Well, I should've expected a response like this. First, a humanistic one with the usual arguments about why God has nothing to do with human life. Second, another wishy-washy post from someone who claims to be Christian. The third I didn't expect: support from a fellow Believer. I guess I'm still getting over my expectations from Philosophy class my senior year at high school. If you want to know what I'm talking about, imagine the ideological (for lack of a better adj.) equivilent of being stuck on a deserted island with sharks swimming all around...
Apparently, I haven't recovered yet.
As for my post, well, I had recently listened to Toby Mac's solo album <u>Momentum</u>, so I felt like some hard-core witnessing. As I expected, I didn't change anyone's mind really. That's okay; changing the heart is what counts because ultimately that's where the problem lies. Change a man's mind, and you might change his attitude for a day. Change the heart, and you change the man for eternity.
As for you, Noa, I think I may have to write a rebuttal to your "scenarios". I'll try not to attack you personally. I don't think that would be right (i.e. it's not what God wants).
#1: The assumption that hell is little worse than heaven is a myth. If what the Bible says is true (and I believe it is), than heaven is far better than hell. I've read a couple books by a very good (Christian) author, and his description of hell freaks me out. Everything we take for granted here, even being able to puke or pee, is not permitted in hell. Granted, this is only his version, and things could be better or worse. One thing is for certain, if it exists, and you go there, you'll find it to be worse than anything you could imagine. That's why it's called the Second Death; it's just existence, and doesn't even come close to the requirements most government agencies require in hospitals and foster homes. There are some, though probably not many, down there that would give anything to have just five minutes back on earth, let alone heaven.
Oh, and as for God, is He a prejudicial God, or a judicial God? There's quite a difference you know.
#2: Here's a pole. If you run fast enough, and time it just right, you <i>just</i> might make it.
Good achievements won't get you into heaven if the Bible is true. That's why Jesus came in the first place, so we could get into heaven. It's not what you do; it's Who you know.
#3: So, Hitler's not in hell? Could you honestly say you'd want to spend eternity with the likes of Ghangis Kahn (sp?), Vlad the Impaler, and Osama Bin Laden?
I suppose some of us would be having tea with Jack the Ripper then? He'd certainly have some interesting, if morbid, tales to tell.
Hell was made for a reason, though it's not built to last. Maybe people could come around to the truth, but if they haven't in this life, what makes you think they will in the next? People are stubborn; just look at us two fools. I doubt either one of us will move from our beliefs anytime soon. Which isn't the intent of this argument anyway.
#4: Ya know, you just slipped into the stereotype. According to "everyone", athiests will insert the Existentialist view sooner or later, proclaiming it to be the truth. Congratulations, you just made it harder for some people to see you as a person.
Far as I know, that doesn't include me. At least, not all the time.
So, God doesn't exist? Well then, life is a joke, and I might as well just shoot you in the head. Literally. After all, if there is no God, why shouldn't I? What's wrong with it? As far as I can see, I'd be doing you a favor. I might even go so far as to include your whole family and myself as well. Better yet, I'll just go to a party that you're at and detonate the sticks of dynamite strapped to my chest. Your family would miss out, but I'd be doing a random act of kindness, now wouldn't I?
By the way, eternity is only boring if you're in hell. If God truly knows everything, then He knows how to keep us entertained. And if you think He'll run out of ideas, chew on this: our finite knowledge will forever be only a fraction of His infinite knowledge. Kind of mind-blowing, isn't it?
Ockham's Razor people: the simplest solution is often the right one. Of course, being the Ultimate Jokester He is, God made it so everything is paradoxically both simple and complex at the same time. Makes things interesting.
Don't worry, Noa, you're not the only one I have a bone to pick with. Madcat and Kinsfire, you are waaaaay off base. God is just; that's why He sends people to hell. You can't say that a just God won't send people to hell because then you're projecting your idea of "fairness" on Him. And you have no right to do that. That's comparable to ethnocentrism; judging people of another culture base on the norms of your own, which isn't all that fair. Of course, I'm probably not one to talk, being a witnessing Christian and all. Granted, it's not a perfect metaphor either.
A lot of what I said probably sounds cliche, but then you could argue that <i>everything</i> we say or do is cliche in this day and age (a man by the name of Gergen already has). Since this is purely an academic/logical post, it is not intended to change your heart, only give you food for thought. If you think it's rancid meat, then you are welcome to pass; I won't force you to think like me because God forbids me to.
My last post probably wasn't too great either for two reasons:
1) Text on a screen is limited. Smilies
and "stage directions" *scratches head as an example* do help, but online discussion ultimately fail to include all of the factors involved in face-to-face conversation. What you say isn't as important as how you say it, and text is pretty limited when you want to express something that doesn't use words.
2) I have some of the characteristics of Asperger's Syndrome, a new "disorder" that is similar to Autism. One of these characteristics is difficulty in social situations. I met a teacher of mine from high school, and for the life of me I couldn't remember her name! I remembered everything else about her, but her name eluded me. It took several hints from her to remember it (it figures that the "author" hint did it). I also drift in and out of conversation, tending to ignore what doesn't interest me. In short, I'm not the best at human relations.
I really don't care what any of you think of me. Think me a fool, an idiot, even a bigot. I don't care. God loved me enough to send His Son to die for me, and His opinion matters so much more to me than that of mere man.
But, arguments aside, I'm a real likable guy when you get to know me. I just wish people would take the time to.
) Unfortunantly, you can't stop the development of new technology either. It's pretty proven that you can't kill ideas, even if they are bad ones. I think people had better forget about stopping the misuses of Nanotech by force, and start considering ways to stop people from wanting to misuse the technology. (as well as preparing for the worst, since I think it will come 
)
