So...I'm basically terrified.

none the wiser · Oct 27, 2006

I'm really scared.

I can't believe in Christianity. Not now...unbelievers burning in eternal torment for not believing isn't something I want to endorse.

But what if that's right? I mean the world necessarily what I want it to be just because I want it to be, and I can't disprove the Bible (not totally anyway) in the same way it can't be proven. I don't want to believe in the Christian God. I don't want to worship him.

But what if I'm wrong?

I feel like I'm playing russian roulette with my soul. I mean, Christianity and Islam are the only two religions (to my knowledge) that send unbelievers to hell. So what if Christianity is wrong anyway, and islam is right?

I really don't know what to do, or how to quiet this fear. When I was sure, before I started questioning anything, I wasn't scared of dying. And now I am. Should I try to be Christian just because I don't wanna burn? Because I've read the Bible, and I don't love the God portrayed in that book. At all.

BelindaP · Oct 27, 2006

It is the fear of hell that motivates a good many people to become Christians. However, it is the blessings of a loving God that keep people as Christians.

There is a widely divergent view of hell among Christians. I share the views of the Adventists on it. People do burn in hell until they have paid for their sins. Their existence is then extinguished. Thus, some, like Hitler, would burn for much longer than others. Only the devil and the angels that followed him would burn forever.

Islam does send people to hell, but they only burn until their sins are paid for. Then they go to heaven. And if somebody in heaven offends God, then they can be sent to hell for a while. It's an interesting view.

FallingWaters · Oct 27, 2006

God is a loving Father who has compassion on His children, first and foremost. But if you have broken His commandments, He will punish you for it. Unless you believe Him when He says He sent His Son to pay for your sins. If you do, then receive the free gift of eternal life, by faith.

If we say we have no sin, the truth is not in us, and we deceive ourselves. [1 John chap. 1]

tanya88 · Oct 27, 2006

Christianity is the only religion where you don't have to work your way to haven. To me Christianity is not a religion is a faith, a relationship. In Christianity you get saved by faith. All the other religions you have to work your way into heaven, you have to be good. There are no perfect people. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God... Rom 3:23 In order to get to heaven you have to be perfect. Thats why Jesus came to this earth and paid for our sins. He being perfect paid for our sins. It like in a court. If you own a debt you cant pay either someone has to pay for you or you go to jail. We all understand that and we agree that that is justice. God is a perfect God. He is a loving, just God who paid the debt for us. He is a loving God thats why he gave His son to die for us. That is the Good News. I can't stop praising God, I love Him soooooo much. My life is so awesome because of HIM!!!!! With Jesus there is no guilt in life and no fear in death!!! Don't be afraid...just ask God to reveal Himself to you.

Breaking Babylon · Oct 28, 2006

Study metanoia, discernment, and Paul's Epistles to the Corinthians, specifically 1 Corinthians 2:1-16. That would be a good start to alleviating your fears.

There is no simple, fast solution that's going to be profitable to you.

AllTalkNoAction · Oct 28, 2006

The judgement against sin is eternal, it will not change, people that don't choose God's way cannot get into the Paradise Club, but that's reasonable, is freely offering all good things to those that want Him above all, and he won't force it on those that don't.

The bible says Sodom & Gomorrah are an example, they were destroyed, not eternally tormented.

Think about it, the majority of souls that God created writhing in torment for ever & ever - and God fore-knows what's gonna happen . . .the God I know doesn't pre-plan that kind of failure. The whole idea was popularised by the catholic church in the middle ages to scare people into paying them "indulgencies" which they literally "raked in".

Bible also says that it's the goodness of God that leads to repentance. The Law, which is "the ministry of condemnation" made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better way. God wants sons & daughters, a happy family, and that's what he's getting through people receiving His Spirit, just like all the disciples did (Acts 2v4, 33, 39; 10v44-48) .. . have you received this "none the wiser" ??

When you do, you really taste the love of God personally (Romans 5v5)

FallingWaters · Oct 28, 2006

tanya88 said:
Christianity is the only religion where you don't have to work your way to haven. To me Christianity is not a religion is a faith, a relationship. In Christianity you get saved by faith. All the other religions you have to work your way into heaven, you have to be good. There are no perfect people. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God... Rom 3:23 In order to get to heaven you have to be perfect. Thats why Jesus came to this earth and paid for our sins. He being perfect paid for our sins. It like in a court. If you own a debt you cant pay either someone has to pay for you or you go to jail. We all understand that and we agree that that is justice. God is a perfect God. He is a loving, just God who paid the debt for us. He is a loving God thats why he gave His son to die for us. That is the Good News. I can't stop praising God, I love Him soooooo much. My life is so awesome because of HIM!!!!! With Jesus there is no guilt in life and no fear in death!!! Don't be afraid...just ask God to reveal Himself to you.

Excellent post, and quite true.

rocklife · Oct 28, 2006

AllTalkNoAction said:
The judgement against sin is eternal, it will not change, people that don't choose God's way cannot get into the Paradise Club, but that's reasonable, is freely offering all good things to those that want Him above all, and he won't force it on those that don't.

The bible says Sodom & Gomorrah are an example, they were destroyed, not eternally tormented.

I second AllTalkNoAction. Sin brings death, not eternal torture. I believe many churchpeople don't really understand and haven't studied what the Bible really means by the fires and death and punishment for sins, which isn't all just one thing, God is deep and multi-layered.

God is good, not torture-loving. It is too bad churchleaders haven't done a good job learning even basic things. Keep seeking the Truth, and you will find it eventually, keep looking,

there is no forgiveness of sins and the answer to death outside of Jesus Christ though, keep looking for Truth for yourself,

God bless

Sojourner<>< · Oct 28, 2006

none the wiser said:
I'm really scared.

I can't believe in Christianity. Not now...unbelievers burning in eternal torment for not believing isn't something I want to endorse.

But what if that's right? I mean the world necessarily what I want it to be just because I want it to be, and I can't disprove the Bible (not totally anyway) in the same way it can't be proven. I don't want to believe in the Christian God. I don't want to worship him.

But what if I'm wrong?

I feel like I'm playing russian roulette with my soul. I mean, Christianity and Islam are the only two religions (to my knowledge) that send unbelievers to hell. So what if Christianity is wrong anyway, and islam is right?

I really don't know what to do, or how to quiet this fear. When I was sure, before I started questioning anything, I wasn't scared of dying. And now I am. Should I try to be Christian just because I don't wanna burn? Because I've read the Bible, and I don't love the God portrayed in that book. At all.

I think you're focusing too much on one aspect of the whole picture. Christianity teaches that God did not desire for humanity to go through all of the gnarly stuff. Christ even died to save us from it. There are also alot of teachings on the goodness of God's character. So, before you make a decision based on one side of the coin it would be smart to take a look at the other side.

Sojourner<>< · Oct 28, 2006

By the way, there are alot of believers out there who seem to think that God is really harsh and hurts people and then expects them to love Him in return. This is not true at all!It might not be their fault. May be they were hit alot when they were children or something. Anyways, just be careful about who you get your info from.

InnocentOdion · Dec 9, 2006

I don't believe in an eternal torment per se. I believe in a kind of punishment-- Purgatory-like, but you will eventually know Christ if you choose to. Otherwise you will stay in a "Hell" where you feel really down, where you can see God, and you'll stay there until you're willing to repent of your wrongdoings in life.

Since some people are so proud, though, not everyone will choose to even though they see God. Someone said that they would rather burn in Hell and choose the wrong religion than come to Christianity- do you think those kind of people will choose to go to God?

Others never know Christ because they haven't heard of him. God knows their heart, and if they are sincere then why would God not allow them to come to him?

Yeah, the God of the OT does seem to be a very vengeful God. I was struggling with this myself. But then I read somewhere, but I don't have the sources or direct quote, but it was something like this:

Back then God HAD to be a vengeful God, as people needed to have a mighty, vengeful God who would keep them in line. If he had been as loving as in the New Testament then people would not have taken him seriously and gone to worship false idols.

Not sure whether or not you believe it, but this does seem like a pretty good explanation.

But remember - God does love us. He sent his own son to die for our sins so we could be in Heaven with him. A hateful God wouldn't do that if he didn't love us deep down. It's just when the time is right. When humanity was becoming spiritually strong enough to love God and not to decide they weren't going to worship false idols and continually do wrong to him, and then go back to him before they die because they knew they would get away with it.

Christianity is about love. God loved the world to allow Christ to die for us. Christ loved us to allow us to get to God through him. Christ taught us to love our neighbours and to forgive those who do us wrong. He taught us to put the sword away so we wouldn't kill others or die by it.

Matthew 26:52. "Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.

I hope this helps. I can't wait to hear from you.

God bless,
IO

iwillnotstumble · Dec 13, 2006

tanya88 said:
Christianity is the only religion where you don't have to work your way to haven. To me Christianity is not a religion is a faith, a relationship. In Christianity you get saved by faith. All the other religions you have to work your way into heaven, you have to be good. There are no perfect people. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God... Rom 3:23 In order to get to heaven you have to be perfect. Thats why Jesus came to this earth and paid for our sins. He being perfect paid for our sins. It like in a court. If you own a debt you cant pay either someone has to pay for you or you go to jail. We all understand that and we agree that that is justice. God is a perfect God. He is a loving, just God who paid the debt for us. He is a loving God thats why he gave His son to die for us. That is the Good News. I can't stop praising God, I love Him soooooo much. My life is so awesome because of HIM!!!!! With Jesus there is no guilt in life and no fear in death!!! Don't be afraid...just ask God to reveal Himself to you.

None the wiser what Tanya88 wrote is truth that all the other religions you have to work for salvation that the other religions require the worshippers sacrifice for there God. In Christianity all you need to do is believe, our creator sacrificed his life for us:

For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved Romans 10:10

Take a look at the thief on the cross next to Jesus:

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."
Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." Luke 23:39-43

The thief on the cross didn't have a lifetime of good deeds to perform he put his faith in the one who who died for him. And because of his faith, his belief in the messiah, he given entrance into the kingdom. None the wiser we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and as such we are by nature children of wrath. Because God is Holy and Just he has to enact judgment on those who have broken the law (the 10 commandments). If he didn't pass judgment he would be a corrupt judge, but he is not without mercy. In an act to save us he died for us to save us of our sins and that all we have to do is believe. None the wiser we all love you and it is because of this love that we tell you of the gospel to bring you to Christ.

love
john

LavenderLeaves · Dec 13, 2006

if you continue to look at your perspectives that way...then you will never have a chance to understand and know the true and real God that many believers have come to known. a very loving anc compassionate God. Isalm and Christianity may believe that there is a hell.. but unlike Islam, God doesn't want his children to go to hell. No, he doesnt because he loves his children. And right now he actually cant stand to see so many of his children tortured and enduring hardships dealing with injustices in this world.

God doesnt necessarily 'send' people to hell. He sometimes has no choice but to because people choose to go to hell. theres a fine difference.

a person can read the bible but if he or she doesnt known the historical imformation and sociological way of life then to better understand the bible then it can lead to many misconceptions.

Like many things in Isaiah are brutal sounding but its only written that way bceause in Isaiah's time, many people turned corrupted. It goes to ways. I don't think God wanted to make those decrees because people are so stubborn and anal about their lives, he had too for the sake of us. Trying to look at Christianity from an Islamic point of view won;t do you anygood until you spaced yourself from thos perspectives to allow yourself better understanding of 'what, where, when, and why', the bible says what it says.

none the wiser · Dec 14, 2006

Just so yall know I'm not afraid anymore. I'm comfortable and happy with my deconversion Thank you for the responses.

Zeena · Dec 14, 2006

We need a Saviour!
we ALL deserve HELL, but God has provided the JUST propitiation for our sins!!!

1 Corinthians 2:2
For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

Gentle · Dec 15, 2006

If you could read every word on this subject, every debate you would be left with what you have now, your soul. What feels right here man?

iannassah · Dec 17, 2006

Hey there!
What about the God in The Bible do you not like?----this is what The Bible teaches...God created man & woman. He told them not to eat from the tree of "the knowledge of good and evil" or they would die. Adam & Eve ate and spiritually they immediately were separated from God's presence, and then they did die later, physically. They sinned. God loved them, they were precious to HIM! He didn't want them or anyone else to be lost forever to HIM and go to hell. The payment for sin is death (both physical and spiritual separation from God)---physical death meant the shedding of blood, but we are sinners. He cannot accept a sinful offering so HE came to earth to do what we can't and never could do even if we tried---we all fail----HE lived a perfect, sinless, selfless life on this earth so HE could pay the price for everyone's sin!!! And HE did!!! So you have two sides. 1.) Accept that God payed for your sins and live forever in HIS presence (HE is love)--or 2.) Don't accept HIS offer and imagine living in absolute fear....read ! Corintians 13:4-8 imagine your world or the world that you know it without all of those things that make up love and you have not even a glimpse of what hell is like and what HE died to save you from!!!!
He is right here...and HE loves you! If He was really mean I'm sure He would have squashed all of us a long time ago--especially me!!! He has a heart of compassion and forgiveness!!! When you read 1Corinthians 13:4-8 just know that that is what God is!!! If you don't understand pray that He will help you to understand---if you mean it with all of your heart then HE will help you!!!!!!

junkmail · Dec 20, 2006

What I suggest you do is make a prayer directly to God the creator of the Universe. Ask Him to open up your heart and show you the truth. Tell Him you want to fidn the Truth. God Willing he will answer your prayer

heron · Dec 21, 2006

Christianity teaches that God did not desire for humanity to go through all of the gnarly stuff.

God doesn't want his children to go to hell.

Since your decision to deconvert does not mean that you will stop thinking for the rest of your life, or stop exploring spirituality...

Next time you start to wonder about God, ask Him to reveal Himself more to you. Talk to Him about this struggle. If He's the one making the decisions, then He is the one you would want to talk with.

It's like wondering about whether you'll ever get promoted at work. Sometimes all the efforts we make do not show our employers that we are hoping to take on more responsibility. Once we tell them our intents to work within the company, then they try to find openings or training opportunities for us. Otherwise we could go on for years stewing about the boss not noticing us for promotions. Don't be afraid to have lunch with the boss.

Breaking Babylon · Dec 21, 2006

Perhaps you haven't lost faith in God, but in modern Christianity?

So did I.

So...I'm basically terrified.

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