Why Christians Don't Understand Non-Christians

A very rich man decided that he wanted to show kindness to the people of the fair city where he lived. Since he was very rich indeed, he decided to throw a banquet for the entire city. He rented the largest sports arena in the city and began his plans. He planned for huge amounts of the best food possible, making allowances for every religious and medical diet. He advertised the banquet in every possible manner - television, radio, billboard, door-to-door canvassing. Considering that there might be some who could not travel, he arranged for free bus transportation to and from the event, and some special-needs vehicles for all who could not ride busses. He even scheduled the banquet to run for 24 hours a day for several days so that everyone could be sure of being served.

He planned long and hard and finally the big day came. The rich man ate quickly and then went about wishing all his guests well and personally making sure that all had every need met. After a while he went outside to tour the grounds and talk with those who had not yet gone in, and those who had already left. Everyone was happy. Many were profusely thankful. It was a glorious occasion.

At one point the rich man noticed a group of people sitting outside a locked door with most unpleasant looks on their faces. Sensing they were not happy, he went over to them. He did not introduce himself but simply asked them if he could be of service.

The rich man explained to them that the hall was arranged to feed a large number of people as quickly and effortlessly as possible. This required order inside, and the entrances and exits had been carefully planned to be as efficient as possible. He then offered to go call one of the golf carts that were avaialbe to help people who could not walk far to take them to the entrance. But the man replied, "We do not want to go in the entrance. We want to go in this door. We don't understand why we can't go in any door we wish. We think the man who set this banquet up is mean and hateful for insisting we go in through the entrance. He has tried to bill himself as a very kind man by offering this banquet, but he is not kind at all if he will not indulge us and let us go through this door.

The rich man was distressed at these words, but still attempted to please these people. He tried once more to explain to them what was behind this particular door, and how if they went in this door they would disrupt the meal service being offered inside. He offered to drive them himself, not only to the door, but inside the hall to their tables if they would only go through the entrance to enjoy the meal. Again the man said, "No, but only a hateful man would keep us from going through the door of our choosing. And we will sit here and tell anyone who will listen to us what an awful man he is until he lets us in."

At that the rich man was enraged and he shouted, "Enough." Then he called a police officer to have them thrown off of the property and ordered that they not be allowed to return until the banquet was over and all the scraps had been hauled away. Then, mourning for their loss, he turned to visit with other guests.

"The oaths that are made in Tash's name and kept for the oath's sake, I count as mine." Probably not exactly correct, but essentially what C.S. Lewis had Aslan say in The Last Battle.

I wouldn't say all worship of gods is worship of God. Nor, for that matter, is all worship thought to be of God, actually of Him.... But Judaism (as I understand it) teaches that Judaism is for the Jews and other people are to worship Him in their own way and to be no less respected for that.

FWIW, I know many "fundamentalist" (using this as in the broad cultural usage, not as in the theologically accurate usage) Christians who believe that the Jews are "the chosen people" in that they can achieve heaven on deeds and not on faith.

Personal belief: He, who is perfect, cannot be wasteful; therefore, God is not wasteful; therefore, what is good in a person God keeps for Himself, for to do otherwise would be wasteful.

Well, I'm a non-Christian, trying to work through the Christian POV. I'm not sure whether doctrine is God sends people to Hell or allows them go to Hell by not saving them....

But I think the question of free will falls more on the immediate vs. delayed gratification. We can argue that God's law is unjust, in our opinion, just as we can argue that the government's law is unjust. But if we're going with the gun-to-the-head analogy, then the gun held to our head by the police means, we do not have free will to not rob, not murder, or not commit other crimes.

After that, the question of whether God is active or passive, doesn't really matter....

Actually, no, you have the assumption wrong. They are outside already. He isn't going to throw them into hell...

But once they are in hell, He will never permit them to leave, even if they repent. Apparently the time frame of the human life span, though unimaginably short when measured against eternity, is of supreme importance to God. I don't see how that is not capricious and cruel in the extreme.

The more correct underlying assumption is that everyone who has not chosen to go through the door will never change their minds. After a while their hearts become too hard.

I believe that after ten minutes in hell, anyone would change his mind. Why would God then turn him away? I can't believe that He is unjust and cruel. I also do not believe that the Bible is wrong. My best judgement is that many folks are misinterpreting these verses.

In my version of the analogy, the stubborn prospective guests would indeed go to jail. But after a time they would be released. And when they grew and learned and eventually chose to accept the grace of the host and enter the banquet properly, the host would welcome them heartily. They would not languish in the jail eternally.

...real question is not..How could a loving and JUST God send someone to hell? But..How could a loving and JUST God allow anyone into heaven? He answered the dilema some 2000 years ago on a cross.

I agree, but I have a problem with the concept of eternal hell. A man, for whatever reason, makes the wrong choice during his twenty or fifty or one hundred years on earth, and rejects God's mercy. After a trillion trillion trillion years in hell he is not permitted to choose again. That makes human life not a glorification of God, but a horribly cruel trap, from which few escape. No one has explained to me how this interpretation of the Bible can support the idea of a loving, just, or compassionate God, as is conveyed in the banquet analogy of ArGee. Would the host really want the permit the guests to stay in the jail forever? I don't doubt the authority of the Bible, but I have to think we are reading it wrong to come up with this.

Have you not seen a beautiful sunset or the birth of a child or a snowy field or felt the kindness of a friend. These are big strokes of love from God. Do you think this is all just an accident? You don't need someone to give you an invitation. God has already given you the invitation and followed up by the very next breath you take or the love of someone in your family. He could have just created us. He didn't have to give us color or taste or emotions. Again example of his love.

He will not allow sin into heaven. He gave us a way out through Jesus. He chose that. He gave us a choice as to accept the gift or not. He could change it right now if he wanted to. But then he would not allow us the free will to chose him. Kind of like a arranged marriage. How good would you feel if you knew the other person was there only because they had to be not because they chose it?

Eternal damnation is not without controversy, even among Bible beleiving Christians. Some promonant evangelical theologians (for example, John Stott) hold to what is called annihilation, where the soul is destoyed if unsaved. There are some scriptual problems with that because it is the same word used to describe eternal life for the beleiver.

I have no perfect interpretation of the Word, however I think the soul is immortal. Using modern physics, the soul of a man has no mass; it is the "software" while the body is the "hardware". Sort of like the information on a computer,( your disc doesn't weigh any more once loaded with info.). With no mass there is no time. That is a scientific fact (Einsteins theory of relativity) We should not be thinking in terms of trillions of years, for there is no time.

The immortality of the soul should bother some people... if you know what I mean. cheers

Could it be that there really is only one God, and everyone, regardless of their beliefs, worships the same one?

You may agree with this statement if you understand the philosophy of logic and the law of non-contradiction...Either all religions are wrong or one is right. Many people contend that all religions are basically the same. Well they may have similiar morals, but they differ dramatically on who God is, creation, salvation, sanctification, redemption, the afterlife, the attributes of God, just to name a few.

I can't say I remember reading any of your posts, but whatever you believe, don't go with the foolish notion that all gods are the same. Make sure you stay out of the middle of the road and get run over. Either embrace one hook, line and sinker, or deny them all. cheers.

I have never studied the philosophy of logic or the law of contradiction...perhaps all are right...we are speaking about God here, are you sure you can apply those laws nd philosophies to Him?
Perhaps God is so advanced that, He can handle all of the religions/beliefs quite effectively. Perhaps humans morals are similar regardless of their religion or lack of it. Their may even be seperate heavens.
I do not have the foolish notions all gods are the same because their only is one true God of everyone.
I see no reason why I can't stay in the middle of the road when it comes to God. I do not have to embrace anything.

Hey, I totally understand where I think you are coming from. I'm just trying to communicate that if one religion says God is A and another religion says God is not A, I believe either both are wrong or one is right. For me to deny that would be to abandon logic, which I refuse to do in my quest for truth.

I don't abandon logic, I just don't apply it to God or metaphysical musings. God invented what we know of as logic, that doesn't mean logic can be applied to Him. We are stuck here on earth, and the only thing we have to try and understand these things is logic. I understand your reluctance to abandon logic and the human need to be able to understand all, but can it really be used to describe God?

Could it be that there really is only one God, and everyone, regardless of their beliefs, worships the same one?

I feel you are close with this statement. I just added a few words....

Could it be that there really is only one God, and everyone, regardless of their beliefs, THINK they worship the same one?

FYI John 1:1 reads "In the begining was the Word..." The Greek word for "Word" is logos... the root word of logic. I can see will we probably never see eye to eye. There is really no point in discussing issues when the rules of conversation are different. I'll just encourage you to think really hard about what giving up logic means, as I will ponder what you have shared.

They would not languish in the jail eternally.

If you are correct and they can change their minds, then I have no problem with the idea that G-d will allow it. If I am correct and they already have all the information they need, and like OWK will prefer hell once they get there because they will never believe that heaven could be better, then do you have a problem with G-d letting them stay with that opinion eternally?

Remember what Satan said in Paradise Lost when being cast into hell? I believe that is what every non-believer says, and they stick with that opinion for all eternity. In fact, I believe that's the only reason that anyone is ever in hell. That's not what the Bible says, but I do not believe the Bible contradicts me.

Shalom.

After that, the question of whether God is active or passive, doesn't really matter....

Wow. It may not matter to you, but to me it is THE salient point of the entire construct. Well, if we cannot find a starting point upon which we can both agree, I suppose it's pointless to keep trying. Have a good one.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.