Back in the ’60s, Ben Clark, the late, longtime Sheriff of Riverside County, and I were pallbearers at the funeral of our friend Stan Everett’s father. His dad was a hardshell Baptist. The Baptist preacher who conducted the funeral service gave a bible-thumping sermon which ended with him shouting, “If you don’t accept Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, you are going straight to Hell.” Ben nudged me in the side with his elbow, turned to me and whispered, “It looks like you’re going to Hell.”
Worldwide, Christians are in a minority. There are many more Muslims. There are a lot of Hindus and Buddhists. There are some Jews like me. There is a scattering of other non-Christian faiths. My question is, are all of us who do not accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior really going to Hell? If so, it sure is going to get crowded down there.
Here is how Jeff ‘Paco’ Doyle, the founder and publisher of PACOVILLA Corrections blog, answered my question:
I have always believed Salvation is attainable post-mortem. Beyond that, as my Mom always told me, God has a documented record of giving His chosen people second chances. She is something of an eclectic, and taught me Christians ARE de facto Jews as the faith was born of Judaism and our Lord was a Rabbi. She believes, as do I, the fate of Jews and Christians are one and the same. Certainly, the followers of that other large faith believe we are one and the same.
Parenthetically, most Christians fail to realize the refusal of the Sanhedrin (and hence that of their flock) to accept Christ is CRITICAL to the concept of salvation.
The New Testament is unequivocal: Jesus had to die—His blood sacrifice is the only way to wash us of sin and make us suitable to be with God.
In that context, I am amazed by ignorant Jew Hating "Christians" who blame Jews for "killing our Lord." I mean, the New Testament clearly says what happened HAD to happen and had been predicted by the Prophet Isaiah. So, Judas did what he was ordained to do, as did the Sanhedrin, as did the Romans...
I only came to accept Christ a few years ago. He was one fine Jew and I am proud to follow him...I was even before Dad recently found out about the 2 Doyle brothers who married twin Jewish immigrant fillies around 1820.
I always suspected I had Jewish blood because I have guilt and angst down to a science! Unfortunately, if there is anything genetic to the vaunted Jewish business-sense, that gene slipped by.
Now I feel much relieved. From what Paco said, I would have to conclude that the Baptist preacher who said I was going straight to hell was just full of shit when he shouted that at the funeral. I may yet go to Hell, but it won’t be because I don’t accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior.
2 comments:
I think it was Oscar Wilde who remarked that you go to heaven for the climate, you go to hell for the companionship and conversation.
One MAJOR correction, Howie:
"There are an estimated 1.6 billion Muslims around the world, making Islam the world’s second-largest religious tradition after Christianity, according to the December 2012 Global Religious Landscape report from the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life." (Pew Research: http://tinyurl.com/mtals6c)
Due to a positive birth rate in predominantly Muslim countries and "zero population growth" in the West, Islam IS the fastest growing, however, missionary work in Africa and elsewhere in the 3rd world has been steadily increasing the Christian count despite Europe's slouch to atheism and the aforementioned failure to be fruitful.
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