really?

great service today at church.

today the question was asked:
how much do you have to hate someone to not share your faith?

that is, how much do you really have to hate someone to treat their eternity lightly if you believe in heaven and hell. if you truly believe that the person sitting next to you in the bus or plane or classroom could be going to hell, why would you not at least make an attempt to save them? if you knew without a doubt that i was going to get hit by a bus and i refused to believe it, wouldn't there be a point where you would tackle me and try to save me? you are not responsible for my life, but leaving me in ignorance would make you responsible for my death.

this holds true with any religion that teaches one true way. and in today's culture, that idea is extremely unpopular.

whatever works for you, it will all get you to heaven. a car gets you from point A to point B, regardless of the model, right? one might be prettier, one might be faster, one might be louder or more expensive or whatever, but they all get you there. why not with religion? judaism and christianity and islam and hinduism and theism and scientology, they all get you to paradise, to heaven, to life's ultimate goal.

unfortunately, christianity by its very definition cannot be included in this list. christianity cannot be considered one of many ways to God and heaven. you believe it or you don't. you cannot be a fan of Christ, you cannot be a Christian and still accept other faiths as possible or just as right as your own. Christ did not give us the option.

in the words of CS Lewis, Christ is either Lord, a lunatic, or a liar. He did not give us the option of teacher, role model, nice guy, or philosopher.

either crown Him king, call Him crazy, or kill Him.

if our destination is eternal life in heaven with God, how do we get there? we must live this life for the next. acknowledge that this world is temporary and build our lives around our goal.

here's where Christ ends the possibility of faith in Him being one of many equally correct ways to God. in John 14:6, he declares "I AM the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

if you believe that Christianity is one of many ways to God, you are saying that Christ is God who came to earth, left His glory for 33 years, became a hugely controversial and hated figure by the smartest men of His time, was betrayed by a friend and imprisoned on false charges, was beaten, spat on, flogged, and pierced with a crown of thorns to then have to carry his own cross up a hill so that liars and hypocrites that He is trying to save could drive nails through His hands and feet and die naked, humiliated, and bleeding after suffocating to death all for one more option. you are saying that God himself chose to sacrifice Himself for one more way among the many other, completely solid options. if you say that there is more than one way to heaven, you are making Christ's death and sacrifice irrelevant and pointless.

Christianity wasn't "invented" to be a politically correct, all is fair, happily-ever-after fairytale.

He is not an option pointing to heaven. He is the road to heaven. THE way. not one of many vessels to help carry you there. not one of 10 different models that all travel point from point A to point B. all other ways, all other roads, lead to nowhere. the core of the Christian faith is the belief in one way to heaven, that is Christ. not an 8 lane highway to heaven for different models of vessels, for different religions, to carry you there.

so as a Christian, my duty is to share this. not stand by and pretend to be okay with the other choices. no i cannot control you, and you are ultimately responsible for what you believe. but it is not intolerance that leads me to want to share. it is a sincere belief that i may be the only person to tell you what i belief to be true.

and if you sincerely believe that i am wrong and that i am sending myself to hell or whatever, please preach to me. please try to convince me. if you think i am sending myself to hell and you will just stand by for fear of a socially awkward situation, do not call yourself friend.

the beauty of this is, this was said by an atheist. an outspoken opponent of organized religion, Christianity in particular, Penn of Penn & Teller asked the question:

"how much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? how much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?"

i want hell to know my name.