Debate: Would a benevolent God send people to hell?
Side: You Have A Choice

The bible already answers that question. God is just and God knows the heart of a man. It also says a few promises: If you knock the door will be opened, if you ask you will receive, if you draw closer to God He will draw closer to you, if you do not give up in doing right you will receive a harvest in due time. You reap what you sow. (Understand, this verse is not talking about Karma because Christians often suffer much more than the fairness of Karma would dictate. It's talking about your relationship with God, insistently rejecting sin, the unjust suffering you endure, and then the fruition of that suffering and rejection of sin in the form of rewards that you will get in heaven that you never see on this earth.)  If God is really God, meaning that He's the beginning and the end and through Him all existence exists, then to say that God would not judge the truth in a person's heart is to say that God doesn't exist. (Coincidentally many atheists think of God in the same way they think of fallible man.) I mean really, all truth, God is God, creator of all existence, the beginning and end of all. Without whom existence would cease to be. God is definitely going to judge a man's heart first. What seems to confuse people is that God wants to know them personally and to repent and turn away from their sins, whatever sins that may be. Well, God put it out there who He is, and expects us to seek Him. If we don't, or if we decide to believe something else before finding out, that alone is part of our guilt. Laziness is one of the seven deadly, sins is it not? (Really, I'm actually asking because I don't remember what they are.) I believe that Christ will judge all of our hearts completely justly when we die.  However, there is another dimension to this that I only recently realized. If a person never hears of Christ, they also may never be told that Christ will hold them accountable for what they are doing that they know is wrong. God has demonstrated that He has mercy on those who are ignorant of their sins. But we all have a basic understanding of right and wrong even when we are not told. And I'm telling you as an army brat and a Christian since 5 years old, growing up in a Christian home, a lot of times people will somewhat freely do what they know is wrong all the time up until they are told that Christ will hold them accountable for it. Then, because of that, and that alone, they start their personal quest to avoid any and all things that they know are wrong in God's sight. I was one of them, believe it or not, even at 5 years old. I remember it, although at 4 and 5 I didn't know a whole lot, I had a general understanding of right and wrong as much as 4 and 5 year old can have. Even more so when I reached middle school years. Well, if a person is doing something that they know is wrong, such as talking behind people's backs to make them look bad, causing pain to someone who doesn't deserve it, being selfish, holding bitterness or murderous feelings in their heart against someone who probably doesn't deserve that, or lusting after a woman after he has committed to one woman already, or stepping on someone to get higher, or poking fun of someone you know doesn't deserve it, or hating someone for no real reason, or stealing something insignificant that you know the person that owns it wouldn't accept that, or a multitude of things we easily do from day to day, or getting revenge that you know is ill-deserved, being conceited, putting yourself above others when it causes them undue suffering such as is the case with many past political leaders of various countries and nations throughout history, and these are just a few examples of things people know is wrong that they do anyway.  Well, how would a truly just God judge the heart of such people? Well, how many of us DO NOT do things that we know are wrong? Well, how will we know that we need to stop doing those things we know are wrong if we are not told that God will hold us accountable. That's why the message of Christ needs to be spread. A few people in billions may decide to avoid doing those things that they know is wrong, but most of us won't. Most of us will continue doing things we know are wrong, and it is for our sake that Christ's message must be heard. Because for some of us, the only thing that will get us to stop doing what we know is wrong is the knowledge that God will hold us accountable. And for some it's the knowledge that it all is not just a waste of time waiting until we die. That hope invigorates them not to take the easy route that would involve doing what they know is wrong. But never forget, God is just and likewise will judge us justly and in complete truth. If a person has never heard of Christ, God will still judge them justly and in complete truth. Hopefully that truth will reveal that their heart's were right, just merely ignorant of Christ, but how many will actually be right if they are not told to at least stop doing what they know is wrong? That, I do not know. The bible says that all fall short of the glory of God, there is not one who is righteous, not one. Of course these and other verses are open to some interpretation. So the real question is, if we all fall short, then why are we given the message and not everyone? Well, like I said above God made us promises, and they don't just apply to Christians, they apply to all who will seek God, truly seek God. Put your faith in God and don't give up until you are absolutely sure you have found Him. (And I'm not just talking prayer time, I'm talking research time, reading time, consideration time, asking for wisdom and guidance time, well, some of that falls under prayer time I suppose.