Is that so? Then why do so many Christian faiths espouse the promise of a afterlife, and then strike fear by threatening the gates of hell as the only other option.
That seems very self serving to me, what a man does and how he lives should be from the heart, not based on a threat or a reward.
I agree; we should live from the heart. And we do: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9) If it were not so, we would not have need of a Savior. And the afterlife you refer to is really simply the restoration of the world as it was before sin entered it. At that point, our hearts will be pure and there will be no need for further reward, nor any threat. God has promised to restore the world to its intended state; so we wait for that time to come. If it is self serving to want to be part that, well, okay; I am self serving. But I am also attempting to serve others by explaining these things to them, as best as I understand them. I'd like for everyone to be part of the world when it is restored to its pre-sin state. I don't think anyone is being threatened, but everyone is given a choice. Honesty compels me to admit that some styles of preaching are indeed threatening in their tone, and I am afraid that these do more harm than good sometimes. I am sorry if you or anyone else has been damaged by this type of guilt trip. I really don't think that's the way to treat people. If someone goes to Hell, it is because of the choice they themselves made.
If you have a better way of encouraging mankind to behave, please have at it.
The biggest problem our country has is not systemic racism, it's systemic stupidity.
