78 Answers pt 2: The Down and Dirty of Judgement.

 A lot of this post will be referring back to my arguments in earlier videos, so if you haven’t seen that yet, go ahead and find it. It is entitled “78 Answers: Hell or Heaven.
  In this post I will be addressing questions 4-7
 They are as follows:

     4 Should a killer who genuinely repents be able to go to heaven
     5. Should a kind-hearted atheist be forced to burn in hell for eternity
     6. What about any “good” person.
     7. Would you be happy if someone you loved was burning in hell?

Should and Shouldn't are moral terms. As such, I’m not sure if the questions are asking me to explain or asking me to judge if those things are right or wrong.
  I’ll try to answer both.
     Morally, Should  good people go to hell, an evil people go to heaven.
Firstly, God can do whatever He wants, and I have no right and no moral ability to sit in judgement. God created everything, I think he knows a bit better how to run it than I do.
   Secondly...how do you judge what qualifies as a good person? Take for instance, a murderer. Did he kill because he was protecting someone? Out of revenge? What if the person he killed had murdered his family? Was he mentally well? What if they rest of his life all he did was good things? What if it was an accident.
   These questions are hard enough to answer in human court. Try in a court when you know each and every thought they had. Jenny fed the homeless, but she went mostly because she had a crush on the homeless shelter owner. Benjamin helped an old lady with her groceries, but when he was he was judging her constantly for being so over-weight and not taking care of herself when she was younger so she could do these things herself. Matthew loves working with the orphans in India, but he is doing it to impress the college he is applying for.
   How do we judge what is too much sin for mercy. Is it quantity or damage done? Lets suppose one man was awesome his whole life. He was an obedient child. He grew up to be a high-school teacher who worked in the inner-city school for little pay and tutored for free after school. On the weekends he volunteered at animal shelters, and owned multiple rescued animals himself. During his summers He would travel over-seas to the poorest of countries and help hand out food, clothing and medicines. When tragedies hit he would take time off work to help. he went to Haiti after the earthquakes, Japan after the Tsunamis, and Louisiana after Katrina. But, one night while working late one of his students came in crying. One thing led to another and he ended up touching her. Now...should he go to heaven or hell? What if he was really sorry and quit his job to make sure he never did anything like that again?
  What about girl? When she dies, if she goes to heaven, will she be forced to spend eternity with the man who molested her just because he’s a good guy?
 Which opens up even more! What if everyone went to heaven? After all...no matter how "bad: someone is, we want them to have a chance to do better, right? Now murderers are with the people they killed for eternity. Hitler would be hanging out with all the Jews, blacks and gays he slaughtered. The suicide bombers on the flights that hit the twin towers would be living next to the people they killed and their families. Children would be stuck with their abusers, Who's to say that even if everyone could manage to forgive the other that evil wouldn't continue to flourish and more "bad stuff" wouldn't be done.
  How can we separate the evil inclination in people without taking away freedoms? How do we take that desire to molest teenage girls away from that really nice professor. After all. He’s going to be surrounded by them.
   You know what this heaven looks a lot like? Earth.

  So we see that by judging God as being unfit to sit in judgement over man-kind, we are indicating that someone else might be better suited for the job. Actually, the one sitting in judgement is indicating that they themselves are better for the job. Would you like to make those choices?

   Who gets into heaven or hell is far more involved for God. His plan includes not only justice...as each man is judged for His wrong, but mercy, as no one could reach the standards set by even an earthly court to live in such a utopia. he answer is through the work and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Through Christ the evil nature of man is put to death. When we die and go to heaven the only things that keeps a Christian in sin (the flesh, it’s called in the Bible, or the sin nature) is left behind. In heaven the worst of sinners has no desire to sin because they are so thankful to God for mercy and living in the light of all that is good and holy. . The victims of said sinners have received such amazing grace for their own sins that seeing those who harmed them in heaven will cause them only joy. You see, if you have been forgive for horrible sins, then you can forgive horrible sins.
   Nothing has more draw than the glory of God. So in heaven when we are exposed in full to God’s perfection any addictions, sins or competing desires will fade away in the joy of being with the One we love most! No one is better than anyone else, because we have all sinned and have all been forgiven. The thief on the cross who repented just hours after he took his last breath will be equal with the early Christian martyrs who died horrible deaths before giving up on their faith.
    God’s judgment has been poured out on his son...and His son has given us perfection so that, while we are still our own person with our own wills and our own desires, we are all perfect and sinless. That sounds good to me.

  So, will the killer who genuinely repents go to heaven? According to the Bible yes. The thief on the cross, (previously mentioned) as described in the gospels was most-likely a murder too. After all, crucifixion was the worst execution invented in the world that we know of...even today. I highly doubt he got on the cross by stealing bread. More likely he pulled someone into an alley and stabbed or beat them to death before taking their stuff. Probably raped a few women too, as long as they were there. Just a guess.
   Christ told him “Today you will be with me in Paradise”. He told him he was going to heaven. Not because of anything good he had done. He never got off that cross. He never got a chance to turn him life around.
  What about the atheist. Will he go to hell. If he doesn't accept Christ, yes he will.  No good deed he commits will ever be enough to wipe away his rebellion against God. God judges based on perfection. That’s not just moral perfection...it’s also motive perfection. Perfect motives always include God. If God is the ultimate good and the source of all good, you cannot truly do good if you are not doing it for and through him. Therefore, while an atheist or unbeliever can be morally good in their earthly life, they can never be blameless before God. Unless he turns from himself and runs to Christ for rescue, there is only one way it can end.
And yes, that goes for ANY unbelieving person. “good” bad, or anywhere in between.

 Would you be happy if someone you loved was burning in hell?

   Of course not. I think that answer is self-evident. But let me take it a step further. My heart hurts at the thought of ANYONE going to hell.
   If I get to heaven and see Hitler and Osama Bin Laden having a coffee and talking about the wonders of God I will cry with joy! I don’t want a single soul lost to hell, and neither does God. That is why it is such a big deal for Christians when we speak to you about God. Sure, we can be nasty at times, but any true Christian only desires to see you come to Christ.
When A Christian hands you a Bible, or leaves a tract for you, or stops you on the street to talk to you, understand that they are not being hateful. In this modern world tolerance means everything, and it may seem hateful for someone to tell you that they disagree with you. For a Christian, this is how we express our love for you. Even if you don’t agree with us, understand that we are not getting anything out of it! I’m not saying everyone who talks to you about Jesus is right; or that there aren't jerks out there...there are. But true believers are driven by the love of God and love for man.
 I believe the gospel with every fiber of my being. I know you may not. And it may be that nothing ever convinces you, but here is a start. Stop, listen, ask questions, and understand that we aren't here to condemn or judge, we are there motivated by a desire to see you in heaven some day.

78 Answers pt 1: Hell or Heaven

I’ll go ahead an take on the first 3 questions in one post
  Those questions are as follows:

  1 Is Anne Frank burning in Hell
  2 Is Mahatma Ghandi burning in hell?
  3. Is Fred Phelps in heaven?

I never got to read Anne Franks diary. I’d love to. I’ve read a lot of books about that era of history though. The things that were inflicted on people without reason was beyond horrible. One could say that in her short life Anne Frank went through enough hell for one person to have to bear. The thought of any innocent child, but especially of a sweet little girl who was cut down before her time, going to eternity in hell,  is heartbreaking. As forGhandi, he seemed by all accounts to be a really good person.
   The thing is: morality is not what gets us into heaven. In fact, morality has nothing to do with the gospel. Lets be clear, We go to hell, because of sin. However, we will not, and cannot, get to heaven on the basis of good works. Largely because we cannot be good enough.
   I can understand the confusion. The church has been teaching it for a long time. Part of that goes back to roots in the dark-age era Catholic church. More like to a political power than to a religious organization the catholic church used a fear of hell to control the masses. When death is in your face every day, that fear can overwhelm a lot easier than we see in todays first world.
   That isn’t the only place it came from though. “Legalism” as it is called in the church, was a common problem well before the time of the Roman Catholic Church, though not as widely taught by the leadership. In the Bible we find multiple letters from the apostle Paul encouraging people to turn away from the legalism of jewish religious practices and into the freedom of Christ.
  What do I mean by legalism? Legalism is the mind set that some particular action or world view can get you into heaven. Its the idea that something you do or don't do can justify you in the sight of God. An example would be the jewish belief that you had to avoid certain foods to be worthy for heaven. A more modern example would be instances when someone is sick and are told that they are not getting better because they lack faith. It is any mindset that focuses any power to save on anything other that Jesus Christ and His sacrifice.
  As one example of legalism in the Bible, In Galatians 2:11-12 Paul needed to actually correct Peter on some of these same  practices. As did God himself by giving Peter a vision of unclean animals coming down from heaven and telling him to eat...contradicting everything the Old Testament taught on the subject. This takes place in Acts 10:13-15 This was such a common struggle among Christians that even the Apostles that God placed over the church struggled with it.
   The picture given on salvation in the new testament gives of salvation is less a division of “good” and “bad”, and more a division of belonging, or not belonging. The two illustrations most used are that of family, and that of nationality.
   First we see (1 John 3:1-2 and others) salvation is described as adoption. Once, we did not belong to God. We were not his children, we were His enemy. But, because of Christ’s sacrifice adoption into the family of God became possible. If you think of heaven in terms of this illustration heaven would be the family home. The family lives in the home with the Father. If you don’t belong in the family, you don’t belong in the home.
 The next illustration calls to mind a country. Salvation is described as a new citizenship (Philippians 3:20 and others). Heaven is a new Kingdom. Not one we can see but what is described as a spiritual kingdom. When we give our allegiance to Christ, we transfer our “earthly” citizenship to a “heavenly” one. In this illustration we are encouraged to follow the laws of the country we live in here on earth, as we might follow the laws of a country we are visiting on vacation...unless they ask us to contradict the laws of our actual country. For instance, if I went to Italy, I would drive on the same side of the road they did. However, I would not join the army and fight for them.  I would not give away American secrets.
  Returning to heaven would be like returning to my home country: America. Because I am a citizen here, It’s natural for me to be there. If I were from another country I would not be whole-hardheartedly serving America like I am when I identify America as my home country. Only Americans “belong” in America in this sense.
    These illustrations are earthly, and so not perfect, but they offer some explanation into the mind of God when he allows some into His kingdom, and some are forced to stay behind. Just like a Father offers his lap only to his crying little girl and not to some random child off the street, so God offers heaven only to his world-weary saints...the ones who BELONG to Him, and not to just anyone who comes knocking. No amount of trying on their part can change that.
  Another argument is often used by Frank Turek. That is the one that heaven is not only (as it is so often viewed) a place of hedonistic happiness and complete self-perfection. It  may have all those things, but all those things are IN God. God is the ultimate good, so heaven is eternity spent absorbing who He is.  Heaven is sometimes described in terms of marriage....God being the groom, his waiting church being the bride.
  Imagine spending a life-time looking into the eyes of someone you hated. Imagine forever being chained in marriage to a mortal enemy. If you hate God on earth, He is merciful not to force you to spend eternity with Him. You made your choice, He's the ultimate gentleman in respecting it. The problem is, if God is the ultimate good than hell is made evil not by God purposely creating a place of torment, it is made evil simply by God not being there in love and in power. He isn't there as a groom, he is there only as a jailer. His grace and providence has departed utterly and eternally. I am sorry, there isn't a middle ground. We are enemies in our own power, or family in Christ's power.  What we must understand is that hell wasn't created for disobedient humans, but for Satan and the demons. If we chose to take Satan's side over God’s we are choosing the same fate as him and his minions..
   The final argument I will present. God is Light, and in him there is no darkness. What happens to the dark when you turn on the light in a room. It disappears, right?
   When we say that God cannot be around sin, we should probably reverse that and say that sin cannot be around God. Sin, when before God, self-destructs because He is so holy. It’s like throwing bleach on bacteria....it just cant handle it. Its pure and simple. In fact, in the Bible (Exodus 33) Moses, in order to witness just the tip of the robe that trailed behind God as He walked (in Bible terms, we know that God is not human, doesn't have a body, and doesn't wear clothes in a literal term, so the language here is just Moses doing his best to describe what he saw) had to hide in a hole and be covered by God’s hand until he passed by...or else he would die. Even that glimpse of the glory of God changed him so much his face glowed like the sun and he had to where a veil for the rest of his life so that it wouldn't scare others.
   So what would happened if sinful man went before God in heaven without their sin first being put to death in Christ? We know that living man would die. But an eternal soul before God, the Bible never describes. However, we know that God will not allow it, and all His purposes are done, so we do not need to concern ourselves with it too much. What we do know is that sin cannot exist in God’s presence. It just doesn't work. The only thing that allows us to God before God is that He sees us through His son’s righteousness. When even our righteousness is as dirty rags before God,  Christ took our sin on himself and killed it in our flesh. In doing that he also gave us his righteousness. That means when God looks at us through Christ (as Christians) He sees only His son’s perfection. The only way we can God to heaven then...is through Christ.

  So where does that leave us with Anne Frank, Mahatma Gandhi and Fred Phelps. I pray they are all in heaven. I will never weep over someone going to heaven...no matter how evil, so for me, they are all on the same plane. The thing is the Bible says that we have all sinned and fallen short of God.  There is no good...no not one. If those people then allowed Christ to take their sins away and give them new life in themselves, I will be seeing them in heaven. If not the only alternative is eternal separation, also called "eternal death" in scripture.
   It may be sad, but that’s only when we are viewing God as the fallible one and humanity as in the place God should be. You see, we don’t deserve any mercy, so everything God gives us is more than we deserve....and He gave us His son! That’s a lot.
   If God was the way atheists portray Him...He would be begging for mercy at our feet. I sure don’t want a God like that. Would you? And as far as heaven, well, it wouldn't be much of a heaven any more. We will talk more about that in the next post.

78 Answers

Recently I watched a video on you tube entitled "78 Questions for Christians" by an atheist you tuber who goes by the name "The Atheist Voice".I wasn't offended, I wasn't angered. I still am not.
 What I did find, was that all of these questions could be answered without the use of what the typical Christian would consider "apologetics. In other words, you don't need to read a ton of science books, delve into history, or study philosophy to have the tools to stand up against these types of challenges. (All though I highly suggest you equip yourself to be able to do so on some level.)
      That is what these questions are, after all: Challenges. The man posing these questions doesn't want answers. He wants to shake the faith of whatever Christians would listen and give fodder to the ridicule of his "militant atheist" followers. A goal, that honestly, I've seen present in just as many believers in conversation or in presentations such as this.
   I've re-watched the video a few times, and I thought it might be fun to do a response. This is not to knock him off his high-horse or to convert him. I think social media is a poor conduit for evangelism. Not to say that God can never use it; but I feel like His intention for out-reach was personal friendship and love...something that can't be displayed in written words or video very well.
  I was hoping to make a response in kind. However, with the tools I have right now, you-tube is just a little out of my range. Having already written out some of the answers however, I thought this was one outlet through which I could share my thoughts.
   My real hope for this is not to feed into Christian arrogance, but to help us see that the best way for us to give an answer is to know our own scripture. When people come to use with questions or arguments a good knowledge of basic theology will not only help to anchor us against doubt which has pulled so many away, It will help us to minister to them by giving them an answer to the real doubts that are hidden under the challenging questions and comments.
   I hope that some of what I have written will help you grow and see how truth and reason are overflowing in God's word.
  The video I am making the response to is on you tube under the previously mentioned title. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI-_FJuTPns

    Please feel free to add any thoughts and share stories.God bless.