Lindsey-Loo
Steel Magnolia
I mean you must believe in and follow the Bible...so no, non-Christians cannot go to Heaven.
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"If there is a hell, there can be no heaven"
- Thread starter Bronze
- Start date
I mean you must believe in and follow the Bible...so no, non-Christians cannot go to Heaven.
Well, that's a shame
fascist_crusader
Member
I could be perfectly happy in heaven even knoeing many more were in hell. They freely made the choice to not accept Jesus, it wasn't my fault they chose wrong.
Katzpur
Not your average Mormon
So would you mind answering the question I asked Guess Who? What about people who were never given the choice? I'm talking about people who either lived before Christ or even after Christ, but in parts of the world where Christianity had not yet been preached? Do they just all end up in hell due something beyond their control?
Bronze
Bronze
how could you accept heaven, and be at peace and happiness, knowing your own children are being tormented in hell? or your spouse or friends, ect.
he suppoed to be merciful and omni(infinitely)benevolent. but maybe i am wrong. maybe he isnt as kind as i thought...
correct, assuming the second scenerio is the true one
if god was benevolent, and could avoid sending people to hell over mistakes they made on earth, by ALL means he would. thats what i am saying, but he obviously doesnt as he made hell anyway.
Lindsey-Loo
Steel Magnolia
Quite.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Guess Who?
But anyway...how do you figure that having a loved one in hell will ruin one's true heaven?
how could you accept heaven, and be at peace and happiness, knowing your own children are being tormented in hell? or your spouse or friends, ect.
Quote:
And why would God let people "into" Heaven when they don't deserve it?
he suppoed to be merciful and omni(infinitely)benevolent. but maybe i am wrong. maybe he isnt as kind as i thought...
Quote:
Oh wait, He can't, because he's not merciful, correct?
correct, assuming the second scenerio is the true one
Quote:
Wrong...God has shown us plenty of mercy just by giving us a chance to get to Heaven. He's given us the gift already...the oppurtunity to go to Heaven just by following His word. That's amazingly merciful and loving by itself. If you choose to refuse that gift, then there's nothing more to be done...one who refuses that gift of mercy goes to Hell.
if god was benevolent, and could avoid sending people to hell over mistakes they made on earth, by ALL means he would. thats what i am saying, but he obviously doesnt as he made hell anyway.
I could still be happy in Heaven because I'm with my God. I'll be past the point of caring about the choices that other people made, because being with God is just that amazing and exciting. It's indescribable, pure, utter joy. You can't help but be happy there.
Besides, if I turn out to be the kind of mother and spouse God wants me to be (assuming I someday get married and have children) then my family will be going to Heaven with me. So no problems there.
He does. All we have to do is accept the gift, and we're there. It's like if you're about to be executed, and the judge or whatever says "I'll give you another chance. All you need to do is follow the law, and you can walk out of prison right now and live." And then you say, "Thanks, but no thanks."
You've refused the merciful gift. Get it? God lets everyone into Heaven free...as long as they accept the gift.
The Seeker
Once upon a time....
So, what happened to the billions of people that died before Christ came to Earth and never got the message? What about people today who don't hear the message through no fault of their own?
Runlikethewind
Monk in Training
This is assuming God is the one who sends people to hell. The way I understand it is that people choose to be in hell, God does not send anyone there. Here is how I understand it. God is existence and so nothing can exist apart from God. God loves us all so much that He wills that we exist eternally and so God will not annihilate anyone, those that have existence will never cease to exist. This is a good thing in general since we never have to fear not existing, we will always be. Now there are those who would choose to be in opposition to God, who desire not to have anything to do with God. For these people they desire that which cannot be, they desire to exist apart from existence. And so they exist in a state of....well, hell. They desire to exist without God but can only exist in God. There is no hope for those who refuse to give up this desire. Hell exists because God loves us too much to destroy us (and these people in hell do not want to be destroyed, they still desire to exist, it is just impossible for them to exist in they way they desire, that is apart from God) and God respects our freedom enough to allow us to choose to exist in this state of internal strife, to choose to exist in hell. In any event, if my understanding is even remotely correct then those who have loved ones in hell, if they have true love for them, will respect their decision to exist in hell and so they would not be effected negatively by them being in hell it would seem, for they are given their wish they are allowed to exist as they desire to exist.
Lindsey-Loo
Steel Magnolia
I don't know.
McBell
mantra-chanting henotheistic snake handler
the ask forgiveness and are admitted to heaven.
FerventGodSeeker
Believer
In your view, does "omnibenevolence" mean forcing people to go to Heaven who don't want to be there?
Are you serious?
I remember a few months ago, a loved one and I had a misunderstanding. I thought he had essentially said he believed I was going to hell (which he hadn't, but you know, misunderstandings), and the fact that he was so nonchalant about it upset me greatly. How could he not care if I was going to suffer for eternity? As an experiment, I tried picturing him suffering, to see how it made me feel. I couldn't stand it...I started crying after just a few seconds of picturing it.
Guess it's a good thing that I don't have that view of Heaven and hell!
Lindsey-Loo
Steel Magnolia
The beauty and utter joy of being with God will flush out everything else.
Katzpur
Not your average Mormon
I can't believe you would be less caring in Heaven than you were on Earth.
Runlikethewind
Monk in Training
No I don't for the very reason that you state, just because someone doesn't know doesn't make them opposed. I am really thinking about Satan and the other fallen angels. They knew God because they where in his presence, there was no doubt for them. But they choose to reject God, and in essence they chose to exist in hell, and I believe they knew the consequences of their choice before they made it. I tend to think we will all have a similar choice to make after we die. The main point being that if hell exists because people or angels want it to exist, it should not necessarily pose a difficulty for those in heaven to know that those who are in hell want to be there for some reason.
Katzpur
Not your average Mormon
I couldn't possibly agree more. To suggest that we will lose our ability to be compassionate once we're in Heaven is unimaginable to me. :sad: I hope I never get to that point.
Lindsey-Loo
Steel Magnolia
I can!
Katzpur
Not your average Mormon
And you're proud to say it, too, aren't you?
Lindsey-Loo
Steel Magnolia
Umm, not really...? I mean, I'm not ashamed to say it, if that's what you mean, but I don't think "proud" would correctly describe it. What do you suppose I would be proud of?
