Hell and Judgement in Christianity (LJ Idol, Home Edition)
This LiveJournal entry is going to be very critical of the Christian religion. I am going to play skeptic and Devil's Advocate here. If you are offended by anyone questioning your religion, do not read this please read because maybe you'll see things in a new way. Proceed with this entry with an open mind.
rep·ro·bate: n. - 1. A morally unprincipled person. 2. One who is predestined to damnation. adj. - 1. Morally unprincipled; shameless. 2. Rejected by God and without hope of salvation.
Wikipedia's version.
So in other words, to be reprobate is to reject God and to be destined for Hell.
I was born into a Christian family. I went to Sunday school every week, and to a traditional Presbyterian church. One of the things I loved the most about the Bible was it's sense of doing the right thing... especially those who healed the sick, helped the weak, and did things to help others and be a kind and loving person. Like Jesus and how he fed the starving and healed the sick.
It was during my teens that I started to slowly wonder about my religion. I didn't go to church as much, and it seemed my religion condemed everything I did: my sexual exploration, my like of contemporary music, my interest in action movies and violent video games. I started to think for myself and question my beliefs.
One event that made me question was when a teen posted online that her beloved and kind grandmother had died. Another teen asked her if her grandmother had accepted Jesus. The first one said she didn't think so. The second one then said "Sorry but your grandmother is in hell." Now, I don't think I need to explain my wish to slap the second teen into a wall for telling a mourning grandaughter that her grandma is smouldering in the underworld. But it made me think of the concept of Hell as punishment.
Let me explain the concept of Christianity. The religion of Christianity is the belief that there is one true God, the Bible is a book of His teachings, He sent His only son to teach humans how to live properly and then die on a cross for our sins (still trying to figure out the metaphysics of that one!), and all who accept Jesus go to eternal paradise, and all who do not burn in hell.
All... ALL who do not accept Jesus as their savior burn in Hell. Christianity comprises about 1/4th of the human population, if that. That means that everyone else burns in Hell for the sole sin of not hearing about Jesus. Sucks to be them, eh? That includes Ghandi, btw, who was a man of peace and love and yet, for the sole error of not being in the special club of Christianity is now in Hell. Does anyone else think that if it's so important for one to believe in Jesus to get into Heaven, that God would not rely on a book to tell people, but a giant face would appear in the skies and say "Believe in me or you'll burn in hell!"?
Let's look at the concept of this "Hell". Hell is mentioned quite a few times in the Bible, mostly in Revelations Chap. 20, as a place of eternal torment, a lake of fire, a place of fire and brimstone, pain and suffering, gnashing teeth. First off you have the word ETERNAL, which means forever. Infinity. Never ending. No human can imagine the concept of living forever. And you'll be in that lake of fire for infinity.
God is described as a just and loving God. He loves us, he IS love, and he wants the best for us. He loves us so much that if we don't believe in him he tortures us for all eternity. Wait a sec? Does anyone else see the contradiction in this? He loves us yet he tortures us if we do the horrible sin of not believing in him.
The retort I get from most Christians is that God is Just, so he must punish us for our sins. Yet, what sin has any man commited that warrants that eternal torture? (From now on I will call Hell eternal torture because that's what it is, torture.) I can't imagine anything, not even Hitler's exectuion of the Jews, to warrant such a punishment. We're being punished for being imperfect? For being flawed, for being human? But God made us this way! But then someone will say that Adam and Eve made us this way, by eating from the tree of Knowledge, and that Hell is our torture for that original sin. But of course I should be punished for the mistake of my ancient ancestor. That of course requires believing in Creationism and the existance of a first man and woman. Others would say that this is punishment for wilful rejection of God. I guess that discounts anyone who hasn't heard of God, but they still go to Hell because the only way to Paradise is through acceptance of Jesus. Still sucks to be the 3/4ths of unsaved humanity. I still don't see how rejection of God warrants such eternal torture.
So, we have a loving and just god, that because of his love for us, and because he's just, sends us to eternal torture for A) being sinful and imperfect, AKA being human; B) original sin which is none of our fault; C) willfully rejecting or not believing in God; or D) not accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior and giving your sins to him. I like those last two, you have to bow to God/Jesus as if bowing to a dictator or theocratic ruler in order to get to Heaven, AKA sucking up to the man in charge. Like kissing up to a boss for a raise or promotion. Does anyone HONESTLY believe that anyone DESERVES eternal torture for any of these trangresses? Eternal torture which is worse than any punishment one human has ever done to another? How can God be loving, and Just, when the punishment does not fit the crime? Some say that he does not chose Hell, it is us that chooses hell, and He did not create hell or cannot prevent us from going, or He must punish us or he would not be Just (so much for forgiveness). God created everything, the entire universe, which would include heaven and hell, and nothing in this universe happens without Him letting it happen, which means He would have the ability to send us there or prevent us from going. To say otherwise would to deny that God created everything, and to deny that nothing happens unless He lets it happen.
It is because of this and other reasons that my faith has dwindled and my misanthropy has grown. I believed in a faith of helping those who needed help, I believed in doing the right thing, I believed in being a good person. Not of judging, or thinking one better than others, or thinking everyone's beneath me and going to hell for worshipping the wrong god. But as my old faith centers around beliving in a dead and ressurected god in order to escape eternal toture, I wonder if I can follow such a religion anymore.
(I'm sorry for the entry being so long, I felt I had to get my point across and properly counter-argue any opposing points like a good logical essay should.)
rep·ro·bate: n. - 1. A morally unprincipled person. 2. One who is predestined to damnation. adj. - 1. Morally unprincipled; shameless. 2. Rejected by God and without hope of salvation.
Wikipedia's version.
So in other words, to be reprobate is to reject God and to be destined for Hell.
I was born into a Christian family. I went to Sunday school every week, and to a traditional Presbyterian church. One of the things I loved the most about the Bible was it's sense of doing the right thing... especially those who healed the sick, helped the weak, and did things to help others and be a kind and loving person. Like Jesus and how he fed the starving and healed the sick.
It was during my teens that I started to slowly wonder about my religion. I didn't go to church as much, and it seemed my religion condemed everything I did: my sexual exploration, my like of contemporary music, my interest in action movies and violent video games. I started to think for myself and question my beliefs.
One event that made me question was when a teen posted online that her beloved and kind grandmother had died. Another teen asked her if her grandmother had accepted Jesus. The first one said she didn't think so. The second one then said "Sorry but your grandmother is in hell." Now, I don't think I need to explain my wish to slap the second teen into a wall for telling a mourning grandaughter that her grandma is smouldering in the underworld. But it made me think of the concept of Hell as punishment.
Let me explain the concept of Christianity. The religion of Christianity is the belief that there is one true God, the Bible is a book of His teachings, He sent His only son to teach humans how to live properly and then die on a cross for our sins (still trying to figure out the metaphysics of that one!), and all who accept Jesus go to eternal paradise, and all who do not burn in hell.
All... ALL who do not accept Jesus as their savior burn in Hell. Christianity comprises about 1/4th of the human population, if that. That means that everyone else burns in Hell for the sole sin of not hearing about Jesus. Sucks to be them, eh? That includes Ghandi, btw, who was a man of peace and love and yet, for the sole error of not being in the special club of Christianity is now in Hell. Does anyone else think that if it's so important for one to believe in Jesus to get into Heaven, that God would not rely on a book to tell people, but a giant face would appear in the skies and say "Believe in me or you'll burn in hell!"?
Let's look at the concept of this "Hell". Hell is mentioned quite a few times in the Bible, mostly in Revelations Chap. 20, as a place of eternal torment, a lake of fire, a place of fire and brimstone, pain and suffering, gnashing teeth. First off you have the word ETERNAL, which means forever. Infinity. Never ending. No human can imagine the concept of living forever. And you'll be in that lake of fire for infinity.
God is described as a just and loving God. He loves us, he IS love, and he wants the best for us. He loves us so much that if we don't believe in him he tortures us for all eternity. Wait a sec? Does anyone else see the contradiction in this? He loves us yet he tortures us if we do the horrible sin of not believing in him.
The retort I get from most Christians is that God is Just, so he must punish us for our sins. Yet, what sin has any man commited that warrants that eternal torture? (From now on I will call Hell eternal torture because that's what it is, torture.) I can't imagine anything, not even Hitler's exectuion of the Jews, to warrant such a punishment. We're being punished for being imperfect? For being flawed, for being human? But God made us this way! But then someone will say that Adam and Eve made us this way, by eating from the tree of Knowledge, and that Hell is our torture for that original sin. But of course I should be punished for the mistake of my ancient ancestor. That of course requires believing in Creationism and the existance of a first man and woman. Others would say that this is punishment for wilful rejection of God. I guess that discounts anyone who hasn't heard of God, but they still go to Hell because the only way to Paradise is through acceptance of Jesus. Still sucks to be the 3/4ths of unsaved humanity. I still don't see how rejection of God warrants such eternal torture.
So, we have a loving and just god, that because of his love for us, and because he's just, sends us to eternal torture for A) being sinful and imperfect, AKA being human; B) original sin which is none of our fault; C) willfully rejecting or not believing in God; or D) not accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior and giving your sins to him. I like those last two, you have to bow to God/Jesus as if bowing to a dictator or theocratic ruler in order to get to Heaven, AKA sucking up to the man in charge. Like kissing up to a boss for a raise or promotion. Does anyone HONESTLY believe that anyone DESERVES eternal torture for any of these trangresses? Eternal torture which is worse than any punishment one human has ever done to another? How can God be loving, and Just, when the punishment does not fit the crime? Some say that he does not chose Hell, it is us that chooses hell, and He did not create hell or cannot prevent us from going, or He must punish us or he would not be Just (so much for forgiveness). God created everything, the entire universe, which would include heaven and hell, and nothing in this universe happens without Him letting it happen, which means He would have the ability to send us there or prevent us from going. To say otherwise would to deny that God created everything, and to deny that nothing happens unless He lets it happen.
It is because of this and other reasons that my faith has dwindled and my misanthropy has grown. I believed in a faith of helping those who needed help, I believed in doing the right thing, I believed in being a good person. Not of judging, or thinking one better than others, or thinking everyone's beneath me and going to hell for worshipping the wrong god. But as my old faith centers around beliving in a dead and ressurected god in order to escape eternal toture, I wonder if I can follow such a religion anymore.
(I'm sorry for the entry being so long, I felt I had to get my point across and properly counter-argue any opposing points like a good logical essay should.)