Don’t you wish that the literalist Christian whom believes in eternal flames of damnation for those who don’t believe in Christ are wrong????? (I know Christianity is divided on this issue and many Christians don’t believe it this way. My purpose isn’t to define someone but to introduce a subject and ask you to think for yourself. (Remember this point as you progress through this article.)

Any other answer to the opening question other than YES, I HOPE THAT NO ONE EVER BURNS IN ETERNAL FLAMES should embarrass you as a human being. If you said no, I hope that they get what is coming to them then you are a warped, twisted individual (I purposely avoided calling you a human being). What kind of person wishes or feels that whomever doesn’t accept Christ (for whatever reason) should suffer this harsh of a punishment? Say an unbeliever lives for 17 years and dies. Is that teenager to suffer an infinite number of years (say 1,000 plus years) for those 17 years as punishment for not believing? Don’t give me the “justice of God demands” response here because the rest of the world is laughing at your reasoning skills. I don’t see anything fair or just about this. I’m not trying to turn this into a philosophical/biblical debate here. Remember, I am trying to have you think for yourself.

When I was a bible believing fundamentalist minister the New Testament book of I John chapters 3 and 5 with its sobering pleas penetrated my entire being. I always wanted to be TRUE. Let me speak more clearly, I didn’t want to impress anyone else other than God, because God’s opinion was the only one that mattered anyhow! Yes, every sane person wants people to like them, that’s not what I am saying. I wanted to be a true Christian so that I would not live a life of deceiving MYSELF or others about my Christian experience. For if I impressed others with my Christian life, but to God whom makes the rules about the conditions of entering into a heavenly eternal life I was found a fraud because I didn’t really have eternal life. Then wouldn’t that life of deception in the end only hurt myself? I would have lived as a professed believer but would have ended up in Hell once I died because I truly wasn’t a believer!

DID YOUR MINISTER PRESENT SALVATIONS PLAN PROPERLY?

Most of the ministers out there are a pathetic lot! Most of them don’t know their bibles all that well and fail in instructing their “flock” about what it takes for a person to enter into the faith properly. Most will talk about having faith in Christ and strive to drive this point “home” to their people. Someone needs to inform these bible illiterate ministers that faith isn’t just the giving of intellectual consent to the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. It is the complete trust in what Christ did for the sinner as sufficiency for his sin problem that constitutes faith. Most preachers quote the Apostle Paul’s books, but evidently don’t trust Paul’s words in their presentation of what is needed for that sinner to properly get into the faith. Dear Christian, did anyone tell you that you needed to repent of your sins along with telling you about faith properly??? Here is how Paul preached to those outside of the faith.

Acts 20:21
Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance towards God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ also taught repentance and I will provide scriptural support as evidence that without repentance it is impossible to believe!

Matthew 21:32
For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.

CHRISTIAN, EXAMINE YOURSELF! MAYBE YOU DON’T HAVE IT?

Those outside of faith’s confines probably see the big picture better than the “professed Christian” does. We say this and it seems we are always cracking sarcastic barbs at the religious imposters “acting”. Christians are repeatedly warned in the bible to examine themselves to see if they really have true faith. Where is the preacher to warn his congregation about sin? Is he or she is too timid out of fear of loosing a member? They are the false prophets (ministers whom don’t preach against sin, you know the sweet as cotton candy minister) that the bible warns you about. Can a warning be said more clearly to Christians, are you paying attention????

2 Corinthians 13:5
Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

I John 3: 9-10
Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

I John 5: 18
We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.

(NOTE: If you strictly take these verses literally then NOBODY enters heaven because all have sinned Romans 3:23. The majority of biblical expositors would indicate that this (commit sin) is a continual action verb.)

Myself as a skeptic views most believers to be insincere about their belief. The old saying applies here. ”You can blow the whistle, but you aren’t hauling nothing on the train!”. I have had plenty of conversations with ministers over the years. Sometimes the subject of whether and what percentages of their congregation members that they believed actually have true salvation. Their estimations often were below the 50% level!

You might ask, who is going to go to hell?: PS: I won’t even use the Old Testament (laughter). Now that your thinking of why I am limiting myself, I need to tell you that Hell is a New Testament invention! The answers are from the King James bible:

1. Liars, whoremongers, fearful, murderers, unbelievers, abominable, idolaters  Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderes, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Note, Jesus should be in hell because he was afraid:
John 7:1
After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him. (Jesus was afraid of being killed here)

2) Those who don’t provide for their families (dead beats)
I Timothy 5:8
But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

3) All whom cheat on their spouses (adulterers) and those whom have sex outside of the confines of marriage (whoremongers) and the minister who is fearful to preach about this from his pulpit (Rev 21:8) for fear of offending members because he doesn’t want to loose their financial contributions or just lacks the courage!
Hebrews 13:4
Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.

4) Also most divorced people and those whom marry a divorced person are adulteres
Matthew 5:32
But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery, and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

5) People whom get sexually turned on by women are adulterers (this also implies those whom view pornography)
Matthew 5:28
But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

6) Those whom do not forgive others
Matthew 6:15
But if ye forgive not men men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

7) Ministers whom are false prophets (see Matt: 6:15-20)

8) Only those whom DO the will of Father in Heaven actually GO to heaven
Matt 7:21
Not every man that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

9) Majority of rich people WON’T be in heaven
Matthew 19: 23
Then saith Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.

10) Did you visit the prisons, feed the hungry, clothe the needy, take in the homeless???…if not everlasting punishment awaits you!
Matthew 25:43-46
I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

11) Only Christians whom reject the fleshly walk for the Spirit walk escape condemnation (There is a qualifier for those who profess…do you meet it?)
Romans 8:1
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

12) The unrighteous, effeminate, drunkards, revilers, abusers of themselves with mankind…none of these are going to Heaven!
Hebrews 6:9 – 10
Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of god? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind. Nor theives, nor coveteous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 

(SPECIAL NOTICE: It is said here that the righteous shall inherit the kingdom which is another way of saying that it is a future event (judgement) that determines who enters into God’s kingdom and not the person who says a prayer and lacks true repentance. So if you make a profession of faith you better be true to keep it or else!

13) Those whom do the works of the flesh go to Hell! Did you take a bath? Clean your house? Are you jealous (emulations)? Do you hate? Are you a church hopper?? ( evidenced by variance, hatred, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies?)
Galatians 5:19-21
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleaness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murderers, drunkenness,, revellings, and such like; of the which Itell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

I am not worried about this, neither should you or anyone else be worried about going to hell. Don’t you think that some scientist would have already found hell by now somewhere in the cosmos? Really, if there was a hell like the bible describes you would think that the heat, noise, stench that it produces would have made a career out of the pioneer scientist that discovered its location. In closing, going to church parallels somewhat going to a hospital (it is where the sick people meet). It is fortunate for anyone that has a medical need that there are hospitals and clinics to address their physical needs. 

The church going person who seeks the Christian life is surrounded by people that according to the bible have a sincere sin problem (they are sick with sin). This sin problem threatens him with hellfire as its consequence. The bible does offer hope for people IF you meet the strict set of requirements according to the scriptures. Frankly, it is nearly impossible for anyone to enter into heaven. The God of the bible sets the rules and you dear Christian cannot fool him when it is your judgment time!

I hate to say it but according to the bible, most people in the world will be sent to hell once they die. This is a horrible thought, many of you who are reading this and are Christians are in just as much danger as I am (a skeptic ex-minister). Imagine this, you are sincere as a believer but you just don’t pass the requirements for heavens entrance. Thus you are rejected, but at least you tried. Let’s not fool ourselves these are real scriptures from YOUR bible. You came up short because you couldn’t meet the 13 standards listed above. According to your bible, you will be joining me (the ex-minister) in hell.

Yes, I have made fun of the scriptures because they are ridiculous to begin with. There are many reasons why I left Christianity. One reason is that I got to know the scriptures very well in my 23 years as a believer. Do I think I am smart? I answer that question somewhat embarrassed because it took me 23 years to come to the point that I finally rejected the bible, Christianity etc.. I was educated in dogma, surrounded by an environment that never questioned things and I was expected to also follow the piper.

I feel that education has responsibilities that go along with it. I’ll say it this way, a doctor who finds a way to heal should share what he knows to be true for the benefit of mankind. Ministers are in a sense are doctors of the soul, and the bible is his medicine manual. When I found out that this manual taught me that most whom I seek to help would end up in hell anyway. I strongly questioned this! When I found that historically there is such a pathetically weak case for belief, I became more critical when I read the scriptures. The bible itself persuaded me that I was a fool for having previously believed such nonsense.

So now, I come to you dear Christian with a clear case for you to review. I hope that I have helped you to think for yourself! Dear Christian, you were given a capacity to love or hate, to think and reason. That ability to think and reason can lift you out of the silly superstition that you are currently in. The bible is a man made book with a hook. It can capture you and really psychologically mess up your life….IF YOU LET IT! I can plainly tell you that you have been deceived as I was. You have been lied to, manipulated, and threatened with hell itself. I offer you great news, it is so easy to do as I and countless others have done and walk away from all those negative, manipulative people and religion. 

Beware, you don’t need to ask a fellow church member what they think about this. Remember, they are also drinking the Kool-Aid. I have never had a minister or believer challenge me since I left the faith in 1999. They cannot challenge me, they know that they don’t have anything to challenge me with because I use the scriptures against themselves. If they did, I would tell them that it is your bible and it is you that has the problem with the bible’s contents. I don’t confess to believe in it, you do so learn to live up to it! It is always the same story, they always ignore me and never rise to defend their ridiculous beliefs. You have been missing a great life while stuck in your dogma See the link how religion robs people. Turn your back on it and just leave!

Brian Worley   Ex-Minister.org     September 15, 2007    All rights reserved

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