This is our belief and if you obviously don't think it's true, then why should it bother you if it is fictional in your minds?
Let me explain this doctrine to you. We are ALL sinners. We have ALL done things that were bad and we knew they were bad, but we did them anyways over and over again.
The Bible clearly states that no unclean thing can enter the kingdom of Heaven. We deserve Hell, but God so loved the world that he gave his only son so that if we believe in Jesus, our sins might be washed clean. Imagine if a killer got off scott free because he said he was sorry. There would be outrage.
When we say this, we do it out of concern for you. We do not want this to happen to you and we want to give you something to think about.
Let Jesus into your heart. Just try for once. Read the Bible and pray. Give it an honest shot and see what a difference in your life it can make.
I hope you find Jesus and I hope I have given you something to think about.
God bless.
2007-10-22 14:37:24 · 40 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Please see this video:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4136610474021109864&q=rawlings
2007-10-22 14:42:06 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 4⤋
Because the idea of Hell and damnation is ridiculous.
This is our belief and if you obviously don't think it's true, then why should it bother you if it's untrue in your mind.
Let me explain this doctrine to you. There is NO God. There is NO soul and no afterlife to go to whether you've been naughty or nice.
The Bible is just a collection of stories that are not based on fact. Imagine if someone could threaten you with salvation or damnation based on whether or not you believed that Goldilocks actually met three bears. There would be outrage.
When we say this, we do it out of concern for you. We do not want you walking around and making unfounded assertions because that will make you look silly.
Let reason into your mind. Just try it for once. Read Dawkins and think. Give it an honest shot and see what a difference in your life it can make.
I hope you find rational thought and I hope I have given you something to think about.
Laters.
2007-10-22 14:46:47 · answer #2 · answered by Pull My Finger 7 · 6⤊ 2⤋
Hell otherwise Hades or Sheol is just the grave. There is no torment or torture because even Jesus Christ was there for a short time. If the clergy really taught what the Bible actually teaches about the state of death I think people would be more drawn to God.
God is love, mercy and justice. It is not in God's infinite justice to send a person forever in torment. They may face a destruction but that is just death - permanent. The same Adam got.
2007-10-22 14:41:08 · answer #3 · answered by jehovahboffin 1 · 1⤊ 3⤋
It's not very nice to say that we deserve to burn for eternity. And I've read the bible, and prayed too. It didn't make me change my mind about anything. Some atheists were Christian once, didn't you know that? But then we came to our senses.
Oh, and another thing about the going to hell statement; it doesn't show your god in the best light. It's not very kind to build a place of torment for everyone who doesn't accept him, is it? I mean, even if he couldn't have us in his presence (which doesn't make sense, seeing as he can do anything), couldn't he have made hell less... hellish? He loves us, supposedly, so why couldn't he have made hell tolerable for people who have done nothing wrong with their lives, except for choosing to not believe in him? That's what a loving god would do.
2007-10-22 14:42:49 · answer #4 · answered by JavaGirl ~AM~ 4 · 10⤊ 1⤋
Why should it bother us?
As St. Augustine said: "Let the Jews survive, but NOT thrive." Since that time, we've had Crusades, Pogroms, the Inquisition, burning of witches and heretics, and the Holocaust.
I guess that's it in a nutshell. Yes, I guess it bothers us a little. Maybe we should still be terrified!
.
2007-10-22 17:03:37 · answer #5 · answered by Hatikvah 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
What bugs me about Christianity is those who want to restrict the RIGHTS of others simply because they walk a different path. By rights I mean marriage, right NOT to have religion forced down their throat in public places, etc.
Liesel.
2007-10-22 15:48:19 · answer #6 · answered by Liesel 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I've been through Sunday school and church and confirmation as a child, and after experiencing life in the real world, and REALLY opening my eyes, I came to the conclusion that religion is just another power trip that some people use to try and control others.
Condemning non-believers to hell is just another way of attacking someone.
2007-10-22 14:46:42 · answer #7 · answered by freedom_vs_slavery 3 · 7⤊ 1⤋
Maybe is the manner in which it is articulated. Many people see religion as ice cream in which one picks a flavor that they like (or don't pick a flavor at all). Christians see their religion as insulin which needs to be taken because you are dying. You can't take ice cream to cure your illness even if it tastes better than insulin. When Christianity isn't properly explained, it sounds to others that if you don't believe in my flavor of ice cream you are going to hell.
2007-10-22 15:32:24 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
The inherent problem with this question is that it implies you are the judge of someone else's actions. You are not and never will be. You can only judge for yourself in this life what is right and wrong and have absolutely no basis in scripture for casting your judgements on someone else or their behavior or beliefs. If you think this is true, then you are no different than a terrorist.
2007-10-22 14:43:49 · answer #9 · answered by rndyh77 6 · 8⤊ 1⤋
Speak for yourself.
Don't generalize. Not all Christians believe that. You have no right to speak for others. They attack you because your statement is ignorant and wrong.
Only God has the right to decide who goes to heaven, who goes to purgatory, and who goes to hell. I suggest you mind your own business and worry about your own soul being saved.
What Christian religion are you affiliated with anyway?
2007-10-22 15:11:36 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
ok john that is a fair question pleasantly put so let me explain- a lot of atheists think that the reason a lot of christians believe in heavan is that they are really scared of dying and so they invent this place called heaven. lets now say that someone who has been a christian all their life and is now dying is told by a "supposed " christian that they are going to hell because they are not the same branch of christianity- how do you think they would feel (please dont deny this happens ask any jw- it is this attitude that makes us angry in the same way that a devout moslem or jew would be hurt
2007-10-22 14:47:55 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 1⤋