Chuck, based on your Christianity quote...

[Jeff Mason]

FWIW I am a born again Christian too...

[jazzfascist]

It just bugs me that Christians feel like they have to be so PC when talking about their faith because they're afraid they may offend someone.  You can discuss hell and sin and eternity without being a screeching psycho, damning someone to hell in a mocking fashion.  People always say not to 'judge' people as a reason for their timidness, but its not judging to tell the truth, and that is if you're not saved, you're going to hell.  It should be a message told out of love and concern, not belittling.

I don't like having to feel afraid to be open about what I believe.  If you hear somebody say that homosexuality or sex before marriage is sinful, it's almost shocking because its such the norm today.  We have to hush up because somebody may be offended in one way or the other...

Blah, just my thoughts.

I would have a hard time worshipping a god, whose final argument is that people will be tortured in hell, if they don’t believe in him, it would be more like worshipping the Devil. I would feel like an accomplice to something horrible, almost like I would deserve to go to hell if I believed in something like that. I wonder if christians got that right.

Søren

[Jeff Mason]

Even though Rerun didn't ask me, I will add in as one who generally chooses to refrain from emphasis on hell when talking to unbelievers.  Are you more interested in winning someone's heart or in checking your box that you shared the gospel?  Most people consider the latter their only responsibility.  So in that case, any old presentation will do.  And you can share as much as you want, with "faith" that "God will make up the rest".  And in fact He might.  But if you care about how someone will receive the message, if you want the message to be received and considered, there are some parts of the faith that while true you just don't bring up.  When talking to unbelievers, for instance, is not the time to discuss the predestination argument, or baptism, or whatever.  Depending upon the situation, you should probably mention hell as the alternative place as a fact, but today what Jonathan Edwards did in Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God will not work.  You should NOT try to scare someone into heaven, and as Soren points out, you're going to lose your audience once you go there.  My experience is that focusing on the person and words of Jesus (by getting them to read the Gospel of John) is quite sufficient to get a person interested in God and then God truly can make up the difference.  So there are other motives involved in refraining from that focus on hell:  primarily that you do not want to lose the audience because you care for their response and hope that they will consider what you say.

I certainly am not AFRAID of talking about hell; I am not a fan of the doctrine but it is clearly taught, and a person has a responsibility in the proper context to make that known as you indicate.  But I would never use it as a motivational tool to accept Jesus.

[Old Rake]

Yeah, again, I agree with what Jeff said. I guess its not pointed at me since I'm one of the "people here debating theological and historical facts," despite the fact that I'm wholeheartedly a Christian, but I totally agree that spouting the "hell and damnation" speech to your friends is probably NOT a good idea. Y'know, its funny: nobody wants to hear that they're going to hell. I wonder why? Hm. Maybe because implicit in *telling* them they're going to hell is a goodly amount of judgementalism, whether you think its the "truth" or not. Their first response -- for it has been mine, in the past, when someone presents that argument to me -- will be to go on the defensive. "Oh, really? And who are YOU to tell me that?"

The only possible answer to that is "Oh, well, I'm a Christian, and I know I'm right." And then you've lost 'em. Because there's nothing more arrogant-sounding to a non-believer than saying that you know that YOU'RE a better person than THEY are. Even if you believe it. Which you really shouldn't. Because, even in God's eyes, even if you're saved, you're really not.

I find -- and call me crazy, but its worked -- that just living my life according to Jesus' teaching has been about the best way to "witness" to people. I've had several people sort of open their minds and their hearts to the possibility of returning to the faith or coming to it in the first place by just seeing that I strive to be a kind, good person in my daily life -- and hey, look, he goes to church, too,  maybe that's the reason why? Like I said: its certainly worked. I haven't, y'know, coverted millions, but I've definitely planted the seed here and there.

I don't like having to feel afraid to be open about what I believe.  If you hear somebody say that homosexuality or sex before marriage is sinful, it's almost shocking because its such the norm today.  We have to hush up because somebody may be offended in one way or the other...

Go ahead and say it, in fact, say whatever you want. But also expect that I'm going to argue vehemently with you on that first point, because I believe the opposite as firmly as you. "We" don't all believe the same things, y'know. Even within Christianity there's a pretty wide range of biblical interpretation, and it would probably do you good to remember that.

[Jeff Mason]

The best way to address hell with an unbeliever:  get him reading the words of Jesus and eventually that topic will come up.  That way you avoid the problem Jon describes. At that moment, it is not you as a believer saying "You are going to hell", it is Jesus saying that and that person confronts the words of Jesus.  Far more effective and preserves you from the danger of being judgmental.  And while Jon overstates the situation a bit (I can report the fact that the Bible teaches the destinations after life without being arrogant), it is true to say that the person will interpret you like that most likely.

I will say it again -- best witness of Jesus is to look at Jesus directly.

[Old Rake]

I can report the fact that the Bible teaches the destinations after life without being arrogant

Oh, sure, you probably *aren't* being arrogant, not even at all, but to a defensive unbeliever, it can *sound* arrogant -- that's all I'm saying! If someone's being defensive anyway, y'know.

[Rerun]

I just said to Chuck directly because he actually says he's born-again, which is different than what a lot of people call themselves when they say they're Christians, so it wasn't to be offensive to anyone else.  I just don't know.

Here is one of my worries about hell not being a central topic...

I can tell someone about the love of Jesus, which you should, and I can live a Godly life and be a witness in that way, which I do and am a strong believer in (nothing worse than looking like a hypocrite), but if they don't know that the only way to Heaven is through salvation and they find themselves in Hell one day, wouldn't their thought be, "Why didn't Geoff tell me about this?  He knew I was headed here and all he told me about was how wonderful the Christian life is...my life was good enough and didn't know I NEEDED God.  I thought I was a good person and that would be enough.  Geoff knew the whole time and barely said a word about it."

You know, something along those lines will hold me very responsible.  And again, I believe you can bring up hell without being sadistic about it.  I can tell someone that everyone is a liar, a thief, an adulterer when we lust, and everyone is a sinner.  I can tell them that with sin, we can not enter the kingdom of God and we're all destined for hell...but, God gave us a way out.  He gave us his Son as a sacrifice on the cross to pay the price for us.  That through acceptance of Christ as our Savior we don't need to worry about going to hell...we have a better opportunity thanks to what Christ has done for us.  Our God is a forgiving God, but it is up to us to ask for forgiveness and ask Him into our lives.

You don't always have the chance to give someone the big book o' Jesus and have them read about His life and what he was able to do and what he stood for.  If I'm witnessing to a stranger, there is one important fact above all others that it is my duty to let them know, and that is they need to accept Christ as their Savior so that when we all die, I'll be able to talk with them again in Heaven.

[Jeff Mason]

You have an obligation to witness to people about Christ.  That is biblical.

God does not hold you responsible for getting every single fact about salvation into the head of every single person you meet.  That is unbiblical. 

Remember that God is the one saving, God is the one who is the source of faith (I could say more here, but that would bring up an inhouse issue among Christians that doesn't belong here).  Your job is to be a witness as God leads you.  If someone ends up in hell, and you didn't mention that fact to them, there is not a shred of biblical evidence to support your guilt in that person being there.  That is a dangerous doctrine that worries me if you believe it.  Not to say you shouldn't care about where people end up, but God won't hold you responsible for someone else's choices.  Remember that if they were going to hell, it is because of their decisions.  Whether you told a person or not won't change that.  You should witness as commanded, but leave the results to God.