The Things That Will Send Christians to Hell

The Ten Commandments, unlike the amendments of the U.S. Constitution, are fixed, or should be.

truthtellers.org

(SALEM, Ore.) - There are two things that I believe define what is wrong with religion in this world; America in particular: one is rooting for death and war, and the other is following a religion not for to help others, but out of fear that a person will spend their eternity in hell.

Some people are not troubled by these perceptions, they are shallow and could care less, and some go so far as to openly embrace evil and dark things, as if daring God, or defying his presence. Among the apathetic factions are the spoiled, the unchallenged, the scarred and abused who lost their way, the excessively poor who have known little love or comfort; and those who love to shove their weight around, sometimes abusing people for pleasure.

But at least you can tell who they are, people who are into dark things generally advertise it. So, this leaves us with the 'average' Christian- far more of a problem in society because they believe they represent what is good in this world, when in reality most, if I dare say... support the exact opposite of what God called for.

It's always about revisionist thinking... changing standing rules of religion, already highly watered down from the original texts to say the least, to fit or meet individual needs of kings and CEO's and politicians. It is the worst behavior possible, and always is delivered by that 1% that we keep hearing more and more about. Even if everything is not perfectly clear, God told us how it is; the basic points, but people 'tweak' and try to adjust the controls, which is not their role.

God is the creator, we are the creations, and we are given a path, a number of guides, like pain, both physical and emotional; comfort, safety and happiness. We know others feel these discomforts as we do, and therefore we easily can determine what we are not supposed to do to others. A person who has been robbed of something- then knows the result of the same action on another person.

We're also given the clear, logical rules called the Ten Commandments and unlike the amendments of the U.S. Constitution, this is fixed, or should be. This is where the matter becomes convoluted and mixed up, and where we discover that today's so-called Christian leaders have bent the word of God in a perverted way. It is really simple. The words of God, "You shall not kill", have been rewritten (surprise) to now to replace the word 'kill' with 'murder'. Wrong.

Wrong wrong wrong. It doesn't matter how well people can convince themselves, God said don't do kill, he wasn't specific and the concept of modifying his largest commandments is an insult to God.

In case mankind was not clear, after the Commandments, God sent Jesus to earth to tell people not to even slap an enemy back, but to turn your cheek so that they may slap the other one. What a test, what an expectation. That message from Christ reinforced the same point of not killing, and he didn't say murder.

I'm the first to say that I don't think any person should allow themselves to be the object of an attack without fighting back. I don't think Jesus meant that people should also not resist violence for the sake of their family and friends, and especially for children. But we are so far off the charts in terms of militaristic violence, that I honestly don't think we can tilt it back. It's a good time to grasp the idea that we're supposed to reject all types of war, death and violence. Jesus rejected the call of his followers to help them in their defeat of the occupational forces that held them paralyzed.

So here we are in a modern age and all we do is kill, bomb, destroy and devastate. We have learned how to do it with stealth, pride and disregard for humanity. We raise our children to sing songs about defeating nations, about winning freedom as a nation of slave owners, it really is ironic. And while we got past the years of legal slavery in the west, we have been given over to another form of pf bondage that involves not just those of color, but almost everyone who is part of a nation that votes for people who strip us of human rights, and abused our financial system to a point of non-recovery.

I'm not a religious scholar, just a student of life with a number of years under my belt as a serious observer of this world. I do consider myself a Christian but I believe all people of all faiths are equal in the eyes of God and fine as long as they follow the divine teachings of the ancient faiths that place peace and equal human rights at the center of all importance. I fear many people who see themselves as proper and good, have a rude surprise waiting for them on the other side of the door. Killing is something all people should automatically renounce, along with war and all types of human oppression. Everyone isn't given the same chance in this life, it is up to people to care for those who have less, and to stand for peace at all costs. Ignorance is no excuse.

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Tim King: Salem-News.com Editor and Writer

Tim King is a former U.S. Marine with twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. In addition to his role as a war correspondent, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor. Tim spent the winter of 2006/07 covering the war in Afghanistan, and he was in Iraq over the summer of 2008, reporting from the war while embedded with both the U.S. Army and the Marines.

Tim holds awards for reporting, photography, writing and editing, including the Silver Spoke Award by the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (2011), Excellence in Journalism Award by the Oregon Confederation of Motorcycle Clubs (2010), Oregon AP Award for Spot News Photographer of the Year (2004), First-place Electronic Media Award in Spot News, Las Vegas, (1998), Oregon AP Cooperation Award (1991); and several others including the 2005 Red Cross Good Neighborhood Award for reporting. Tim has several years of experience in network affiliate news TV stations, having worked as a reporter and photographer at NBC, ABC and FOX stations in Arizona, Nevada and Oregon. Tim was a member of the National Press Photographer's Association for several years and is a current member of the Orange County Press Club.

Serving the community in very real terms, Salem-News.com is the nation's only truly independent high traffic news Website. As News Editor, Tim among other things, is responsible for publishing the original content of 91 Salem-News.com writers. He reminds viewers that emails are easily missed and urges those trying to reach him, to please send a second email if the first goes unanswered. You can write to Tim at this address: newsroom@salem-news.com

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M. Dennis Paul, Ph.D. October 27, 2011 12:56 am (Pacific time)

One can endlessly debate the use of specific terms in any version of the bible. In my opinion, this is an effort which is based in the false belief of biblical inerrancy. If one considers that the language of Christ was Aramaic and that translations into Hebrew, Greek, Latin and English would be quite difficult due to the lack of purely equivalent definitions from one to another, any effort to determine exactness of scriptures would be an exercise in futility. Add to this the political necessities perceived by various rulers who held the bible up as a basis for "law" and governance, and further bastardization of original intent is obvious. One can add many other causes for drift from original intent.

To attempt using the foolish adherence to some perceived inerrancy as a means of discrediting Tim's message is simply that.. foolish. One need not be a scholar to hold dear the genuinely humanitarian sense of the value each life holds or the revulsion over desecration of that value through the destruction of life by any interpretation. Tim's message is one of hypocrisy having so filtered into the actions of self avowed christians (or any other following)that we now live in a time of immense cruelty, callousness and immorality where so many are able to find "justification" in turning their backs on what was originally born in their hearts; now enslaving, torturing and taking the lives of their brothers and sisters in ill conceived cause. Justification, however, is not justice and Tim, based on my experience with him, firmly believes in justice. That, in my opinion, is something to be admired and highly regarded.

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Widemouth October 25, 2011 6:44 pm (Pacific time)

Who's looking for hell? http://www.squidoo.com/hell-eternal

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Anonymous October 25, 2011 6:06 pm (Pacific time)

"I'm not a religious scholar..." No doubt about this statement being accurate. Are you a recognized scholar in anything? Besides being called "camera-guy," what court could you testify in as being an expert/professional witness? Suffice, your opinions are valuable to yourself, but have zero weight in literally any other format. Of course you were a peacetime marine, with absolutely no critical military occupation, i.e., if you did not show up for duty would things come to a standstill? Ditto for anything in the civilian world? In terms of Christians going to hell as per your interpretation as to the multiple Christian interpretations out there that are formally recognized, will your opinion in this matter mean anything? Does your existence mean anything to Christian followers?

Tim King: Rag rag rag, if I were truly so unimportant I doubt you would go to so much effort.  So you down play the military service of people who served in time of peace, you are insulting one hell of a lot of people with that one, and you gloss over the fact that I have spent three months of my life in Afghanistan and Iraq and that was strictly so that I could write about it with more knowledge.  I didn't need to do that, many people thought I was a little nuts, but I care about it enough that I was willing to put myself in it.  Yes, I refueled jet aircraft in the Marine Corps, not a glorious role for sure, but it allows me a great amount of insight when examining something like the 911 tragedy, where jet fuel allegedly brought down three buildings, or two, depending on how you look at it.   I'm not a religious scholar, but I've been a dad for 28 years and I have been able to glean an understanding of life through that role better than any other.  I know other fathers love their children the way I love mine, and I know that the religion or country has nothing to do with love, or peace, or anything else.  I know I hail from a country that doesn't represent itself well and is a threat to peace in the world, and I know it is because of people like you that it is that way.  So no, I'm not all of that, but for over seven years I have been powering the news from my perspective and I learn and know a great deal from total immersion.  I am not a person who testifies in court, but then that was a stupid thing to bring up.  There, did I hit all of your points?  Again, if the impact I have on the world with Salem-News.com every day was not significant, I wouldn't have so many people like you to deal with.  

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Anonymous October 25, 2011 1:15 pm (Pacific time)

I wonder..why do we have to read the Bible, when our hearts and leadership should be providing the example? Seems our leadership has destroyed our values, and death and killing means nothing. Analyze it all ya want, but killing another human being should be taken seriously, its not a video game.

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Charles W. Lund October 25, 2011 7:45 am (Pacific time)

To get the translation slightly more accurate, the ancient Hebrew word should be translated as – unauthorized killing – Thou shalt not commit unauthorized killing. Both murder and kill are off the mark and no single word conveys the correct idea in English. This then leads to the question of who properly gives such authorization.

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Hellhoax.com October 25, 2011 5:02 am (Pacific time)

While I don't disagree with the general theme here, I must point out that the Bible was not written in English. Before one makes conclusions about what scripture teaches one really ought to be aware that our 400 year old King James version is not perfect. The Hebrew word in the Ten Commandments translated "kill" is actually the Hebrew word for murder, as is the Greek word used in Matt. 5:21 to record Jesus' words. Again, MURDER..not "kill". So while there's merit to this piece, it's based on faulty reasoning.

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