How many people would be Christian if Hell wasn’t a concept in Christianity? Now I know many Christians would argue, “Hell is a consequence, it’s like having consequences in day to day life.” And this is where I disagree: while consequences are real in the world, it is a much different matter when it comes to the spiritual world.
Christians don’t like it when their god or concept of hell gets mocked because they want it to be taken seriously by others. They want others to feel guilty and in need of forgiveness the way they do. They claim that the solution to all of this is that in return one is “saved” once they repent and accept Jesus as their savior. And here is the kicker: EVEN when Christians repent and accept Jesus as their savior, many are STILL afraid of hell because they don’t know if they have been doing the right thing all along. They know that the possibility of merely “thinking” they are saved exists. To arrogantly proclaim that one is “saved”, can also be arrogantly dismissed.
However, Christians may argue that it is possible to know God exists through personal experience. But this starts to delve into mysticism which many Christians say goes against the Biblical authority. Simply experiencing God is not enough, one has to mentally know that God exists through biblical authority…so that gets rid of the personal experience argument.
This need for Christians to preach the gospel, is seen as “spreading the truth” in their eyes. It doesn’t matter to them if others say it’s bigoted or hateful or even if they get persecuted for it. They know that they are living in a time where they are becoming a minority in society since society has widely accepted views that are unbiblical and “demonic” in their eyes. They see it as if society needs people like them to warn them of hell, in hopes of waking society “up”. The problem for them is that the opposite has been happening.
One example I hear from Christians regarding their spreading of the gospel is their gripe with the “love is love” mentality of society. Christians think this has gone too far because “not all forms of love are right since one can love the wrong object”, such as a man loving another man. But how do we know that Christians themselves haven’t gone too far with spreading the gospel? Because here’s the thing: other religions do horrific things disguised as “doing the right thing”. Take the jihadist suicide bombers, for example. To them it’s no more a religious act like it is for a Christian to go out into the street with a picket sign saying that all homosexuals will burn in hell. Some may say this is a false equivalence, but is it? There are consequences for hate speech in society, as well as verbal threats already. They know they’re facing an uphill battle and I don’t see “being in the minority” necessarily as a virtue, either.
Since Christians want to hold that hell is real and everyone should feel guilty enough to repent, then the mockery of their hell should continue going on. Just like Christians believe we need to continue hearing about how we will burn in hell if we don’t repent, maybe they need to continue hearing about how their faith is all about guilt and conformity. Hell will continue being a reality to them, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be a reality for everyone else.
The framework of Christianity boils down to this: anyone who disagrees or rebels against their god or Bible, is satanic.
Those who disagree with us/the Bible=bad guys
Those who agree with us=good guys
Christians don’t like it when their god or concept of hell gets mocked because they want it to be taken seriously by others. They want others to feel guilty and in need of forgiveness the way they do. They claim that the solution to all of this is that in return one is “saved” once they repent and accept Jesus as their savior. And here is the kicker: EVEN when Christians repent and accept Jesus as their savior, many are STILL afraid of hell because they don’t know if they have been doing the right thing all along. They know that the possibility of merely “thinking” they are saved exists. To arrogantly proclaim that one is “saved”, can also be arrogantly dismissed.
However, Christians may argue that it is possible to know God exists through personal experience. But this starts to delve into mysticism which many Christians say goes against the Biblical authority. Simply experiencing God is not enough, one has to mentally know that God exists through biblical authority…so that gets rid of the personal experience argument.
This need for Christians to preach the gospel, is seen as “spreading the truth” in their eyes. It doesn’t matter to them if others say it’s bigoted or hateful or even if they get persecuted for it. They know that they are living in a time where they are becoming a minority in society since society has widely accepted views that are unbiblical and “demonic” in their eyes. They see it as if society needs people like them to warn them of hell, in hopes of waking society “up”. The problem for them is that the opposite has been happening.
One example I hear from Christians regarding their spreading of the gospel is their gripe with the “love is love” mentality of society. Christians think this has gone too far because “not all forms of love are right since one can love the wrong object”, such as a man loving another man. But how do we know that Christians themselves haven’t gone too far with spreading the gospel? Because here’s the thing: other religions do horrific things disguised as “doing the right thing”. Take the jihadist suicide bombers, for example. To them it’s no more a religious act like it is for a Christian to go out into the street with a picket sign saying that all homosexuals will burn in hell. Some may say this is a false equivalence, but is it? There are consequences for hate speech in society, as well as verbal threats already. They know they’re facing an uphill battle and I don’t see “being in the minority” necessarily as a virtue, either.
Since Christians want to hold that hell is real and everyone should feel guilty enough to repent, then the mockery of their hell should continue going on. Just like Christians believe we need to continue hearing about how we will burn in hell if we don’t repent, maybe they need to continue hearing about how their faith is all about guilt and conformity. Hell will continue being a reality to them, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be a reality for everyone else.
The framework of Christianity boils down to this: anyone who disagrees or rebels against their god or Bible, is satanic.
Those who disagree with us/the Bible=bad guys
Those who agree with us=good guys