Do Christians really believe most of us are going to hell?
July 3, 2014 at 12:51 pm
(This post was last modified: July 3, 2014 at 1:36 pm by Bibliofagus.)
(July 1, 2014 at 7:46 pm)Lek Wrote: I've been researching this for awhile and lean one direction, but I'm not totally sure because there's evidence in the bible for both views. These views have been shared by christians down through the centuries. One possibility is that people who die as unbelievers will go to hell for an appropriate time and will then be annihilated. Another view, which I lean to more, is that those people will go to hell for a time and will eventually come to faith in Christ and will spend eternity with God. The bible states that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world. If most people don't end up being saved, that seems like wasted atonement to me. Although God can be loving by ending our misery, I think that universal reconciliation points to a loving God and it gives a correctional purpose to hell. I don't know if the majority of people will go to to hell or not, but it appears that way today. I just can't get into peoples heart's and minds. I can't know the nature of their relationship with God.
Allow me to help you out here: would Anne Frank, who worshipped your yahweh all her life, and whom was brutally murdered by christians, and who never accepted your jesus, be in hell right now?
Was she ever there? And if she was: Would the devils torturing her tell her to accept your jesus? Or does she just have to guess? I mean really?
And what about people who never heard about your jesus? Or even gods at all? Do they burn and get the story of your jesus recited to them at the same time?
Also: I know a woman who has absolutely no relationship with your god, who spends all her time helping others. She's not rich, it really costs her her own time and effort. Furthermore she actively hates the - idea - of gods. She would kick him out the front door. Is she going to hell?
And lastly: you are correct that we do not know the nature of - lets say - hitlers relationship with god. So. What if he genuinely repented in the end? Accepted your jesus, fullheartedly, and maybe he even repented so hard he even took his own life. Would any of the above help him? Hell... Is there a scenario possible where Anne Frank is in hell while hitler isn't?
What if Hitler believed he was doing your jesus' work all along? This is much less unlikely than it may sound. The idea that jews were responsible for jesus' death was widely preached at the time (Deicide). Also popular was (and is) the belief that chrisitians took the place of the jews as gods chosen people. Which, in this discourse of course, was the jews own fault. Many of the people who actually met your jesus (if he ever existed) or heard about him during his (supposed) lifetime didn't accept him as messiah, let alone as yahweh playing scapegoat. They - rejected - him and many christians through the ages resented them for that.