"What do YOU think happens when we die?" inquired the child.
"They've taught us at sunday school" he continued "that when we die, our souls depart from our body and go to heaven"..
"What do you think?" replied the older man seated next to him.
"Well" began the boy, "I'd like to think that's true. Teacher tells me heaven is a nice place filled with all the people who have been nice here on earth"
"Nice on earth?" questioned the older gentleman suddenly intrigued.
"Yes" said the boy after much thought. "If we're nice, we're sent to heaven"
"Did she tell you what heaven is like?"
"Yes" said the boy. "She said heaven was filled with wonderful things and is a place that fulfills your every want by you just thinking it"
The old man pondered over this information for a minute. "What happens if you're bad then?"
"Well, I guess you'd then be sent to hell, where you spend all eternity"
"So" replied the old man, "If I understand you correctly, If I am bad in this life, I'll spend an eternity in a torturous place"
"Yes" replied the boy with certainty.
"And who may I ask judges if Ive been good or bad? God?"
"Well teachers told me that at the gates of heaven sits Saint Peter with a log of our good and bad actions. And if the bad ones outweigh the good, we're sent to hell"
"I see" "So people who steal, kill are sent to hell?"
"Yes and so are the people who lie, do not maintain sunday as a holy day and even people who dishonor their parents, there's a set of rules in the bible, it is called the ten commandments, i just learned them a month ago" said the boy proudly.
"You're quite smart" said the old man. "If you know the rules, its easy not to break them isn't it?" "By the way" he said "have you read the new Testament of the bible?
"Not yet, teacher says we have to understand the old fully before moving onto the new"
"well" said the old man "the new testament is very interesting, it says that Jesus, who was the son of god, loves sinners"
"What? really? does it really say that?"
"yes, he loves sinners because it is them who can repent and go to heaven. He even died for the sins of mankind"
"Died for, um, our sins?"
"Yes. He died and thereby forgave the sins of all mankind"
"So people from hell were able to go to heaven?"
"well no, its not that easy. Let me just say, their sins were forgiven"
"By whom?" questioned the boy..
"well, by God" replied the man.
"What about the people who were sinned against? people who lost family because of murders and people whose things were stolen? don't they have to forgive the sinners too?"
"Well yea" said the old man thoughtfully.
"So Jesus died, to forgive the sins of people, committed against other people who haven't really forgiven them and the sinners couldn't even make it to heaven?"
"well, when you put it that way, I guess you could say that"
"Ok" replied the boy not really satisfied with all that he had learned.
"What about hell then?" questioned the boy after much thought. "If we're forgiven for all our sins and jesus loves sinners, who goes to hell?
"Its complicated" said the old man. "First off, people who do not believe in our god go to hell, but you already know that"
"Just for not believing in god?"
"Yes, well, God punishes all non believers"
"But people who sin and kill others, if they repent, I mean, teacher says, if we repent and feel sorry for our sins, we'll go to heaven"
"Yes" said the old man. "Repentance is the way to heaven"
"So" replied the boy, "I can kill a person, repent and go to heaven, but if I live as a nice person, only, don't believe in god, I go to hell?"
"That's what the Bible says" replied the man
"Ok" replied the boy again, this time unhappy with the realizations dawning on him.
To be continued....
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