My VIEW: Why It is I think I'm a Christian going to Hell

[SadAndIsolated]

Please do not quote this. Because at some point I might want to delete it.

The only thing that really worries me about posting this here is what it could do to the faith someone who is thinking about becoming a Christian. I really want everyone to go to heaven when they die. But I've been stuck in the middle. I didn't join these forum sites to help others become what I am. I joined to deal with my own issues. Which is what I think most of you are trying to do too.

My belief in Christianity works like this.


1) You believe that that Jesus lived, died for your sins, and rose again
2) You admit that your a sinner to Jesus, and you can't get to heaven without his help.
3) Now your forgiven but you are expected to grow stronger and stronger in your faith in Him.

I believe that we maintain our own salvation, by growing in faith, and obedience to Jesus and His word. If we sin and don't confess it, eventually that sin will gradually grow and snuff out our faith in Him, or He will decide to cut our branch off the tree and graph in a new branch. Thus our branch is burned in the fires of hell because we didn't confess and turn away from our sin.

The number 1 sin that I'm aware of is caused by my sexual desires for a woman. I often find myself looking at women in a sexual way. The bible calls this adultery. It also reminds the reader over and over again that adulterers and fornicators will not be in Heaven. Since I have been unable to get this under control, I don't think when I die I'm going to heaven. This does not mean I'm no longer a religious Christian still believing in Jesus, praying and studying the Bible. It just means that my fate is hell.

I'm not saying that I know beyond a shadow of doubt that my view is the correct one. What I am saying is that all the over views I'm very doubtful of.... In my estimation my view seems to fit scripture well enough that I can go to biblegateway.com and find you the passages that back up this view. In all my years of listening to sermons from multiple points of view, I've never heard or read anything that made this worry go away.

[Doseone]

The concept of punishing someone for eternity for acting on sexual urges that you gave them in the first place, is absolutely absurd to me.

[SadAndIsolated]

@Doseone


What I have to write may or may not make sense to you. But at least I tried.

It makes sense once you understand things from the beginning. In the beginning everything, including sexual urges, was perfect. Nothing was perverted and nothing could be perverted. But in order for 'love' to exist, a 'choice to do right or wrong' needed to be added into the mix. God put that choice in the mix, and the first two humans decided to make the wrong choice. All of creation was cursed, and that included the sex drive. The one thing that didn't change was the 'choice'. Things got flipped upside down but the 'choice' remained. The perspective changed. Once the first humans had the choice to do wrong, now all humanity has the choice to do right. It's kinda like choosing to walk down a hill, and once you got to the bottom, you know it will be harder to walk back up the hill. The Bible teaches about the curse in Genesis 3. When you get to the new testament, you learn about how everyone is born in sin, and that is why Jesus came to die for it. God's last sacrifice for our sins. It's after that point of view when We Bible Believers start disagreeing.

Historically Christians have wondered about how the whole Salvation plan really works. Does obeying the scriptures play a role in salvation? Some ministers say yes and some ministers say no. I think that is one of the reasons why you see some Christians acting just like everyone else, and others going to the extreme in the other direction (But you really don't see them as much anymore)

I could write on, but this stuff really starts getting complicated. Because their are some Christians who actually believe that God choose them for Salvation before the world was even created! yikes! If that were the case then why on earth did Jesus come to earth for the Sacrifice? (I'm not asking you just writing...)

I openly admit this is all a mess. What keeps me believing in it, is that most really good historians agree that there really was a Jesus and nobody found his Body. If anyone wants Christianity to go away, that is what they need to do. Prove that Jesus didn't rise from the Dead, and the whole thing falls apart.

[Doseone]

Been there, done that. I used to be really obsessed with apologetics and the philosophy of religion, so I've heard all of this before. I simply don't accept it. Again, why give people sexual urges at all if it's likely to lead to (supposedly) eternal damnation for a good chunk of humanity? It also seem completely arbitrary for sexual urges to only be moral under certain circumstances (e.g. marriage). It seems obvious to me that sexual urges exist biologically as they lead to furthering the species. It's like throwing somebody in hell because they have a natural urge toward eating when hungry. If it's so bad, why give people this urge? I also don't see why an urge is necessary for a moral decision to be made. I don't have an urge to steal for example, yet in not stealing, it is still my choice to do so. I'd also add that not everyone necessarily has those urges and the degree varies, so it leads to a lot of unfairness.

You're free to believe what you want - I have no interest changing your views. But that's just my opinion.

[Otherside]

I'd argue that it is a persons actions that matter, rather than there urges.

If one has an urge but does not act on it, then they have resisted the urge, made the choice to not act and so have not acted, and are not guilty.

[Doseone]

I'd argue that it is a persons actions that matter, rather than there urges.

If one has an urge but does not act on it, then they have resisted the urge, made the choice to not act and so have not acted, and are not guilty.

But why punish people eternally for acting on biological urges that you gave them (especially when you know that humanity wouldn't be able to live up to those standards)? That makes no sense. If it's so sinful, don't put it in their biology.

[Otherside]

But why punish people eternally for acting on biological urges that you gave them (especially when you know that humanity wouldn't be able to live up to those standards)? That makes no sense. If it's so sinful, don't put it in their biology.

I'm not particularly religious in the first place, and I suppose with that context, my answer in context seems odd. I guess I was answering more the hypothetical, "if sex is a sin" question. Although it could apply to any urge.

As has been mentioned, one may have the urge to steal. Religious or not, most people would argue that stealing is wrong. Is having the urge to steal wrong, but not acting on that the wrong thing to do? I'd argue not. If the person were to act on that, however, that woud be the wrongdoing.

[Cuchculan]

We all know right from wrong. I think the main thing is ' what do we each consider to be wrong '. Now if a person is going by their bible what they consider to be wrong, based on their bible, might be different from what others consider to be wrong simply based on their own opinions. ( Not based on any bible ) I think we have to view the religion to try and understand the person. The Christian view point would differ from the normal Catholic view point. Both religions may pray to the same God. But a Christian might have a stronger view point than a normal Catholic. Their religion tends to be a lot deeper than your average Catholic religion. The bible might be used in different ways. Some use it as a way of life. Others read it but don't take it as far as that. To me that is what this all comes down to. A Christian would hold very strong beliefs based on their bible. There would be no changing how they view things. A sin to them might not be a sin to you. Even if you are a Catholic. I have no idea if the whole confession thing exists in the Christian religion? With a Catholic, you feel you have sinned, you go to confession and you tell the priest. Absolved from all your sins. Because you have confessed them. Bit like been handed a clean slate. So if I was asked by a Christian what they should do, I would suggest a talk with the Pastor. Or whoever it is who is the head of their church. It may not be like confession in the Catholic sense, but it would be similar. You are saying were it is you think you are going wrong and you will hear what the Pastor has to say in reply. I doubt it would be to condemn you to hell for all eternity. He would listen to your words. Maybe make a few suggestions back. On how you can right any wrongs you have done. From there it is up to you.

[SadAndIsolated]

I have this same thread going on SAS. I was about to argue my opinion when I came across this blog: It is called: "The Unrighteous Will Not Inherit the Kingdom, but Will I?" Link: https://www.str.org/blog/unrighteous...kingdom-will-i The truth is I really don't care who is right or isn't. Me or you. Life is hard, and sometimes looking forward to heaven is the only thing that keeps me going. I find it really scary to think that I will go through all the bad here on earth only to end up in worse place when I die. Simply because I didn't get my "belief system" correct, and followed it to the best that I can do. There is always been an argument over how much is works and how much is just faith. Are you fruitful or are you not? Who is a true believer and who isn't. I know at some point I'll need to put this thing to rest. I just hope that I can someday. Sometimes I'm not sure if I can trust God enough to put it to rest.