I don't know.  Let's put it this way.  Lets say you had a really strong feeling that if someone ate a cheeseburger for lunch today he would die by choking to death.

If he doesn't eat the cheeseburger, you feel better, he hasn't choked to death.  You don't know if he would have but at least he didn't.

Now lets say you warn him, and he eats the cheezeburger anwyay.  You feel bad.  But at least you tried.  So you feel less guilty.

Now lets say you don't warn him, and he eats the cheezeburger anyway.  He's dead... and you feel like a dick for not going with your instincts.

That's pretty much why many christians argue about religion as such.  

Either they convince and convert someone, and either they go to heaven, or just die like the would as non christians.

Don't but try, and can be a little consoled that they tried to save said person from Hell. 

Or feel like a jerk that they didn't do anything, even though they knew for a fact they were headed for eternal torment.

That is the greatest explination ever!!!!!

You get like thousand cool points for that and I only usually hand out in increments of 10.

Actually according to most christian churches, I believe those who never heard the word of god get a free pass so to speak. Just like everyone who died before Jesus died for peoples sins.

It's only the knowingly turning your back on god after hearing the truth thing that's seen as bad. Which really makes you wonder why the expansion of christianity was so important.

I mean if some guy came to me and said "Hey all! You can all be saved and have eternal happieness... and would have been had I not bothered to come here and start this speech!"

I'd kidna want to punch him in the nose.

The more people share your beliefs, the more power you, in turn, hold. This is the benefit of converting people.

See: The Catholic Church from 200 AD - around 1700 AD, see also, The Crusades. A lot of people believed in the christian religion...so many in fact that the church was able to raise an army...

 And that makes you a bad Scientist.  Like it or not.  Good Scientists study things with an open mind.  Not feelings.  They question everything and seek knowledge.  Who, what, were, why?  Not, "My one source says it's true. It must be."

So, it's like being that annoying guy who will walk around to every table in a restaurant and warn everyone in the room that they might choke on a cheeseburger so they feel better if any one of them chokes?  You better get started warning people then.  It's going to be a LONG road to be able to talk to the billions of people in this world and warn them about cheeseburgers.

That's a horrible analogy.   For one, it's based on something tangible.  You can see and hear someone choking.  You base this on experience from the past.  You can't see and hear someone going to heaven.  If you could, you could record it on video and post it on youtube for everyone else to see and hear.

Also, I've been hearing a lot of evidence that religion (organized and personal) is driven by guilt and fear more than happiness and love.  Not a very healthy outlook on life or your so called greater being.  I don't know about you, but I hate being a slave, or a pet who is afraid of getting smacked down by his master for barking or running off.  Also, you're pointing out that it's based on feeling, which again... If you've ever been around women can be completely uncomprehensible.  (...and I don't mean that as an attack toward women, but the fact is, the sexes have a hard time understanding each other because of "feelings")

cdude1034 said:
The more people share your beliefs, the more power you, in turn, hold. This is the benefit of converting people.

See: The Catholic Church from 200 AD - around 1700 AD, see also, The Crusades. A lot of people believed in the christian religion...so many in fact that the church was able to raise an army...

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And that's why it only makes sense as a power pull.  If the church itself states that not knowing is a free pass, then there's really no purpose, need, or desire to push others into going to church.  It's hypocritical bullshit to try to control as many people as they can.  The churches have been in control of the Bible and they could translate and steer it any way they wanted to over the thousands of years it's been around.  Then we have people here quoting it like it's the one true source for all information without doubt.

The gut feeling is based on experience.  He's been around when someone (or himself) choked on something before.