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Goodness! Didn't mean to upset you. I thought it might be a non-controversial thing to say, because the idea that most people are going to hell is not only not controversial but also biblical. Then if Christ's suffering was a sacrifice in proportion to everyone's sin, it would seem to follow...

Yes, but did he suffer in proportion to the number of people that could be saved in all of history? If he did, yet only a fraction of the totality of people in history took advantage of his sacrifice, then he would have suffered in vain. I don't know if the Bible says anything about that or...

But if so many are lost, isn't it true that most of the great sacrifice was in vain? Also I was thinking about how Christians handle the idea of eternal suffering in hell in the case of non-Christians. For example, my brother, a non-Christian, recently died. I loved him very much and it would...

I think if I respond to Clete's post, I will end up answering other posts as well. I can see that I haven't made myself clear in what I said here. I'm not afraid of eternal torment. But I don't like the idea of little kids being terribly scared at the prospect of eternal torment. It was...

Well, there is quite a difference between eternal suffering and only a moment's suffering, don't you think?

Of course, my question is from the Christian point of view. Whether my repeated attempts to get saved would be considered successful as a frightened child is perhaps doubtful. Although I believed all the necessary things, and tried over and over again, it was motivated by fear and I didn't...

Hi Everyone, I notice that there seems to be some question as to why, I, an unbeliever, am bringing up a matter of doctrine. Well, as you may have noticed from my original post, I was terrified as a child by the possibility of eternal torment. So it brought me some relief to consider that so...

Thanks for your reply, Right Divider. This gives me a chance to make myself clearer. My suggestion is that the Bible is saying that for the unrepentant and unsaved, there are two deaths. The first death happens to both the saved and unsaved, the body gets old and dies. But the unsaved, just...

Hi Guys! (Sorry if one or more of you are gals), I appreciate very much how much effort you've put into responding to my notes, especially Clete! However, some of my notes have been very long, so I thought I would limit myself to just one question this time. The email is still kind of long...

Hi Clete, Thanks for reading and responding. Sorry you were so confused.. My point of view as a child is that I wanted to be saved from the consequences of my sins, saved from hell. Interesting verses, thanks for that. I was taught as a child that children needed saving too. The earlier...

Hi Hoping, I guess I should have given you some response, but I don't have a lot to say! I think there is much in the Bible that supports your interpretation that salvation is not assured during one's lifetime. Most prominently that Paul mentions the hope of salvation quite often: "For in...

Hi Yorzhik: Well, my understanding of what you are saying is as follows: That is, the salvation process is not mechanical, but involves having a good relationship with God, like a friendship. It is different than Clete and JudgeRightly's conception, which is based on having certain beliefs...

Hi JudgeRightly and Clete, the TruthSmacker, Thanks for reading and responding to my emails. I wrote: "Was I really saved (given the description in the first note)?" I wrote: "Romans 10:19. And you get to go to Heaven, no matter what you do after that! No need to follow commandments...

Hoping, Thanks for reading my emails and responding. I didn't understand your statement, "Salvation will not be assured for anyone until the day of judgement, so your worries are unfounded." The fact that everyone has this huge sword of Damocles hanging over them, means I should have had no...

Hi Judge Rightly, Now your description of how to be saved sounds more like what I had learned as a child. It's very simple, you believe in Jesus and ask for his gift. No effort required, no ongoing relationship (@Yorzhik) , no road to salvation (@Hoping). Romans 10:9. And you get to go to...

Let me know if I missed your point: I understood you to say that becoming saved (going to heaven in the afterlife) is not a matter of signing a contract or making an agreement, it was a matter of having a relationship with Jesus. But your statement that people who don't want to go to heaven...

@Yorzhik and @JudgeRightly, thanks for reading my note and responding. So Yorzhik, I think you make a good point. If you feel you have a relationship, that God is looking down on you favorably, and you are beloved by Him, it would certainly feel great and you wouldn't be worried about hell...

Hi Everyone, my question is whether or not I am saved. I was raised as a Christian Fundamentalist and believed the doctrine without question as a small child. I learned all about Jesus, etc. I also learned about hell, that it was an eternal punishment to be avoided at any cost. All I needed...

Thank you so much! I feel so welcome!

Hello everyone, I may be in the wrong place in that I'm interested in serious discussions with Christians about their beliefs. This particular forum may be more entertainment oriented than what I'm looking for. I can certainly be respectful of others, and respect the fact that this is a...