Posted on 12/06/2004 12:44:58 PM PST by Lindykim
"Is it morally and theologically acceptable to hope anyone goes to hell? ... One...need not be a conservative Christian to believe in some form of hell for the evil. All one need be is a rational believer in a just God. For if there is a just God, it is inconceivable that those who do evil and those who do good have identical fates. A just God must care about justice, and since there is little justice in this world, there has to be in the next. And belief in the next world is also not confined to Christianity. As the Encyclopedia Judaica ... (edited largely by non-religious Jews) notes in the first sentence under the heading 'Afterlife,' 'Judaism has always believed in an afterlife.' ... Much of humanity has been adversely affected by modern-day terror. The lives of millions -- virtually all Palestinians and Israelis, for example -- have been terribly affected by Arafat. And there are hundreds of thousands of people whose lives have been destroyed or shattered by him. At the same time, other than a few sycophants enriched by some of the billions of dollars he embezzled from the Palestinians, no one has had a better life because Yasser Arafat lived. ... Yasser Arafat single-handedly made nihilistic acts of cruelty routine, even respectable. ... Thanks to him, the Palestinian name is identified among people of goodwill with barbarity just as the German name came to be associated with barbarity as a result of Hitler. ... Just as any decent human being would want good people to be rewarded in whatever existence there is after this life, they would want the cruelest of people to be punished. So, of course, I hope Yasser Arafat is in hell. ... If you think that is hard-hearted, consider the alternative, that one of the most corrupt and cruel human beings of the past half-century is resting in peace. Whoever isn't bothered by that is the one with the hard heart." --Dennis Prager
God is so gracious that He's always drawing people to Him so at the last moment, he could have. We may never know. I've been praying for all those terrorists to find Christ and end their hatred.
I'm only going to heaven because I asked Jesus Christ to come into my heart about 35 years ago, when I was 30. I'm certainly not worthy of that but God's grace is sufficient. I never have to worry about falling in and out of His grace. He doesn't pick and choose. WE do. It's not exclusive but it depends on YOU, whether you end up there or not. I pray you will, dear FReeper.
I appreciate your optimism. From what I read, Arafat was not an Islamic zealot in the Taliban sense, and wasn't very religious at all. His wife was raised as a Christian. Stranger things have happened.
It's not just God's decision. It's OURS. If we turn our backs on Jesus Christ and never allow Him into our lives, then we will not go to heaven. It's as simple and as complicated as that. God wants all of us to go but He knows many will reject His Son. He doesn't want any of us to perish but to have everlasting life through His Son. He doesn't sit up in the heavens and decides who can go and who can't. We do that ourselves, sadly.
It's not mentioned in the Bible. Purgatory, as far as I can figure out, is a 'holding tank' for people who die and you can pray them out of there so they go to heaven. I don't know if I got that right but that's my impression of it. I don't think it's scriptural.
I am a Catholic and Christian. I think Purgatory is wishful thinking. There is absolutely no scriptural refence nor did any of our Lord's teachings. The Bible says that a man dies once and faces the judgement. Heaven or Hell? There is no other place.
In hell you live on forever, too. It's a place of ETERNAL damnation and suffering. I wouldn't wish my worst enemy in that place.
I agree. He reminds me of white supremecists who call themselves "Christian." They're no more Christian than the tree in my back yard, in my opinion. Christianity commands us to love one another. We don't have to approve of someone's lifestyle choices but we can still love THEM.
Well, perhaps the thought of RECEIVING Christ instead of just believing he existed and fearing him, as demons do, will clear some of that up. You ASK Him to come into your life to save you. Demons haven't done that. They are fallen angels who were kicked out of heaven.
I don't sit around hoping certain people go to hell. But when I heard about the terrorists shooting fleeing children in the back in Russia, I could clearly see the reasons for hell to exist.
Dear DarthVader,
Well, I don't know what your understanding of Purgatory is. I will say that to the degree that Purgatory is defined dogmatically, Catholics are required to believe it. But Catholics are only required to believe what the Church definitively teaches, not the thoughts, opinions, or speculations of others.
"The Bible says that a man dies once and faces the judgement. Heaven or Hell?"
The doctrine of Purgatory isn't in conflict with that. After death, we are all judged, and we are either saved or damned at the time of judgment. There is no third option. Every single soul who endures Purgatory is saved. Purgatory is not a "second chance" at salvation. If you go to Purgatory, you are already saved.
Purgatory is just what its name proclaims - it is the process by which the soul that has died in a state of grace, the soul that is already saved, is purged, is perfected, cleansed of any lingering attachment to sin.
Catholics are required to believe this.
sitetest
"Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness."
God never slumbers or sleeps, freebilly, so he's not losing any sleep at all (smile).
Well sure you are, but we're always hopeful you'll catch the Jesus express with us one day. :-)
Well he is a democrat and friend of the Clintons. ;-)
Receiving Jesus Christ and repentance cleanses you of all sin. The Blood of Christ is the only atonement and extension of God's grace to us. Look at the thief who died next to Jesus at Calvary. Jesus told him that "surely you will be with me today in paradise" not purgatory. Do you think the thief who was being sentenced to death had some lingering attachment to sin? Yes, he did but he went straight to heaven after his death. To believe anything otherwise is to say that Christ was a liar or guilty of 1/2 truths. Remember this just because dogma is taught does not make it valid or true. There are many teachings in the Catholic church that do not meet the Biblical smell test and that I do not agree with nor accept. The Scriptures which are the inspired Word of God is the ONLY thing we have to base things on. Any other teaching if it is not based upon Scripture is an assumption. And an assumption is life's lowest level of knowledge. A Christian no matter what sect they are in is to base their life on the truth of God's Word not dogma.
Hoping someone goes to hell is like wishing your brother dead.
It's a hateful thing to do and hatred is of the same spirit as murder. So, it is wrong to wish such a thing. What we're supposed to do is seek God's will in all things but work in his will to attempt to get all people into heaven that wish to make that choice. I can't imagine how one can have Christ's concern for another person's soul in them when they have a heart wishing to see that person in hell. My brain snaps trying to get around the incompatibility of the stances. It's like pulling the trigger of a gun pointed at a guy hanging from a cliff and yelling, "give me your hand". Why, so you can drag the dead body up after you murder them and console yourself that you tried to do the right thing?
I like that explanation. It makes sense to me. Thanks.
Exactly!
Absolutely not. Infants are INNOCENT. They may have been born with a sinful nature, but they were innocent. God would never send an infant to hell, never.
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