I would like to put a few questions to those who will see this. Please respond in the comments box, even if you don't feel qualified. To any or to all of the questions. And remember, only honest responses are valid, I don't want citations from apologetic commentaries.
Do you believe in hell, and if so what is it and why/how does it exist?
What is the criterium for spending eternity with God?
What do the words grace and choice mean to you?
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
a survey of sorts
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3 comments:
I'll give this a start to get the ball rolling......I do believe in hell because it talks about it in God's word and it exists because.....because.......we are all born as sinners and the punishment for sin is death. If people(talking about people who did not "accept" Jesus' sacrifice of death for us) just "go to sleep for good" when they die, that doesn't sound very bad to me. how would that be DEATH? That would just be sleep. So because God sticks to his Word, there must be DEATH as a consequence of sin. I also do believe that it is an actual place. I read a very interesting book once, called "The Divine Revelation of Hell" about an experience where Jesus took this persons spirit to hell, to experience it for real, to "warn" others. I recomend this book as a good read and very thought provoking(take what(truth) you will from it) and don't read it at night when you're home alone! Yikes! Thus ends the thoughts of Karisa....So, I'm gonna stop with just commenting on the first question...
I must admit that hell is not a comfortable topic because it raises soo many questions. So since I haven't figured out the answers i'll just pose some. I guess in thinking about the criterium for spending eternity with God, the easy answer is to say it is whether you have accepted Jesus into your heart or not. This raises the question of whether their is a "line" between being a christian or not. Or is it more like we are on a journey and it depends on whether we are on a journey towards God or away from God. Have we made things too concrete? Does God judge people concerning things much deeper in our souls than what others can percieve? Is God's judgement based on the same criteria for all people as the world view often defines fair judgment as being the same? Does God judge a girl who was raped the same as he would someone who has a relatively easier life? Could the girl's heart actually be good even if her fear of men has kept her from believing in God? Are there dealing in our hearts that are too abstract or uncomprehendable to put into words in this world? And if salvation is more about being on a journey towards God, this questions the once saved always saved principle. Do we even have ability to comprehend God's judgement and grace in this world context?
Well.. here's a string of questions that came to mind. I don't have the answers. I would need to spend some time in the scriptures before I would argue my opinions on these.
thanks for the comments so far! much appreciated.
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