"And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” Mark 16:15-16 (NKJV)"
Therein lies one of the key elements that makes a non-believer out of me. The way I read that is, be a kind, caring and loving person, do everything right - but if you don't "believe", off to Hades with you. Wicked...
No mere mortal has ever done "Everything" right.
Can someone be kind, caring and loving without God in their life ?
YES, they absolutely can.
But, no one is perfect.
We all "screw" up.
It is impossible to earn your way into heaven, the only way to get there is through the mercy of the blood that Jesus shed on the cross.
By definition mercy is, "Not receiving a punishment that we deserve".
We all commit sin, and the punishment for sin is to spend eternity in hell.
Through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross we are granted the mercy of not receiving that punishment.
I understand that as a non-believer it is likely that you reject this explanation.
If nothing else please accept it as a Christian's point of view.
This is the verse that correlates to my tagline:
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.
I Corinthians 1:18 I use it to remind me that not everyone believes the same as I do. Which if that is their choice then, so it is.
I'm not into "beating" people up with the Bible and trying to "force" them to believe.
I do believe that I have found the way to eternal life and I will share that belief freely when the opportunity presents itself.
Consider this, to believe that you have knowledge of the means to get into heaven and then refusing to share that information with someone is in essence telling that person to, "Go to Hell."
