Sunday, August 11, 2013

After Life

One of the classical Christian evangelism questions is 'do you believe in a heaven or hell?' If the person answers 'yes', then we ask why. If they answer 'no', then we ask them 'what do you think will happen after you die?' and go from there.

To define, what is heaven? What is hell?

Heaven is the place in the afterlife that is complete and absolute bliss, perfection and happiness. Depending on your worldview, either only good people go there or everyone does.
Hell, on the other hand, is a place of torment, suffering, and horror. Only evil people go there.

Ladies and gents, let's stop right there. If you answered 'yes' to that first question, meditate with me.
If a heaven or hell exists, then there must be reasons why they exist. Christianity, of course, says God will eventually judge all mankind. Those who have confessed and believed in Jesus will stay with God in heaven. However, all those who have not will be cast into the depths of hell.

Imagine a place with no suffering. No sickness, disease, sorrow, anger, just joy and happiness. Absolute and utter perfection. No more stubbed toes and paper cuts. Imagine all this...for all eternity. Never bored, never unsatisfied, never discontent. Lovely thought, right?

Now, imagine another perfect place. You have a perfect body, you can't die. And for all eternity, you are burning in an eternal darkness, black flames eating away at your skin with agonizing pain, day after year after decade. Never easing, never getting used to it. There is nothing but silence, and pain.

It's a sobering thing, hell. People of this age toss the word around like a potato. "Hell no" "I sure as hell hope" "That was one hell of a time". They have no idea what they are talking about.
If you hate Christians who come knocking at your door (no, not Jehova's Witnesses or Mormons), or are handing out tracts, or merely shouting out in the square, don't get angry or annoyed. If Christianity is true and you aren't one of us, we believe you're headed for a place far worse than any nightmares can be or words convey. We are desperate to tell you how you can escape. Don't scorn: listen.
A famous philosopher once made a convincing argument for Christianity using logic. He said this:

"If I wager that there is a God and I'm right, then I gain eternity for believing in Him.
If I wager that there is a God and I'm wrong, then I lose nothing for having believed in Him.
If I wager that there is not a God and I'm right, then I lose nothing for not believing in Him.
If I wager that there is not a God and I'm wrong, then I lose eternity for not having believed in Him."

So,
Do you believe in a heaven or hell?

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