that is why they try to save others by pressing their religion.
I get that. But if they have a conscious, then making that futile attempt couldnât possibly be enough to cleanse them of what, by all rights, should be the feeling of utter despair and helplessness that would come with having that belief. If I were a Christian (or, at least, the kind of Christian who believes in literal everlasting torment for non-believers), then I simply wouldnât be able to function knowing that most of my family and friends - and countless billions of people Iâve never met - are heading for that punishment. And for what? Growing up in the wrong culture?
I feel like Christians who really believe this shit - those who really and truly believe it and donât just say they do - must be literal psychopaths. I canât think of any other explanation.
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Christianity lost me with the dogma, that anyone who does not accept Jesus and God is basically fucked.
If you were born too early, even if you were an extraordinary good person - tough luck. Hereâs your place in hell.
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Most Christians dont assume people are going to burn for eternity. . Judgement is not theirs to make.
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I agree with this, which is why Iâm by no means anti-Christian. Iâm replying to a previous posterâs comments about Christians with fundamentalist beliefs. I think I went off on one a bit, but I just really question how somebody who believes something so abhorrent deep down, on a fundamental level, can be âgoodâ.
I think I get what youâre saying, but I would add the caveat that they actually believe itâs a good state of affairs. Someone could believe a bad state of affairs is true, believe itâs bad, and want to warn you. But I guess most Christians who do believe that kind of thing would fall into the first category.
âMany are called, but few are chosenâ- Matthew 22:14
âEnter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.â- Matthew 7:13-14
"But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.â Revelation 21:8
âHe will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.â Thessalonians 1:9
âAnd I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.
The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done.
Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.
Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.â Revelation 2: 12-15
But the Bible tells us most people are going to burn for eternity. Modern Christians, having 20th C.* values, try to ignore the unpleasant parts of their religion.
*Should read 21st C., but hey, Iâm an old man.
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Thereâs been shifts on how hell is viewed throughout church history. There are periods where a forgiving God was preached and periods where hell and Godâs wrath was preached. Itâs not necessary a modern Christian thing. The youâre going to burn in hell was part of the 1st Great awakening in the mid 1700s. This kind of sermon below is something that youâd see in the 1st Great Awakening.
If you take Revelation (or at least bits of it) literally, itâs easy to exclude the vast, vast majority of humans â not just those alive now, but all humans throughout history. A few denominations officially do this. So for those who doâŚ
âŚitâs a statistical truth: any person chosen at random is almost definitely not going to be saved.
The funny thing (to me) isâŚ
âŚactually, if you do believe thereâs only room for a certain number of people in Heaven, then the more people you convert, the more competition there is for those limited seats, so by proselytizing youâre hurting the chances of your loved ones, and even yourself. 
Thatâs what you get when a religion from a small piece of land, practiced by a small group of people, becomes the largest one in the world.
Back then every family had their own gids who took care of them. The god of Abraham happened to end up being the most successful.
Now the church has to do some reconning to accommodate everyone.
