Is the good samaritan in hell?

[thedozerator]

Or what?

[eliz553]

Most Christians consider the story of the good Samaritan a parable... an illustrative story. Not real live people with eternal souls.

As a parable Jesus told, we are meant to learn something from it.

One guy's interpretation of this one:
http://www.rc.net/wcc/parabl13.htm
When you encounter others in trouble, especially with people you want to avoid, how do you respond? Jesus posed such a scenario to the religious experts of his day. He contrasted the attitudes of three bystanders to the scene of a bloody victim beaten half-dead. Why did the religious leaders refuse help while an outsider, a Samaritan who was despised by the Jews, came to the rescue? Who showed true compassion and mercy? Jesus makes the supposed villain, the despised Samaritan, the merciful one as an example for the status conscious Jews. Why didn't the priest and Levite stop to help? The priest probably didn't want to risk the possibility of ritual impurity. His piety got in the way of charity. The Levite approached close to the victim, but stopped short of actually helping him. Perhaps he feared that bandits might be waiting to ambush him. The Levite put personal safety ahead of saving his neighbor. Are you willing and ready to do good for others, even to those you do not want to associate with?
(pretty decent interpretation, IMHO)

Is that what you are asking?

[GraceandTruth]

Eliz is right. The Good Samaritan narrative is a parable intended to teach a principle. They were not real people.

[liljenn87]

Wasnt lazurus and the rich man a parable also? And if so if they werent real people does that mean hell isnt real?

[KnaverAbounds]

Psssh, of course the good Samaritan went to hell because he didn't accept Jesus Christ as his lord and savior, it doesn't matter if you're a good person, you just have to be Christian to get into heaven, haven't you learned anything here?

[GraceandTruth]

The narrative of Lazarus and the Rich Man were not a parable because the Lord utilized proper names. Parables are illustrations utilized to teach a lesson and proper names are not utilized in them.

I don't know about all that Knaverabounds. It would be pretty hard to be a Christian without the fruit of the Spirit and one of those elements is goodness.

[KnaverAbounds]

So you don't know any Christians that you'd rather not associate with? I've been told time and time again on this forum that the only way to go to heaven is to declare your faith in Christianity and declaring Jesus Christ your lord and savior. Nothing in there about being "good."

For more information, please check out XFRODOBAGGINSX's topic "How to Get Into Heaven When You Die"

Again, it's not your deeds, it's your faith.

Of course, this is all hypothetical, because Religion, like gargoyles, are an ineffectual solution to a nonexistant problem.

[onefaith]

Is the good samaritan in hell? Or what?

I have learned that no matter what you call yourself, if you make the wrong choices in this life it can land you in hell.
Many a man has looked up from the bottom wondering how they could have been so dumb. Your bad choices can send your family to hell also, and many innocent children are living in hell this morning for no fault of their own.

Of course I’m not talking about the place of eternal torment, but the hell that is real and can be seen if you look around at this world.
Hell is an awful place to find yourself, and taking good advice that can keep you out of hell is wise.
My heart aches for those people I see who find themselves in hell this morning, and especially for those who have done nothing wrong but to be born in this world.

Our choices are so important and not only for us, but for everyone our lives will influence.
By doing the right things and seeing the results that comes from it, our choices could spare multitudes of people from the experience of the hell that would have been a consequence of the bad choices we could have made.

Think about it.



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[onefaith]

Is the good samaritan in hell? Or what?

Continuing;

Sometimes the people you least expect go beyond the norm and do amazing things to relieve the suffering of those who find themselves in trouble. Hell in this world is a place of trouble that we have a hard time getting out of without some help.

So even though the Jewish man may have hated the Samaritan in normal circumstances, he benefited from the goodness of the very man he himself may have despised.

And we can all make good choices that make this world a better place if we will choose to see the needs of others. It is the right thing to do.

I would say the good Samaritan lived a life that kept him and his family out of hell.
It was a parable but I see a good lesson that we all need to learn.


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[Annette]

So you don't know any Christians that you'd rather not associate with? I've been told time and time again on this forum that the only way to go to heaven is to declare your faith in Christianity and declaring Jesus Christ your lord and savior. Nothing in there about being "good."



Again, it's not your deeds, it's your faith.

" But someone will say, 'You have faith, and I have works.' Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. "
James 2:18