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Im an agnostic...
but my friend is a chrisitan. He wants me to go to church with him every week, and im not all that enthusiastic. I feel guilty for even thinking about saying no because i get all self concious when i think of him thinking of me as a sinner. Anyways we were having a very good time at a footbal game and then we were talking about stuff and somehow the topic just came up about dying. He was like, no offense but if you died right now i think you'd go to hell. He was being really serious. Well, it depressed the hell out of me. Im a nice person, i dont try to judge people, i like to share, my morals are higher then anyone elses and then i get depressed because i cant live up to them. I was really hurt but i didnt let on. He wouldnt elaborate, he said we could talk about it on the phone sometime. Well, do you think it was right of him to say that? Or am i just being dumb? I cant help but feel like im some kind of 'project' hes trying to save...
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Maybe give some free advice about: Spirituality?
First of all i want you to know no matter how much youve sinned you can be saved and you CAN go to heaven! And please dont feel self concious when your with your friends, were all sinners. Romans 3:23 says "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." But its also says In the Bible; John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." This verse is saying that if you believe that Jesus Christ, the son of God died on the cross for YOUR sins, you can be saved and go to heaven! Because "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." (1 Timothy 1:15) So if you except Gods FREE gift of forgivness for your sins you will go to heaven! Its a free gift, you dont have to do anything but accept it! "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of god is ETERNAL LIFE" Romans 6:23 Without Jesus dying on the cross for our sins we would go to hell...but god has given us the gift of eternal life with him in heaven!! If you recieve the gift he will forget all of your sins "as far as the east is from the west..." Colossians 2:23 So if you want to get into heaven all you need to do is listen to this bible verse, "If you confess with your tongue and believe with your heart that he is lord you will be saved." Dont feel like your just some project, your not, your a special creation made by god in his image. He had you planned out before time began and LOVES you so much he died for you. I reallyyyy hope that you understand all of this and i encourage you to really read it and understand it. i hope this helped you and if you have any questions AT ALL please ask me, ask me anything and ill to get you an answer [= <333333
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First of all, it is your life, not his. You have the right to make whatever decisions you choose with regards to religion. I realize you friend is worried about you and you should be grateful that you have a friend that cares that much about you. He is totally enmeshed in the propagandized Christian faith. The church has spent thousands of years coming up with the best population control techniques out there. It was Constantine who put together the niacin council. These are the group of men who decided what was going to go into the Christian bible. These same men included books written by people 100 years after Christ and excluded books written by his own disciples. Constantine also changed the holy day from Saturday to Sunday in honor of his much worshiped and revered sun god. This is how Sunday got it’s name. The church perpetuated wars in its name. I have a copy of an Aramaic bible. Aramaic is the language that Jesus spoke. It is a more direct translation than the King James or other conventional versions of the bible. It has a totally different translation than what is being taught to the mainstream. The church uses fear to control the masses. It keeps people dancing to their beat.
Do I believe in Jesus? Yes. Do I believe he was a special individual and of an unusual birth? I’m open. A historian of Jesus’ time does document his existence. There is a book written by Peter or Paul (I’m not sure which). In this book Christ first makes him promise not to tell anyone but he then confides that we are all going to make it . The reason he doesn’t want him to spread the word is because he said he knew people would not keep on striving to be better, and this is important. If you listen to his messages there is only one message that heads the list. We are put here to love each other unconditionally and that is all.
Let me sum this up with one thought. Nothing matters. This is all an illusion anyway. This is nothing but a virtual reality game that we’ve come to play for whatever reason. We do know that reason before coming here but our memories are blocked while here. There are certain tasks we are to accomplish in order for us to ascend. If we don’t learn what is important for us to learn we get to come back (reincarnation) until this mission is accomplished. When we leave here we go back to the knowing, the I am. We are moved up and down the latter according to how we do from one life game experience to the other. It is all about how we play. It’s just, no one is going to hell, but we can ascend the latter quicker if we are good to each other and don’t purposefully hurt one another. So, your right, you will be just fine because you are a good person.
You may want to have a talk with your friend. Let him know how much you admire him for sticking to his convictions. Tell him how much you appreciate his caring enough about you to be concerned. Then let him know that although you would love to accompany him occasionally to church, you don’t want to go every Sunday. If he would like for you to join him for something like a movie, etc., afterwards you will be there. When he brings up the subject of religion, politely change the subject. Let him know that it would be better for your friendship if you didn’t discuss this particular subject.
LULABELLE
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Consider maybe going to church with him once or twice. This will most likely help you understand a bit more of what hes trying to do for you. He's not trying to bash you at all! He's trying to help more than anything---he really cares. He just told you his honest opinion, try not to be to offended by it. However, on your part...I can see where you would be a bit confused.
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Why don't you think of considering Christianity?take your belief into thought.. and if your friend is telling you this, it means he cares about you and wants to see you in heaven.Dont feel like a 'project' just look at it as how much he cares about you.That was probably really hard for him to say,so you gotta try to understand how he feels, and give him a chance.Dont take it offensivley.Just because "youre a good person and you help out people" does not mean anything.Youre friend is a really great one that he would say somthing thats hard to say because he cares about you....
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well i am christian and would never tell my non-christian friend if they were going to hell!!
in the end it is not up to your friend to say whether you are going to hell or heaven. it is God's job, no one else could even attempt it!
don't feel as though you're some project because your friend is just trying to make you aware of the Good News.
maybe go to church with him and just check it out. because, seriously, i never used to go to church because i thought it would be the most boring thing in the whole world, and it ended up being great fun!
remember this too, it would hurt your friend too if he believes you are going to hell. i'm not saying you are! but i'm just saying if thats what he believes it will hurt him soo much too.
hope i helped you!
Nadia.
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Your friend is not a friend at all. You need to be honest and tell him that he's pushing is making you uncomfortable because you don't necessarily think the way he does. And that's okay. Any friend who will tell you that you are doomed is not the kind of friend you need. It might be hard to be upfront with him, especially if he wants to stop being your friend. However, you need people with whom you feel comfortable and who are not trying to make you a convert constantly. Remember the best kind of person is the person who does good because it is the right thing to do, not because there is a reward at the end. Best wishes.
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tell him to stop it makes you not feel good.
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No... I don't think that it was right of him to say that. And I think he's wrong, if you are like you say, a generally good person who tries not to judge other and treats others decently than heaven is just as reachable for you as it is for him. It is my firm belief that undernieth it all we are all trying to reach the same place and just have different ways of getting there. No one path is better than the other, and in something as philisophical and untouchable as religion no one has the right to throw stones...
What you need to do is find the grounds that you are comfortable on, the morals that you believe are imortant and the ideals that matter the most to you and try to live up to them because YOU want to not because your christian friend tells that you need to believe them. You need to find what works for you, and if someone ever tells you that your going to hell you say to them "I know I'm a good person, and I know that I will go some place equally as good" and leave it at that. If you want feel free to throw in "I'll see you there!"
I hope that helps, and feel better because whatever Immanent Will you believe in or follow will know you better than an mortal man.
Good Luck
Frost
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thats a load of bull. im Catholic. i would know...ask him if he is Christian then why is HE so quick to judge others. after all, it says in the bible, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged...Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your onw eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."(Matthew 6:7:1-5). i hope he gets the message!
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Absolutely not. It is not right for any friends to tell another that they are going to hell, and it is not right for anyone to openly state that opinion. If you believe in religeon, which you obviously do because what he said hurt you, you should know one thing. It is said in the bible that the only thing you need to go to heaven is a belief in Jesus Christ. That's it. Sins don't keep us out, that's what he died for.
But a good friend will never say that another is going to hell. In the words of my SS teacher "That man is not going to be my daughters girlfriend, as he said she is going to hell." It's really serious stuff. I would honest call him up right now, and talk to him about it. Yes, the old "Just talk about it" advice. Yet, don't jsut say how you feel. Tell him that it actually did hurt you when he said it, and that you are seriously questioning his friendship to you. Tell him that what he said was the type of thing that enemies would say to other enemies. Ask him how he meant it, and take it from there.
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There are three concepts of death.
Heaven and Hell makes the least sense out of the three.
There is nothingness ~ which was first really introduced massively by Friedrich Neitzsche. Who claims people make up religions because the concept of having nothingness after death is too much for the human mind to handle.
There is reincarnation, which makes a lot of sense; "Matter cannot be created or destroyed" ~ the cycle of life.
Then there is the afterlife ~ heaven and hell or whatever, the idea that after you die you transcend to a different level of existance.
Explain these three things to your friend.
And explain to him that any of the three can be right.
And that he needs to be much more open minded. If he wants to believe in something, splendid. But don't automatically assume that it is right because you believe in it. Since there is no proof, don't pretend like there is.
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Your religion or religious belief doesn't send you to hell. Your sins aganist God do. If you are not really sorry for your sins you'll go to hell. Like it says somewhere in the Bible if you kill someone and you are truly sorry for it you will be accepted in to heaven. I do not know if you believe in all this or not but I am a strong believer. However, it does say God accepts all people into heaven. Tell your friend to read the frigging bible he's not as Christian as he thinks.
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if you're not a christian you ARE going to hell..i dont care what anyone else tells you..there is a god and there is a hell and if when you die your not saved you will be cast into the lake of fire..im praying that you will realise that you need god in your life..
Nessa
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There's a difference between being judgmental and wanting to share truth. Your friend sounds like he is very concerned about your eternal life or he wouldn't have risked saying something to you. Your friend can't save you. He can only point you to the one who can.
You get depressed from not living up to all these things because your inner self knows they aren't good enough and they never will be. I can relate to that feeling. But there is a way to be free and that is giving your life to Jesus Christ. Jesus paid the price for your sins and is waiting for you to accept that by accepting His sacrifice. Your friend is right -- if you died without Christ, you'd go to hell. But don't let a another day go by without seeking out the One who gave His very life to save you from such a fate.
Don't take my word for it. Ask your friend for a bible and read it. Ask your friend to pray for you to have understanding. Ask questions. Go to church with him. Seek and you WILL find. Jesus loves you very much!
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The term "agnostic" means unsure of there being a God or unsure of a religion whether it be christianity, judaism, or other. Maybe your friend doesn't understand this. I am agnostic as well, and would rather religion not be brought up because I am trying to figure out whether I belive it or not, and nothing anybody says is going to belive one way or another, because I see points to both. Kindly let your friend know that agnostic doesn't mean the same as athiest (absolutely definitively does not belive in a God) and that you are not currently wanting to think about what will happen after you die or having to go to church. While many christians want to convert people because they belive that they can save both themselves and another way, you deserve to figure out your own religious standpoint without the "help" of your friend unless you ask for it. Your friend should understand, but this is a conversation you need to have with him. Good luck.
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You are not going to hell. That's ridiculous, because who is he to say? and if he's really that religious he knows he should not be judgmental. The fact that you are concerned about his feelings shows that you are a nice person. If he is making you feel bad or you feel trying to 'save' you, then maybe you need a break from this friend.
I know that religion is a popular thing to talk about and means a lot of things to a lot of people, but you are entitled, in fact its your right, to believe what you want to believe and not have others force their views on you and not judge you.
Good luck and keep me posted.
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Tell him to leave you alone about going to church. If he were really a good friend, he would accept your beliefs and not try to change you. Why would you want to be friends with someone who does not accept you for who you are? I myself am an atheist, and I have this friend (who is Christian) who also wants me to go to church with her and her family. Don't feel guilty about being who you are and believing what you believe in. I do -not- think it was right for him to say that and not elaborate. Tell him how you feel. Just because you aren't part of his religion does not mean that you are not a good person.
Edit: Not a problem.
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