Fate of nonChristians Poll for Christians

[Seasanctuary]

NOTE: Please vote only if you have "Christian" as your TWeb faith icon. Hopefully, you only have the icon if do you consider yourself a Christian.

Christians: Choose the fate you believe God has in store for nonChristians.

nonChristians: Feel free to comment in the thread, but don't vote in the poll.

[Xavier]

I should clarify that I believe that the source of the torment will be the separation from God. However, I do not deny that this could lead to physical or mental anguish.

Yours,
Xavier

[Fideist345]

NOTE: Please vote only if you have "Christian" as your TWeb faith icon. Hopefully, you only have the icon if do you consider yourself a Christian.

There are at least two people here that consider themselves Christian but do not necessarily identify very well with the term Christian as most people here apply it. If you haven't done so yet, and you're interested, you may want to take a trip to www.religioustolerance.org to see the basic divisions within Christianity. Here is a specific link, again, if you're interested:

http://www.religioustolerance.org/christ7.htm

[The Laughing Man]

There's no "other" choice. Pity...

[AtheistArchon]

- What's your belief, Jinx? Not trying to pick a fight, just curious?

[Amazing Rando]

- What's your belief, Jinx? Not trying to pick a fight, just curious?

Can't ya see the triangle symbol? He's a Jedi-ist!

[bar Jonah]

I should clarify that I believe that the source of the torment will be the separation from God. However, I do not deny that this could lead to physical or mental anguish.

Yours,
Xavier

What he said.

[emulator]

I think I am gonna stick with my previous answer...I don't know.
But for the sake of arguement I'll say that God's will is always going to be done.
I believe it is God's will that all would be saved; and I don't believe that only Christians will go to heaven.

[Tercel]

Were we supposed to describe "hell"? Or were we supposed to say what happens to non Christians? I don't believe that all (or even most) non-Christians will be in hell in the afterlife. And I think hell and heaven comprise of the presence of God, not "separation from Him", which isn't on your poll list either.

Assuming you intended this thread as a personalised "How do Christians think I (as a non-Christian) will suffer in the afterlife?" I'll have to respond with "something not involving torment". I hope to see you in heaven, non-Christian or not. You might be interested in having a read of my recent thread defending Inclusivism on the Christianity board.

[FirstSunday33ad]

NOTE: Please vote only if you have "Christian" as your TWeb faith icon. Hopefully, you only have the icon if do you consider yourself a Christian.

Christians: Choose the fate you believe God has in store for nonChristians.

nonChristians: Feel free to comment in the thread, but don't vote in the poll.

Besides being a "Christian" is not the requirement for being with God after death, it is being "In Christ" that is the requirement.

There is no reason to suppose that if a person has not accepted Christ (ie, become by your definition a “Christian”) that they will not attain salvation. After all, if we demand that this must be done only during life, than all the Prophets and Patriarchs who lived before Christ must be in Hell.

Paul tells us that those who die without hearing the word of Christ still have the Law. They will be judged by the Law and redeemed by their desire for righteousness. It states quite clearly in the Bible from Jesus’ own mouth that not all who die ignorant of Christ are condemned and not all who cry “Lord, Lord” will be saved.

As for your “torment” query, the torment that exists in Hell is the torment of someone who now realizes without any question that they have squandered an eternity of blessing for a moments worth of vice. It will be the torment and agony of regret.

So the answer to your question: What happens to the non-Christian after death is “it all depends on what they truly desired while they were alive.”

[elysian]

I think it would be somewhat contingent upon hearing the Gospel- I don't believe God holds those who have never heard accountable- but if you hear it and reject it then judgment comes into play:

"For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)-- if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment. This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority. " 2 Peter 2:4-10 (NIV)

So IMO those who have heard and still do not repent, will face eternal torment- but God will find a way- through the Good News of the Gospel- for those who seek Him.

[Tercel]

Elysian,

I think you're stretching the text to get that out of it. Nowhere does the Bible definitively pronounce that those who have heard the gospel and rejected it will perish. The closest it comes is in Mark 16:16 which is not part of the original, and John 3:18 which is a murky generalisation based on the logic described in vs 19-21. Your quote from 2 Peter I don't feel has much relevanance to the subject.

[jason]

I'm sure that being cast into the outer darkness will be the most horrible physical and mental experience.

No doubt. Just the knowledge of what is lost will be bad enough.

But what is really interesting is that despite how horrible hell will be, I think it will likely be less horrible than being forced to stand in the presence of God as an unrepentant unbeliever.

Jason

[elysian]

Elysian,

I think you're stretching the text to get that out of it. Nowhere does the Bible definitively pronounce that those who have heard the gospel and rejected it will perish. The closest it comes is in Mark 16:16 which is not part of the original, and John 3:18 which is a murky generalisation based on the logic described in vs 19-21. Your quote from 2 Peter I don't feel has much relevanance to the subject.

So do you believe that those who have never heard will be condemned?

The relevance in the text from 2 Peter 1 is that God finds a way to salvation for those He has chosen- those who seek Him.

Ultimately we don't decide who will be saved, God does. He very clearly sent His message of salvation: those who accept it are saved solely upon the mercy of God's grace, those who reject it reject His gift and it is solely their own fault. Yes this is a paradox, but the only explanation consistent with Scripture: we are saved solely on God's merit, and we are damned solely by our own fault.

[Jaltus]

I went with one, but really my view is between one and two.