Entry 95 - Good News is Supposed to Be Good News. It's Not Supposed to Downgrade.

9/26/19

Many sects within Christianity hold the assumption that everyone by default, regardless of if they were good or bad, will go to hell.... However... Why do those in Judaism fail to believe that way? Isn't that the father religion to Christianity? So when and why did the doctrine of afterlife change so drastically?

If eternal hell was such a big deal, and we're all going there by default unless we do what the Christians say, don't you think he'd mention that at least once in the Old Testament? Doesn't it seem sort of strange that the first 3/4 of the Bible doesn't mention an eternal hell at all? (The Old Testament mentions a hell-like area for purification, but not for eternity).

If the New Covenant with Jesus Christ is supposed to be the "better covenant" rather than the Old Covenant, then why does it sound more bleak, less hopeful, more doomsday than what the Jews believe?
It didn't matter if you were Jewish or not, Jews believed that God will eventually save all people, even if they need some "purification." What a nice ending!

But then doesn't the Christian doctrine of the afterlife make the New Covenant look worse than the Old Covenant since according to many Christians, even if you're an amazing person who gives to the poor, loves others, lives a life like Jesus, but you don't believe the tenants of the Christian faith, you will still go to hell for eternity?

I encourage all people who grew up thinking a certain way to research this topic. Get into the Aramaic of the Old and New Testament. Challenge your beliefs. Be open-minded to the idea that maybe the gospel is much more victorious than some make it out to be. Don't let others choose what you believe. Discover the truth for yourself. Take this journey with God, you won't regret it.