I have been working with a few Protestants, and tring to evangilize them.

Person A said that Jesus never taught about hell. Person B in the conversation gave the example of Lazureth, which I thought was a good example. But, person A said - that was just a parable, not a teaching on hell.

Can any one help!? The Bible disk in my brain is out of order.

Go to the GOARCH website:
http://www.goarch.org/

Near the bottom of the page on the left hand side is "Bible Search". Type in Hell

Orest:

Thank you! What a useful tool! I have booked marked it, and I'm sure it will be useful in the future. Even for my own personal use - this is great! Quick, easy to use, and bringing up relivant verses, I give it 5 stars.

Many blessings,
Mary

Mary, the online Douay-Rheims also has a search.

www.drbo.org

Search for Gehenna, where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth where the worm dies not.

Many thanks.

These are the verses I sent to him:

Matthew 5:22
22"But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before (A)the court; and whoever says to his brother, '[a]You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before [b](B)the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the [c](C)fiery hell.

Matthew 5:29
29"(A)If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into (B)hell.

Matthew 23:15
15"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one (A)proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of (B)hell as yourselves.

Matthew 23:33
33"You serpents, (A)you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of (B)hell?

Luke 12:5
5"But I will warn you whom to fear: (A)fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into (B)hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!

And possibly the best:
2 Peter 2:4
4For (A)if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and (B)committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;and did not spare (R)the ancient world, but preserved (S)Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a (T)flood upon the world of the ungodly;
6and if He (U)condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an (V)example to those who would (W)live ungodly lives thereafter;
7and if He (X)rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the (Y)sensual conduct of (Z)unprincipled men
8(for by what he saw and heard that (AA)righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds),
9(AB)then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the (AC)day of judgment,
10and especially those who (AD)indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and (AE)despise authority Daring, (AF)self-willed, they do not tremble when they (AG)revile angelic majesties,
11(AH)whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord.

Although I have already responed to him via email - I am sure to get an arguement back.

Any more versus that come to mind? This person has said before that he only reads what's in red in the Bible, ie. what Jesus himself said. So I really want to help him. Although the words of Our Lord are certainly wonderful, where would we be to understand the context of His message if we cut out most of the Bible?

What's he think all that black is for? The fireplace? :rolleyes:

You chose well!

This verse may help add to your response to those discussing this.

Matt.10
[28] (RSV) And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.


Peace and blessings,

Porter

This person with whom Mary is arguing sounds like some of the early gnostics who would cut-n-paste parts of the Bible to support their ideas.

Just to follow up - I never did get a response to my email with the quotes that Jesus himself said.

Apparently he doesn't care to continue a debate when his opinion has been countered with proof from Scripture. I will continue to counter him with proof, within his context, because I think it’s easily done. I once sent him several quotes from Christ on the Eucharist – which were too substantial for him to counter the argument of the Real Presence. He just changed the subject and said you don’t need a church building to worship in or to celebrate the Eucharist. That’s a whole other thread – but just to give an example of other things I’ve engaged in conversation with him.

I occasionally engage in a friendly debate with a few (3) Protestants friends, all of them attending the same church.

Two have somewhat sought my help, because the aforementioned person is teaching a Bible study - without the use of the Bible . Although there are things we do not currently agree on, we are all concerned that the person in question is leading people astray. He likes to get videos and books without checking the validity of their claims, and takes opinion to be fact. He will then form his opinions around that, and believe it to be the Gospel truth.

The advantage I have with this person is his naivety. If he is easily led astray, then the possibility exist that - with God's help - I will be able easily persuade him and help him onto the right path. The other two can be persuaded to believe in Church dogma - if they do not realize that's what they are agreeing to.

I'm taking my time with them. So far I've been able to get them to agree that repentance is necessary for salvation, and that by sinning we cut ourselves off from God and salvation until we repent again (leading up to the necessity for confession - but that will come in time.)

The best thing I'm doing now is praying for them. Especially Mr. 'I only believe what's in red'. All souls are valuable and I do think the effort will pay off. If I can't convince them of the validity of the dogma of the Church, then at the least I hope to challenge them/him to be better Protestants.

Sorry for the long post. Along with prayers, I am sure I will seek you out for help when I feel I can't answer something satisfactorily.

One positive note - one of the people in this group has started to ask questions, such as "What is a rite?" "Do you worship Icons", etc. That's a good sign to me, and open doorway for discussion and a chance to clear up false conceptions.

Much thanks.

Peace in Christ,
Mary

Mary, thanks for posting an update. Sounds like this may have lead others to ask questions.

Peace and blessings,

Porter

I thought as much myself before I came across your post, Eric. it smells like the "Jesus Seminar"ilk that sit around taking votes as to what they find convenient in their new politically correct and improved Jesus, so according to them, Jesus never said anything about Hell or anything else that disturbs them. I suggest that one start any conversation with asserting the authenticity of Scripture and what is written therein. once that has been established, then one can testify to what Jesus said about Hell or anything else in the Gospels.
Much Love,
Jonn