The god of the Bible is supposed to judge
people based solely on whether “they accepted Jesus” or not while they were
alive on earth. Those who did not believe
in God will be sent to Hell, because “they had many chances to change”; at
least this is the most popular explanation given to me.
Funny then, that people pray after a person
dies, to magically change God’s mind and let the person into Heaven! At Christian funerals, it is not uncommon to
hear a minister claiming that God is forgiving and will certainly accept “Mom”
in Heaven, even though she did not believe.
The minister will read off all the good things Mom did, and people in
the audience will accept that she made it safely to Heaven, even though they do
not believe other people whom they don’t know can make it based on their
merits. I guess it depends (in your own
minds) whether a person “has to accept Jesus” in order to get into Heaven, or
whether there are exceptions to the rule!
I was surprised to find out there are
atheists who still retain some of the fear of “What if you’re wrong?” They worry about being sent to Hell, even
though they don’t believe in Hell! They
simply fear that they may be wrong, so the fear continues. This usually happens to adults who deconverted
out of a fundamentalist household, where fear and the Christian worldview are
deeply ingrained in them.
What should a loving god say when meeting a nonbeliever at the Pearly Gates? I think it depends on your own personality what you think God should say. If I were God and a nonbeliever showed up for “judgment,” I would smile and say “Welcome!” I would chuckle that the person did not believe I was real, and I would assure him that everything would be fine, as I am a loving god that also likes people as well as loves them. I would explain that Hell was just a fabricated place, made up by people who didn’t know better.
What should a loving god say when meeting a nonbeliever at the Pearly Gates? I think it depends on your own personality what you think God should say. If I were God and a nonbeliever showed up for “judgment,” I would smile and say “Welcome!” I would chuckle that the person did not believe I was real, and I would assure him that everything would be fine, as I am a loving god that also likes people as well as loves them. I would explain that Hell was just a fabricated place, made up by people who didn’t know better.
I would apologize to the nonbeliever that I
was not convincing enough for them to believe in me - that I thought my hints
were good enough, but I didn’t want to make it too obvious I existed, because I
like to be anonymous so people can live their lives as they wish.
You see, what I just described is what I
think a kind, loving God would do. My
god sounds like a really nice human! But
this is not the picture of God that most people believe in.
If the god I just created (by figuring out
how I would like God to act toward me) is so much better and kinder than the
god of the Bible, then how can the god of the Bible possibly be a loving god; and
if he is supposed to be such a superior being, then how can the god of the
Bible possibly be true, as he is much worse than what most people would create
if they were to create their own god? Be
honest with yourselves – would you really want to worship the god who is
described in the Bible? Would you even
want to be anywhere near him? How can
that be your all-loving, omnipotent God?
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