You choose where you want to go. God would never damn anyone to hell.

I'll gladly judge you all the same.

^^yeah but you have to believe to choose where you go. and i dont. so if God is real and ive spent my entire life not believing in Him or Heaven or Hell then i dont have much choice in where im going.

I never used to believe in God and I used to think those who did were wasting their lives pursuing something that an imaginary friend told them to.

I recently went with a friend to a youth christian group ( I'm seventeen but they still let me in as a youth ) and I thought it was brilliant.
I'm not fully converted, I still have my doubts, but that place was so friendly and nice.
I could see why these kids chose that way of life. And the preacher was fantastic. He answered all my questions afterwards- some of which were probably challenging for him- and he didn't care that I wasn't a full believer and he wasn't forcing his beliefs on me. He was just telling me what he believed. None of the kids did either, least of all the friend who took me in the first place.
I go weekly now. Not exactly to praise God, but just to listen to what the preacher says. He takes out bible messages and shows us how they can help us in life.

The Bible itself was written in a different time, so it's rules on homosexuality and womens rights and things are very outdated. The main principles of it, however, are good. If we all lived by the ten commandments the world would be a much better place.

And, what I understand, God loves everyone, no matter what they have done. That is probably one of the hardest things to comprehend in religion- why does God love the pedophile and the murderer?
The journey to heaven is your own choice.

I don't know really. I still have many doubts, but I find comfort at that youth group.

I just don't get the concept of hell, because if God just wants to seperate sinners from him, why not just destroy their souls and make them non-existant instead of making them suffer infinitely?

Though my Christian friend says that it's Satan that makes hell bad, not God, but still it doesn't seem to make a lot of sense.

I'm not worried about dying. Whatever there is, is. I know that, and if God is there and listening he knows that too. I accept what is given and understand that I am limited as a human. It's all I can do.

Like I said, God would never damn anyone to hell. People go to hell because they choose to. I always believed that the whole concept of doing bad things will send you to hell is kinda one of those things that parents tell you to get you to behave. I dunno.

I'm a Baptist.

Does having a model of Buddha in my room contravene the "You shall not make for yourself an idol" part of the Decalogue?

The first time I ever walked into a Baptist church, I gained a new appreciation for Catholics.

People can aviod hell if they want to. Everybody does bad stuff, but they can be forgiven if they want to be.

I'm not worried though anyway. I said the first serious prayer a few nights ago for the first time in 2 years. It went something like:

"I'm just a human, limited in every way. I can't say I believe anything for sure, but that's just part of my human limits and it's beyond my control. So whoever the creator is, I give my thanks for this amazing experience of life, for my consciousness and mind. Let death come whenever it may, I am ready and unafraid."

People say agnostics are pussies for "not believing anything", but I'm the most secure and unafraid agnostic you'll ever know. My friend tells me I need to "accept Jesus". He doesn't get that I accept it already, I just am not arrogant enough to pretend I know everything for sure.

I'm not afraid, I think I'm on way better terms with God than a lot of Christians.

Then I'll go ahead and say you're some guy who's trying to look badass by making a deal over something as insignificant as a text color.

I said a prayer last night... I prayed for the bitchhypocritemod(s)



If it's so insignificant, why bother?

BTW, nice avatar

I take comfort in the fact that you never seem to take anything seriously. I don't know why.



No one here colors they're text. You aren't special for doing differently.

There is actually quite a bit of evidence to back up bible. I don't know it all off the top of my head but I've been through countless religious classes [due to me going to religious schools] and there has been quite an effort on the part of those teachers to present [a neutral stance on] the evidences for and against the bible.




As far as the subject of hell goes, I'll try to sum it up as far as what I've been taught in my college-level theology/doctrine classes:

There is no such thing as cold, dark, or evil. Cold is merely the absence of heat. Dark is the absence of light. Evil is the absence of God.

Hell is pure evil in that it is the absolute absence of God.

Non-believers who choose to have nothing to do with God have their whole lives to change their minds. Once death comes, God finally just let's you have your way and you are given an eternity without his presence- as you sought all your life. Hell is pain and suffering, agony and sorrow, etc etc because God is just the opposite of that. God is everything good and therefore, wanting nothing to do with God means you want nothing to do with anything good.

Hence the existence of hell.

Satan is the opposite of God in that he wanted to BE God. So God removed Satan from His presence, as he wished, and Satan got to become a little mini-god [of sorts] of the life in which there is the absolute absence of God.

Satan tempts the world because every person who walks away from God is seen as a victory in Satan's eyes. It hurts God to see everyone He loves walk away from Him- hence Satan working so hard to make it happen.



And somewhat relevant- I was once told that the greatest achievement Satan can ever accomplish is making someone believe he doesn't exist.

i am a christian.
but, the rest of my family pretty much has no religion.
but, i wouldn't call them athiest...

God doesn't want to seperate sinners from him, He wants to call the sinners to Him to seek forgiveness. Jesus was sent to free us from sin. We were given free will. We make the decision if we go to heaven or hell. We choose which path we take by how we live our earthly life. God is always there to forgive us if only we ask and repent.

Don't you see that the n00b is being Silently Rebellious by using a different color font? What a rebel!!

Let's rape her, then she'll go away or use the right text.



Yeah I understand that now. What I'm asking is this: For those who will not go to heaven, why do they have to go to hell? Why doesn't God just destroy them and make them non-existant?

In my belief, it is because He gives a a chance for repentance up until our very last breath. But maybe those who don't repent, simply die, The End. Nothingness. But maybe they do face the consequences of their choices with eternal suffering. Where as those who sincerely ask for forgiveness, are blessed with eternal life in heaven. Who really knows until we get there. But I chose to believe if I follow Gods will, and do the next "right" thing, I will know a happiness beyond imagination. Besides, I know more peace and serenity, joy and happiness, when I am doing what I know in my heart is right. The minute I go back to my old ways, I go back to feeling anxious, nervous, unhappy and depressed.

Kinda how I feel now.

Then say the serenity prayer. "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the differance". Peace. God Bless you Beth.

That's a lovely prayer.

I was talking to a friend, Pete, who is also a minister.
He is so passionate about God, the Bible, Christianity...it raised my spirits just to see what a buzz he got from it.

I get my highs from playing my saxophone/drums.
He gets his from worshiping God; I think that's is beautiful in a way.

That is so true. Wherever you find a connection for peace,calm and serenity. For you it is in your music. I find it in my yardwork and gardening. Or taking my dog for a long walk. Those are the quiet times I meditate and talk to God. It is those special places where we can calm down and relax.

Haha... My mom is the opposite... Then again, she does it for a living, sorta

Lets say there is a Heaven, does God then actually have control over us? Because if he does, then it can't be that great.

Correct me if i'm wrong but for people who believe in God: Wouldn't it be unfair that God controlled everything that happens in this world. People's destinys and such?
Then wouldn't God have planned which people were going to become successful doctors and which were going to become murderers and go to Hell?
People would then have no choice and no control over their lives. They wouldn't be able to choose how they want to lead their life. right?

I hope that made sense.

There can be a creator, that doesn't necessarily mean he is all-consuming. For example, a creator may have started the environmental cycle but lets nature dictate when it rains.

SOMEONE PLEASE ANSWER MY QUESTION I'M HAVING A THEOLOGICAL CRISIS!

Ahh okay.
Then God isn't all powerful if he can't control what we do and create. (I'm not saying he exists.)


I HAVE NO IDEA.

AAARGRGGHHHHHH I'M GOING TO HELL FOR WORSHIPPING FALSE IDOLS! AAARRGGGHHH!

YOU'RE GOING TO GO TO SOME PLACE WORSE THAN HELL.

BUDDHAS ARE COOL. JESUS WILL UNDERSTAND

CAPS LOCK HELL?!?!

And I've just realised it's not a Buddha, it's a copy of an Indian temple statue carving thingy. Crisis averted.

YES.

/caps abuse.


I'm glad you've solved your problem.

I think if there is a god, then he doesn't have control over our lives. Kind of a deist belief, that there is a god who began everything, but doesn't interfere with human life.

Hmm yeah i agree. But i have talked to several religious people and that's what i understood from them. (what i said before)

Yeah, some people believe that "God has a plan for everyone", I don't. I'm not even sure if I believe in a god, but if there is one I sure as hell don't think that he has already decided what my life is going to be.

There wouldn't be a point in living i guess.

ok. John and silently rebellious, stop the arguing. i've cleared the crap out of here.

I believe in Clarrybabes.

That would imply that you banned her.

<3 u Kelly.

You have the power to strangle a puppy, but does that mean you do it? No.

God has the power to do anything he wanted, but because of concepts called LOVE and FREE WILL, he grants us the freedom to do as we please- only because when one loves him by choice, that is a far greater love than if it were a love by force.

God intervenes in people's lives when it's necessary, but that does not mean he is going to keep everyone from dying, everyone from doing wrong, or help everyone make the right decision every time. He loves us enough to give us our freedom; he loves us enough to let us live how we please. He provided guidelines in the Ten Commandments, and we have a choice whether or not we follow.

But God is not just some impersonal being- God is like a father. He loves you enough to discipline you to help you grow in the right direction. A loving father would never let a child go undisciplined [look at the kids who run wild in the supermarkets or curse out their parents in public...]. God loves us too much to let us run wild and destroy ourselves. Unfortunately, not everyone understands this and sees his discipline as a means of punishment or torture, and then blame God for everything that happens- even if it was the consequences to their own actions [getting an F on a paper after blowing it off and not doing the work, for example].



Ugh, theological discussions hurt my brain when I've just woken up, haha

^But you did a good job expressing the view. Nicely said.

im a jew im not very religious but i keep kosher and take advantage of youth group events plus i go to shul once in a while i like being a jew its a diffrent out look on life think of it as the song Imagen by lenon especially the heven / hell part

Well he said "imagine there's no heaven". He also said "imagine no religion", so not really.

Though I guess bar mitzvahs would be fucking cool to have.

I'm a vegan, does that make me kosher by default?

I choose not to believe that.

bat/ bar mitsvahs are not as cool as they look months of studying for your 15 minuites in frount of evry ne speeches giftes of isreal bonds, money( that your parents put into savings so u cant touch it till u turn 18 and for me cause im a girl tons of jewlery i havent touched or worn

and being koshep depends i asume u dont eat fish and then your technicaly kosher

Why can't we all just get a long wasn't this thread supposed to be about what your religion is not arguing