A few housekeeping items: Slay my Enemies, You'll Need a Passport, Pharaoh's Already Hardened Heart, Dandy Christians, Friendly Hindu Turtle god, Silence the Critic
Response to comment: "So you will enjoy seeing others being tortured [cast into hell]?"
No, I will not enjoy seeing others being tortured. But the "gentile" Jesus said: "But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence (Lk 19:27, NASB)." God has enemies. People want justice in the end. God has wrath is stored up for those who hate Him: "The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who disobeys the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him (Jn 3:36, ISV)." It would be foolish to reject God's gift of forgiveness.
Men will die in their sin if they do not believe that Jesus is who He says He is (Jn 8:24). The consequence is eternal separation from God. You have that now, by choice, but should nothing change it will become your permanent decision. The atheist's life is simple. He has to do nothing. If you are wicked, just keep being wicked (Re 22:11). But the gift of life is just that--a gift. No one can force you to accept a gift.
Gino Geraci describes it as a passport that you will need. If you plan to go to heaven, you'll need the right document, signed by the Father with the watermark of Jesus and and sealed by the Holy Spirit. Man can barely get to the moon and you want to break through time and eternity and slip into heaven? There will not be one atheist who slips into heaven without proper documentation. No atheist, no sincere monotheist, no polytheist will slip in.
I will not enjoy seeing the destruction of others at the Great White Throne judgment. Yet, I will trust that God's decision is right. He gives all people every possible, conceivable chance to be saved. Geraci gave another analogy. If you go to the doctor and he tells you to take your medicine or you'll die, you'll take your medicine. Salvation is similar. If you won't take the medicine you need, you will die.
Response to comment: "'Pharaoh's heart was hard. God revealed what was already in his heart (Ex 14:4). No, that's not what that passage says. It says, "And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them." And sure enough, a few verses later it says, "The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt..." Moreover, we know it means precisely what it seems to say because Paul refers to the story in Romans 9 and confirms it. Paul's defense is not that God didn't actually harden Pharaoh's heart, Paul's defense is that God can harden anyone's heart he likes and then destroy them for evil He caused them to commit because justice doesn't enter into it. Morally, according to Paul, you are nothing more than a worthless piece of pottery that God can smash when He feels like..."
God only revealed what was already in Pharaoh's heart (Ex 14:4):
No doubt God knew what was in Pharaoh's heart. Here are a few different translations of the same passage:Regardless of the translation what God did was bring to the surface what was already in Pharaoh's heart.And he hardened Pharaoh's heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said. And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh's heart is hardened; he refuseth to let the people go. Exodus 7:14 (King James Version)
And Pharaoh's heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the LORD had said. So the LORD said to Moses: “Pharaoh's heart is hard; he refuses to let the people go. Exodus 7:13-14 (New King James Version)
Yet Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the LORD had said. Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh's heart is stubborn; he refuses to let the people go. Exodus 7:13-14 (New American Standard)
Yet Pharaoh's heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said. Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh's heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go. Exodus 7:13-14 (New International Version)
Did God harden Pharaoh's heart? Yes, but in this way: If Pharaoh were a tenderhearted, sweet fellow who desired to turn to God and was happy to have Moses deliver the children of Israel because Pharaoh wanted to do something for them, then it was mean of God to harden the heart of this wonderful Pharaoh. If that is the way you read it, friends, you are not reading it right. The hardening is a figurative word, which can mean twisting, as with a rope. It means God twisted the heart of Pharaoh. He was going to squeeze out what was in it. God forced him to do the thing he really wanted to do. God's part in this was to bring to the surface that which was already there. 27 Full Text: Predestined for Freewill.
God is not responsible for evil. Man is responsible for his own evil.
Response to comment: "If man sews, he stitches, and his buddies are going to tease him."
Perhaps you think that Christians are, what pastor Doug Giles likes to call, dandies. Our churches are guilty of adapting to our emasculated culture. Doug Giles is not your typical pastor.
Doug Giles on the first man, Adam: "In Genesis chapter three, when our first parents got tossed out of the sweet haven of Eden’s crib, God said He was going to redeem this hamartialogical mess by raising up a Son who is to crush the serpent. Where God’s first man, Adam, blew it by not being the dragon slayer, His second man, the Last Adam, took care of business and turned the malevolent slithering one into a grease stain.: Full text Raising Boys That Feminists will Hate Part 4
Doug Giles on churches and angels: "Enough with the Precious Moments prints and figurines—okay? How about decking out the sanctuary with serious transcendent art work that stops us in our tracks, rather than ubiquitous prints of fat baby angels who look like they’ve got a good buzz going from too much Mountain Dew and Robitussin?" Full Text: Why Church and Men Don't Work
Response to comment: "Hindus do not worship [those gods]."
Indra, Surya, Agni, Vayu, Varuna, Yama, Kubera, Soma...yes, they do.
And their gods will let you keep your sin life. I hear the Kurmavatara is
quite personable.
A few housekeeping items:
Response to comment (I paraphrase): "You take words out of context. You changed my words. You are a liar, betraying the One you claim to follow."
Basic English brackets ([ ]) mean I needed to revise the question for civil dialogue. It is common (and juvenile by the way) for statements to be phrased with a small "g" referring to the Creator God. I assume that you know you are speaking with a Christian, not a Hindu. In monotheism, the Creator God is referred to with a capitol "G" for clarity sake. If I were writing to a Hindu who worshiped--whatever god: fire, wind, rain, or the moon, I would capitalize their names for clarity sake. You can identify the one you hate with a big "G". It's ok.
Please note "last modified" at the bottom the web's homepage, if you should wish to see the achieved posts there. As the Lord is living and active in our lives; if I should come up with a better argument, the editable document will be posted in the archive.
Text originally posted at About.com