Letters from Hell

[ADXC]

Although many of you have probably already seen this, I do believe it as a very good, convicting tool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nddtcwF3flY

[SeraphicCharm]

YESS!! this is soooooo powerful! it really gives us an attitude check about how we spend our limited time here on earth.

[bkilbour]

I'm gonna start spreading the gospel more.

[ich1990]

I find it odd how he claims to be locked in a cell "for a very long time", yet says in his letter that he "died today". I wouldn't exactly consider one day in a jail cell a very long time, relatively speaking. Even non-Christians know that the afterlife is eternal in traditional Judeo-Christian religions.

Also, how exactly was he writing this letter while the angels had a hold of both of his hands and were throwing him into Hell? If I got this letter, I would have to be suspicious of its authenticity and therefore intent. A human would know that you can't write without your hands, but perhaps a demon wouldn't? If I could establish that it was truly from Hell, maybe some clever demonic force wrote this instead, masquerading as a friend.

The question remains why a demon would try such a thing. All I can suppose is that it would be trying to get me to think of God as simple fire insurance.

[Nate]

This lost plausibility at the "Why didn't you ever tell me how to become a Christian?" part. I find it pretty difficult to believe that this dude was in high school and had never even heard of Christianity or knew anything about it. At that point in life most kids are at least aware of Christianity even if they don't know specifics.

I also think this video kind of sends the wrong message. It is written that only God may change the hearts of men. We can talk to people, sure, and tell them, but we can't personally win someone's soul. That's God's duty. That's why the ending is a bit ridiculous with the "My friend at work has his own religion, I don't have time to change his mind." Uh, you CAN'T change his mind, that's the point. Only God can change a person's mind about it.

And seriously, the idea that someone could have lived in this country until at least high school and not have at least heard of Christianity is ludicrous; if a person has a different religion it's not because they don't know Christianity. Unlike what Jack Chick likes to portray, nobody over the age of 12 is going to suddenly go "Jesus? Who's that? I haven't heard of him!" If someone has a different religion then--surprise!--they probably have a reason for it and that reason isn't "They don't know what Christianity is."

Sharing the Gospel is important! Not saying it isn't. But this video seems to be trying to scare people to going up to everyone they know and saying "HEY DO YOU KNOW WHO JESUS IS QUICK ACCEPT HIM OR YOU'LL GO TO HELL" which honestly is pretty irritating and would only serve to hinder the efforts of spreading God's word.

Actually ich there's the answer to your question about why a demon would write this letter. It would turn Christians into people being really annoying and running their mouths about Jesus to every person they see on the street which would make passers-by go "Wow, I don't want to listen to him, he's really bothersome." Thus it would serve to harden people's hearts...a very good ploy indeed.

And yeah how is this dude writing a letter if the angels are dragging him away and holding him over flames? Pretty fishy! Unless the response was Monty Python-ish. "Perhaps he was dictating!"

[ADXC]

When I posted this link, I did not entail that a debate should come from it. I only posted it because it would be a good evangelical tool for the youth ministry. It's not accurate by any means, but it does get your attention. I'm not going to argue you two on this. If anyone continues to debate this, then I'll ask the mods to just close this thread.

[Davidizer13]

When I posted this link, I did not entail that a debate should come from it. I only posted it because it would be a good evangelical tool for the youth ministry. It's not accurate by any means, but it does get your attention.

Then why post it in the first place, if you knew that it was inaccurate? The fact that it's not accurate, and you admit it, makes it completely unsuitable in my eyes as a tool for evangelism. When we're using distortions and untruths to spread the Gospel, something's wrong. The Gospel stands on its own merits, without having to be distorted to scare people or through adding things to it, to convince non-Christians into accepting it.

[goldenspines]

When I posted this link, I did not entail that a debate should come from it. I only posted it because it would be a good evangelical tool for the youth ministry. It's not accurate by any means, but it does get your attention. I'm not going to argue you two on this. If anyone continues to debate this, then I'll ask the mods to just close this thread.

Just as a note, I haven't seen a debate coming from this thread yet. People simply have been stating their opinions towards the video you posted, which is allowed and should be encouraged actually (to question stuff like this, that is, if something in it doesn't make sense or contradicts what they already believe). None of the comments that Nate or Ich posted were directed at you personally, so please do not take them as such.


Concerning this video, I've seen a few like it; each one extremely dramatic and emotionally compelling (that's the main aspect). I think the bottom line of what the video is trying to do is to make Christians start reaching out to non-believers instead of staying safely tucked away in their everyday lives. But I think the approach was flawed in many ways. Their hearts were in the right places when they made this video, but the execution flopped. Are they trying to scare people into changing their lives? That may give some people a spiritual boost right now and they'll get all fired up for God, but for the long term, it sadly falls short.

[TGJesusfreak]

This video was one of the most disturbing videos I've ever seen. Mostly because of the truth it presents: There is a hell. And though it's hard for us to admit, there are people whoe go there everyday. It is a sad truth that I find hard to grasp.

This video makes me want to evangalize more. And I thank you for posting this thread.

[ADXC]

When I said that it was inaccurate, I didn't mean that the message was inaccurate. I believe the video is true in what it is saying, but I'm not sure if everything in the video is as it will be. That's what I meant.

[Fish and Chips]

I actually found the ending ("P.S. Wish you were here") more sincere than the rest of the video, which struck me as scare tactics. All this effort in describing a vivid sensation of Hell, instead of explaining why Hell really is such a dark place to be. This video makes it out to be the bogeyman. I also find it amusing that the apparent bureaucracy of Heaven needs holding cells and long crooked hallways before they can actually throw people in Hell.

That said, I also have another problem with this video, similar to what Nate and Ich brought up.[quote="Luke 16:19-31"]"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'

"But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'

"He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'

"Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets]I usually don't mind metaphorical devices, but the very idea of a letter from Hell seems contradictory to me. Not to mention the fact that his friend is probably already feeling guilty about what he did or didn't do. I know when I've sinned or neglected my duties as a Christian I never needed a cosmic wake up call to feel terrible about it.

So no, I don't think this is a very good evangelical tool for youth ministry.

[Nate]

Oh, no no, I wasn't trying to say "It's dumb because people going to Hell don't sit in prison cells!" or anything. That's artistic license; I can accept that to a degree. It is fun to kind of poke holes in the logic (hence the "How is he writing if the angels are dragging him away?" thing) but ultimately that wasn't what I was getting at. I just think the intent of the video is off.

"Scaring" people into spreading the Gospel is harmful for a few reasons. One, as I said, being adamant and gung-ho is going to come off as arrogant and annoying to those who aren't interested in hearing it. There's better ways to witness to others than saying Jesus every time we open our mouths. Two, it implies that human beings have the power to change the hearts and minds of people, when the Bible makes it clear God and God alone changes hearts, not us.

Finally, and this is a big one, it puts too hard of a burden on people and can be emotionally scarring. If you had a friend or family member who rejected Christ, and you always tried to tell them about it, and they died and as far as you know they didn't change their belief, it could lead to severe pain and depression. "It's my fault they're in Hell. It's all my fault." It's kind of like when my dad died on a bike ride and my mom kept saying if she had stopped him he wouldn't have died, that it was her fault.

This kind of thinking is dangerous. It's harmful especially when someone is dealing with the already horrendous pain of someone they love dying; to also put in their head "It's YOUR fault they're in Hell!" is way too soul-crushing, especially when it ISN'T their fault.

I actually found the ending ("P.S. Wish you were here") more sincere than the rest of the video

I have issue with that too, especially given the verses you posted. The rich man obviously didn't want his family to be in Hell, begging the angel to send Lazarus to warn them. I don't know but it kind of seems even people in Hell don't want others to be there with them especially if they care about them.

So I'm having a hard time imagining that the friend would be all "I want you to go to Hell too and suffer just like me!" Either that or they weren't very good friends in the first place.

Of course the story of Lazarus and the rich man is just a parable and may not have any factual basis in reality, so that's just a minor nitpick. I can accept that part but it doesn't change how I feel about the overall message of the video.

[Fish and Chips]

I should probably explain what I mean by sincerity. A lot of the letter feels very manufactured to me, either outright scare tactics or as heavy handed as possible, which you mentioned as dangerous and I agree. By sincerity, I mean that's the only part I can really imagine someone actually thinking. I'd imagine there are two types of people in Hell, the regretful, and the bitter, or maybe both simultaneously. There's a really old joke about "Yesterday we were hiring, today you're staff" that I'll namedrop and then not get around to, but that's the gist of it.

If we take the letter at face value, how vindictive and guilt-ridden it is, it's the only emotional response that makes sense. He's clearly not regretful, since his letter is not about himself, but someone else. He's bitter, he's angry, he's scared. It's a cliche' line, but it fits the context, and it's the only part of the letter that felt genuine to me.

The parable I quote was to remark on the unlikelihood of anyone in Hell reaching Earth for any reason, but since you've tied it in with the rest of my post, the rich man comes across to me as regretful, not bitter, giving it a different emotional weight.

[uc pseudonym]

I've been thinking about whether or not to add another perspective to this thread. While I echo what has already been said about avoiding theological debate, I don't think that rule should mean we censor all discussion, and especially not different viewpoints.

To that end, I'll say one thing. Look through the Bible and read all the places where hell is referenced to teach a lesson. One has already been quoted, and I'll add another:
[quote="Matthew 25:31-46"]"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father]
I don't think the message of the linked video is the same as the message of this parable, or any other. The Bible doesn't focus on suffering and guilt, it calls for compassion. In the same way, you will never find the apostles preaching fire and brimstone in Acts. Many Christians are filled with fervor to spread the Gospel, but I think there needs to be more consideration of what exactly the Gospel is and whether or not that message is what we're spreading.

[ADXC]

Oy vey, now I wonder why I even posted this thread....