What do you think about christians using fear?

[selfinflikted]

This is weird. The quote function does not yield what I read in your post that I wanted to respond to. In any event, please don't malign what I have said into pretense for having an answer. I haven't claimed that. I'm just observing a new bit of info, that may or may not be relevant.

I edited my post as you were quoting it, most likely.

Regardless, I don't think what you said is the reason why god didn't reveal himself. But, you knew that already.

 

[dies-l]

How is life / death not speaking of the same thing as heaven / hell, or to be Scriptural about it, resurrection to life vs second death?

Hell if a term that has been loaded with an inaccurate connotation of eternal suffering and torment. The gospel says, believe Jesus and live. But there is a poor substitute that has been offered up that says, believe in Jesus so you don't suffer eternal torment in hell.

 

[Timothew]

How is life / death not speaking of the same thing as heaven / hell, or to be Scriptural about it, resurrection to life vs second death?

Because being resurrected to eternal life is not the same thing as being dead, but alive somehow in heaven.

And being dead is not the same thing as being alive in hell.

 

[MissIndigo]

One day I was at a fair with friends when a group of christians handing out pamphlets asked me if the life I'm leading was worth going to hell for. This was not the first time that I've had scare tactics being used on me in the name of jesus, as a young kid (I was born into a christain home) I was in constant fear of not being a "good christain" ya know, what if jesus came from the sky and left me here? I was terrified and then one day I realized that if hell wasn't in the equation then I wouldn't have been a christian, I didn't love jesus, I didn't even believe in him. Which made me worry more, I wanted to believe so bad but I just couldn't, and I worried a lot about if jesus was real would he understand? Was I a bad person? I was a little kid at that time, I'm a proud atheist now. But the point I'm trying to get at is do you agree with making people afraid of hell? And what do you think about the people that try to be christain but wouldn't believe if they weren't threatened by eternal torture? I would really like to hear opinions.

I wasn't afraid of hell even as a kid. Even when I became atheist, and still not thinking about it now.

Using hellfire is the lousiest way to get Christians into Christianity. Or any other faith in that matter.

Its like using death as a deterrent. It doesn't stop people from smuggling drugs, it doesn't stop people from committing murder. It doesn't solve the problem why people do these things in the first place.

Many murders for example, aren't premeditated. Without having to go into the death penalty debate death as a deterrent isn't very effective.

But the time I spent as a child thinking and searching for God and the person I am today has taught me alot.

Like not expecting people to convince you of faith or the existence of God. Or not putting the onus of religion on the religious - why? Because no one is perfect, and its the laziest way one can reach any kind of deduction, right or wrong, without taking the initiative to be the seeker, not wait for someone to seek you.

I did the same thing you did. Took myself out of Christianity but not to hide from these people or the fear, but to get away from these people who were actually in my way of learning more about God... or as I put it back then, "searching for truth".

I thought the people of that church were hypocritical, judgmental, etc etc, the usual stereotypes people apply to Christians.

I met many more people, Christians, atheists, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, agnostics, free-thinkers, etc etc as I travelled and lived in various countries, not all Western countries btw - and realised people are people, but with a religion. There are good and bad in every 'religion'.

The mistake I made was to decide that Christianity was "bad" because of a strain of Christians I disagreed with, very strongly - the way they behaved, the way they believed, the way they practiced things such as "shunning" when they disagreed with you to pressurise you back into the group without the behaviour they disagreed with.

I personally think people who hold out these pamplets didn't have ill intentions or anything bad, but perhaps are misguided in their thinking or perhaps just not educated in the ways of how people react to things psychologically.

But have you ever thought that some (not all) of these people might be motivated by their sincerity of not wanting to see people be a stranger to Jesus and God, and end up in Hell?
Perhaps to them that is motivation enough to try to give out pamphlets to jolt people to think about their mortality and at least think about God's existence.

I personally disagree of using hellfire to scare monger people into Christianity.

Children, especially, are fragile and very impressionable. Turning a religion into a bogeyman thing isn't the best way to teach children about God.

But dislike of how Christians behave shouldn't be the reason why one shuns God.

I do hope you get past your unpleasant past and realise that many of the Christians you will meet in your life, do have good intentions, even if they don't come out the way it hoped and that you will not let the fact that you are atheist stop your search for God.

 

[LovebirdsFlying]

BLIND POST

As a parent, I would rather have my children love and obey me because they trust me, and because they know I have their best interests at heart. I do not want them to obey me in fear, without love, simply because they've been taught that if they don't jump when I speak, I'll bring out the belt and tear the skin off their hides.

As a child, I obeyed out of fear, not out of love or trust. In our household, discipline wasn't about teaching morality, turning out the competent, well-adjusted adult of tomorrow. It was all demonstrating who was in charge. Punishment was administered at whim. Often it had more to do with Daddy being drunk, or Mama being stressed out over Daddy being drunk, than it had to do with the child actually misbehaving. The belt came out when verbal correction would have done the trick. But with all this chaos going on, nobody had time to actually teach the child. Overpowering her until she was so paralyzed with fear that she sat isolated in her room most of the day, only coming out when called for supper, took less time and effort. "There, you see? We never hear a peep out of her. All that beating taught her to be good!"

Today, on the advice of both my therapist and my pastor, I have nothing to do with my mother. My father is deceased, but he had been out of my life for so long that 20 years passed before anybody found out he was gone.

I trust it isn't difficult to draw the parallel here.

Brings to mind, "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar."

Since I am not good at debate, I will simply state my own interpretation here. I recognize that I am in a debate area, so you're welcome to pick it apart if you wish, but don't be surprised if I don't defend it. I'm not trying to prove anything beyond a shadow of a doubt. I don't even think that's my job.

I believe that there is a hell, but the specifics of it are not known. I am inclined to believe it is something of which "lake of fire" is a symbol, being the worst, most agonizing imagery in the human imagination, but the reality is something we don't have a concept for in this life.

I don't believe God "sends" anybody to hell, whatever or wherever that may be. I believe that anyone who ends up there, does so because they rejected God and chose to go there. After all, anyone who doesn't like Christians or church isn't going to want to spend all of eternity in that kind of environment. God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. You know how parents say, "This hurts me more than it hurts you." Well, with God, it really does. He is not like my parents, stressed out and angry, just waiting for somebody to goof up so He can vent His rage on them with his hell-belt.

 

[sharing101]

As said before, I'd rather live a life believing in God than suffer in hell later on, though fear of God is good.

Pro_16:6 (KJV) By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.
Pro_9:10 (KJV) The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

Psa 14:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

Ask Bro. Eli, and the Bible will answer.

I recommend you watch these videos:
(MULTIPOINTS Bible Exposition: Atheist VS Bro. Eli)

organizingnotesfortheword.weebly.com/atheist-vs-bro-eli-multipoints-bible-exposition-with-english-subtitle.html

Atheist VS Bro. Eli: MULTIPOINTS Bible Exposition (with English subtitle) - Organizing Notes for Word

 

[hosea1316]

:6 (KJV) By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.
Pro_9:10 (KJV) The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

Psa 14:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

Ask Bro. Eli, and the Bible will answer.
://organizingnotesfortheword.weebly.com/atheist-vs-bro-eli-multipoints-bible-exposition-with-english-subtitle.html]Atheist VS Bro. Eli: MULTIPOINTS Bible Exposition (with English subtitle) - Organizing Notes for Word[/url]

I have to disagree with everything you said, and psa 14:1 makes me a little sick. That's just an example of how the bible teaches christians to shun people who have different views, that sounds more corrupt than being an atheist.

 

[freezerman2000]

I have no use for ANYONE who feels that they need to use fear or scare tactics to get someone to believe or think the way they do. It only tells me how weak their position on the subject really is.

 

[technofox]

LOL @ the picture! ^.^

Personally I think the fear tactic is beyond pointless. All it does is make someone more defensive and hate christians more. If someone came up to me and said "Your going to hell hethen!" (assuming I wans't christian) I'd tell them to shove it.

I think this is one of many reasons christans clash with people is because we have alot of bad apples in our religion. Like that West Baptist church who insist in on protesting at various events. I don't "hate" them (because I am not supposed to), but I very much despise their tactics and what they do. Its a terrible way to bring people to God. I can respect a atheist/agnostic who disagrees with me more then I can respect one of those church members who do that.

This ^

Freak you pretty much sumed up everything that I have been saying for a while. The fear of hell is a good motivator, but the showing the love of Christ is works far better. That is how I ended up accepting Christ. All I needed was a little nudge to spark my curiosity and then God took care of the rest. I have been saved for over 5 years and still loving it, even though I am not perfect at it.