Keep your friends from going to hell!

[Cmass]

If you take the bible literally, then most people are going to hell. If this is true, many of your friends may be heading for hell. Permanent torture is the most hideous thing imaginable.
Are you begging them and doing whatever is possible can to keep out of hell?

[Easyrider]

If you read the bible literally, then most people are going to hell. If this is true, many of your friends may be heading for hell. Permanent torture is the most hideous thing imaginable.
Are you begging them and doing whatever is possible can to keep out of hell?

I'm here for you, aren't I?

[Cmass]

Very good!
And I thank you for that.
However, quite honestly, if I believed that billions of people were really going to burn in hell forever including many friends - I would live a VERY tortured life. I love my close friends dearly. I have had only a few friends die - and it was very stressful for me and affected me for a long time afterwards. I held my mother-in-law's head in my arms and spoke to her of the wonders of the universe (as I saw it) as she died an extremely aweful death from complications of diabetes. That F'd me up for quite some time.
(She died 300 miles from home, my wife just got a new job and was not allowed to leave even for a couple of days...and her Mom died faster than anticipated. Ain't corporate America great?)

If I really and honestly believed ALL my atheist and "spiritual" non-Christian friends were going to hell to be tortured forever, I would launch a massive campaign, not to convert them, but to beg God not to allow it to happen. It would be my #1 life issue - FAR more important than my job, war, or 2 men touching each other's genitals.

[franknhonest]

Very few people actually believe in hell. This is the only way to explain the laziness and lack of credibility that Christians display.

[Cmass]

Very few people actually believe in hell. This is the only way to explain the laziness and lack of credibility that Christians display.

OK, but imagine if you were Christian, believed in hell, and based upon what you knew, could surmise that most of your friends were on their way in a hand basket.
What would you be willing to do to stop this from happening?

And, knowing all those people were being tortured, would you enjoy heaven?

[franknhonest]

According to scripture, you couldn't do much. Just point them to the Good Book. Either one is elect or one is not. God decides.

[kiwimac]

According to scripture, you couldn't do much. Just point them to the Good Book. Either one is elect or one is not. God decides.

I'd be interested to see your biblical support for the question of election. Certainly I do not believe it is a cut and dried as that.

Kiwimac

[Cmass]

My OP:
Permanent torture is the most hideous thing imaginable.
Are you begging them and doing whatever is possible can to keep out of hell?

The question requires you believe in hell or that you put yourself in the mindset of someone who does believe in hell. If you don't believe in hell, then I can assume you aren't doing anything about the people headed there in a hand basket with express passes to eternal fire.

[wizanda]

How to keep your friends out of hell?

Let God do it...the more we push anything the further it goes from us....

So being an example is the best you can do...live your life 100% as when you die you will see the ramifications of every action you have taken, and the effects of this on people and the people they told what you had said...


So really 110% don't forget it, live it...think it, control your mind body and soul to be one...

This is the safest and best way to show anyone....

Anything else of informing them read this or do that is not their own idea and so will make it not as important to them as it would if it is their own idea to begin with...

So since God is the only thing that can really talk to a persons heart it is up to them to accept this....

So you could preach a certain books for years, yet if your life is in a mess and they see that; then they will not believe it....

If a book helps you and you can show where that helped you in actual real life events then they asked how...you say I read it in this book its really good...they then ask you where they can get it from if they are interested and even care about things like it....

Force feeding them just makes them sick...as in one of me new parables on enlightened teachings...give someone something too big to hold and they will drop it as it is too much to carry...or to heavy for them.

[achilles12604]

If you take the bible literally, then most people are going to hell. If this is true, many of your friends may be heading for hell. Permanent torture is the most hideous thing imaginable.
Are you begging them and doing whatever is possible can to keep out of hell?

Well, being one that does believe in hell, and having many friends who do not share my faith, I seem to fall into this basket.

I think that depending on the Christians background, their actions regarding this are quite different.

As was alluded to a couple posts ago, many Christians are lazy. I think that far more christians are simply scared. They are scared of being told they are stupid by their friends. To them friendship is more important than the truth. Like when the Titanic sank, many passengers of this earth would rather believe that they are just fine and there is no danger what-so-ever and ANYONE (including friends) who tells them otherwise is received with a mix of anger, disbelief, disregard or worst indifference.

This tendency has scared many christians away from evangalizing. I myself do not feel to evangalize by the traditional sense of the word. As I said in my opening, how a Christians tries to reach their world depends on their experiences. My experience has taught me that people refuse to budge from their well worn grooves of life unless something painful or dramatic occurs. These things are usually left to God. However, anytime something like this occurs, I am there with my wallet, my house, my friendship and yes . . . my bible.

This is how I have discovered most people are brought to God. While they are in control of their lives, they ignore him. It is only until after they start to lose control (death of a close person, financial hardships, homelessness, or something as simple as an idea that revolutionizes their thought process), that people begin to seek God out honestly. Hence, I do my street ministry. I am also still planning (long term) to being an apologetic ministry for College students. I think it is much easier to point out the strengths of Christianity to someone who is not vehemently against the religion. It is easier to defend the religion with someone who doubts than with someone who hates. Hence, I will attempt to aid people in the historical, archeological and scientific evidence for their faith before it is destroyed by those opposed to it.

These two things are how I attempt to harvest the fields. Every once in a while I will talk directly with someone about it, but usually only if they are open to the discussion. The vast majority of my outreach right now is based on physical need of people. The poor and the homeless. They need help as well as Jesus. I cringe at Christians who offer a prayer and walk on by.