18:3)
And according to John 5:22, KJV; "For the Father judgeth NO man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son."

Answer 2

Hi Crusader, Well you have a good handle on the hell issue which I find surprising as it was the Catholic Church that invented it during the dark ages when they were selling indulgences so that one could be forgiven of any sin even before they committed it.
However, you correctly say that no-one will enter the kingdom of heaven except through Jesus'sacrifice.
Jesus warned that there would be many who had cried "Lord, Lord" who would not enter the Kingdom. Matt.7:21,22.
Another thing that I can't understand with the "fundies" as you call them, is that they worship on the 1st day of the week as does the Catholic Church, yet claim to be Bible following Christians, where the day of worship is clearly stated as being the 7th day in Genesis 2:1 and reafirmed in the 10 Commandments Ex.20:8-11. Whereas the Catholic Church claims to have changed the day because of "ecclesiastical authority". I Believe that that statement is found in Gheerman's Catechism and has also been supported by articles in the Catholic Mirror during the late 19th Century.
God Bless you, I look forward to meeting you in the Kingdom,
How dare I say that? Simply because you and I, although poles apart theologically, have accepted Jesus as our only means of entry through His sacrifice. That should at least be common ground for ALL Christians of whatever persuasion.
H'chat.

Answer 3

Oh, haven't you noticed? It's open season on Mormons, and Jews, and Muslims, and Atheists on here? I think they are all cowards though, because they put their cute little comments on here, but never offer up own Church as a shining example of what is true and right with the world!
From now on I say, if you can't back up a slam with your own Church? You don't have the right to open your big mouth!

As for the nine year old, no! He is not going to hell, any more than anyone else who has never heard the word!

Answer 4

Being a deist, why might you move to church in any case? Doesn't a deist comfortably feel that god created earth, set in movement, and from that factor on, might no longer care much less. No heaven, no hell. Just perception that anyone created the universe?.... What well might church have performed... allow it move... your husband will finally tire of the whole factor...

Answer 5

Bravo!
The fact that there are exceptions to the "Rules" as interpreted by some indicates that God is in fact more than we expect. That God is in fact universal and part of everyone, otherwise your example wouldn't work, in fact David himself would be in hell.
When Jesus said that "God is love" many think of it as being an analogy while believing in a literal 7 day creation. It's all backward the creation is a morality story and God is really and quite literally Love. The only way to know him is to love as he does and the only way to do that is to be forgiving and non judgmental. God is SO powerful that his love gets to everyone and the sacrifice of Christ is sufficient for everyone. So strong is the Father who is love that he lives in ALL people that love no mater what they call God and even if they don't believe in God. How dare we judge what God has sanctified with his own blood?

If you don't believe me then consider what Christ says and also remember that telling people they are hell bound is a judgment.

John 12:47
And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh-1JVctSOY
♥Agape♥
♥Blessed Be♥
♥=∞

Answer 6

As an Atheist, I'd just as soon Christians would continue to tell everyone else that they're going to Hell. That way, their religion will be seen as a malicious fraud and it will die out. Hell, for them, is a real place, and even though I don't believe it exists, it does for them. Given enough time, they'll either have to modify what Hell represents, or their beliefs will die within a generation or two.

Answer 7

I feel like you do (even though I am not Christian) that an innocent child will not be sentenced to eternal punishment just because he is not of a particular religion.

However, that being said, MOST Fundamentalists will not necessarily agree that you are Christian to begin with and there goes your ground for asking many of them for reasonable behavior.

Answer 8

If Jesus truly paid our "debt" of sin to God, then whether we believe it or not ought to be immaterial. Say that you owed the bank $100,000 and I went down and paid it for you. And suppose you didn't believe that I actually did it. Is the bank still going to hound you for that money, simply because YOU don't think it was paid? Of COURSE NOT! - at least, not if it's an HONEST bank! What would matter to the bank is that I did indeed pay the debt, not whether you thought I did! Now, I could set a condition that I would only pay the bank if you acknowledged that I was doing so, but in such a case I'd have NOT YET paid your bill; once I actually PAID it, it'd be too late for me to set conditions...

Answer 9

Fundamentalists get a bit passionate about the Word so forgive us. When they tell people 'they are going to hell' you argue that only God decides..well they are TELLING you what God DECIDED. They are merely repeating what the word of God says. Its not the muslim child..(i.e. the possible exceptions) that matters...its the people who are blatantly dwelling in the flesh, fulfilling the lust thereof that these fundies are trying vehemently (albeit not tactfully) to convince to repent. The fact that anyone is a 'good boy' is not the point because its the acceptance of salvation that determines where you spend eternity, as we both agree. Will God condemn someone who never heard the Word? No...but the fundies are not directing their message to that child. They are preaching to those who have heard and turn a deaf ear to truth or those that rebuke the Word with blasphemy.

Answer 10

Upon death, it may be the fundies who get the big surprise! "Tho shall not judge.....Let he who is without sin cast the first stone"