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<blockquote data-quote="hedrick" data-source="post: 60126289" data-attributes="member: 239032"><p>Many Christians feel the same way you do. A lot of Christians are concerned that we're giving the impression that God is immoral. There's a lot of discussion among Christians about the morality of hell. And about non-Christians, it's really pretty common for Christians to believe that non-Christians can meet Christ without realizing it.</p><p></p><p>Many of us also think that whatever hell is, it's something that people choose. It's not a place where guys in red tights with pitchforks attack you because you committed too many sins. It is a place where God is absent. Now not everyone thinks any humans will end up there. But if they do, it's because there are people who have become so hardened against God that they can't accept the thought of being with him. But since God is the source of our humanity, this kind of final rejection of God leaves them less than fully human. Personally, I'm not sure God will really allow this to happen to anyone, but if so, many of the agnostics I know would be happy to learn that there really is a loving and just God in charge, and have been doing their best to follow him even though they aren't sure he's there. I can't see them ending up in a situation like that.</p><p></p><p>In the Bible, judgement is a *good* thing. It's good that God will not allow evil to triumph. We want him to judge evil and stop it. The question is whether he can judge evil without condemning most of humanity. I don't know exactly how, but I think the God I see in Jesus would find a way. However decisions do have consequences. Paul has a vision of last judgement as being a fire, in which everything that is not built on God is burned away. And this applies to Christians. So at the very least, people who reject God and mistreat other people are going to find large parts of their life and of their character that don't survive the judgement.</p><p></p><p>Please be aware that I'm considered a "liberal" Christian. That means that i try to read the Bible in light of current scholarship, and I'm willing to disagree with traditional Christian views. (However I think there's a lot of value in Christian traditions. I operate mostly within the Reformed tradition.) Most Christians in Christian Forums are conservatives. They're committed to Christian traditions such as the traditional picture of hell. So many people here will disagree with some of what I've said. But even many conservatives think there's hope for some non-Christians. and concerns about the ethics of hell are present even among evangelical Christians, even though not all of them are willing to go as far as I do.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="hedrick, post: 60126289, member: 239032"] Many Christians feel the same way you do. A lot of Christians are concerned that we're giving the impression that God is immoral. There's a lot of discussion among Christians about the morality of hell. And about non-Christians, it's really pretty common for Christians to believe that non-Christians can meet Christ without realizing it. Many of us also think that whatever hell is, it's something that people choose. It's not a place where guys in red tights with pitchforks attack you because you committed too many sins. It is a place where God is absent. Now not everyone thinks any humans will end up there. But if they do, it's because there are people who have become so hardened against God that they can't accept the thought of being with him. But since God is the source of our humanity, this kind of final rejection of God leaves them less than fully human. Personally, I'm not sure God will really allow this to happen to anyone, but if so, many of the agnostics I know would be happy to learn that there really is a loving and just God in charge, and have been doing their best to follow him even though they aren't sure he's there. I can't see them ending up in a situation like that. In the Bible, judgement is a *good* thing. It's good that God will not allow evil to triumph. We want him to judge evil and stop it. The question is whether he can judge evil without condemning most of humanity. I don't know exactly how, but I think the God I see in Jesus would find a way. However decisions do have consequences. Paul has a vision of last judgement as being a fire, in which everything that is not built on God is burned away. And this applies to Christians. So at the very least, people who reject God and mistreat other people are going to find large parts of their life and of their character that don't survive the judgement. Please be aware that I'm considered a "liberal" Christian. That means that i try to read the Bible in light of current scholarship, and I'm willing to disagree with traditional Christian views. (However I think there's a lot of value in Christian traditions. I operate mostly within the Reformed tradition.) Most Christians in Christian Forums are conservatives. They're committed to Christian traditions such as the traditional picture of hell. So many people here will disagree with some of what I've said. But even many conservatives think there's hope for some non-Christians. and concerns about the ethics of hell are present even among evangelical Christians, even though not all of them are willing to go as far as I do. [/QUOTE]
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