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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Another atheist, who does not believe in hell, or any afterlife.

So what happens if a murderer/rapist/abuser does not "find" the correct religion/god in their life. Do they get a pass to repent, and then go to heaven?

But then again how can a murderer/rapist/abuser not know that their actions are wrong, no matter what, regardless of believing in a religion/god?

How can a god NOT put a murderer/rapist/abuser in hell, even if they "repent" a million times over?

And if repentance is not necessary to enter heaven, then what's the point of religion/god?

Ultimately I don't believe in any of it. The heaven/hell/afterlife question is just one of many, many reasons why I don't believe in religion/god. [/quote]
Repentence IS necessary to enter Heaven. And what would the threshold be for evil acts before you're disqualified? That's why the murderer/rapist/abuser argument is tough to defend down the line. When do the scales get tipped so that you're beyond hope? But God in His love and mercy is willing to forgive anyone who seeks forgiveness through Christ.[/quote]

Situation:

The child rapist dies b/c  the father of the child he raped and killed shot him in the heart.  The rapist dies and is traveling around until he sees St. Peter at the pearly gates.  He becomes frightened and repents.  He enters heaven.

The father who shot him dies of a broken heart.  He floats to the pearly gates but doesn't repent, feeling as though he had been justified in killing that fucking bastard who took his daughter's life.  He is condemned to hell.

What's wrong with this picture, you nutty Christians?  
[/quote]
It's easy to make people look silly when you caricature their beliefs, but this scenario does not get at what Christianity teaches. To start, no one goes to hell because of any one egregious sin. It's not like you're just going along well in life, and then, wow, you just raped a kid. Off to hell for you! Christian teaching is that we are all sinful. Some of us sin worse than others, and perhaps worse sin gets punished in Hell more severely, though there's no Christian teaching on that point. But what is clear Christian teaching is that we all sin, we all do things we know are wrong, and Hell is what awaits us for our sin. But God loves us, and He gave His son, Jesus Christ, who is God in the flesh, to die on the cross for our sins, and if we trust in that, He will save us. It's just that simple. He is kind and merciful, and all He asks is that you confess your sins and ask to be forgiven. Another problem with this scenario is the rapist floating around in the air until he gets scared and repents. That is also not Christian teaching. Once we die, we are judged (Hebrews 9:27). If we have trusted in Christ to forgive us, we are forgiven. If we have not, then you die in your sins. So this proverbial child rapist, who it appears in this scenario dies unrepentant of his sins, has no chance to change his mind once confronted with eternity. God is patient with us in this life and give us many chances to repent. We all do wrong, and when we confess that to Christ, we are forgiven. In the scenario presented, it appears the rapist has not repented before he's shot by the father, so he is lost in Hell. The last problem is the father. He is not judged on one act of retribution (though God does say that vengeance is His, which should give us cause to rejoice that He is just so we don't have to worry about shooting people), but he is rather judged by his acceptance or rejection of Christ. Again, it's not like the father is going along well in life, and he just happens to shoot the rapist of his child, so, so sorry, but off to Hell for you! The father has sinned in his life entirely apart from this incident. If he has sought forgiveness through Christ, he is forgiven those sins. If he has not, he, too, like the rapist dies in his sins. We are all accountable for our lives and what we do with them, and we will all fall short of God's standard. That's why God, who does love us more than we can comprehend, provided a sacrifice in Christ for us. If you examine your own life, you will know you sin. Seek the LORD while He may be found. I'm sure the progressive Christian will pick this apart, but nothing what he or she wrote bears any remote resemblance to Biblical Christian teaching, and no Christian believes Satan walks around in a red suit and a pitchfork. Instead, the Bible teaches that mankind will scoff at Satan, who will be brought lower in Hell than all others.[/quote]

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