When I got done writing blogs in the basement of Coffman I left so I could get to Dean's. On the way, these two people stopped me and asked me if I was a student at the U and I told them that I am. Then the guy told me that they are Christians and he was going around asking people about their faith. He asked me, a bunch of questions. "Are you religious?" "Are you a good person?" "Have you ever stolen?" "Ever lied?" "What do I think will happen to me after I die?" I answered his questions honesty and I stayed and chatted with him because I wanted to see what he was getting at. He really got no where. At the end he asked me to decide right there and then if I believed in heaven and god. I told him that I couldn't answer that at the time, because I really couldn't. Show me some proof. I appreciated the talk. I am to open minded not to be open to their views, but I wasn't willing to give them my word. I could have just lied and told them yes, but I am to honest of a person. Before they left, they told me that they would pray for me. I wondered what they would say in their prayers. "Dear heavenly father, please help Min believe and earn a spot in heaven." I doubt that. I know for sure they don't give a shit about if I get in their heaven or not. They actually probably hope I don't get in so they have more of a chance to get in and so their heaven isn't so crowded. What were they really going to say in their prayer? Are they even going to mention my name in a prayer? Or was it just an attempt to suck my money into their church. Their talk just confused me more. I really don't think I can trust anyone of religion because the church has warped their minds.
The walk Dean's was different. As I walked I felt almost hypnotized. Everything that was going on just made it a numb walk. The snow, the wind, the cold, the talk, the lights, the buildings. The wind and snow made the environment mystic, made it beautiful and foreign. The street lights seemed to glow mildly and were more comforting than usual. The buildings seemed to look down at me and critique me. There was a point in my walk where there was no one around me. Not a single physical body. Crowded U of M and there isn't a single body around me. It was kind of eerie but comforting. At that moment, I felt completely alone.
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Hello Min Lee
I am so sorry to hear about your conversation with the two Christians. I am also a Christian and I am familiar with the questions they were asking and the reasons they were asking them. It could be they did not do a good job or in many cases Christianity does not make sense to a non-Christian. It can be like a blind person trying to understand the beauty of a moonlit night.
If I may correct an assumption you made about their motives. There is no limit on the number of people in heaven, nor is there any crowding. We rejoice in every person who enters heaven, and feel dispare (and sometimes actually weep) for those who must pay their own penalty (hell) for breaking God's laws.
As to whether they were "recruiting" for a church, I can't say. However, typically people who use what is known as the Good Person Test are not trying to get people to join a church. They only want to see you in heaven.
I became a Christian seven years ago when God gave me the Good Person Test. Before then I thought that in general I was a pretty good person. Yes, I had done some things wrong, but overall I was doing pretty well and would probably go to heaven. But I was comparing myself to other people, not God's standard.
God's standard is perfection.
That's why they were asking questions such as: Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever stolen anything? These come from the Ten Commandments, the standard God has given us so we can know whether we are good enough to get into heaven.
When I answer these questions I have to say, yes I have told a lie.
Yes, I have stolen.
Yes, I have used God's name as a cuss word. That's called blasphemey and it is very serious.
Jesus said that if you look at another person with lust in your heart, you have already committed adultery with that person in your heart. And so I had to answer yes, I was guilty of committing adultery.
I had broken God's laws, and just as there is a penalty for breaking civil laws, there is a penalty for breaking God's laws. The Bible calls that penalty the second death, or what we commonly call hell. For example, the Bible says that ALL LIARS (including me) have a place in the lake of fire.
I don't know anyone who has not broken God's laws, so it seems like everyone is heading for hell.
But there is some good news! What if you've committed a crime and you are standing before a judge in a courtroom. You are guilty and the judge says, one millions dollars or 30 years in prison. I couldn't pay that fine! But then someone walks into the courtroom, writes a check for $1,000,000 and gives it to the court clerk. Your fine is paid! Now what happens to you? You go free. Your penalty has been paid by someone else.
That's what Jesus has done for you. You owe the death penalty for breaking God's laws. Jesus paid that penalty on your behalf, so you can go free (enter heaven).
BUT... what if when the person writes the check to pay your fine you say, "No thank you. I don't want you to pay my fine for me." Then you must pay the penalty (prison) yourself. Jesus has paid your fine, but if you say "No thank you to Jesus." then you must pay your own penalty (hell). God does not force people into heaven.
This is the message of the Bible. You can decide what you want to do with it. My guess is that what the two Christians you met will pray for is that through God's grace you will accept the gift Jesus has given you by his paying your penalty for you.
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