I have heard may Christains who say something like:

"I am a Christain, but it's my choice, and I don't believe anyone should try to push Christainity on anyone else. I don't think thats a nice thing to do. We should let people believe what they want to believe."

This view is very tolerant. It is very multicultural. But I have a question.

Most people who know me well, know that I am not a Christian. Most people are fine with that, especially in the college community, because people are tolerant like that.

But: Most people who are Christains also hold the view that if you do not believe Christ died on the cross for your sins, and that if you do not accept him as your personal saviour - you will go to hell.

So - while trying to be nice, by not pushing your views on people...you are allowing them to go to hell for all eternity. Wouldn't it be better to violate some friendship, to push the envelope and maybe be a bit intolerant if you knew that trying to get them to convert would save their eternal lives?

Are you really doing me a service by being "nice" and not trying to convert me?

It seems the nicer thing to do, if you truly believe that I am damned to hell for eternity if I don't change soon, is to be a bit pushy - and try to challenge me to change my views.

I say this not because i think you will be successful in such an endeavor, but because I think you might be compromising your own belief system. If you really do think you are right, I think you should take own thoughts seriously, and think about the true implications.

For example, if I were a Christian: I would see many people each day who I knew were not Christains, and thus were not going to Heaven. I would have to ask myself which is the nicer thing to do. Should I be nice in the short term and let them continue to be wrong and avoid confrontation. Or should I confront them and hope to God that I can put them on the right track.

Just food for thought. You are probably thinking right now, why the hell is an Atheist trying to convince me to try and convert him. The answer: because I like to see people take their beliefs seriously instead of half-heartedly. I think that if people truly believe in something, they should follow it's rules. If they don't, it seems hypocytical.

The Bible says: "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation" - Mark 16:15

If you feel like you are being judgemental when you try to convince someone that their religion is wrong, or that they need to be a Christain then I ask you: Arent you supposed to be judgemental? After all the Bible says:

"For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?" - 1 Peter 4:17

If the reason you do not try to share your religion with others is that you think people will brush you off, and call you a "bible-thumper" then I have another question for you: Shouldn't you be proud to be a bible thumper?

The Bible says:

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.- Romans 1:16

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."- Mark 8:34-38

But I don't think most Christians preach. Are you intentionally disobeying the word of God? Ask yourself: Are you really taking your religion seriously? If you are not, shouldn't you?

I'm glad you appreciate my original post. In fact, I'm glad most of the individuals who have responded appreciated my post on taking Christianity seriously. I don't know most of you, but it seems many of you are affiliated with organizations that preach to others, and "share the Gospel". It seems that some of you may just simply do it on your own. I think that is awesome. It means you are being consistent with your faith, and you realize the consequences of Christianity, in that those who disbelieve in your God will not have the salvation mentioned in John 3:16. You truly care for your fellow man, and you have the courage to take your religion seriously unlike the millions who don't. As an atheist, from my perspective I see that belief in the existance of the Christian God is no small thing, it is a very BIG deal, with very real implications for mankind if Christianity is correct. That, at least, I think we can all agree on.

Those who say they "walk the walk" but don't are the cause of many individuals leaving the church. But what is done about it? I continue to hear churches focusing on other things, and less important things in thier sermons. I think somebody in the faith needs to give every Christian a wake up call sometime, and explain to them that simply claiming Christainity is not good enough. It must be taken seriously. If you truly believe that your religion is correct, if you truly believe that Jesus is your personal saviour, and if you truly believe that the core scripture of John 3:16 is correct, then you know that not everybody is saved. You know that there are individuals who will "perish" and spend eternity in hell rather than have the "everlasting life" that comes with accepting Jesus. You have a tremendous obligation not just as a Christain, but as a moral person, to save those threatened individuals. This is no laughing matter, this is not small matter if you truly believe. This is bigger than you can even imagine. Only 33% of the world is Christian. And of those who claim Christianity - there are many individuals who are faking it. Who don't truly believe, or understand, or take thier religion seriously enough to practice it.

That makes a situation where those of you who do take it seriously have an obligation to at least try and set things "right". It is true that I am an atheist. But that doesn't mean that I do not understand the implications of Christianity. And although I do not believe Christianity is true - I know that if it were, and I thought it were, I would have this obligation I am trying to share with you. I would have the obligation to save as many lives from eternal damnation as I could. I would have the obligation to help prevent the damnation of millions. I would have the obligation to push the envelope, break some people's comfort zones if nesseccary, and be that man on the street who randomly approaches people and shares the word of God. I would have the moral obligation to endanger my own friendship with certain other people, if that were what it would take to get them to listen to the important things I have to say about salvation. Some people will not be willing to listen, but at least you know you tried - and they at least had a fighing chance at Heaven. But ultimately you will probably be surprised at the amount who WILL be willing to listen. As an atheist, I know how the non-believer's mind works. And I can tell you, true atheism is a rare trait. Many who claim atheism are not really atheists, they hold on to something that that they think is beyond themselves. Even among scientists, and evolutionists, there is a real willingness to believe if only they were told the right things about faith.

I can tell you, the way to convert people to Jesus is not to scare them, and it is not to threaten them. That will simply push them away. If you have to resort to that then do so, but If I were you...If I were in a Christian's shoes, I would first start to talk about FAITH. I would share why I believe. I would share my story, and the story of others. This might not work when talking to true atheists, but I assure you it will have a good success rate among those who really don't know what to believe. It will work among those who have left Christianity out of disillusionment. It will affect those of different belief systems. It will even work among those who would like to be Christain but misunderstand the religion.

People respect people who are not afraid to practice what they preach, no matter the subject. Your religion holds that men and women who "know Jesus Christ" are going to have eternal salvation, and that those who do not know Him are going to suffer unimaginable consequences. Would you save people from a burning building if you could? Or would you walk away out of fear while knowing that you could have saved many lives? What if one of the people didn't want to be saved from that building, and they were all the way up on the roof running away from you...would you still try to convince them that thier salvation is as simple as a choice?

You need to ask yourself if you have the guts to acknowledge the reality of your faith. And if you decide that you want to less hypocritical, and if you decide that you want to truly be a "soldier of God", then you will be among the few people in this world who actually do have the courage to be selfless, and the courage to deny personal greed for the sake of others. You will be among the respectable few. I may be an atheist, but I know just as well as you what morality is. And I know it is not moral to know someone is going to hell and to do nothing about it. That is almost just as bad as sending them there yourself. You didn't even gaive that person a fighting chance.

In the Christian perspective: The biggest threat to the salvation of humanity is those individuals who could have done something but didn't. Those good men and women who knew what was right, but did not share the knowledge. Those people who did not have the courage to see beyond the short term.

These are just my thoughts from the outside looking in. But this same argument could probably be made even better by someone who claims Christianity. If you are a Christian I hope you have the courage to be that person.

I am probably going to recieve e-mails from other atheist (or close to atheist) friends of mine asking me why I would encourage a belief system that is quite obviously antithetical to my atheism. My answer will simply be that I respect people who take thier thoughts seriously, instead of being wishy-washy about the issue. I think that if you truly believe that most of mankind is about to go to hell, then you damned well have a moral obligation to do something about it! I may not agree with the thesis that there even exists such a place as hell, but I still appreciate people with courage.