Ever since I wrapped up my animal consciousness report, I’ve been working to become a better reducetarian. As such, I’ve been hunting for storeable, convenient veg*n meal options. (Getting restaurants to carry tastier veg*n food is harder, but I’ve been enjoying my Impossible Burgers!)
A spreadsheet of my findings thus far is here. In my area, they’re available locally via Instacart. So far, my tastiest solution is “buy Vegetarian Plus meals.”
Most of these meals don’t satisfy me on their own, so I usually supplement with a banana or whatever.
Luke,
I came across one of your articles on your other site and left a comment. Then, I realized that you had changed sites. So, here is my comment below. Feel free to place it where you see fit.
“I happened to find this article when searching for something completely different, but the title looked interesting, so I decided to read on. Let me begin by saying that I appreciate your kind tone in this article. As a Christian, I will do my best to give you my answer to your fundamental question.
“If you really believed some of the people you love dearly were going to spend an eternity in hell, wouldn’t that motivate you to try harder to save them?”
First, I do not believe the Bible teaches that those who reject God will be eternally tormented in hell. We never find that idea in the Bible. Love, not fear, should be the reason people follow Jesus (1 Jn. 4:17-19; 2 Tim. 1:7). The Bible teaches that those who reject God will be destroyed in hell (Mt. 10:28). The wages of sin is death, not eternal, conscience torment (Rom. 6:23; Acts 13:46).
Only the righteous will live forever (Prov. 12:28; Jn. 3:36; 4:14, 36; 5:24; 6:40, 47, 54; Rom. 5:21; 1 Tim. 6:12; Titus 1:2; 3:7; 1 Jn. 1:2). In theology, this view is known as conditionalism. The idea is that only God is immortal (1 Tim. 6:15-16), and He will only sustain the lives of those those who have followed Him (John 3:16). Therefore, if someone has rejected God, they don’t have eternal life. Thus, they will be destroyed and will perish. Therefore, I do not believe that those who reject God are going to be consciously tortured without end. I believe they will simply perish in hell and be no more.
Second, your fundamental question is dependent upon a subjective idea. In your mind, Christians should “try harder” to save people. Upon what gauge are you defining what it means to “try harder?” Let me try to illustrate my point. One of my good friend’s mother was recently diagnosed with cancer. The diagnosis was severe. While his mother accepted it and was at peace, my friend obviously didn’t want his mother to die. He tried everything in his power to save her. He researched different treatments and spoke to different doctors to get second and third opinions, but finally my friend came to the conclusion that there is only so much he can personally do.
The same is true with Christians reaching out to non-Christians. I can write articles, teach, pray, show love, show kindness and talk to non-Christians all day long. But just like my friend realized with his mother, there is only so much we can personally do in any situation. A Christian can only show so much “outreach” to a person. I can’t make decisions for others.
Furthermore, this question can be used against anyone with any situation. Let me illustrate my point. I could accuse you of not caring about children under 5 because if you really believe that 289,000 children under the age of 5 die every year simply because of lacking clean water, then why aren’t you doing more to save those children?
If you really believed this, then why aren’t you trying harder to save them? You must either not believe this or you don’t care about children under 5.
I obviously don’t believe this is a fair question or conclusion, but it is premised upon the same logic with the question you are proposing. I would be interested to know what you believe your family should be doing for you. What actions on their part would convince you they are convinced?
Third, I would encourage you to be thankful your family isn’t treating you harsher. My friend, who is a preacher, changed his views on some topics and the church he was at went to extreme measures to try and convince him to change his mind back and ended up firing him. In fact, his own family wouldn’t leave him alone. They talked to him, sent him cards, letters, phone calls, they debated him, etc. The mother has literally made herself sick because of the situation and her belief that her son is now “lost.” My point is that different people are going to emotionally respond differently.”
Kevin