Note: not a debate thread..just me trying to understand.
I honestly dont understand why some people believe in or want to believe in the concept of sin. When I was a christian I believed that anyone who did not repent their sin and turn their life over to Christ would go to hell...now that I am no longer a christian it seems like a good way to have a lot of guilt and to keep someone in Christianity. I know Christianity is not the only religion with the concept of sin but I dont know how other religions view it...So if you believe in sin please explain why...I am not going to try to change your mind I am just asking to try and understand.
"When I was a Christian" can mean something other than what you think. It can mean "when I was taught the things that Christendom believes" which is a whole nuther thing....not to be confused with Christianity at all IMO.
In the Bible, there is no "hell" as it is believed in many churches. "Hell" was introduced as a concept to control the ignorant masses early on....to emotionally blackmail those who were denied access to the Bible, and who had to rely on corrupt leaders to spoon feed doctrinal errors to their flocks. Christendom is the result....the "weeds" that Christ foretold...but the "wheat" never went away.....they were always there in the background and occasionally a brave soul would stand up and make a point and pay with their lives. (like Jesus did and many prophets before him)
"Hell" in the Bible is "hades", which according to the scriptures is nothing more than the common grave of all mankind....we all "go to hell". It is a place of rest where the dead sleep in an unconscious state, according to the Tanakh. (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10) In time, Greek influence changed all that however. The idea of an immortal soul which crept into both Judaism and later Christianity, meant that places had to be invented for these "souls" (who could not die) to go. Some in the early church got really creative......but this notion finds no grounds in scripture.
The ancient Jews did not believe in life after death at all. "Sheol" (hades) was the place where all the dead slept awaiting their resurrection. Jesus said he was going to call all the dead from their tombs.....because they were all still in them. (John 5:28-29) He does not call them from heaven because that is not where God designed humans to live. He placed them in an earthly paradise because this is where they were to live forever.
There is another word erroneously translated "hell" in many Bibles. It is mentioned in the scriptures by Jesus and is called "gehenna" which is not a hell of eternal torment either....it is a place of eternal death....a place from which no one returns.
Jesus used the garbage dump outside Jerusalem's walls to illustrate what happens to unrepentant sinners.
Gehenna was kept burning night and day by the addition of sulfur (brimstone) and the carcasses of dead animals as well as the bodies of executed criminals were cast for disposal. What the flames missed, the maggots finished off. This place represented eternal death because those cast into this fire had no memorial tomb inscribed with their name and lineage, seeing as how they were not considered worthy of a decent burial. To a Jew, this meant God not remembering them in the resurrection and so they would never be restored to life when Messiah's Kingdom would rule the earth.
In the Edenic scenario, death was only mentioned as a punishment for disobedience. There was no natural cause of death until "sin" entered the picture. It is an archery term for "missing the mark". This now meant that humans 'missed the mark' of their original perfection. But not many people understand that there are two kinds of sin mentioned in the scriptures. One is what we inherited from Adam....a genetic problem that came as a direct result of his disobedience. This is the sin we inherited, like a genetic disorder that is passed down from one generation to the next. It causes us to make ill considered decisions at times. This is the sin that Christ came to cancel out by paying for Adam’s sin with his perfect life......this is the "sin" we can't help. (Romans 5:12)
The other kind of sin mentioned is the willful and deliberate kind. This is one that imperfection makes easy, but it is possible to refrain from committing this sin by just following Jesus' directives. There is no way that we can be forgiven for this sin unless we repent.....that means recognizing what that kind of sin is, and avoiding it. If we are weak and give in, Jesus' sacrifice means that we can be forgiven....but only if we are truly sorry for letting down our guard. God knows the heart and will always forgive us if we are genuine in our repentance.
So our concept of sin depends largely on what were were taught as children or as converts to a specific religion.
I was raised in Christendom, but I could not in all conscience remain there.....nothing they taught was actually backed up by the Bible.
I believe that the Bible teaches something completely different to what Christendom teaches.....
