You Are Good, and You’re Not Going to Hell
Submitted by Marty McDonald
Most of my religious fear, bitterness, and resentments are behind me now. I’ve learned a lot from that and want to help others who need it.
The #1 way I want to help is to tell as many people as possible this one simple thing, the thing I wish I had heard while growing up: “If you have religious guilt, fear, or shame, don’t worry. You are good just the way you are. You’re not going to Hell.”
Religious guilt, fear, and shame are awful. It is not OK to burden anyone with it. But I was burdened with it while growing up. It really messes a person up. Fortunately, I recovered.
If you experience these things, it could be because you’ve been told these or similar words: “You’re not good enough. On your own, your life will spiral downwards, and you will go to Hell”.
Those words strike at the very heart of a person. Some people can shrug those words off. But other people (like me when I was a kid) take such words to heart and are devastated by them.
If you have guilt, fear, and shame, you’re more likely to think you are “bad”. And if you think you are “bad”, here’s what can happen:
- You might join a religion that promises forgiveness. You’ll be afraid to leave that religion.
