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Introduction to the main article

 

Traditional teachings about an eternal hellfire and today as the only day for salvation has caused much damage and turned many away from Christianity. Some examples illustrate why I say that.

 

My favorite recreation is reading mystery stories. In one mystery, the author had the character say something like this, "I could never be a Christian because I refuse to believe in a God that burns babies forever in hell." I marveled to find such deep thinking in a fiction novel.

The prominent evolutionist, Charles Darwin, wrote in his autobiography that he could not believe in a God that would condemn all disbelievers to eternal punishment because included would be his father, brother, and almost all of his best friends.

My dad, although he did not attend church, was an exemplarity husband and father. Nevertheless as good Lutherans, mom and her two oldest boys worried about dad. Why? He had never been baptized. We knew what the Bible taught in Mark 16:16, "He that believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." When he was about forty years old, mom and her two boys breathed sighs of relief when dad was finally baptized.

 

But if mom and her two boys had thought about it, did all that worry about dad really make sense? Let's say dad's baptism was scheduled for May 15th but he died on May 14th. Was dad really lost forever? Did it really make sense that prior to the magic day of the 15th dad was doomed to burn in hell forever, but after that date dad was destined to go to heaven forever? Does a fair and just God have rules that are so nonsensical and so patently unfair? More important, is such a god one we want to follow?

 

I worried about my first two children. Why? The Lutheran custom was that they be baptized a few weeks after birth. But what if they died before then? I worried constantly until the time passed and they were successfully baptized. But would a loving God really have burned my babies in hell fire for all eternity if they had died before being baptized? I thought so then, but I came to see that belief was wrong.

Today's situation

At this very minute, as you read this, there are sincere and dedicated Christian missionaries braving incredible hardships as they struggle to carry the name "Jesus" to remote parts of the world. Their motivation is found in Acts 4:12, "Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

Millions of people living today have never even heard the name of "Jesus". Are they really going to burn in hell for all eternity? What about the billions of people who have lived and died over the centuries without being baptized or hearing the name "Jesus". What about your own relatives who lived good lives, yet they were not churchgoers? Traditional Christianity says they are lost, but is that right? Like the mystery author, does it make sense to you that they burn for all eternity?

 

My change

At age 33, I became interested in a group that was outside of traditional Christianity. Strangely enough, they claimed they had a better understanding of many Bible teachings. One of those was, "What happens to the unsaved?".

 

I spent months studying their literature. They kept saying, "Don't believe us, believe your Bible." My intensive studies changed my understanding about many traditional teachings. One of those was the matter of the unsaved. I came to see the following:

          1) A fair and loving God is going to give everyone that has ever lived a chance for salvation.

2) The minority of humans that decide to reject God will not burn in hell fire for all eternity. (Such eternal torment would be cruel sadism, as well as punishment far out of proportion to the offense.)

3) Those who reject God and His government means they refuse to live without hurting others. They will simply be extinguished, they will cease to exist.

4) Since they refuse to live peacefully with their fellow man, that is the kindest thing to do for them.

Another study you might like

 

This introduction is a good place to make a second point. When learning about God, it is important to know, and to believe, he is the creator of all things. We worship Him and follow His rules because ¨ He created us ¨ and knows what is best for us, There are many sources available that prove creation. One you might try is my website, www.creationcorner.info. In addition to proving what happens to the unsaved, proving the creator should be a second vital part of your studies.

 

With that introduction, we can go to the main article that presents things from the Bible that changed my mind. (At this point, let me mention that italics, bold, or underlining are sometimes added to quotes.)

 

C. Frazier Spencer

Click here for the main article.

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