When I was a Christian, I still had some semblance of logic. I had questions, but they were never answered in any coherent way that would make the answers seem fair. That definitely pushed me towards atheism, although I don't remember an exact moment of transition. Anyway, here are two questions I had when I was a Christian:
1) Will pets (like the family cat) go to heaven?
The answer I got was, "Yes." I asked if animals go to heaven, and the answer was something like animals don't usually go to heaven, but my pet cat would go to heaven because it was something I wanted there, and God would give me whatever I wanted. I don't think I said more, but I felt that was an incredibly unfair system, because my cat would be equally deserving to go to heaven even if she didn't have a human family that wanted it in heaven. (Note that an answer of "No" would have also been incredibly unfair as well.)
2) Did Native Americans and other unreachable people keep going to Hell before European missionaries arrived (along with diseases and conquest)?
I don't remember a definite answer on this, but I knew there were two possibilities. One possibility was that disbelievers went to Hell even if they hadn't heard the "good news". I immediately knew that was completely unfair. Adding yet another level of unfairness, I heard that when Jesus died, he went into Hell and took everyone out (because they hadn't had a chance to be Christians). I don't know if this is canon or not, but I immediately found it twisted (even though it was good for those who had already died). If you want to learn more, you can check out what I just found regarding the subject:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrowing_of_Hell
It was all well and good that people in Hell were taken out of Hell, but then because the propagation of Christianity wasn't instant, someone who died in China one second after Jesus took the people out of Hell would have ended up in Hell forever, even though his or her situation was exactly the same as another Chinese person who had died 10 minutes earlier and had been saved just in the nick of time.
The other possibility was not any more satisfying. It was, "If they don't know about Christianity, they don't go to Hell." This is what I think I found more likely, and it left me, even as a Christian, HATING missionaries. Even as a Christian, I thought that missionaries were horrid and were doing evil acts by allowing non-Christians the chance to go to Hell.
I was a late bloomer, believing in Santa later than most other kids. (My family cat played a role in my discovery about Santa as well!) But once I gave up belief in Santa, the rest came more easily. I did suffer from some mild insomnia for years even after giving up belief in God, however, due to my previous tradition of praying in an OCD-like fashion (repeating prayers again and again, almost rosary-style) before sleep (but while in bed).
Those days almost seem like a previous life.
1) Will pets (like the family cat) go to heaven?
The answer I got was, "Yes." I asked if animals go to heaven, and the answer was something like animals don't usually go to heaven, but my pet cat would go to heaven because it was something I wanted there, and God would give me whatever I wanted. I don't think I said more, but I felt that was an incredibly unfair system, because my cat would be equally deserving to go to heaven even if she didn't have a human family that wanted it in heaven. (Note that an answer of "No" would have also been incredibly unfair as well.)
2) Did Native Americans and other unreachable people keep going to Hell before European missionaries arrived (along with diseases and conquest)?
I don't remember a definite answer on this, but I knew there were two possibilities. One possibility was that disbelievers went to Hell even if they hadn't heard the "good news". I immediately knew that was completely unfair. Adding yet another level of unfairness, I heard that when Jesus died, he went into Hell and took everyone out (because they hadn't had a chance to be Christians). I don't know if this is canon or not, but I immediately found it twisted (even though it was good for those who had already died). If you want to learn more, you can check out what I just found regarding the subject:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrowing_of_Hell
It was all well and good that people in Hell were taken out of Hell, but then because the propagation of Christianity wasn't instant, someone who died in China one second after Jesus took the people out of Hell would have ended up in Hell forever, even though his or her situation was exactly the same as another Chinese person who had died 10 minutes earlier and had been saved just in the nick of time.
The other possibility was not any more satisfying. It was, "If they don't know about Christianity, they don't go to Hell." This is what I think I found more likely, and it left me, even as a Christian, HATING missionaries. Even as a Christian, I thought that missionaries were horrid and were doing evil acts by allowing non-Christians the chance to go to Hell.
I was a late bloomer, believing in Santa later than most other kids. (My family cat played a role in my discovery about Santa as well!) But once I gave up belief in Santa, the rest came more easily. I did suffer from some mild insomnia for years even after giving up belief in God, however, due to my previous tradition of praying in an OCD-like fashion (repeating prayers again and again, almost rosary-style) before sleep (but while in bed).
Those days almost seem like a previous life.
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