ANSWERS: 100
  • Not all Christians believe that, in fact quite a small number do in my experience. My mum is a fairly strict Christian that believes you go to Heaven if you're a good person. I consider myself to be Christian but I don't believe in Hell at all, neither does my dad who is also Christian. I had this argument with someone recently who passionately believed that anyone who did not believe in Jesus would go to Hell. I asked her if that meant that Hitler (a Catholic) would be in Heaven yet the Dalai Lama (sp) would be in Hell and she said yes!! That doesn't make much sense to me!
  • A majority (but not all) of the funadamentalist followers of religions, believe that they alone are right, everyone else wrong and as such, unless we convert/repent, we're heading for the great down under cook off. A TRUE christian has many definitions according to who you ask.Fundamentalists ( evangelists) for example are in their mind, the only ones that are right in their beliefs, and some even argue that Catholics and Anglicans are all condemned to Hell. http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_defn3.htm http://www.unhinderedliving.com/christiandef.html and especially here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian Personally, I'd ditch your flatmate before you wake up one morning to find her standing over you with a sharp object, chanting and ready to "save" you. That dig about your deceased relatives is not very christian as well.
  • Thanks for your kind answers. Nitanitro, your reply sounds like the person you were talking to could have been my flatmate. My flatmate also said that cos my grandma was a healer, but didn't believe in Jesus, that people she healed were actually healed by Satan!!So everybody she healed are now in Satan's power! I enquired more about Hell from her, and she said that my very dear grandma and other departed loved ones, are being tortured in hell for ever and ever, for eternity. This is the most horrible thing I have ever heard. I am totally disgusted, and feel like my flatmate is trying to judge like God, Jesus/Satan themselves. I don't know what to do. Her thoughts are so sick and horrible, I keep having nightmares, even though I say to myself that it is not true. Help?
  • The Bible says I am the way the truth and the light, no man cometh unto the Father but by me.. So yes that is what Christians believe. Christians are called so because they are believers in Christ. As a Christian, I believe this, but I also believe in trying to get people to she this without, throwing it in their face or trying to scare them into believing. Jesus is loving and doesnt want us to fear or hurt.He just wants us to believe that he came to this earth and he died and was resurrected and is now in heaven and will return to get all the believers one day. If you believe this then you are destined for heaven. You dont have to live a flawless life, but in our love for God we try not to sin, but we all do, even Christians, for we all fall short of the glory of God.
  • Okay first of all it is hideously cruel for your flatmate to be saying that in the first place! I'm going to be completely honest with you!!! This is the kind of behaviour that gives Christians everywhere a bad rap! The judgemental, arrogance that gives people the idea that they can fully assume the right to tell people how to live!!!!!! God gave us a free will to decide how to act and how to accept things. It's none of your flatmate's business. If she wants to try to lead you to Christ then she's going about it the WRONG way!! You do not catch more bees with vinegar...
  • Anybody can say they're a Christian, this doesn't make them so. Therefore, finding out what Christians believe is irrelevant. The question you should be asking is what does GOD say about hell, because HE is the ONLY one who can judge you or your relatives. Here's what Jesus (God in the flesh) said about hell: Matt 10:28 "...Fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Luke 16:23 "...In hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments..." Mark 9:43 "...It is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched." Matt 23:33 "Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?" These scriptures do in fact show that unbelievers do suffer in hell but I've got some good news and it has nothing to do with your car insurance. Jesus also said, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish (in hell), but have everlasting life." John 3:16 I admit some Christians can be really insensitive sometimes and come off as being judgemental but if your Flatmate cared enough about you and was willing to risk your friendship to tell you the truth then she is a true friend and you should consider her words in light of what The Bible says about hell. You can get more information on how to get to heaven and escape hell here: http://www.3LevelsofSalvation.com
  • If a Christian told me to 'go to hell', I wouldn't think of them as a Christian anyway.
  • Your Christian flatmate should keep her opinions to herself and not inflict them, or her beliefs, on others. If she were truely Christian she would believe in goodwill to others (or something like that). You are free to believe what you like - as she is - but she is not free to persecute you. I'd tell her to get stuffed! Sorry to be direct but there you go.
  • I hate how I answered this question and i apologize, Im fully aware of how ignorant I was.
  • ok so unless you and your family members are rapest, murdering theives, none of you are going to hell. If you are good people then you have nothing to worry about, God knows every one in their own hearts. Only God shall judge you, no one else has that power over you. Those who are without sin them selves shall cast the fist stone.
  • As a child I learnt my scriptures etc and was religious. Hence I enjoy answering questions re faith on here. My father was an atheist and the thought of him in hell jsut because he did not believe was enough for me to give up religion.... The most important of all the 10 commandments is to beleive in the one true God. that is the only commandment that if you leave broken at the time of your death then God will not forgive you for. So I think in theory if you dont beleive then you are not going to go to heaven. Hecne a lot of Christians now beleive in purgatory as a middle ground between heaven and hell... Religion is very dear to people and brings some lots of comfort - but sometimes it can bring pain. I hope that everyones God goes with them - in my case I am happy to walk alone..
  • Your flatmate is an idiot. You shouldn't live with her anymore. She sounds a little nuts.
  • unfortunately, this is what many "christian" people believe, the old "fire and brimstome" scare you into submission tactics. It always amazing to me that these christian people are so willing to condem all that don't believe what they do - how exactly is that christian? Anyway, your "friend" is no friend at all, she/he is rude and judgemental. Best to steer clear of that person and the topic of religion.
  • she has no business to judge. the bible tells us let ye be judged by god himself. it's not our place to judge another person.
  • The is an oft misinterpreted verse in the Bible. "Judge not, that ye be not judged." Matthew 7:1 Many people misinterpret this to say that we are not to make any judgments about other people at all. This is wrong. What Jesus was saying here is that we are not supposed to make unrighteous judgments. About the most unrighteous judgment that one of us can make is to pronounce judgment on someone's immortal soul. It is not our place to make those judgments. It is God's. Only He can look at and judge a person's heart. For one of us to make a judgement as to the final disposition of someone else is the hight of arrogance. Such a person should be more concerned with their own eternal welfare for they are committing the sin of pride.
  • that ain't what they belive, i do not think. it may just be intimidation
  • While your flatmate did not exactly put it tactfully or offer the alternative she is basically putting it how the bible puts it. As you can tell from the above responses it is not a popular idea but true as far as the bible is concerned. The idea is that God is perfectly good and cannot be around sin. Everyone has sinned so God provided his son to be a sacrifice so that all you need to do is believe in the son. Thats it. For more on the bible's take on hell look at "Biblical Doctrine of Hell" at http://www.reformed.com/pub/hell.htm Its not pretty but thats it in a nutshell.
  • Of course not!! I can tell you what catholics believe. Firstly, I suppose that what you say is from a conversation, you can't ignore the explanations and the reasons she said. But anyway, no one can tell you're going to hell. Forget about that because what catholics belive is in God, and God is Love. Maybe she forgot to tell you first that God loves you and He just want the best for you. He would love that you get to know Him to discover the true happiness... This might sound as typical words but it is just to make you think that you have to give an answer to that Love at some point. You won't go to hell if you don't want. If you reject God's Love, you are chosing hell... There is no other option. Anyway, it's difficult to explain in a few lines but I hope you might feel more peaceful. And if you are really interested, don't listen to those comments, go to a catholic Church and ask yourself to a priest. Or contact me if you like. Silvia
  • Whoever said that is not going about it the right way. Obviously, they don't know how truly hellacious hell truly is, for if they did, they wouldn't run around condemning others to go there. Hell should be mentioned with concern and even tears, for it is a horrible thing, and not something to toss around indiscriminately. Jesus died for all, and He never went around saying that, and if we are Christian, we shouldn't either. Jesus didn't nag, and Christians should not nag either. Jesus is love and compassion, but since He did die for us and shed His blood for our sins, so that we can and should have eternal life, we will go to hell if we reject Him.
  • Christians are insane. Nice people, good intentions, but naive, clueless and gullible. Don't believe a word they say.
  • Pretty much. According to Christian mythology, blasphemy is the one unforgivable sin. If you don't believe in your creator, the pearly gates won't open for you. I'd assume the only choices left would be purgatory or -yes- hell.
  • Nobody knows who is in heaven and who is in Hell, it is for God to decide.
  • It is not the place of any of us to judge where someone will go once they die. That is between them and God. Unfortunately, there are certain "Christians" who seem to think that they can usurp God's authority in this matter.
  • No! No one, but God has the right to tell you where you are going to go. His followers do not have the right to judge you. If you believe in this faith than they should practice the right way. Tell her next time, that all sins are created equal and her judging you is not better than you not believing, that will shut her up!!!
  • Certainly not this Christian.
  • No. There is no such thing as hell. You should remove this person from your life before her insanity rubs off on you, or something....
  • Only fundamentalist exclusivists i.e. Christians believe everything in the bible is true and that everybody else is wrong.
  • No. Hell has not come to pass yet. Christians believe that hell is in the future so...I suspect that your friend is like many of the Christians out there, picking and choosing and really not all that biblically literate.
  • Regardless of what others might have said thus far, catholics do believe in the above; now whether catholicism is a "christian" religion or not I am not sure of.
  • The Gospels have a few verses that are pretty clear - one can only be saved from Hell by belief in Jesus. Modern Christians will try to apologize for this, and claim that all you have to do is be a good person to go to Heaven. But it's hard to reconcile that with the fact that they are Christian - if all you need to do is be a good person, then why are they Christian? And, also, by what standard do they require you to be a "good" person? Of course, by a Christian standard. Effectively, whether they want to admit it to themselves or others or not, Christians must, of necessity, believe on some level that not believing in Christian values leads you to Hell. Religious statements are statements about "truth statements" - that is, they're statements about what may or may not be true, rather than statements about what they personally like or enjoy or feel. "God exists" and "Jesus died for our sins" are not statements of taste, but of fact - they're either true, or false, and there really isn't any middle ground. Someone who believes in one religion or another necessarily believes that people who believe in different things must be wrong, or they risk being inconsistent and ultimately contradicting themselves. There's just no way out. In logic, it's either "A" or "not A". There is no middle there.
  • this question was asked two years ago. and folks are treating it like it is current information. doesnt anybody read the fine print. This is the bad thing about dredging up old questions. They arent related to the truth of today. The questioner has probably already solved the problem with the flatmate. The flatmate probably has moved out of state by now. And the questioner has switched to another faith or religion by now. So where is the revelance of keeping old questions around?????? This is a perfect example of what is so stupid about this site.
  • Yeah, it is what we believe. I know it sounds harsh, but its the truth.
  • I was a catholic growing up, and was taught that if you didn't believe in jesus as your saviour you would go to hell. I also experienced several other contradictions in christianity. I pursued and studied other religions and came to the conclusion that religion is created by man to create answers for unknowns. I am an atheist, and have been told by a couple of evangelical christians that I am going to hell. And that always starts a discussion, and I can usually out quote them from their own bible. As well as point out several inconsistancies.
  • Answer her that her relatives are burning for not accepting Mohammed as Gods last prophet. What an idiot.
  • Some do... I would call her somewhat fanatical about it. The majority will NOT say something like that to anyone. It's not going to help "bring someone into the fold" if that's what they're trying, and if they are saying this because of YOUR religion, then they are even MORE off. Either try not to let it bother you, or get a new roommate. (And if you can, screen them better! ;-) )
  • Recovering Catholic... Why believe in a cruel and vengeful God, and not a loving tolerant one. I mean, if you are into Dogma, at least make it work for you.
  • It is the truth. Hell is now but not on Earth. It is a real place where souls who perish go where there is eternal separation from God and those who do not believe will perish.
  • Theologians understand that the bible is a selected choice of writings, transcribed from ancient greek more than a millineum after their initial recording. The dead language is easily misinterpreted as is the context of which they are written. Although this is a known fact within scholars, people still choose to interpret the bible in a word for word law instead of a book of phrases and parables to help us live our lives in good faith and kindness to our family and neighbours. Your roomate has fallen prey to these same notions.
  • Not all Christians. For alternate views of reality, I suggest reading "Conversations with God" or investigating other spiritual paths such as "The Science of Mind" church. Regarding established religions and their general mind set that "we are right and everyone else is wrong (and will burn in hell)," I suggest running the other way when someone tries to indoctrinate you into that dangerous way of thinking and believing... Did you know that there are several ancient Christian Gospels that, for various reasons, did not make it into the officially sanctioned canon (bible)? One particular gospel called "Thomas" states, and I paraphrase, that the way to know God is to look within and to know yourself whereas the officially Roman Catholic-sanctioned gospels (4th century AD) basically made it clear that the only way to know God was through the Mother Church... Kind of makes one wonder. Remember that innumerable wars and acts of brutality have been waged in the name of Christianity.
  • She sounds like one evil, nasty cat! Tell her, as a christian, she should be more tactful, less judgemental, more caring and less superior - or she wont get to heaven!
  • Not as far as I'm concerned. Who are we to judge? Only God can see our hearts, only he can be the Judge of our eternal life.
  • Sounds as if you are already renting space in hell to me having to put up with all of that. It was the Devil who told Eve: “You positively will not die.” (Genesis 3:4; Revelation 12:9) But she did die; no part of her lived on. That the soul lives on after death is a lie started by the Devil. And it is also a lie, which the Devil has had spread, that the souls of the wicked are tormented in a hell or a purgatory. Since the Bible clearly shows that the dead are unconscious, these teachings could not be true. Actually, neither the word “purgatory” nor the idea of a purgatory is found in the Bible. The Bible shows that hell (Sheol, or Hades) is a place of rest in hope for the dead. Both good and bad persons go there, to await the resurrection. We have also learned that Gehenna does not mean a place of torment, but is used in the Bible as a symbol of everlasting destruction. In the same way, “the lake of fire” is not a literal place of fire, but represents the “second death” from which there will be no resurrection. Hell could not be a place of torment because such an idea never came into the mind or heart of God. Additionally, to torment a person eternally because he did wrong on earth for a few years is contrary to justice. How good it is to know the truth about the dead! It can truly set one free from fear and superstition. see John 8:32.
  • Only the crazy ones. Well, ok, "crazy" isn't a fair word. Intolerant, fundamentalist, gullible and self-righteous are probably better choices. I know plenty of Christians and Catholics who are totally level-headed people with the ability to use logic and reason, even when it comes to their religious beliefs. Don't let one Crazy Christian give the rest a bad name. :)
  • This is a very compressed (but accurate) summery of the Christian faith.
  • Christ said, "the way to the father is through the son" which means, if you want to "go to Heaven" then follow me ie my teachings. Look at the words Christ is actualy reputed to have said and you will see very clearly that the way to get to Heaven is to be a good, moral, helpful, generous, non-judgemental person. What happened is that the Church realized very quickly that following Christ would not give them a)money and b)power so they opted to follow the teaching of The Apostle Paul instead (as laid out in his various epistles). Christianity, as it is now, would be more properly called Paulism but you can't toss over "the son of God" for one of his underlings so they tacked Christ's name over Paul's ideas. BTW why is it that I never hear fundamentalists proclaiming that all bankers will go to hell? There are numerous Biblical prohibitions against usury (the charging of interest on loans)?
  • The message of Gospels are so positive not about hell in fact and Jesus himself never condemned people and the outcasts. But unfortunately in our days the attitude of Christians seem so horrible. They always talk about the hell and it is not the right way to evangelise and preach the Gospel.
  • Read "The Age of Reason" by Thomas Paine. Then re-ask your question. But to answer your question directly - yes and no.
  • who cares what she believes, its not real and you wont burn, live life to its fullest and dont let anyone stand in your way
  • You pretty much hit the nail right on the head.
  • to an extent yes, but I doubt Jesus would put it so insensitively.. I'm Christian.. but sounds like your flatmate is rather scary :-/ tell him to go bugger off and to respect your views.. you haven't invaded his beliefs so theres no good reason that he should unless he wants to scare you into becoming a Christian.. some just take it too far and the bible too literally..
  • Two stories: 1) When I was a kid, I picked up a religious radio station in Waterloo, Iowa, about 700 miles away. The preacher gave about 6 examples of people that he "Saved," who died shortly after they Accepted Jesus. I guess that the preacher thought that he did something Good, saving them from Hell. The 12-year-old kid thought that accepting Jesus was as good as taking Arsenic. 2) The Tour. A Good Person entered the Pearly Gates and was given the Complementary Tour of the different parts of Heaven. At one location, he was told not to make any noise. The Flatmate's group inhabited that part of Heaven, "and they think that they're the Only ones Here!" They can talk and you can Ignore.
  • Please tell your Christian flatmate to read Matthew 22:37-40 and to learn what it means and to put it into practice.
  • I largely agree with KRJackson. No one can tell you where your relatives are at. Then, according to the scriptures Revelations 20:14, Hell has not been thrown into the lake of fire yet. So, she needs to look at her Bible a little more often. In the event she doesnt, I hope you will look at it too. It isnt a hate spewing text of anger. It is Gods Word to His people.
  • this is what some Christians believe...but they are usually the ones who where told that, and didn't bother to read Jesus's teaching completely. Jesus said that no man can get to heaven by simply believing and that no man can get to heaven by only doing good deads, you have to do both. I personally beleive that if you are a good person, you will get into heaven, but that it is hard to always do good things without God/Jesus/Scripture/spituallity being used for guidance. But part of doing what is right is respecting others beliefs and not getting mad even when your flatmate tells you that you and your family are going to hell. sounds to me that she is on her way there, and that might be why she is so bitter.
  • Your flatmate is a bitch.
  • It is only by life in Christ that we will begin our eterity from this moment and will continue after departing from the earthly realm. Christiany is not about 'being a good person', although this is one of the fruits of salvation. This is the difference between Christianity and all other religions, they focus more on works where as Christianity is about surrendering your life to God. Another point is that faith is not inherited, just because we were born in a Christian family does not make us living in the way of salvation. However, we should never judge another person and look to ourselves
  • We were told to Love God and love everyone else. If we obeyed those commandments then we Loved God then we would know Him and if we know him we get to spend eternity with Him. That simple. Alot of American CHristians, (they seemed to be different elsewhere, like where they are being killed for what they believe i.e China) Say they know God, and they try and be His ambassador and speak with so much conviction about what everyone is supposed to do blah blah blah. But they fail to realize that the basis for knowing God is to love. They always say that they are loving by telling everyone the truth (usually just their opinion of the truth). Christian in the West got the gift of gab, instead of the gift of just doing, it is easier to just tell someone then to live it. Not all Christian are like this, I know of some really rad Christians, that anyone no matter what they believed would love to keep company with these Christians. But those types of Christians are hard to come by. Sad but true. I don't know much of why this person told you what they did, but If I had a relationship with someone(even if I didn't) I wouldn't be so apt to be so insensitive to tell you such a thing about the people that you care about. Instead of telling you about burning in hell, they should have demonstrated God's love for you by being a better representative of God by actions, and allowed you to interpret what God was trying to tell you. Just my rusty pennies worth
  • Firstly, not all who profess to be Christians, are Christians. Is Hell a real place? Yes. God's Word makes that clear, despite that some 'christians' are uncomfortable with it and figuratively rip those pages out of their Bibles. As for your flatmate, relating specifically to you, your relatives, or any given person, only God determines who will burn in hell. The Bible teaches that there is only one way to have eternal life in the presence of God, and that is through His Son, Jesus Christ. IHS, Bruce http://christiansoldiersonline.org
  • Yeah some of them believe this. I assure you that your family is fine. Please don't allow your confused friend cause you any worry. She has already "sinned" by judging non believers. She's no better off than anyone else according to the beliefs that she subscribes to. Take it from my own experience in christianity, don't believe in that religious crap. My life has been so much better without it.
  • As Christians, our place is not to judge, but to love others as God loves us. If we can get that down, then we may qualify to judge others. It could take eons!
  • HOLY CRAP!THIS IS YOUR FRIEND!ive she thinks your going to hell because you dont believe in god that meens she is an extremist and will end up making a cult or blowing up a pakistan church!i dont believe in god which meens that even if there is a heavon or a hell i will not go there because it is in my believes!but seriously just tell her to go screw-herself!
  • This is true. If you do not recive Jesus Christ as you personal Saviour you will end up in Hell. If you or your relatives did not know Christ as their Personal Saviour at the time of death they are in hell for eternity. No second chance once your dead. Jesus said that he knows you not and there is only one way to heaven and that is through him. Don't just say you are a chirstian either. God know your heart and knows if you are a real Christian or someone going around saying that you are. When you decide to follow Jesus and have him as your personal saviour you are given the gift of salvation and that can never be taken away as long as you live. Then when you die here on earth you will be reunited with Jesus in Heaven and have eternal life. Read John 3:16
  • What a lovely world she must live in!
  • The fanatical ones do, the Christian Fundamentalists. NORMAL Christians wouldn't dream of judging you or your family and would be humble enough not to say such dreadful things.
  • It is true that how we live influences the quality of our lives; our lives will be better if we do what is right, and our lives will be worse if we insist on doing what is wrong. The Bible warns that "the way of the unfaithful is hard" (Proverbs 13:15). But the Bible makes it clear that life doesn't end with the grave. After we die we will continue to live, either in that place of happiness the Bible calls heaven or in that place of anguish the Bible calls hell. Jesus warned, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28). Don't gamble with your soul any longer—which is what you are doing right now. Instead, I pray you will come to realize that God loves you and you are valuable to Him. He loves you so much that He wants you to spend eternity with Him in heaven. He loves you so much that He sent His only Son into the world to die for your sins on the cross. Don't let pride, or a desire to be independent, or anything else keep you from giving your life to Christ. You need Him, both for this life and the next. The Bible says, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life" (John 3:36).
  • The Bible clearly states that "God is love" 1John 4:8 This is His preeminent quality and again the Bible tells us "the Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made" Ps 145:9 God wants us to develop heartfelt love for him. Jesus taught us “‘You must love Jehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind.’  This is the greatest and first commandment." Saying that souls suffer in hell promotes a morbid fear of God. When we learn the truth about God we come to love him we then develop a healthy fear of God. "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;" says Ps 111:10 The fear of God mentioned here is not one of terror but rather an awe of or profound reverence for the one who created us.We then have a healthy fear of displeasing him. Jeus did not teach that God would maliciously tortue the wicked forever. He stated at John 3:16 "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might nor perish but might have eternal life." Ask yourself; Why would Jesus imply that those who do not believe in him would die??? If he really meant that they would live forever, suffering misery in a fiery hell, would he not have said so? The doctrine that hell is a place of torment is not based on what the Bible teaches! It has a pagan origin that is now masquerading as a Christian teaching. God does not tortue people eternally in hell!
  • I dont understand why some people dont give the word of love. Not condemnation. We as christians have to let people know how much God loves them. Jesus wants to hold them and love up on them. He wants all to go to heaven its our choice. But you have to preach the whole Gospel of Jesus Christ not just some parts. I am sorry if they did not tell you of his love. Let me tell you that Jesus changed my heart and turned my whole life around. Healed me emotionally and physically and gave me a new life. Why would I not want to follow him? See everyone is given an opportunity to follow. I would love him to touch your heart like me so you can enjoy how great he is. I am sorry others did not tell you all the truth. I apologize for them. Blessings to you all.
  • yup, sadly they do. You know because THEY are so perfect.
  • That a person who does not accept Jesus and dies that way goes to hell is general biblical fact/truth. But to say that some specific person who has died is in hell is tricky because only God knows the condition of that person before s/he died and his or her present spiritual circumstances. So the first is mere repetition of what the Bible says and therefore is not judgemental, but the second appears to me to be judgemental because it has become specific.
  • Don’t be fooled...this is exactly what a large percentage of Christians believe, although many may deny it to your face. This is exactly what it teaches in the bible.
  • Is your Christian fltamate's name happen to be Lucifer?
  • Not all Christians, no. Many, many Christians believe in God's love, and that the Bible is 100% correct when it says that, "God is love."
  • Your roommate may want to go back to bible; she seems to have missed some rather pertient traits of being a christian. Myself, I would look for someone else to share my life with.
  • You must seek out salvation on your own, not by what others tell you.
  • Your "Christian" flatmate sounds like an Evangelical Protestant who believes that you have to have faith in Jesus and be "saved". There are three main types of Christian. Roman Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox. A few extreme Protestants try and use the term "Christian" in a narrow and exclusive way. Generally, Protestants believe in salvation by faith and Catholics believe in salvation by good works although this discinction is not rigid and many Catholicsand Protestants believe in both. Most Protestants and Catholics would probably argue that their religion increases your chance of going to Heaven, but is not essential. My own view is that Heaven and Hell are myths. The Bible says that Heaven is a place up in the sky and that Hell is a place under the ground.It also was written by people who thought that the world was flat. You should also be aware that Islamic Fundamentalists believe that Christians (including your flatmate) will burn in Hell for not being Muslims. I suggest that you would be better off if you do not worry too much about Christianity.
  • If I had a flatmate like that, Gee! Hell is where I would want to be. Then I wouldn't have to spend an eternity with her. Praise The Lord !
  • 3000 people saw him die, but only 1 saw him "rise" from the grave? Do you know the definition of the word - revelation? All the books you mention were written about 300 years after Christs death. There are NO books written by ANYONE that was an actual first hand eye witness. " EVERY national church or religion has established itself by pretending some special mission from God, communicated to certain individuals. The Jews have their Moses; the Christians their Jesus Christ, their apostles and saints; and the Turks their Mahomet; as if the way to God was not open to every man alike. Each of those churches shows certain books, which they call revelation, or the Word of God. The Jews say that their Word of God was given by God to Moses face to face; the Christians say, that their Word of God came by divine inspiration; and the Turks say, that their Word of God (the Koran) was brought by an angel from heaven. Each of those churches accuses the other of unbelief; and, for my own part, I disbelieve them all. As it is necessary to affix right ideas to words, I will, before I proceed further into the subject, offer some observations on the word 'revelation.' Revelation when applied to religion, means something communicated immediately from God to man. No one will deny or dispute the power of the Almighty to make such a communication if he pleases. But admitting, for the sake of a case, that something has been revealed to a certain person, and not revealed to any other person, it is revelation to that person only. When he tells it to a second person, a second to a third, a third to a fourth, and so on, it ceases to be a revelation to all those persons. It is revelation to the first person only, and hearsay to every other, and, consequently, they are not obliged to believe it. It is a contradiction in terms and ideas to call anything a revelation that comes to us at second hand, either verbally or in writing. Revelation is necessarily limited to the first communication. After this, it is only an account of something which that person says was a revelation made to him; and though he may find himself obliged to believe it, it cannot be incumbent on me to believe it in the same manner, for it was not a revelation made to me, and I have only his word for it that it was made to him." Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason, 1795
  • It dosen't matter if you are "a good person" or "a bad person". That isn't what gains entrence to the kingdom of God. If she dosent accept Him, she will burn, and if her dead relatives didn't, sorry but they burn with the fires of Hell now, sorry thats how it is!
  • They actually believe much more screwed up things than that but, yeah, that's one of them
  • Frankly it doesn't matter what anyone says about heaven or hell. What does matter is what the Bible says about. It is interesting that a much higher percentage of people believe in the existence of Heaven than believe in the existence of Hell. According to the Bible, though, Hell is just as real as Heaven. The Bible clearly and explicitly teaches that Hell is a real place to which the wicked/unbelieving are sent after death. The punishment of the wicked dead in hell is described throughout Scripture as “eternal fire” (Matthew 25:41), “unquenchable fire” (Matthew 3:12), “shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2), a place where “the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:44-49), a place of “torment” and “fire” (Luke 16:23-24), “everlasting destruction” (2 Thessalonians 1:9), a place where “the smoke of torment rises forever and ever” (Revelation 14:10,11), and a “lake of burning sulfur” where the wicked are “tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:10). The punishment of the wicked in Hell is as never-ending as the bliss of the righteous in Heaven. Jesus Himself indicates that the punishment in Hell is just as everlasting as eternal life in Heaven (Matthew 25:46). The wicked are forever subject to the fury and the wrath of God in Hell. They consciously suffer shame and contempt and the assaults of an accusing conscience for all of eternity. Bottom line is that God doesn't send us to hell, we send ourselves by rejecting Jesus Christ. If a person is given the Gospel message and the person hearing it rejects this message then dies in their sins, they have sealed their own doom.
  • Time to move out. Or bury her in the backyard. One of the two.
  • Does it matter? She's not God. How can she possibly know where you're going after you die?
  • hell is the second death, the lake of fire. and no one is there right now. It is not untill judgement day that anyones name not found written in the lambs book of life is thrown into the lake of fire, this includes satan,demons, the beast and false prophet...The reason that anyone goes there is for rejecting the Light/Truth/Christ. (John 3:19) But torture is not the word to describe hell, but torment. And thats a little differnt, you can be tormented by your own thoughts. Demons would like to torture you, but hell was made for them. the Word is a sword, and little kids should not play with swords.
  • yeah... they believe in that. Among the silliest shit i have ever heard. It's like Dick Cheney is there with a waterboard...except it's not water and it's hot and stuff.
  • Well, they couldn't exactly say you would only go to hell if you were a Christian or they would have no followers!
  • Ask her to forgive you. Lets see just how christian she is. Besides what does her exposing her insecurities to you really matter. She's deluded and and her own irrational fears drive her to externalise these delusions by trying to make you feel bad. Just remind her that her fears aren't your fears and she needs to grow up.
  • Well.. the majority of the earliest Christians believed that hell was a place of 'lasting' punishment to cleanse unbelievers of their sins and that they would eventually be reunited with God. Gregory of Nyssa wrote many essays on this. The reasons the early Christians believed this have to do with the fact that the word 'lasting' from the Greek has been mistranslated as 'everlasting' in the New Testament. When the New Testament has Jesus quoting the old Testament, there are discrepancies because Jesus used the Jewish version of the scriptures at the time, the Septuagint. Things changed around the fifth century. If you want to read up on this, search for the book, "God's plan for all" on google. It is a free online source. I myself grew up in a very conservative evangelical family, and am not sure about this myself. I am, however, researching it. I
  • Trust Magic 8 ball
  • That is what Christians Believe, if they believe what the Bible says.
  • lol... yes! and many of the other fairystories....lol
  • Yes, that is pretty much a standard Christian belief. Christians might tell you it was tactless and cruel of your flatmate to say that, but they (probably) won't deny that's what Christianity teaches.
  • At least the witch burnings have tapered off a bit.
  • You flatmates an idiot.
  • It's not really up to your flatmate to judge you and scare you into believing in Jesus. God loves everyone equally and promises that if you believe that he sent his son, Jesus, to earth to die for you as a sacrifice for all your wrongdoing (sin), and if you acknowledge this and invite him into your heart he will transform your heart and guide your life and you will have eternal life with God (heaven). Otherwise you will continue to be spiritually separated from God and life/relationships may be painful and unfulfilling, you may often feel unloved and things may seem to always be going wrong (hell). I thought this was a load of rubbish until a few years ago but now I can honestly tell you it's the only way to live. All you need to do is ask God to reveal himself - talk to him, he's listening 24/7 and wants to be the centre of your life. Try it!
  • She needs to study her Bible. We also have the millinium for teaching. If after the millinium they still do not believe then yes Bible says they will be a part of the 2nd death (death of the soul). But we here have no right to judge anyone one to hell. That is only God's job.
  • Bingo! And they seem to get such an unholy glee about it too.
  • In large part, yes. Sounds to me like that she's trying to "save" YOU by scaring the Hell clear out of you.
  • Yes, and she'll continue to harass you to no end. My advice: find a new roomy.
  • Tell her she'll go to a shelter if she insists on spouting such nonsense in your presence.
  • I had a roommate like that once. He would throw away my Playboy's and put religious tracts on my pillow. One night I came in from partying and a bunch a holy cards flew out from under my pillow when I pulled back my blanket. I snapped and dragged him out of bed and had him against the wall while I held his tee-shirt and threatened to beat the crap out of him if he ever touched my bed again. He had his room changed and I never saw him again. Maybe that's a solution for you. They seem to be good at preaching, not so good when confronted.

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