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revanon OP t1_j1j28p7 wrote

Reply to comment by Eastern_Pea8343 in It's Christmas Eve and I'm an ordained pastor. Ask me anything! by revanon

To bastardize C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity, it is very likely that the cold-hearted, self-righteous prick who goes to church every Sunday is far closer to hell than the atheist.

To take him one step further in The Great Divorce, the gates of hell are locked from the inside. He suggests--and I can back this up with Scripture--that entrance to heaven may yet be possible after we die. If an atheist who left the world a better place than they found it dies still an atheist, I do not fear for the fate of their soul the way I would for the hatemongering Christian.

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ExperientialTruth t1_j1kizst wrote

Bro, your AMA has been delightful to read. I'm a humanist/agnostic atheist who grew up in the Lutheran church. I have a lot of respect for religions from an academic standpoint, but came to believe that faith is not a construct that fits with my beliefs. That said, and I made this point to someone in a totally separate thread, the tenets of say, Christianity, aren't bad and are a decent model to follow, so far as to be a good person whether faith is part of the personal belief system, or not.

I'm not a believer in Pascal's Wager; however, I've known and encountered so many unsavory Christians (not to mention other faiths' adherents) who would wilfully smile and gladhand come Sunday but never lift a finger for anyone but themself and their own. Many repugnant people, whose faith in salvation is effectively moral hazard, in the same way as an insurance policy may correlate with increased risk-taking. All this said, I'd rather aspire to be a good, decent person - of no faith.

Merry Christmas & happy holidays to you and yours.

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revanon OP t1_j1kpfra wrote

Obviously as a pastor I believe that I am the best version of myself within Christianity, but I also understand how so many people have experienced Christianity in such a way that it made them worse people, or made them feel worse about themselves, that they felt they could not flourish within it. I mourn that as a terrible failure of the church for which we need to make amends.

Truth, Jesus teaches, sets us free, and if the truth of your lived experience is that Christianity has done much more harm than benefit to you, then an embrace of that truth can indeed set you free. Such truth, I think, is a more reliable cosmic insurance policy than a Sinners Prayer or a Bible tract. Truth is, was, and will forever be much more than that.

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NiceTea4 t1_j1nfw5l wrote

This gave me a peace in my soul I’ve been craving for ages. This is a brilliant answer. Thank you. ETA: I am interpreting from context that, regardless of our belief system, a person that genuinely wants the best for others, tries their best to be kind and giving, strives to makes a difference, tries to be kind and empathize when they can, even if they aren’t sure about whether or not Jesus is the ONLY WAY, they probably won’t be destined to burn in hell. Right? Like if he IS the only way, what happens to the rest of us that try to lead with love but are hesitant to group up with any religion?

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insaneintheblain t1_j1j9e0u wrote

I think the gates of heaven may be similarly locked - we knock on heaven's door, but the handle is on the other side.

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Serious-Club6299 t1_j23q3me wrote

Which part in the bible indicates this? Is it true that whoever believes in Jesus will go to heaven or must they strive to love righteously as well?

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pursual t1_j1jiv8l wrote

Convenient ideology, but not in line with the Bible. As Christians get called out more often for being pricks, they adopt ideologies similar to this.

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revanon OP t1_j1jr0ox wrote

I was routinely bullied as a teenager for not having a sufficiently narrow ideology for my more fundamentalist peers, so believe me when I say my ideology is anything but convenient.

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