Do You Believe Atheists "choose" To Go To Hell?

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PeaceLikeaRiver said:
Because this is one of those areas where you claim to speak on behalf of all Christians, and you simply don't. There are many Christian churches welcoming to homosexuals and who don't ask them to live loveless and sexless lives. What is your response to them? That they're not true Christians, I'm guessing, since you yourself don't approve.
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I knew there was more to this thread. Of course churches must welcome homosexuals. Paul was a murderer. David was a murderer. Abraham was an adulterer. But, what did they all do? Repent. Homosexuals are en route to hell like all others in mortal sin, unless they repent. A church must remove those who continue in mortal sins 1 Cor 5. We are all capable of being in mortal sin if we are unsaved. But as a Christian we have less excuse Hence 1 Cor 5:13 and Heb 10:29.

PeaceLikeaRiver said:
I choose to believe that God is merciful. If God were the tyrannical monster you are making him out to be where everyone who doesn't believe in Him is whisked off to burn horribly and torturously for an eternity of eternities, I would likely not want to be a Christian. I can't think of a punishment that terrible for any human being that ever existed, regardless of the offense. Incidentally, there are Christians who say hell is simply the grave and not a fiery furnace. Did you know that? Are those Christians wrong?
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Euphemia doesn't believe we are tortured for eternity. I have discussed this at length with her ;). Rom 2:6 says we are all judged according to our works. Now common sense should tell us that if a murderer and thief both get the death penalty that that is not judgment according to works. There is no mention in scripture of God torturing anyone for being evil. Only quick / ish deaths, plagues for harassment and testing His followers. So, I would say the vast majority of Christians believe in temporal / no suffering but non debatable eternal banishment. God separates wolves and lambs. No lambs to prey on. Would God be more loving if He removed them from hell? The devil hates God. If it were an option I believe God would do it. God loves the unsaved more then any of us! That is why I believe they are kept alive.

We will see those in hell....because God has nothing to hide. If He was torturing them, He would not let us see them surely.

My point with this rant is to help you understand that hell is their choice. God is honoring their free will decision to be punished for their own sins and live a life in submission to their will and selfish desires of the flesh and not in submission to Jesus.

PeaceLikeaRiver said:
No one hates God. Either they obey and love Him or they don't believe He's there.
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You are very naïve if you think people don't hate God... just because they say He is not there. God hates sin and resists the proud. Are your atheist friends in unrepentant sin and proud? If so they hate God. If they hate your God, you should not be far behind, surely? If nobody hated God there would be nobody in hell. God does not make mistakes. He tolerates the wicked for as long as He can Jonah 4:2.

So you are like Jonah, wanting to believe God will not harm the wicked. Which is good. It shows you know God is good and Yes, amen! God is good. But we are not. God try's His best but it is evil to over ride our free will. Wolves will be with wolves and lambs with lambs. God will separate them and that makes me sad. Should make every Christian sad and prompt us to do all we can to get them to bend the knee. Whatever you think or feel is best, just do your best! We only have this life to help the lost and make our choices... and then eternity to live with them.
 
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So what do we have another thread where the godly are attacked and condemned and the wicked are justified? What is evil is called good and what is good is called evil.
 
Euphemia said:
I am done with this thread. It has become a hurtful, abusive mess initiated by one who posted this:



Enlightenment has been offered by many...and spurned.
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Haven't seen much enlightenment. I've seen a lot of people living in terror of a God who threatens to throw them into eternal fire though. Have fun with that. I can see why it's so appealing to you, it makes your entire faith a paranoid revenge fantasy.
 
PeaceLikeaRiver said:
Haven't seen much enlightenment. I've seen a lot of people living in terror of a God who threatens to throw them into eternal fire though. Have fun with that. I can see why it's so appealing to you, it makes your entire faith a paranoid revenge fantasy.
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I don't see people living in terror of God, who is love. Only people who despise Him or misunderstand Him do that.

I think your faith (such as it is) is not based in truth.
 
KingJ said:
I knew there was more to this thread. Of course churches must welcome homosexuals. Paul was a murderer. David was a murderer. Abraham was an adulterer.
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What on earth are you comparing homosexuals to murderers and adulterers for? That's the sickest thing I think I've read yet. It even puts Euphemia's posts to shame.
 
Euphemia said:
I don't see people living in terror of God, who is love. Only people who despise Him or misunderstand Him do that.

I think your faith (such as it is) is not based in truth.
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And I think I'm done engaging with you. I don't think you are, for lack of a better word, a particularly healthy person and based on what I've been told by a couple others here I'm clearly not going to find the light at the end of the tunnel with you. I'm not interested in judgement, bigotry, hatred, or anything else and your particularly narrow and rigid brand of Christianity is offensive in the extreme. I'm not going to do any more to fan the flames and we'll give both the admins and the other people here a bit of a break from the torrent of abuse.

Please don't post in my threads anymore and I will extend the same courtesy to you. Good luck in life.
 
PeaceLikeaRiver said:
And I think I'm done engaging with you. I don't think you are, for lack of a better word, a particularly healthy person and based on what I've been told by a couple others here I'm clearly not going to find the light at the end of the tunnel with you. I'm not interested in judgement, bigotry, hatred, or anything else and your particularly narrow and rigid brand of Christianity is offensive in the extreme. I'm not going to do any more to fan the flames and we'll give both the admins and the other people here a bit of a break from the torrent of abuse.

Please don't post in my threads anymore and I will extend the same courtesy to you. Good luck in life.
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I am in completely good health, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, thank you very much. I doubt that you are a health professional and have the ability to assess anyone here---nor do you have the right to do so. Nor are you capable of understanding the relationship one can have with Jesus Christ, who frees us from all bondage and sin.

Your words are meant only to increase contention. Seeya.
 
PeaceLikeaRiver said:
What on earth are you comparing homosexuals to murderers and adulterers for? That's the sickest thing I think I've read yet. It even puts Euphemia's posts to shame.
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Where was I comparing? Ulterior motives are shining through.....naughty naughty.....

Anyway, we can...they were all stoned to death OT. My bible says that. Does yours?
 
I've never liked the kinds of fabricated religious doctrines like "gays go to hell". You can recognize the act as sinful, but don't look to pass judgment on the sinner. I think that this concept probably originated with the Catholic Church which I believe use to teach that even after a homosexual repented he would still spend eternity in purgatory.

I was actually working one day and had a gay couple come in and they were probably the nicest customers I had. My aunt is also gay, and she is one of the nicest people I know. It is a great error by Christians to disfellowship gay people, because most go through a great period of fear and terror before finally resolving to do what makes them happy, and the church takes the one thing that might give them help--God--and strips them of it.

And let's not get started on this whole "gays were stoned in the OT." Yes, so were blasphemers, and anyone who disrespected their parents, and anyone who had sex before marriage, and many Christians do these things on a daily basis and I would not look to pass judgment on them.

Most Christians like to look at them under the simple-minded context as "choosing" the way that they are. In this way the ignore the more complicated nature of human beings and dehumanize both them and themselves. As I recall, none of us "choose" to be sinners, we are born that way. Love is the only remedy.
 
MMurphy said:
I've never liked the kinds of fabricated religious doctrines like "gays go to hell". You can recognize the act as sinful, but don't look to pass judgment on the sinner. I think that this concept probably originated with the Catholic Church which I believe use to teach that even after a homosexual repented he would still spend eternity in purgatory.

I was actually working one day and had a gay couple come in and they were probably the nicest customers I had. My aunt is also gay, and she is one of the nicest people I know. It is a great error by Christians to disfellowship gay people, because most go through a great period of fear and terror before finally resolving to do what makes them happy, and the church takes the one thing that might give them help--God--and strips them of it.

And let's not get started on this whole "gays were stoned in the OT." Yes, so were blasphemers, and anyone who disrespected their parents, and anyone who had sex before marriage, and many Christians do these things on a daily basis and I would not look to pass judgment on them.

Most Christians like to look at them under the simple-minded context as "choosing" the way that they are. In this way the ignore the more complicated nature of human beings and dehumanize both them and themselves. As I recall, none of us "choose" to be sinners, we are born that way. Love is the only remedy.
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People whom we deem as nice will go to hell. That is why we must proclaim the gospel of life to them.

The fear and terror that a homosexual goes through is the conviction that what they are doing is sin. They battle it and battle it and continue to defy God and what he says until many finally give themselves over to it out of defeat and it masquerades as relief.
 
Euphemia said:
People whom we deem as nice will go to hell.
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What on Earth? Is being nice now a qualification for damnation?

You cannot change a heart with hatred, I am sorry, plenty of people have tried that approach, picketing and saying that God hates gay people (as though they are qualified to speak for God) or sending them to Gay conversion therapy and it does not work! The only way to change someones heart and mind is with the Love of Christ. If anyone comes to Love God, they will Love to do what pleases Him. Anyone who does not Love is nothing, and that is Scripture!
 
Let's sum up the key ideas in the last couple of posts, using words from the contributors, and see what we can learn:

Post # 213 - nicest (x2), happy, God, human, love.
Post # 215 - hell, fear, terror, sin, battle, defy, defeat.

Pretty telling!
 
Euphemia said:
People whom we deem as nice will go to hell. That is why we must proclaim the gospel of life to them.

The fear and terror that a homosexual goes through is the conviction that what they are doing is sin. They battle it and battle it and continue to defy God and what he says until many finally give themselves over to it out of defeat and it masquerades as relief.
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What other sins could we substitute for homosexual. Why do we concentrate on just one or two sins.
 
MMurphy said:
What on Earth? Is being nice now a qualification for damnation?

You cannot change a heart with hatred, I am sorry, plenty of people have tried that approach, picketing and saying that God hates gay people (as though they are qualified to speak for God) or sending them to Gay conversion therapy and it does not work! The only way to change someones heart and mind is with the Love of Christ. If anyone comes to Love God, they will Love to do what pleases Him. Anyone who does not Love is nothing, and that is Scripture!
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Being nice is not a qualification for heaven or condemnation. What we do with Jesus is.
 
HisManySongs said:
What other sins could we substitute for homosexual. Why do we concentrate on just one or two sins.
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I don't concentrate on any particular sin. It appears that homosexuality and how God feels about it is the complaint du jour. I only respond to those who plug away at bringing it up. Ask them about it.

It isn't the sins that condemn us. It's our position before God that either condemns us or saves us.
 
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