Dinesh D’Souza has been on a roll in the wake of the murders at Virginia Tech. He’s on target as atheism doesn’t address death. But, here’s the thing – Christianity’s answer is a helluva lot worse than atheism’s “nothingâ€.
Yes, Christianity prattles on about the immortality of the soul and how we’re all not going to really die when we die. As it goes, our deaths are but minor bumps on the road called immortality. Each and everyone of us is immortal – by birth. Sounds like a good thing, eh? Well, that depends on if you’re saved or not.
If you’re saved – you go to Heaven, get issued a harp, some kneepads and life is perfect – for eternity.
If you’re not saved – you go to Hell. There are no harps and your physical discomfort isn’t just overlooked, but is a part of the plan. Hell is not just a place of punishment – but torture also.
(1) Hell was designed originally for Satan and his demons (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10).
(2) Hell will also punish the sin of those who reject Christ (Matthew 13:41,50; Revelation 20:11-15; 21:8).
(3) Hell is conscious torment.
- Matthew 13:50 “furnace of fire…weeping and gnashing of teethâ€
- Mark 9:48 “where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenchedâ€
- Revelation 14:10 “he will be tormented with fire and brimstoneâ€
(4) Hell is eternal and irreversible.
- Revelation 14:11 “the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever and they have no rest day and nightâ€
- Revelation 20:14 “This is the second death, the lake of fireâ€
- Revelation 20:15 “If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life,
Of course, Christians have a long history of hating each other with a passion that almost rivals their longtime hatred of Jews. Various groups have routinely condemned other Christian sects to hell and some continue to do so if more quietly than in the past.
So, what would a Christian say to a grieving mother? It depends on the brand the speaker belongs to but the generic consensus is “if your child died without being a member of my religion and/or my specific sect – they’re in Hell being tortured. Can I get you anything? A drink, perhaps?â€.
Perhaps I’m getting soft these days, but that sounds a bit more nastier than “nothingâ€.
{ 7 comments }
Nicely done. And the new theme is most tasteful too.
I’m not worried – I got myself one of these.
B.,
Good post. Most Christians never take their beliefs to the logical conclusion. And ditto to Null’s comments on the new theme.
aA
The kind of religious belief that you describe (and which has almost completely died out on this side of the north atlantic) is so idiotic that a good response is to laugh at it. The more serious point that your article highlights is the use of that well known repository of nonsense and nastiness, the bible, to justify man’s inhumanity to man. Why are some people so desperate for authority that they will give up their capacity for logical thought to such an extent that they will accept this bumper book of bullshit as something not only meaningful but true too? As a species we must be a lot stupider than we think we are…
Happy Days!
Tom
Well I’m a Christian and I think
1. The modern Christians show less hate than almost every other religion (I admit history shows some nasty christians, but i don’t think they’ll all get in)
2. Christians don’t hate Jews, We feel kinda sorry for them that they missed the point (Jesus) but as Gods Chosen People, i guess they are gonna get in.
3. Any Christian Believer of any ‘sect’ (your word not mine) who genuinly beleives in Jesus being the saviour will get in (John 3:16) even if I don’t agree with their particular slant on how to run a church.
(I personally think Mormans and Jevhovahs witness are a bit kooky, but it doesn’t really matter what I think, I’m not the judge)
4. If you hear the word of God and reject it, then your in for a hot time, so most little kids and the odd isolated tribe should be okay. Jesus said he’d return after the whole world knew, so this is why we are so keen on missionary’s to everywhere.
But i guess if you are an athesist, agnostic, Hundui or Muslim you’ve got trouble.
(Please excuse my spelling)
And of course ‘God bless you, each and every one of you’, cause despite what you beleive, God still loves you and wants me to love you too. (Hate is just so over rated, there are a few things people might DO that i dislike, but people? nah, they just all need a little love).
Here’s an interesting twist to the whole happiness-in-heaven, torture-in-hell concept: Thomas Aquinas believed that there was a window into hell from heaven, so that the people in heaven can get their schadenfreudian kicks out of watching the damned rot in hell:
“In order that nothing may be wanting to the felicity of the blessed spirits in heaven, a perfect view is granted to them of the tortures of the damned.”
Sounds like a lovely guy — I hope he didn’t have any pets as a child (for the pets’ sake).
Although while on the subject, another interesting twist is that my wife’s church does not believe in a literal hell. They teach that a person’s journey continues after death, and that after sufficient development of the soul everyone is allowed in heaven. The fewer the theists that preach fire and brimstone, the better, I say.
Neil,
If you’re still here…
About this ‘hearing the good news and rejecting it’. Let’s say, for the sake of argument somebody had only ever heard the good news from a stereotypical used car salesman.
It seems a bit harsh to judge somebody for rejecting a message coming from a poor source, right?
And if the content of the message is that your friends, however good they are, will burn in hell and deserve it, because a good God deems it so – well similarly, shouldn’t this be rejected on the grounds that the speaker appears to have difficulty telling good from evil? And therefore can’t be reliable?
Do you accept there is a difference between hearing something, even something true, and having good reason to believe it?
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