I was watching YouTube the other day when a self-described agnostic asked Frank Turek this question:
I
generally try to be a good person but I don't believe in the
Christian God. Do you think I'm going to hell?
I've
seen other stuff by Dr. Turek and he knows a thing or two about
apologetics so I'm sure he's heard questions like this before. I
don't know why, then, he seemed to dance around the subject for 5
minutes before saying, “If you don't bow
your knee to a Creator and get the free gift of eternal salvation,
God will not force into His presence against your will.” I'm
not sure what the venue was but the crowd seemed sympathetic to
Turek, judging by the polite applause that came at the end of the
clip. Some of the unbelievers commenting on the video were a little
less impressed with his answer.
I'm
not going to bash Turek because we've all had those times where we
are put on the spot and can't articulate our thoughts well. How many
times have you, after some encounter, thought to yourself, “Oh, I
wish I would have said....”? But having watched the video and
taking time to reflect on the question, let me suggest how I might
answer it.
Stop
and think for a moment – what is the point behind asking such a
question? I'm asking rhetorically because it's obvious why: the girl
is trying to make the Christian seem intolerant, narrow-minded, and
mean. The question commits the logical fallacy of appealing to
emotion. Whether or not it seems unfair that “good” people can
go to hell does nothing to demonstrate that it's not true. The
question attempts to provoke a sense of outrage toward the seeming
unfairness that a loving God would allow someone who tried to be good
to go to hell. To not answer the question directly might make an
apologist appear to embarrassed by the “unfairness” to give the
obvious answer. It's exactly the kind of response the critic wants.
What
if, instead, a person were to ask, “If I jumped out of an
airplane at 10,000 feet without a parachute, do you think I would
die?” The answer is an immediate and urgent, “Yes! A fall
from that height will certainly kill you. Please tell me you aren't
seriously considering doing that!” We're not judging that
person; we're describing reality. It wouldn't matter if the person
sincerely believed he wouldn't die from such an act, we know he would
and should do everything we can to stop him. Why are we any less
convicted or urgent about their decision to reject God?
The
girl started her question saying that she tries to be good. I would
also ask her why she thinks it's important to be good? Since she is
an agnostic and not an atheist, maybe she thinks there could be
eternal consequences to doing bad. Notice that she said that she
tries to be good; I would ask how well she's done. Does she
think it's wrong to lie, for example. If so, then has she told lies?
Certainly she has. Has she ever cursed at anyone? Has she ever
stolen anything – even something little? If she fairly judged
herself according to things she knows are wrong, she would see
herself as a lying, thieving, murderer at heart. If there are
eternal consequences to our actions, isn't she worried about all the
bad things she knows she has done? Wouldn't it be great to know that
she can have forgiveness for her sins?
The
girl asked this question to try to argue. What an opportunity such a
question is to share the gospel!
4 comments:
Ghandi burns in hell. What a loving God.
To my anonymous visitor,
Do you think Gandhi never told a lie? Do you think he never lusted for a woman who wasn't his wife? Do you think Gandhi was so good that he never committed a single sin in his life? God is loving but He is also just. We are judged for our sins. Not even Gandhi was so good that he didn't need to be forgiven.
But let's forget about Gandhi for a moment. What about you? Are you as good as Gandhi? Do you think it's wrong to tell a lie? If so, have you ever told lies? If you judged yourself according to the 10 commandments, how good of a person do you think you are? What about the Golden Rule? Do you always treat others just like you would want to be treated? The girl in the video said she tries to be a good person. Most people try. Most people aren't. Actually, no one is. We all need forgiveness of our sins. There is only 1 Savior.
Please keep visiting. God bless!!
RKBentley
So, I could be a murdering, raping, burning person as the conquistadors and crusaders were hundred years ago. And I would be absolved of my sins because I did it in the name of God? "Christians" came to my country and forced conversion on my people, they burnt down villages and killed children who were "heathen," then prayed to the Lord in church.
Those men will go to heaven.
Gandhi freed the same country from its bondage, and he did it without firing a single bullet or killing a single man. I don't doubt that he told a lie, or lusted over a woman, he is human after all. But because he was a Hindu (never killed even an animal or a plant) he will go to your Christian hell. In Hinduism, if you are good you will move on regardless of what you believe...
But if your mythology is more correct than Gandhi's then he will go to hell. If hell is filled with everyone who is a non believer, good and bad.. while heaven is filled with people like the conquistadors and crusaders, in which one should I rather be?
To my anonymous visitor,
Thanks for your comments. You said, “So, I could be a murdering, raping, burning person as the conquistadors and crusaders were hundred years ago. And I would be absolved of my sins because I did it in the name of God?”
What sins are you talking about? Murder and rape? Animals kill and rape each other all the time. Is a lion a sinner when it kills another lion? In the atheist mythology, there is really no such thing as sin. I've said before that, if there were no God, then everything is just matter acting on matter and the universe doesn't care what you do. For you to even call these things “sins,” you must acknowledge there is some universal moral code being broken.
But God doesn't forgive people because they sin in His name. I'm not sure where you got that idea. God forgives people who repent of their sins and call on Jesus to be their Lord and Savior.
You said, “Gandhi freed the same country from its bondage, and he did it without firing a single bullet or killing a single man. I don't doubt that he told a lie, or lusted over a woman, he is human after all. But because he was a Hindu (never killed even an animal or a plant) he will go to your Christian hell. In Hinduism, if you are good you will move on regardless of what you believe...”
You're trying to do the same thing the girl in the video did. By the way, I noticed the video has been taken down so you may not have seen it. Anyway, the girl said she tried to be good. You're saying Gandhi was 'really' good and why would a good person go to hell for not believing in Jesus? You've already answered your own question; even “really good” people are sinners. Gandhi was a liar and adulterer. Should God overlook his sins because of all the “good” things Gandhi did? What kind of justice is that?
But stop using extremes. You're neither a crusader nor Gandhi. Most people try to justify themselves by comparing themselves to people worse off then themselves. If God judged you – and you alone – for your lies, lusts, greed, envies, etc, how do you think you would do?
Thanks for visiting. God bless!!
RKBentley
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