Zone1 Unbeliever: You Are Responsible

[XponentialChaos]

Announcing you are going to hell is an announcement you reject goodness, love, and extending a helping hand to anyone.

Is it possible for me to avoid going to Hell without accepting Jesus Christ as my lord and savior?

This is a simple yes or no question. I'm not interested in the preaching.

 

[Meriweather]

Is it possible for me to avoid going to Hell without accepting Jesus Christ as my lord and savior?

Absolutely!

This is a simple yes or no question.

Oops. I mean, Yes.

 

[Meriweather]

I'm not interested in the preaching.

Okay, but you might wish to look at the context of those words.

 

[XponentialChaos]

Absolutely!

Oops. I mean, Yes.

You're telling me I can go to Heaven without accepting Jesus Christ as my lord and savior? Just clarifying yes or no. Not interested in the preaching.

 

[Meriweather]

You're telling me I can go to Heaven without accepting Jesus Christ as my lord and savior? Just clarifying yes or no.

Yes.

 

[XponentialChaos]

Yes.

I think the majority of your fellow Christians are going to disagree with you on that.

 

[Meriweather]

I think the majority of your fellow Christians are going to disagree with you on that.

The majority of my fellow Christians are Catholic, so no. Catholics hold no such belief as that would mean we are more powerful than God, and if we can't convince someone to believe in Christ, God hasn't the power to convince them, either.

Second, it is never a good idea to proof-text--i.e., selecting a single scriptural verse and ignoring all other scripture to build an entire doctrine/denomination around that single sentence.

 

[XponentialChaos]

The majority of my fellow Christians are Catholic, so no. Catholics hold no such belief as that would mean we are more powerful than God, and if we can't convince someone to believe in Christ, God hasn't the power to convince them, either.

Second, it is never a good idea to proof-text--i.e., selecting a single scriptural verse and ignoring all other scripture to build an entire doctrine/denomination around that single sentence.

I disagree. I've been told numerous times by Christians that I can't go to Heaven without accepting Jesus Christ as my lord and savior.

 

[Carl in Michigan]

The winners write the history.

In the end, GOD wins

 

[Meriweather]

I disagree. I've been told numerous times by Christians that I can't go to Heaven without accepting Jesus Christ as my lord and savior.

Does that even make sense to you? (I am surprised it makes sense to so many non-Catholic Christians!)

Remember in Jesus time, the more powerful Temple authorities were advocating tithing and sacrificing to fulfill religious obligations. Jesus pretty much said to ignore all of that and to focus on turning away from sin and obedience to God and love of neighbor. His was the way of truth and life. Don't believe him? Shrug, then that leaves one "condemned" to continue trying to scrape up money for tithing and sacrifices. Over a thousand years later, some decided Jesus meant condemned to Dante's idea of hell.

Jesus noted his yoke was easy, and the burden light.

 

[Bob Blaylock]

I disagree. I've been told numerous times by Christians that I can't go to Heaven without accepting Jesus Christ as my lord and savior.

It seems that different sects have different answers to the problem of the fate of those who never got a chance in this life.

Obviously, a just and loving God is not going to condemn people to Hell who had no choice, no opportunity to avoid it. And the Bible does not contain a satisfactory answer.

My own faith has an answer, based on what we accept as modern-day prophecy; which is that those who did not get the chance to hear and accept the Gospel in this life will be given that chance in the next. Nobody will face their final judgment without having fully had the chance to learn the truth, and to accept or reject it.

 

[Carl in Michigan]

I disagree. I've been told numerous times by Christians that I can't go to Heaven without accepting Jesus Christ as my lord and savior.

This is absolutely true. To deny this truth is to deny Jesus' own words

 

[XponentialChaos]

Does that even make sense to you? (I am surprised it makes sense to so many non-Catholic Christians!)

Doesn't make sense to me. I'm told he works in mysterious ways that are beyond my reasoning.

 

[Bob Blaylock]

I disagree. I've been told numerous times by Christians that I can't go to Heaven without accepting Jesus Christ as my lord and savior.

To amplify a bit on my answer, in my beliefs, everyone will have to accept Jesus Christ in order to go to Heaven. There is no way around that. Everyone will have the chance to accept or reject Him, and their final fate will depend on that choice. But everyone will get that choice, either in this life, or in the next. Those who choose to reject Him will do so knowing the significance of that choice, and what the consequences will be of doing so.

 

[XponentialChaos]

It seems that different sects have different answers to the problem of the fate of those who never got a chance in this life.

What sect is teaching Christians that people can make it to Heaven without accepting Jesus Christ as their lord and savior?

 

[XponentialChaos]

This is absolutely true. To deny this truth is to deny Jesus' own words

To amplify a bit on my answer, in my beliefs, everyone will have to accept Jesus Christ in order to go to Heaven. There is no way around that.

And there you have it.

See? Meriweather

 

[Bob Blaylock]

What sect is teaching Christians that people can make it to Heaven without accepting Jesus Christ as their lord and savior?

I wouldn't know.

Not mine.

 

[XponentialChaos]

I wouldn't know.

Not mine.

I don’t know either. Certainly not a sect I’ve heard of.

 

[Meriweather]

Doesn't make sense to me. I'm told he works in mysterious ways that are beyond my reasoning.

Did you know that in Jesus' time, there was no concept of hell as we came to know it thanks to Dante? Some Jews of the time held no belief in the afterlife. Jesus did. And those who did believe, also believed in a time of purification after death for those who had been less than they should have been. Undoubtedly, this was unpleasant. Jesus often compared it to Gehenna (the city dump) where the fire never went out and the trash was burned away. It was compared to gold being purified in fire.

Yes, Jesus also mentioned the reality that a soul that was truly evil was likely to be destroyed by God. Here we come back to the light vs darkness analogy. Just as darkness cannot exist where there is light, evil cannot exist where there is true goodness. Likewise, goodness does not destroy what is good any more than sunlight destroys light from a bulb or candle.

Keep in mind, we do have the ability to reason up to a certain point. God is pure love and evil cannot exist where there is love. To be fully with God, any evil must be burned away. The good remains. What remains a mystery is, "What will that be like?"

 

[XponentialChaos]

Did you know that in Jesus' time, there was no concept of hell as we came to know it thanks to Dante? Some Jews of the time held no belief in the afterlife. Jesus did. And those who did believe, also believed in a time of purification after death for those who had been less than they should have been. Undoubtedly, this was unpleasant. Jesus often compared it to Gehenna (the city dump) where the fire never went out and the trash was burned away. It was compared to gold being purified in fire.

Yes, Jesus also mentioned the reality that a soul that was truly evil was likely to be destroyed by God. Here we come back to the light vs darkness analogy. Just as darkness cannot exist where there is light, evil cannot exist where there is true goodness. Likewise, goodness does not destroy what is good any more than sunlight destroys light from a bulb or candle.

Keep in mind, we do have the ability to reason up to a certain point. God is pure love and evil cannot exist where there is love. To be fully with God, any evil must be burned away. The good remains. What remains a mystery is, "What will that be like?"

Your fellow Christians disagree with you on the question I asked.