Our server costs ~$56 per month to run. Please consider donating or becoming a Patron to help keep the site running. Help us gain new members by following us on Twitter and liking our page on Facebook!
RE: Some questions about heaven and hell (for any believer)
June 16, 2015 at 7:05 am
(June 15, 2015 at 2:30 pm)Wyrd of Gawd Wrote:
(June 8, 2015 at 4:37 pm)Tonus Wrote: I'll do my best to answer these as I would when I was a JW.
JWs believe that hell is just the grave, and not a place of torment. They believe that when we die we cease to exist. Thus this question doesn't apply.
God recognizes our fallen condition and takes this into account when judging us worthy of salvation or not. Sincerity (after works of faith) is of utmost import to him.
The Bible describes only one sin that cannot be forgiven, which is blaspheming against the holy spirit. Once you do that, you might as well party like it's 1999, because your ticket to paradise has been officially canceled.
See above regarding both questions.
Assuming Hitler was sincere, his works were immoral and unChristian in the extreme. I would expect that he has no future at all.[hide]
Not burning in hell, see above. God punishes those who choose not to serve him, not with hell, but with the loss of eternal paradise.
Only god can determine how sincere a person's conversion is. If the intent is to seek a loophole, he'll know. My guess? No paradise for you!
No. Faith without works is dead. You prove the sincerity of your belief by the way you behave.
Nope. See above.
Out of the two, good deeds. Righteous action always trumps prayer/ceremony in his eyes.
In the case of such things, only the action matters. "Being" gay is not a sin, but gay sex is.
(Note: this is in direct contradiction of Jesus words in his Sermon on the Mount, in which lusting after a woman was as bad as adultery. I never heard the JW leadership clarify this to mean that impure thoughts were sufficient to damn a person.)
There are situations where god may allow this, though only god knows his own mind. For example, lying to save a person from an unjust end could be justified in god's eyes. Or taking violent action to subdue a person who is about to hurt innocents, though that can get pretty murky.
Yes. God knows our hearts, our intentions and our sincerity in anything we do.
I think the only answer to this is that god expects us to do all we can to reach paradise. Quibbling over which would be more efficient might blind us from simply doing our best. As above, god knows if you're making a good-faith effort or if you think you can "solve" salvation through weighted ratios.
God values your relationship with him above any other. If you have to choose between him and family and you choose family, he will similarly reject you.
Not really sure. Children may be resurrected in the paradise and given the option to know god and serve him or reject him. Fetuses... no clue honestly.
Those who did not have the opportunity to learn the truth and make an informed decision are resurrected in paradise and given the same option as children.
Yes.
That's what he wants you to think. But all of his paths lead to sorrow and ruin.
God cannot "get bored." He's so interesting that he even impresses himself. ALL OF THE DAMNED TIME.
God uses the holy spirit to communicate with his 'faithful and discreet slave' (the JW leadership) and they pass this wisdom onto the world. Except when they don't, because they're fallible men. But you can trust what they tell you. Most of the time. But they really are god's conduit on earth. Dammit, stop rolling your eyes!
You don't try to earn god's grace, you simply are expressing your gratitude that he makes it available to all.
++++++
When Jesus returns he's going to destroy the Earth and kill all life and throw countless billions of people into the lake of fire. Based on that Hitler comes off a billion times better than Jesus.
JW's don't believe the earth will be destroyed. And they only believe that evil ones will be cut off. There won't be a distinction based purely on race. I would say that just that one difference makes Hitler the worse person still