Are christians, christians out of fear??

Well I have jsut come up with a conclution
christians go to heaven when they die, eternal bliss and eternal life...
right? and if they dont follow Jesus they go to hell
eternal pain and suffering???
so basicly does this mean
all christians are...

cowards??? or afraid of death
because there trying to make themselves belief death is better than life?
well if you beleive that why not take your own life?
are you so afraid of pain?

My parents are both Christians and I can tell you that they are not cowards. They do not fear death or life. People believe different things because they want to, not because they are forced into it out of fear. Christians open their hearts to God and Jesus out of choice, because they believe what the bible stands for, not because they are afraid.

Saying that a Christian is a coward because they fear death is like saying an Atheist is a coward because they fear the unknown.

I try not to get involved. Christianity is so complicated, I don't know how anybody keeps up.

christians of fear are cowards, god (this is an objective view, I dont believe in god or religion) said to man to love him and not fear him (in both muslim and christian faiths) but since the dark ages when the church ran most things they started to inject fear into people and I guess the fear never went away, thats why some say you must fear 'god' and not love him (ever hear the phrase god fearing christian?)
ill say this though if you fear your god isnt that a sin? when he specifically said "love me" but you must understand Christianity is vague in most of its history (half of jesuses life is in darkness cause it was never recorded in the bible) and its a total mess with beliefes...

I am christian, but I'd rather Reign in Hell than serve in heaven

^^^ so you don't want to be with your god? If you were a true Christian you would want to serve god! I'm just saying - I don't want to start an argument!

there is a sence of fear of hell. and Gods wrath hence God Fearing

I don't know why anyone is christian. Why bother dedicating your life to something you will never know. You never will, because when you die you die, end of...

I'm atheist, if there is a god and I go to hell then... well, I'm screwed! But, I couldn't care less, so..

they dont fear the unknown thats why there athiests

lol same

"It's better to reign in hell than serve in heaven..." that's what satan said in Paradise Lost.

Religion serves a number of psychological and emotional needs. Addressing fear of death is just one of them.

I consider religion to be a Rorschach. When you study religion you see the fears and needs of mankind. The more you understand religion the more you understand man.

The fear of extreme punishment and the hope for heaven are psychological ploys to not only keep existing Christians from questioning their beliefs, but also to promote group identity (at the expense of everyone else of course). "We're special. We're the elect. We're the only true children of god"...etc

This group identity has historically been taken to the extreme, resulting in active attempts to wipe out nonChristians. The current 'dominionist' movement supported by high ranking Republicans is an attempt to return to those good old days.

Simple: John 3 : 16 - accept or reject is your choice for all eternity - hope your heart doesn't wax ice cold.

As I've said before my parents are Christian and never once have they said I'm going to hell for not believing. They've never said that they are special or the only true children of God. They've always told me that even if you don't believe that there truly is a God when you die that you could still go to heaven or hell. Some Christians are not bad and they don't try to push their religion on others.

The true Christians that I know feel EVERYONE in the world is the TRUE children of GOD, they don't judge people because of what they believe, that's what Christianity should be about. I realize that some people will always try to push their religion on others (or lack of religion), but come on, who does it really benefit to do that? Do Atheist's get something from making Christians upset or doubt themselves? Do Christians get something from telling Atheists that there is a God? No, the only thing you get is to feel superior because you feel that whatever you believe is better than what someone else believes. In my family we can believe whatever we want without having to listen to someone preach to us about the bible or about scientific evidence that the bible is a lie. If a family can respect each other's beliefs and live together without fighting then everyone else should also be able to.

The only true cowards are the people that can't make decisions for themselves, the people that follow everyone around them like cattle. If someone decides for themself to believe in God and what God stands for then how can they be a coward?

***Saying that a Christian is a coward because they fear death is like saying an Atheist is a coward because they fear the unknown.***

Oh DO explain that one further...

they dont fear the unknown thats why there athiests

I did not mean they fear the unknown. I meant that saying a Christian is a coward because they fear death is an asinine statement. And Atheist's don't believe that there could be a "higher" power. Get the point?

I have no idea what an atheist beleives, I dont beielve in a christian god thats for sure, but I beielve in a higher power that is not of a christian god... lol

the one true thing in my view to believe in is Good and Evil, Ying and Yang...
no good can exist without evil and no evil without good...

yep

I got to agree with informer.