Hell?

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Montie_Claunch

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I was wondering about two things.
One, What do I say to SDAs about hell? They don’t baleive that hell exists (more accuratly that it is a temporary thing and that all in hell will be burned up and that the smoke will go up forever).
Second, I have posted a quite a few threads about the SDA girl I like. I am going to be aprroaching her, whith the help of God, about trying to convert her. I would really perfer not to go and end up looking like a blithering idiot. Does anyone know of any good books or articales or something that deals with this? Please I would really need something that not only address the scripturallity (and Tradition) of the Catholic Church position but, also the intriacsy (sp?) of their theology. Thank you so much (with a cherry and whatever else you want on top) and God bless.
 
One thing I know is that a one of the important “soul sleep” passages they use is from Ecclesiastes. This is incredibly important because Ecclesiastes is not a book which you ought to be reading to get facts from. The entire thing is basically the thought process of a person trying to understand God and understand how He can exist. What that amounts to is that a ton of it is just the person coming up with all their own thoughts and ideas which aren’t necessarily true until they eventually arrie at the conclusion that God is as He says He is.

Just look at the way it starts:

“Absolute futility,” says the Teacher. “Absolute futility. Everything is futile.” 1:2
 
Having been a girl that thought someone “liked” her, and then found out he was just trying to convert me…please be cautious.

You are dealing with a real person’s heart and soul here. Very intimate ground indeed.

Shaking a person’s belief system is not something to be done lightly at any time,but even more so at certain times in a person’s life. To place doubts, and not have the skills or ability to counsel the person to another safe haven can leave a person spiritually wounded and stranded in a profound way.

Since you refer to her as a girl, I am guessing you are young as well. I have met many good hearted zealous young men who meant to do much good by converting others, but lacking the skills, life experience, and a certain level of personal compassion raised much personal mayhem, and little spiritual growth in those they sought to help.

There are many gentle, non threatening ways to have discussions concerning faith, that can open doors without harm. One must be as willing to listen and consider the other person’s beliefs. To really understand that they are dear and precious to the other person. Not to start trampling that which has sustained the other up until now.

Please tread gently, I still very much remember the cheap, cheated feeling when I found out that I was not a precious human, a temple of the holy spirit to that young man, but just a notch on his “convert” bible cover.

cheddar
 
Montie Claunch:
I was wondering about two things.
One, What do I say to SDAs about hell? They don’t baleive that hell exists (more accuratly that it is a temporary thing and that all in hell will be burned up and that the smoke will go up forever).
Second, I have posted a quite a few threads about the SDA girl I like. I am going to be aprroaching her, whith the help of God, about trying to convert her. I would really perfer not to go and end up looking like a blithering idiot. Does anyone know of any good books or articales or something that deals with this? Please I would really need something that not only address the scripturallity (and Tradition) of the Catholic Church position but, also the intriacsy (sp?) of their theology. Thank you so much (with a cherry and whatever else you want on top) and God bless.
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I would say that you shouldn’t “try to convert her.” Don’t look at it as a competition. Every person who converts to RCC must do it on their own free will. Here’s how I am approaching my Lutheran grilfriend (no fiance yet because of the regilion thing :o )
  1. Most importantly, DO NOT trivialize, invalidatin, or ridicule her believes. She only sees these as an attack.
  2. (Here’s where I often go wrong) Don’t constantly try to jump straight into apologetics and theology. I do this and go way over her head and she gets confused. Try to keep things simple, but make sure that any misconceptions she has about our dogma are corrected.
  3. Make sure she understands why you must remain Catholic no matter what. I always try to say, "It’s not that I won’t leave the Church, it’s that I can’t leave the Church. It helps if she can understand what the Church mean to you, maybe she’ll start to see a little more positive points.
  4. Finally, pray! pray! pray! But, remember that for her to convert, she must do it on her own free will. Don’t ask the Lord to “convert her” because He just won’t do it. Pray for the Holy Spirit to give her the guidance she needs to see the truth and when she sees the truth, conversion will just be a formality.
You’re in my prayers, man, as I said I’m going through something similar. Isn’t it funny how an almost perfect relationship can hit a roadblock on a few theological matters?
 
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cheddarsox:
Having been a girl that thought someone “liked” her, and then found out he was just trying to convert me…please be cautious.
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I don’t “like” her. I like her (without the quotationmarks around it). I am not saying I like her to convert her I am trying to convert her because I like her. :mad:
 
Montie Claunch:
I don’t “like” her. I like her (without the quotationmarks around it). I am not saying I like her to convert her I am trying to convert her because I like her. :mad:
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So basically if you didnt like her you woulnd try to convert her to the true faith.
 
Just be careful and pray to the Holy Spirit before talking to her. I’ve had one experience with an SDA and it wasn’t pleasant. Before this guy knew I was Catholic he was blaming the Catholic church for the persecution of the pilgrims that led to them leaving England. After he found out I was Catholic and defended the Church, it just got worse. From what I can tell from speaking to another friend (not a Catholic), there is a lot of anti-catholic sentiments in their beliefs.
 
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