Jim,
I really don't feel good at all about the discussion of Hell on this forum yesterday, and here is why: a correct or incorrect view of Hell's existence is not a requirement to becoming a Christian. I can now see how unproductive a discussion of its existence is, particularly in a mixed group like this with a very broad range of spiritual beliefs.
This is a close call for me, but I do not see in scripture the need to get this right in terms of being a follower of Christ. What matters is how you personally handle the message of Jesus and how you respond to it.
I would boil His message down to the following as it is personally what compelled me to become a follower of Jesus: I am not God, Jesus is, controlling my own life has led me down the wrong path, I reject my own ways and accept Christ's ways, I want a new beginning and a real chance to follow Christ. Please forgive my many, many screw-ups that have hurt so many people and help me to not add to this list ever again.
This is how it all started for me. No concept of Heaven or Hell. No analysis of who was or wasn't with God. Just a simple and heartfelt desire to follow after Jesus. At the time, I was not even certain who Jesus was, I only knew that the powerful message of the love that He had for me overcame me and cause a lifetime commitment to Him.
If you have experienced this epiphany and the idea of Anne Frank burning in Hell is an obstacle for you in being obedient to Jesus simple commands, then I say don't believe it. To be a disciple of Christ, one needs to follow His commands: "If you love Me, obey my commandments". This is what the greatest commandment is. He did not say "If you love Me, be really, really smart and have all the answers". In fact, the people He was PISSED at knew and believed the truth intellectually! Their actions were completely contrary to loving god (parable of the two sons) and loving others (the parable of the good Samaritan).
For me, the concept of Hell holds only one reality: I don't want anyone to experience it. This motivates me to want to be a better (more obedient) Christian so that my family and friends will see the power of Christ in my own life and desire to follow Him. That's it. I can see that discussing Hell is counterproductive.
Russ
I really don't feel good at all about the discussion of Hell on this forum yesterday, and here is why: a correct or incorrect view of Hell's existence is not a requirement to becoming a Christian. I can now see how unproductive a discussion of its existence is, particularly in a mixed group like this with a very broad range of spiritual beliefs.
This is a close call for me, but I do not see in scripture the need to get this right in terms of being a follower of Christ. What matters is how you personally handle the message of Jesus and how you respond to it.
I would boil His message down to the following as it is personally what compelled me to become a follower of Jesus: I am not God, Jesus is, controlling my own life has led me down the wrong path, I reject my own ways and accept Christ's ways, I want a new beginning and a real chance to follow Christ. Please forgive my many, many screw-ups that have hurt so many people and help me to not add to this list ever again.
This is how it all started for me. No concept of Heaven or Hell. No analysis of who was or wasn't with God. Just a simple and heartfelt desire to follow after Jesus. At the time, I was not even certain who Jesus was, I only knew that the powerful message of the love that He had for me overcame me and cause a lifetime commitment to Him.
If you have experienced this epiphany and the idea of Anne Frank burning in Hell is an obstacle for you in being obedient to Jesus simple commands, then I say don't believe it. To be a disciple of Christ, one needs to follow His commands: "If you love Me, obey my commandments". This is what the greatest commandment is. He did not say "If you love Me, be really, really smart and have all the answers". In fact, the people He was PISSED at knew and believed the truth intellectually! Their actions were completely contrary to loving god (parable of the two sons) and loving others (the parable of the good Samaritan).
For me, the concept of Hell holds only one reality: I don't want anyone to experience it. This motivates me to want to be a better (more obedient) Christian so that my family and friends will see the power of Christ in my own life and desire to follow Him. That's it. I can see that discussing Hell is counterproductive.
Russ