The Narrow(minded) Gate

I have been told that I was gonna go to Hell. Many times, in fact. I was only 5 years old the first time I was told that.
"Accept Jesus into your heart," they told me, "Or else god will send you to Hell where you'll be burned alive, forever!"
"That's how much God loves you!" I'm paraphrasing that last bit, but you get the drift.
Even though I was raised as a Christian, I've always found its basic tennets to be somewhat contradictory. As I grew older, I became less and less able to reconcile the message of Jesus with the practice of the Christian faith. More than any other faith or spiritual practice I have encountered, Christianity (at large) seems to embrace ignorance as both a virtue and as a suitable foundation upon which to build faith.
In the many times I've been approached by a Christian attempting to save my soul, not once has anyone been able to offer any explaination of Christian cosmology. They start strong with tales from the Bible, though few of them even seem to truly understand there message. Barely skimming the surface of these tales, they offer them as moral fables. Having about the same insight as a child in sunday school class, they pause expectantly at the end of their recital as if certain such compelling evidence is more than enough to leave you convinced.
However, those Jesus-bunnies are a persistent bunch. Should you fail to take the scriptural carrots offered as bait, they won't hesitate to crack you over the head with the trusty old Hell stick. They speak of God as love, but they are quick to pull you aside and tell you to just shut up, smile and drink the ******* kool-aid. Jesus is due any minute and rumor has it he's pissed!
The last time someone told me with all seriousness that I was going to hell only served to remind me why I split from that whole scenne in the first place. I was minding my own business, when a man approached me and struck up a conversation. Pleasantries dispenced with, he asked me if God had a place in my life. Now, this wasn't my first rodeo, so I knew where this was inevitably headed. "Yes," I told him, I commune with God in my own personal way." Not one to be so easily deterred, he continued pressing the point until he asked outright if I believed that Jesus Christ was the son of God and that only through him, etc.
Making every effort to remain honest without offending him. I said that I believe we are all the children of God and that there are many paths to slavation. As he turned to walk away, he replied, with a condescending smile of pity, "Well that's too bad. You seem like a really nice person and I'm sorry to tell you that you're going to Hell."
Jesus said, "the gate is narrow and the road is shut that leads to life, and only a few shall find it." Sadly, I'm forced to agree with Him. It seems that the path to Hell is wide, indeed, and every step along the way is paved with debatably good intentions.