This was 2014, was it?

It was.

*hugs*

It's kind of hard to claim to be respectful and compassionate of others in the same poem in which you state that they'll burn in hell and suffer forever for not believing what you do.

That's not so much a shot at you as it is Christian logic in general. You're not the first person to make me think this.

I didn't think so, but all Christians will tell you the same thing. Hell is your destination unless you give your life to Jesus and obediently follow him. If you do that, you're guaranteed a place in heaven. The sad thing is, not all Christians are living up to what they should be doing, and even I am guilty because though we have received Christ, we still often sin.

Extremely few Christians would actually get into heaven. For example, the ones who don't serve gay people at their business - Turning somebody away because they're a "sinner" is a blatantly un-christian thing to do. And the vast majority of Christians judge people despite clear instruction not to. Of course, the religious punishes people for engaging in basic human behavior so basically, everybody ends up in hell. Especially since like most religions, the leaders of it are primarily concerned with profits. Plus, there's this funny perception that people who are Christian are therefore good people, yet they essentially admit that they're only "good" people so that they'll be rewarded for doing so (IE Heaven). Hard to think to highly of people who are only treating you nice (which plenty still don't) because of an ultimatum.

That's another mistake you made. Yes, sins are judged accordingly, but accepting Jesus Christ is all you need to get to heaven. The good deeds you do determine the size of the rewards you earn when you make it to heaven. Matthew 6:19-20:

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal."

Serving God and doing His will is how you store up treasures. There are multiple ways to do that.

That's the point I was making. Somebody doing "good deeds" for the sake of having it pay off in heaven makes that person seem pretty disingenuous. A non-religious person who does good things for the sake of doing it by all accounts is the better, genuine person.

But if you don't accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then all those good deeds are worth nothing, and you still end up in hell. Such was said in John 14:6:

Jesus answered, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

And that's why I'm not a Christian. Any religion that devalues good deeds despite belief system has no place for genuinely good people. To say they're "worth nothing" because I'm not a Christian is precisely why you can't claim to respect others. Luckily, I don't believe in it so "hell" doesn't apply to me. At all.

Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you. All people will stand before God and give an account of their lives. Anyone whose name is not written in His Book of Life (those who do not accept Christ) will depart from Him, while those whose names are written there (those who have accepted Christ) go up to heaven. This is the key point of Christianity; works do not get you into heaven. It is faith-based.

Ephesians 2:8-9, and I have emphasized certain words by making them bold.

For it is by grace you have been saved through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast.

I would not be doing the Gospel's assigned duties of sharing the word about Jesus Christ and leading folks to Him if I did not tell you these things. But having said that, I do not want to come off as if I am shoving it down your throat, nor do I force you to do it. It's your choice. All I can do is ask you to think about it.

The Bible is the sacred and true Word of God, and there are no mistakes in it.

Actually the Bible contradicts itself repeatedly. Believe in it if you want but don't try to say there are no errors.

Serious question, here...does it make you happy to believe that those who don't believe what you do will suffer for all of eternity?

It does not make me happy; that's why I want to reach the Gospel out to them so that they won't suffer.

I believe no one can ever truly know what exactly the afterlife is until they actually die. For all we know, the deity that we encounter at the end might have a completely different name, story and thought process than what we expected. Heck, for all we know our world might actually be Hell/Sheol/Purgatory, but made less hellish/desolate by an event. Perhaps Christ's sacrifice was a metaphor for the big bang theory.

The Bible is but one option, I like to ponder more than one.

The Bible is the only option I'll ever consider.

All well and good. Except for the fact that its likely it has been distorted through the passage of time. Unless someone unearths the original hebrew/latin drafts and can read them, its likely distorted to some degree or another.

The Bible will always be the true and irreverent word of God, and thus has no mistakes. The issues would have to do with translations into English and other languages. For instance, the original King James Bible writes John 3:16 this way...

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For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

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But nobody speaks like that anymore, so today you might see it written like this, in the New International Version...

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For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

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It's all to do with the translations and the people in the country.

Then again, is that what you meant by distortion?

That is what I meant.

That and I generally refuse to deal in absolutes. Regarding something as unflinching dogma can create justification for some bad things. Examples of dogmatism going wrong include the Inqusition, radical Islam and antitheists (who tend to be very religious about their lack of religion).

Belief is in itself not a bad thing, its people's tendency to take it too seriously and end up doing bad things because "God/Allah/Dawkins wills it."

I see. God and Allah are not the same deity, however. God doesn't command for us to kill others; Allah does.

To muslim's, they are, with Jesus regarded as a mere prophet, rather than a messiah.

Most of the killing God does is in the old testament, where he is presented as highly vengeful. There are also some outdated moral codes like Leviticus, that have outlandish bans on things like mixed fabrics and sea food. Though the overzealous preachers tend to only quote and follow the passage from it that disdains homosexuals.

I am Christian, not Muslim. And that's another thing; the Bible is also a history book. What was accurate then does not necessarily apply to today. God may only seem vengeful to you, but what you have to bear in mind is that He did it according to His will. When the Israelites (Israelis by today's naming) disobeyed Him, He punished them accordingly, such as keeping them from entering their promised land for 40 years. When they obeyed Him, or when He was to prove He was, is, and always will be the One True God, He showed it in various ways.

One example of God showing who He is and that He is the Only God happens in 1 Kings 18:16-45.

Elijah on Mount Carmel

16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah.

17 When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”

18 “I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals. 19 Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

20 So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”

But the people said nothing.

22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.”

Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”

25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it.

Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.

27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.

30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs[a] of seed. 33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”

34 “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.

“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.

36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”

38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.

39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”

40 Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away!” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.

41 And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.” 42 So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.

43 “Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked.

“There is nothing there,” he said.

Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”

44 The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”

So Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’”

45 Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. 46 The power of the Lord came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

Though this leaves me wondering as to why he is so inactive nowadays.

He is waiting for the time to send His Son back, but he is also letting the world suffer as punishment for their sins. Here in America, one example is the corrupt politicians all running for office.

Or perhaps he himself has matured and decided to let his creations develop as they please.

No, I don't think so. God is sovereign and is always as mature as can be. When His people don't follow Him, He lets them suffer, depending on what the act is.