Christianity should be synonymous with love. After all, Christian means Christ-like. Who, more than Jesus Christ, embodies the message of God's love for humanity? In John 3:16, Jesus proclaims the words so often quoted: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
Because God loved the world, He gave us Jesus. As followers of Jesus, we should be like Him and embody God's love for humanity. More often than should be, Christianity is synonymous with judgment or exclusivity or hatred or a "holier than thou" mindset. These things are antonyms rather than synonyms of love. This must change, and it must change now lest the Church fail in the calling to share the good news about God's love as evidenced by sending Jesus to us.
How can a message telling people that they are going to hell be good news? I don't recall Jesus ever telling his disciples to tell people they were going to hell. Please send me chapter and verse if I simply missed this during the hundred or so times I've read the Gospels. While we are at it, it would behoove us not only to share the good news to a suffering world, but to live the good news of God's love by reaching out to those who need to experience it most.
