Matthew 24:34
"Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place."

March 6, 2008

Who goes to Hell?


Who goes to Hell?

Did you know that good, moral people are burning in Hell this very minute? You see, JesusGod, who loves each and every one of us very much, must show His love for us by also punishing us when we are bad. And we are bad. Even as babies, we are very, very bad.


But JesusGod doesn't punish us for everything. In fact, He doesn't punish us for ANYTHING, as long as we ask Him to forgive us. But, there is one thing that JesusGod cannot forgive us for: He cannot forgive us for the crime of not loving Him.



No matter what we do on this earth, no matter how moral we live our lives, JesusGod in all His divine power and glory will allow us into the fiery pits of Hell. We deserve it, every last one of us, because we're evil at birth. Our only chance at redemption is by loving Christ with all our hearts...is that too much to ask?

I thought I'd list a few famous evil-doers who have jilted Christ, and who are currently suffering eternal punishment for their dastardly deeds:


Mohandas Gandhi

John Lennon

Mark Twain

Albert Einstein

Thomas Edison

...and every single Jew who died during the Holocaust!


Please understand: These people, according to the Bible, are burning right now, this very second. Screaming for mercy, pleading with Jesus. But Jesus cannot help them: they simply chose poorly, and He's giving them their just desserts. Fair enough?


If Einstein had spent more time in prayer with Christ, instead of devoting his life to all those hocus-pocus science spells, perhaps he'd be in a more comfortable place now. But he isn't. If you are to believe in Jesus, and believe in Christianity's promises, than you must also believe that this is true. Am I wrong?













In comparison, here are some of the good Christian brethren that we should be excited to meet upon our entrance to Heaven:

Jeffrey Dahmer



Ted Bundy



...Timothy McVeigh, Adolf Hitler, and the list goes on and on!!



This fine cast of characters has, by all accounts and honest assumptions, succeeded in finding a place with the Lord in Heaven! As mentioned earlier, Christ will not punish us for our sins here on earth, as long as we ask Him to forgive us. Isn't that great!!? Jesus doesn't care if you've murdered, raped, molested, robbed or burgled. All He cares about is that you love Him the same way He loves you.


ISN'T JESUSGOD TRULY AMAZING??!! DOESN'T HEAVEN SOUND EXCITING?

All it takes is to love Jesus. It's so simple!

7 comments:

  1. I am an atheist, a physicalist and a determinist. I believe that when you die, it's over. There is no after life; there is no soul. I believe there is no God or immaterial or supernatural powers in the universe. One year ago, I took a meditation class and my beliefs did not fit with most of the spiritual traditions endorsing meditation. Christian contemplatives, the Yoga Sutra of pantajali, and Tibetan buddhism seemed to conflict with what I thought to be true. Zen Buddhism was the tradition that appealed to me most out of those we studied, but then I wanted to go further and I kept talking to my philosophy professor who - despite the fact he is not an atheist - wanted to find a meditative tradition that fit with how I saw the world. He lent me What The Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula. It presented Buddhism in such a straight forward manner and what the Buddha had taught according to Rahula was quite consistent with the conclusions I was arriving at independent of meditation. So I guess I wanted to talk to someone like you and ask you, what do you and your wife consider yourselves? Are you atheists or buddhists? I do not know what I am, I guess I consider myself more of an atheist because some forms of buddhism seem include beliefs in a permanent self or soul and they seem to believe in the literal translation of reincarnation. I think that some sort of "spiritual" (i use this term reluctantly) practice is crucial to one's happiness. I am currently taking a class called "The New Atheism" and for my final project I will be giving a critical analysis of the book by Jon Haidt "The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom." Zen Buddhism is so useful in that it encourages a practice of understanding reality through intuition. I see it as it helps me to integrate my experiences and improves one's ability to self regulate (use one's mind to control his or her emotions or at least calm them). I do not mean to rant, I was just curious to see what you thought of this given your situation.

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  2. Hi Lee, thanks for your comment. Sorry it's taken me so long to respond, I've been quite busy with work.

    Allow me to go on record here with a few things:
    I'm unfamiliar with the Yoga Sutra, Christian "contemplatives", and Zen Buddhism, though Christian "contemplatives" sound like they'd be hilarious to speak with.
    I've heard that Tibetan Buddhists believe the Dalai Lama is an incarnation of their God,which I find to be ridiculous and contrary to what the Buddha taught. However,
    I may be incorrect in my understanding of the Tibetans.

    As you know from reading Rahula's book, the Buddha never claimed to be a God, and in fact told his follower's that they should question anyone who makes such a claim. If I remember correctly, the Buddha told them that they should not "listen and believe" accounts of events, but instead should "see and know".

    As I read Rahula's book it was very exciting for me to hear ideas which I alread had bouncing around my head elucidated by the author (a similar thing occurred while reading Carl Sagan's "Contact" a few months ago).

    Regarding the concept of Anatta and no soul, I would steal an idea that Bertrand Russell posited in the book, "Why I am not a Christian":

    Within my brain are all of the memories which have created my personality, effectively the "I" in "Me".

    We know that an injury to our brains can alter our personalities and behavior to varying degrees, as in the case of Phineas Gage and (more recently) Alzheimer's patients.

    If I know that, at death, my brain will rot away and decompose to nothing, then shouldn't I also consider that "I" will as well?


    However, there seem to be some inconsistencies regarding No Soul even in the Thai (Theravada) Buddhism that my wife was brought up in. In Thailand, there are spirit houses located in various locations. It is believed that these are locations where spirits exist; sometimes these are spirits of an inanimate object (like a mountain), but sometimes they are spirits of the deceased who died in a tragic way. I still haven't figured out from my wife exactly what this "spirit" is, as it is contrary to the concept of No Soul. My wife has explained that it has to do with the difference between a "spirit" and a "soul", and that there's no easy way to explain it in English. This is unfortunate for me, because I'd like to understand where this whole "Spirit" thing came about.

    Anyways, on to what I and my wife believe.

    My wife is a firm Atheist, more firm than me. She is also a firm Buddhist. The distinction lies in the fact that Atheism only suggests that she doesn't believe in a God or Gods. Buddhism, on the other hand, is an entire system of beliefs.

    In my opinion, both Atheism and Buddhism can and do coexist. I'm actually quite vocal of this fact, because it's important for Christians to know that Buddhists are techinically Atheists. I assume (and could be wrong) that Christians believe that Buddhists are 'acceptable" because "at least they believe in something", which is not true. Ask random people if they think Buddha is/was a "God", and watch what they say. The more Christians learn that Buddhism is Atheistic, the more they'll
    realize that it is possible to live a good, moral life without God.

    As for myself, I wouldn't identify as a Buddhist for two reasons. First, I don't feel that I understand Buddhism well enough to identify as such. I would hate to identify as a Buddhist, then have someone criticize me for not living the correct way, or giving them misleading information. I'm sure that I would have no problem holding my own in both circumstances, but for now I prefer not to identify as Buddhist.

    Secondly, and probably more importantly, is that the Atheist label rubs people the wrong way. I would never get the attention of Christians like I do if I called myself a Buddhist (for the reason explained above). For Christians, "Atheist" is a bad word, but Buddhism isn't. If my goal is to get Christians to wake up to reality, then labeling myself an Atheist is the only way to get them talking to me. There's nothing I like more than a frothy-mouthed Christian coming at me with a Bible, ready to win my heathen soul through Scripture, the Holy Spirit, and maybe even a good old-fashioned ass whoopin!

    I'll also add that I'm split right around the Atheist/Agnostic line. I don't know if God(s) exists, and it doesn't really matter if it does or doesn't. I do, however, know that the Christian God does not exist. Unfortunately,
    most people in the United States think otherwise, and the people who pay are homosexuals, foster kids whose parents didn't use birth control, AIDS patients who were never told (on religious grounds) to wear condoms, and everyone (maybe you and I) who will miss out on the scientific advances that religion seeks to
    disrupt in the name of JesusGod.


    I would suggest not to feel rushed to label yourself as anything, unless there's a reason behind it. As my wife says, "Just live your life and be happy". Smell some roses, enjoy the experience, and go about your day with a smile. The best thing you could do for Buddhism, Atheism or any other "ism" is to lead by example. When people see you as a happy person, they're bound to wonder why.

    PS: I think you're probably much more well-read then I am, so take my advice for what it's worth ;)


    Later, and thanks for your reply!
    Dan

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  3. This was a great post, I am having a...Discussion, lets say, with my wife again regarding baptising my second child. I am an Atheist and refuse to believe in original sin, or the cleansing power of baptisim, but my wife, an catholic school teacher,(who I feel is turning into an agnostic) wants to go through with it.It drives me batty that we have the option NOT to bring this child up the company of more fanatic Catholics but my wife wants to go through with it just so we have the option of attending the higher rated, local Catholic school.

    I do not think God would look to kindly on her motives.

    Later days

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  4. It's too bad that you're being made to jump through ridiculous religious hoops in order to get a decent education for your child(ren), but hang in there dude. As you are an atheist, I'm sure you'll be able to guide your child(ren) down the path of rationality to balance out the hocus-pocus they'll be exposed to in Catholic school. And who knows, maybe through the efforts of the non-religious like you and I, your child(ren) will grow up in a society that finally finds non-belief acceptable! The only way we can do this is to engage in dialogue with Christians about their magical mystery man, whether they like it or not. Suggesting that it's taboo to discuss the existence of BibleGod is just as silly as suggesting that it's taboo to discuss the Easter Bunny.

    Thanks for the comment man. If you have any future comments or questions, just let 'em fly. Oh, and God bless ;)

    Dan

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  5. I'm extremely happy that I've found your blog. I'll be emailing the link to your blog to my fellow atheists. Your views are in absolute lock-step with mine, which is a refreshing thing to find. Often times I find a blog or YouTube video where the atheist who created it has the right idea, but is going about it the wrong way. Usually by not knowing enough about the religion(s) they are denouncing. I, like yourself, am always studying about different religions and engaging in debate so that I'm better equipped to combat the bigoted, superstitious, illogical, dangerous, and most-of-all improvability of the existence of any god. Sadly, while we can shoot their faith buckets full of holes, in the end the religious usually end up saying something like, "Well, you just have to believe", which proves that while you can lead a horse to water, you can't make him drink. I have to believe, however, that reason can eventually make it through to them if you can get them to really put aside the fear of enternal reprisal for a minute. After all, I was raised a Christian, too, and I was able to shake off my blinders. Keep up the good work! I look forward to following and partaking in your on-going discourses.

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  6. Thanks Jeff, I appreciate your comments! I don’t think anyone will ever read what I write and suddenly have an epiphany, but hopefully they’ll remember the ideas I present and revisit them in their own minds. Eventually, they may break free of their religious shackles like you and I did.

    I’ll tell you, the thing which finally got me over the hump of being agnostic-with-Christian-tendencies to being atheist was reading atheist blogs/websites. It was shocking to see other people asking the exact same questions that I’d always had, but now they were answering them as well! It was really wonderful and exciting. Hopefully I can do the same for anyone else who is still clinging to that nonsense.

    I regret that I don’t have more time to devote to my blog. I have a few ideas already started, but haven’t had time to complete and post them. For instance, do babies grow up in Heaven, or are these poor souls eternally stuck in an infant-like state? If they grow up, do they experience sinful puberty, or do they bypass that and become man-childs? Or here’s another one: If God instructed us to be fruitful and multiply, and if He didn’t cap this off with a limit, then aren’t really ‘sowing the seeds’ of destruction by overpopulating our planet? What if every person on the planet created 30 children, who in turn created another 30, and so on? Not very good advice from the Creator of the Universe.

    By all means, let others know about my blog. I welcome all comments and critiques. Hopefully I can get something new up by the end of this month.

    Thanks again,
    Pastor D

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