Warning! This is covering religion … again. If you prefer to skip this one, I’ll see you tomorrow.
I have a problem with Hell. Or rather God sending people to Hell.
In the Church we attend, they are very big on the fact that God can do anything, loves us more than anything, and wants us to be with Him. One of the songs that they sing has the line “ain’t no sinner he can’t save”. They believe in Grace, which once again, is defined as “the unmerited favor of God that is neither earned nor deserved.”
According to the Pastor, we are all sinners. No getting around it, we are born sinners. Nothing we do in life changes that. No matter how good you are, no matter what benefit you bring to the world, you are still a sinner. That is because Adam ad Eve ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden and got kicked out of Eden for doing so. That earned them, and by extension us, eternal condemnation from the God who loves us and wants us to be with Him.
Then Jesus came along to redeem us all. He sacrificed himself (or was sacrificed by God) so that would wash away all of our sins, pay the price, and earn us all an entrance into Heaven.
OK, great! We’ve gone from condemned to saved.
So, how does Hell still play a role in all of this? We are constantly told that Jesus is our Savior, God loves us, and because of Grace, God will overlook all the crap we’ve done by not being perfect and screwing up.
How could God send anyone to Hell then? I’ve asked this question to several religious leaders and people in our Church. The answer I keep getting back is “God doesn’t send people to Hell. Mankind chooses Hell by their actions.”
Uhmmmmm … what?
What about Grace, and no sinner He can’t save? If there is nothing we can do to deserve or earn God’s Grace, then why can we do things that will get us thrown into Hell? Isn’t Grace the very thing that is supposed to save us from going to Hell, no matter how badly we’ve sinned, and get us to Heaven?
Just where is that line where God decides that your actions are getting you condemned to Hell and worthy of withholding His Grace? From reading the Bible it seems the Old Testament answer is that if you don’t obey God, you’re going to Hell. The New Testament answer seems to be that if you don’t choose God, you’re going to Hell. In either case, it seem you must be sorry for committing your sins and repent. But again, if our actions don’t count (because Grace is undeserved, unearned, and unmerited) then why are these three things the sins that get us sent to Hell? (Not to mention all the other things like, murder, rape, stealing, etc.)
I’m sorry, but this doesn’t make sense to me. Can someone out there please explain it to me, without your argument contradicting itself?
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