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I have been a Christian all of my life and go to Church every week. I try to live a healthy, Christian lifestyle as a teen (and that can be quite difficult in this day and age). I am 18, live in America, and have a loving family that cares about me. This is just an intro... I am not going to confess my life story; this is just to give you a perspective in to my argument so I don't get comments like, "Your mind and body is not in Christ!", or "You are deceived!".
Don't get me wrong, I am not questioning the existence of God here, just his motives. I believe in the Christian God with no reasonable doubt, as I believe there is more than sufficient evidence for a willing observer to accept it.
Okay, now here is my problem with the concept of hell, which is possibly the number one reason many people have a problem with Christianity.
A loving, just God would not send people to hell mainly because it is simply unfair. Now many people say this, but hear this out from a Christian, objective eye...
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1. First, we must note that everyone is shaped by his/her environment. Parents, friends, government, socioeconomic and many more shapes each individual's perspective on life and beliefs in general - no matter that belief may be. For example, if you have obese parents, you will most likely be overweight. If you were abused as a child, it will be difficult to trust other's interest in you wellbeing. If you were brought up with violence, say in a gang or a cult, you will most likely take part in that. If you are taught to think independently, you will, and vice versa. (There are many more examples that I can think of, and you as well, but the point I'm making is that the first sentence in this paragraph is very true.) And finally, which is my ultimate premise, if you are brought up to have Christian beliefs, it will be much easier for you to be accustom to those views.
If and individual was born in Africa, India, China, or Syria you will be accustom to believe the religion that is affiliated with hat area.
If we as Christians assume the judgment of hell is based on the regime you are brought up in, something isn't right.
A defender might say, "Oh well, they always have a chance in their heart to change!". You might, in defense, say that they must have heard of Christ at least one time in their life, and even if they didn't, the holy spirit would guide them.
Okay... Say this is the case (which in my opinion is not always)... But is it fair that these people have a much more difficult time accepting the truth. A child born in India will have a much easier time accepting Hinduism as the truth than an alternate belief, like Christianity. They have their parents and friends to conform to - something which holds valuable to us as human beings.
2. This reason is somewhat linked to the first, hence much of what I've said above will not be repeated so much here. I have explained that the environment as it relates to a certain regime can shape a person's views with ease (if you are willing to be subjective to an alternate belief, that is), but an environment also impacts one's overall attitude and phycological state. Abuse, rape, deceit, neglect, hate ect. These are all prevalent themes in this age... Do you think these horrific themes in your life would change you? Do you think you would be as willing to accept a higher power that claims to "care about you"?
Now let me be clear, I as a Christian, am not so uneducated on these scenarios and am aware of the power of the devil on this impressionable world. I do, however, believe it would be hard for a non-believer to accept these facts.
Again, this leads to my premise stated before: Is it fair that this environment in which a child is brought up to live in, which is out of his/her control, will still warrant an eternal pit of fire if they are reasonably (in my opinion) not so apt to believe in God?
3. Another environmental impact that is out of our control, that we must consider, is the time period are brought to this world. Could it be that it was easier to believe in God in past centuries, where such violence, hate, humanism, and other worldly impactors did not exist to the extent that we have to endure? Is this fair?
4. Another small reason that I would like to point out, which kind of ties to number one, is that there is not sufficient evidence for people in certain countries to prove God's existence. There are instances where people have never even heard of God, but I believe surely God will forgive them (I hope you believed that before reading this). This is not what I am talking about.
For people like me, with a systematic mind that relies on evidence for proof to believe something. That's just how I was created, and that's fine, but someone like me who doesn't have access to the internet or books will have a hard time accepting God's existence. Not a big issue, but is this fair?
5. Let's talk about accepting Jesus right before you die. Recently, I saw in theaters, "Do you Believe?". At least twice it had people who were accepting Jesus Christ as their savior right before death, and of course because of this, they would therefore go to heaven and be spared from hell. What's significant is that they had a Christian with them when they died, and this is what caused them to accept Jesus right before death. What I am getting at is: is it fair to someone who didn't have that faithful pastor or Christian friend next to them when they died? Just because these people had the convenience of having these Christians around when they said their last words, they are spared from eternal punishment in a lake of fire. Others, good luck! That pastor or Christian friend are at home sleeping! Sorry!
6. On that note, is it fair that young atheists have these "all-of-the-sudden" deaths such as being caught in a fire, car accidents, and other tragedies don't have the rest of their lives as a chance to accept Jesus?
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All of these points lead me to believe, along with the fact that our God loves each and every one of us, that the doctrine of hell misled, or even false. Think of it this way: Could God have injected the concept of hell to better us as believers? For many, the consequences of hell are to much to bare for a Christian - who will, in turn, go out and spread to gospel so prevent the horrible alternative to heaven - or the unbeliever - who will, in turn, believe in God to avoid it. The spreading and acceptance of the gospel could be the reason for this unreasonable projection.
After reading all of my response, with contemplation and pondering I might add, I would like to hear your take on this delicate observation.
Don't get me wrong, I am not questioning the existence of God here, just his motives. I believe in the Christian God with no reasonable doubt, as I believe there is more than sufficient evidence for a willing observer to accept it.
Okay, now here is my problem with the concept of hell, which is possibly the number one reason many people have a problem with Christianity.
A loving, just God would not send people to hell mainly because it is simply unfair. Now many people say this, but hear this out from a Christian, objective eye...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. First, we must note that everyone is shaped by his/her environment. Parents, friends, government, socioeconomic and many more shapes each individual's perspective on life and beliefs in general - no matter that belief may be. For example, if you have obese parents, you will most likely be overweight. If you were abused as a child, it will be difficult to trust other's interest in you wellbeing. If you were brought up with violence, say in a gang or a cult, you will most likely take part in that. If you are taught to think independently, you will, and vice versa. (There are many more examples that I can think of, and you as well, but the point I'm making is that the first sentence in this paragraph is very true.) And finally, which is my ultimate premise, if you are brought up to have Christian beliefs, it will be much easier for you to be accustom to those views.
If and individual was born in Africa, India, China, or Syria you will be accustom to believe the religion that is affiliated with hat area.
If we as Christians assume the judgment of hell is based on the regime you are brought up in, something isn't right.
A defender might say, "Oh well, they always have a chance in their heart to change!". You might, in defense, say that they must have heard of Christ at least one time in their life, and even if they didn't, the holy spirit would guide them.
Okay... Say this is the case (which in my opinion is not always)... But is it fair that these people have a much more difficult time accepting the truth. A child born in India will have a much easier time accepting Hinduism as the truth than an alternate belief, like Christianity. They have their parents and friends to conform to - something which holds valuable to us as human beings.
2. This reason is somewhat linked to the first, hence much of what I've said above will not be repeated so much here. I have explained that the environment as it relates to a certain regime can shape a person's views with ease (if you are willing to be subjective to an alternate belief, that is), but an environment also impacts one's overall attitude and phycological state. Abuse, rape, deceit, neglect, hate ect. These are all prevalent themes in this age... Do you think these horrific themes in your life would change you? Do you think you would be as willing to accept a higher power that claims to "care about you"?
Now let me be clear, I as a Christian, am not so uneducated on these scenarios and am aware of the power of the devil on this impressionable world. I do, however, believe it would be hard for a non-believer to accept these facts.
Again, this leads to my premise stated before: Is it fair that this environment in which a child is brought up to live in, which is out of his/her control, will still warrant an eternal pit of fire if they are reasonably (in my opinion) not so apt to believe in God?
3. Another environmental impact that is out of our control, that we must consider, is the time period are brought to this world. Could it be that it was easier to believe in God in past centuries, where such violence, hate, humanism, and other worldly impactors did not exist to the extent that we have to endure? Is this fair?
4. Another small reason that I would like to point out, which kind of ties to number one, is that there is not sufficient evidence for people in certain countries to prove God's existence. There are instances where people have never even heard of God, but I believe surely God will forgive them (I hope you believed that before reading this). This is not what I am talking about.
For people like me, with a systematic mind that relies on evidence for proof to believe something. That's just how I was created, and that's fine, but someone like me who doesn't have access to the internet or books will have a hard time accepting God's existence. Not a big issue, but is this fair?
5. Let's talk about accepting Jesus right before you die. Recently, I saw in theaters, "Do you Believe?". At least twice it had people who were accepting Jesus Christ as their savior right before death, and of course because of this, they would therefore go to heaven and be spared from hell. What's significant is that they had a Christian with them when they died, and this is what caused them to accept Jesus right before death. What I am getting at is: is it fair to someone who didn't have that faithful pastor or Christian friend next to them when they died? Just because these people had the convenience of having these Christians around when they said their last words, they are spared from eternal punishment in a lake of fire. Others, good luck! That pastor or Christian friend are at home sleeping! Sorry!
6. On that note, is it fair that young atheists have these "all-of-the-sudden" deaths such as being caught in a fire, car accidents, and other tragedies don't have the rest of their lives as a chance to accept Jesus?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All of these points lead me to believe, along with the fact that our God loves each and every one of us, that the doctrine of hell misled, or even false. Think of it this way: Could God have injected the concept of hell to better us as believers? For many, the consequences of hell are to much to bare for a Christian - who will, in turn, go out and spread to gospel so prevent the horrible alternative to heaven - or the unbeliever - who will, in turn, believe in God to avoid it. The spreading and acceptance of the gospel could be the reason for this unreasonable projection.
After reading all of my response, with contemplation and pondering I might add, I would like to hear your take on this delicate observation.
