How Could God Send Millions of People to Hell?

Here's another question asked by critics of Christianity. To them, God sounds like a petulant little boy who punishes his pets for not doing what he wants them to do. I've even felt in the past that he was stingy and sadistic because my faith wasn't enough to heal my eyes. No matter how I tried, the prayers and laying on of hands by Christians resulted in only disappointment.

How sad it is that critics of God don't know him personally. These people only know about him from what they hear TV preachers say or from Bible stories they heard when they were children. Isn't that unfair of such folks to condemn the Lord because of what others have said?

Knowing about somebody isn't like knowing them. I know about famous people but I actually know none personally. For example, I couldn't call David Bowie on the phone like I could an acquaintance or personal friend, even if I had his home number. He doesn't know me and doubtless would be upset if I called him. In the same way, people who don't have a personal relationship with Christ can't accurately judge him and the other two members of the trinity.

Because critics don't understand the Lord's character, since they don't have the Holy Spirit dwelling within them, they mislead others with their misconceptions. Perhaps the worst of their misapprehensions is that God sends people to hell. Like John Cleese noted on one TV show, hell is a voluntary organization. People choose to go there rather than obey God. The Lord has given us a choice, limited though it seems, so we could either surrender to his plan for us or go our own way.

God doesn't delight in the death of the wicked. In fact, he would rather have people surrender their lives into his loving care. Since forced love is not love at all, he gave us the option to obey or disobey. At death, he graciously lets people face the consequences of their decision.

In my How I Was Razed memoir, I showed how I finally learned that God is the heavenly Father who providentially led me to know him better. Check out this glorious journey from cultism to Christianity at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Powell's Books. What a huge difference knowing his true character has made in my life. I hope others discover the real character of God like I have.

Am I Not a Good Person?

People amaze me. They claim that they're good, yet they admit that they've broken the speed limit. They also don't think they've done wrong if they fudged figures on their tax returns, pocketed something at a store,  or took office supplies home from work. After all, the government or company has lots of money, right? Even getting back more change than they were entitled to from a cashier is brushed off as their just dues for how the stores supposedly rip off shoppers. This attitude is so pervasive that even David Bowie wrote a song about shoplifting called "God Knows I'm Good."

Isn't this a double standard? Would those individuals like it if visitors to their homes walked off with their possessions and wen confronted, they declared that they're really good at heart? Seems to me that the homeowner would have a thing or three to say to those sleazy friends.

People often excuse their petty crimes with the statement that they haven't murdered anybody, been faithful to their spouse,  or haven't robbed any banks. What about what Christ said in his famous Sermon on the Mount? If you hate somebody, it's the equivalent of murdering that person. If you, being married,  covet somebody's spouse, it's as if you committed adultery with that person. One of the Ten Commandments says not to covet a neighbour's property. Isn't envying somebody's house, car, or other possessions just as wicked?

Doubtless people will object that thinking about a crime isn't like actually doing it. Oh? Isn't it the heart of a person where wickedness begins? James wrote in his epistle that coveting leads to commission of the sin. Also, since people are thinking such nasty thoughts, what does that say about the content of their character?

I hope to write at length about this subject in my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? Far too many people assume that they'll go there when they die because they're a good person. Tragically, they'll find out too late that they were horribly wrong. How I wish I could stop at least some folks from making such a shockingly irreversible mistake.

As for my other paperbacks, see my latest one at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Powell's Books. My first two memoirs are available from my book page. Additionally, visit my Facebook author page to learn what I'm working on and how the book project is going.

You think you're going to heaven?

From discussing this topic with friends, I get the impression that most folks assume they'll go to heaven, or an equivalent of it, when they die. They give me reasons such as having done good works, not being totally wicked, that they were Christened at their church, or that they were born into a religion.

I've also been told by atheists that life is all there is and they'll simply stop existing. They believe this because they limit their knowledge to only the natural world. There is no room for the supernatural in their world view so they reject any evidence to the contrary, particularly of intelligent design.

I feel compelled to write a book named after the title of this post. From the point of view of the Bible, everybody is guilty of offending the pure holiness of God and will be punished. Christ came to our planet to live a perfect life and take our punishment on the cross. Those few who surrender to Christ and repent of their sinful ways will be with him whereas those who stubbornly refuse will spend the rest of eternity in hell.

I hope to address the various excuses people make for why God will let them into heaven. I also will address the anti-biblical notions on which they base their suppositions.

Likewise, I hope to address the atheist claim that there is no supernatural being who we will face at death. I'll point out that limiting their understanding of the evidence of intelligent design to only the actions of natural forces is illogical.

And what of other belief systems? I hope to address those as well. Many folks assume that all religions lead to God. That's impossible since each one has contradictory beliefs.

As for the date of publication, it depends on how much work I can get done and how my computers behave. Self-publishing is expensive but I'm sure I can save enough to have my book edited and printed. Watch this space for updates.

THE VERY CROSS OF CHRIST

I'm amazed how much we depend on coffee. People, including myself, become crabby and tired without a morning caffeine fix. Christians are no different.

I can remember a few times when somebody forgot to start the coffee pot at church and the Sunday school members grew mutinous. Some people even began pacing until the coffee was ready.


I find this doting on coffee to be rather amusing. Our morning cup of Joe is as necessary to us as water was to the Israelites. I also think it's wonder full how people perk up, pun intended, once the caffeine kicks in.

Back when I attended a house church, based in the home owned by two women, I learned of a humorous situation which happened each weekday morning. They owned a coffee pot that made a sighing noise as it brewed the coffee. Each woman assumed the other was sighing until they were in the same kitchen and the machine gave out its human-like expression of resignation. I couldn't help but laugh when I heard the machine for myself.

I often was chided for my sense of humor by humorless Christians. Many of those incidents are recorded in How I Was Razed: A Journey from Cultism to Christianity. Read more about this wondrous testimony of God's providence at Amazon (where you can order coffee) as well as Barnes & Noble.

Remember tracts?

Forty years ago, Christians used slips of paper with short messages printed on them to spread the gospel. These were called tracts. This practice has largely died out, though some persistent believers still hand these to people on the street. From my upcoming How I Was Razed memoir, here is how I became involved with this evangelical fad.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Though Thee Church wasn't overtly evangelical, some members encouraged me to share my faith and hand out tracts. Linda and I rode the bus downtown late one January afternoon. "Here's some tracts. Just walk down the street and hand people one," she instructed. "I'll be close by if you need any help with questions."

"I've never done this before. Is that all I have to do?"

"Sure. If the spirit lays something on your heart, say whatever he tells you. Don't be afraid. Remember that Christ promised never to forsake us." Most people I approached ignored my proffered slip of paper. When I held up one with the words "NOT TOO SHORT" on it, One sour-voiced old man said, "Not too short of money I'll bet." That stung since I was all too aware of people's misjudgment of us Christians. By the time I thought of a civil reply, the man was gone.

being insulted was not the only cost of handing out tracts. Sister E took me to a Bible supply store one winter evening. As I inspected the various packets of handbills, I felt shocked at their high prices. "I didn't know these things cost so much," I confided to her. "Well, it does cost money to print these messages. You can't expect to get them all for free, you know."

"But, they're such little pieces of paper."

"If you don't want to buy them, then don't. Just make up your mind and get what you can afford."

A tug of war raged in my mind as I pondered the colourful stacks of messages on the shelves. Because of my poor vision, I attended a junior high school in Edmonton that had counsellors tasked with reading book assignments onto tape and assisting us with test papers. The pittance Dad gave me to live on was not much better than a child's allowance. I had to choose between buying the occasional chocolate bar or tracts. I compromised and bought the least expensive bundle of handbills.

Not knowing any better, I decided that the Greyhound bus depot would be a good place to "witness." On one of the Saturdays when I stayed at Jay and Linda's, instead of going home, I thought I'd evangelize the passengers. I walked up to several people and held out a handbill but none of them took it. "Would you like to read this?" I asked an elderly lady. "Don't take it," a middle-aged woman with black hair ordered. "Don't take it?" the grey-haired woman asked, sounding baffled. "It's just some religious stuff," her minder snapped. "What's this you're handing out?" a man in a green uniform demanded as he stood behind me. I mutely handed him a tract. After skimming through the front paragraphs and glancing at the back, he returned it. "You're not allowed to hand these out here. It's against the rules." I left the depot feeling dejected. "Lord Jesus," I prayed under my breath as I walked down the sunlit streets to my bus stop, "I'm just trying to do my best for you. Please help me find somebody who I can save."

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Each Friday, I publish excerpts from my books on this blog as well as on WordPress. Please also visit the InScribe writers group page and check out When a Man Loves a Rabbit (Learning and Living With Bunnies) as well as Deliverance From Jericho (Six Years in a Blind School). Have a nice weekend.

Has the world ended yet?

Preachers continue to predict the world's end and it keeps not happening. Family Radio founder, Herald Camping, is one of the latest ministers to claim that the Bible has given him an exact date for Judgement day. He reasons that from the flood during the time of Noah to 2111 is exactly 7,000 years. Camping figures that Noah entered the ark on May 21st, so the wrath of God will be poured out on that date in 2111. In view of his failed September 6, 1994 prognostication, this one also is unbelievable.

Back in 1970, I fell victim to this end-times prediction addiction. Here's an excerpt of my next book, How I Was Razed, that shows how gullible I was regarding those prophets of doom. Its still in need of revision and editing so I apologize for any mistakes in the text.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
The entire nation was shocked on October fifth when the Front de liberation du Quebec (FLQ), a group dedicated to violently removing the province from confederation, kidnapped British trade commissioner, James Cross and Quebec Minister of Labour and Immigration, Pierre Laporte, five days later. These events troubled me deeply. Was this one of the end time signs? Would Christ come and take us to be with him before the nation broke up? "I'm worried, Stephen," I confessed that evening. "What are we going to do when Canada is no more?" "Don't be such a moron," he scorned. "Canada's not gonna break up. The government will deal with the FLQ and that will be the end of it. You're so naive," he added. Though I made no reply, I still felt that the country was in peril.

Prime Minister Trudeau seemed to have the same opinion. The War Measures Act was enacted on October sixteenth. It drastically curtailed personal freedoms and gave the police powers to enter homes without a warrant. Most Canadians applauded this action but some felt it was an unjustified intrusion into personal freedoms. Though some innocent people were arrested and a barn, used as an FLQ meeting place, was burned by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Federal Government of Canada had valid reasons for concern. During the years 1963 to 1967, the FLQ planted 35 devices in a systematic programme of bombings of government and English Canadian business establishments. From 1968 to 1970, they planted over 50 bombs. Having armed soldiers patrolling the streets of Montreal upset Canadians accustomed to the blessings of a peaceful country. the body of Pierre Laporte was found in the trunk of a car on October seventeenth and James Cross was freed on the third of December. Some FLQ members were arrested, some fled the country, and the group was disbanded. I thanked God for his intervention in the crisis, though I wished that nobody had been killed.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

On the thirty-ninth anniversary of the FLQ's heinous crime spree, My fears of that day seem ridiculous. I now know that Christ said nobody knew the time of his coming except for his father in heaven. These phony end-time prophets have cried "wolf" so often throughout history that few folks believe them. When Christ does return, it will be as sudden and unexpected as a thief in the night. I, for one, won't waste a moment trying to guess when that will happen. I'll keep on giving to the poor and studying the Bible as God meant it to be read, not through the theological lenses of publicity-seeking preachers.

Something far better than cookies and Kool-Aid

Monday, August 3, will mark a milestone in my life. Forty years ago, I made a decision that profoundly changed me. From my Deliverance From Jericho (Six Years in a Blind School) memoir, here is the story of how I started on a spiritual journey that continues to this day. My hope is that you'll follow the same path that I did back then.

"Sharon's mom is having a Vacation Bible School in her basement. She wants me to invite everybody I know. Would you like to come?" Diane invited.

At first I felt ambivalent, remembering what happened the previous summer. "I suppose so," I said after thinking it over, "I can always go home if I don't like it."

Diane and I attended all five days of this home-based Vacation Bible School. I came expecting to enjoy Kool-Aid, cookies, and stories. To my amazement, I received a much more valuable truth in the curriculum.

Once we were settled down, Mrs. Blacklock began her lesson. "Did you know that you can have a personal relationship with Jesus?" she asked. As I had never heard that doctrine before, I listened all the more intently.

"The Bible says that we are all sinners and that nobody is good enough to go to heaven," she continued. "Going to church is nice but it won't save you on Judgment Day. Only believing in Jesus Christ will save you from going to hell."

I felt shocked. Could this honestly be true? No one told me about that before. I thought only wicked people went to hell.

"If you give your life to Jesus, he will come into you and live in your heart." This sounded impossible too. Jesus was up in heaven and God appeared uninvolved with his creation.

As she outlined how Christ died to pay for our sins and that we could be forgiven because he took our punishment, my heart stirred within me. Could this actually be true?

Then Mrs. Blacklock told the story of Nicodemus and how he was an outstanding religious teacher in Israel. Even with all his education and status, he had no understanding of what it meant to be born again. Suddenly, I realized the meaning of what Jesus said.

A few years previously, a Christian clown visited Jericho and performed magic tricks in the boys' Playroom. Along with the usual vanishing objects and interlocking hoops, this man told us how Nicodemus met Christ late one night. It was merely one of many Bible stories to me then. Now I realized that it applied to me as well.

I pondered what Mrs. Blacklock taught us all during the week. As at previous Vacation Bible Schools, I coloured, memorized Bible verses, and listened to Bible stories. Mrs. Blacklock handed out Gos-pills for correct answers. They were actually jelly beans but I savoured the play on words. Mrs. Blacklock also pretended they were vitamins as she handed them out and urged us to, "Vite 'em in to Sunday School." She then told us about her church and the fun we would have while attending it.

On Friday, Mrs. Blacklock asked us a life-changing question. "Would you like to invite Christ into your heart and accept him as your saviour?" Though I could think of no serious sins of which I was guilty, except for stealing the glass lumps, I decided I had nothing to lose. I raised my hand and said yes. Our teacher led us in the sinner's prayer and then she welcomed us to the family of Christ. Though I felt nothing dramatic happen, joy and a sense that God was pleased with me filled my heart.

I ran all the way home, a distance of a few blocks, after the school ended. "I've been born again!" I exclaimed to the family as I rushed through the front door. They all stared at me, saying nothing. Doubtless, Mom and my sisters thought I had lost my mind. I felt let down because I thought they would understand this important life-transforming decision I had made. Either nobody told me or I failed to understand that not everybody would comprehend my spiritual transformation.