doesnt eternal punishment seem a little harsh?

Question

god is eternaly forgiving. i get that. and i get punishing us, but whats the point of punishment if its eternal? there are usually three reasons to lock someone up: revenge, to keep them away from society, or to make them learn their lesson. none of these apply here. and mainworry, for once i'd like to know your opinion. you'd probably give it to me anyways...
and, also, if god is forgiving, shouldnt he not torture us with unimaginable pain eternally?
plus, if god is all powerful, why are there floods and stuff? i mean ive already heard he is testing us, and that its not gods job to intervene with the test of life and crap, but its still painful. and anyone with a concience shouldn't be able to sit and watch while millions of people die, suffer, are tortured. MY theory is that hes either all powerful, or merciful, but definately not both

mainworry is probably not answering to piss me off... oh and hey! antichrist! i like that... thanks, man. oh and btw im actually agnostic i just really want to know what religious people strive for to devote their hole life to some old white dude...

Answer 1

Damnation isn't eternal punishment; it's simply the eternal consequence of making the wrong choice here on earth. Do you want God to be merciful to you? Accept His free gift of salvation in Christ Jesus. He's offering you the greatest mercy imaginable. If you choose to reject Him, you can't complain that He's being unmerciful. You will have no one to blame but yourself.

BTW, God doesn't need a conscience. He doesn't sin.

Answer 2

Yes, it does, and unnecessary. It is also unbiblical. The punish-ment lasts forever-in other words, is permanent in its results. The punish-ing is not eternal.
God takes no delight in pain and suffering. That is why the world as we know it will soon come to an end. A better world awaits us and there'll be no Satan to tempt, no desire by anyone to see all that is wrong with this world be repeated. The Cross changed everything. Sin demands justice to stamp it out, yet God would not have us to be lost because of it. On the Cross Jesus displayed justice and mercy at the same time.
Regarding the initial question: The Bible speaks of the wicked being burned up. An "unquenchable" fire is like the one at the Twin Towers on 9-11. That terminology was used then, but the towers are not still burning. It's just that noone could put the fire out and the results were permanent. There are so many Bible texts I'd like to share with you that tell the truth about "hell". Please msg. me for more info. Peace. Buttercup

Answer 3

Perhaps you need to look at things regarding eternal punishment from His perspective, after all it is He who is going to do the punishing and rewarding. Consider first that He is an eternal being, everything He does is without beginning or end. To think that He could temporize something is thinking outside His box, so to speak. Where would He draw the line? 10 days, 10million years, 10 trillion? And why there? Perhaps a better way to look at it is consider to Whom the offense is directed. If I, for example, hit you without provocation, you would no doubt press charges and I would be tried in court for misdemeanor assault charges and be found guilty and ordered to pay a small fine and possibly do some community service; if one the other hand I hit President Bush, with the same intensity, I would expect to face some serious time in jail, a huge monetary fine and the scorn of fellow citizens. (not all) What is the difference? The person violated. Take that to the extreme with the person of God. We slap Him in the face with our every sin and the eternal punishment in hell does indeed fit the crime or rather is appropriate considering the One we committed the crime against.

Answer 4

I obviously can not speak for God, because none of us have anything near His ultimate wisdom. However, I will give my understanding. I am a Muslim by the way.

Great thinking. You have good logic. I believe the concept missing in your argument, however, is not considering the other side. God tells us He created us for no other reason but to worship Him. If we do this as He told us, He gives us a reward which is unimaginable -- an eternity of something much, much better than this world could ever offer. Why do we get this gift? For what? He created us and He offers us a perfect reward for eternity just for obeying Him for maybe 70-80 years on average? Is this not merciful? Is this not compassionate? Is this not giving? All we do is obey him for a little bit -- a speck of dust in the scheme of time -- and we get a reward which lasts forever? Surely if we get this reward for obeying Him there must be a punishment for not obeying Him. This is the eternal punishment.

(Interestingly, however, according to my Islamic understanding there are actually levels of Hell which one may be permitted to leave when God deems that the person has fulfilled his punishment.)

At any rate, back to your questions. You say there are three reasons to lock someone up and that none apply here. I would tend to agree, although I'm sure there are other reasons which we can't think of without more thought. But God knows the hearts and the souls He created. He knows how to put love, as well as fear, into our hearts. The consequence of eternal punishment should make us fearful in order that we obey Him. We have a life to search for the truth. We have ample opportunity to find our Creator and obey Him. If we don't He punishes us. We don't have the wisdom of our Creator to fully understand His purposes. But, I'm a believer that if a person searches for God, God will bring that person closer to Him. What I mean is that God knows who purposely rejected Him, out of ignorance and laziness. He is the ultimate judge and nothing is more forgiving and fair. He tells us He is the fairest and we must trust Him that He will not punish someone without due purpose. At the same time, we are promised a reward for what we do good, and God says He keeps His promises to His creation.

Regarding your questions about floods and bad things that happen to people. According to Islam, everything that happens to someone that is bad is either a test (as you have mentioned) or an erasing of sins. God, along with the teachings of Muhammad, teaches us that for most human beings (other than the prophets such as Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad who are mostly in a state of purity) our sins are erased through trials and tribulations. This is actually a mercy from God. People who go through bad things (floods, tsunamis, earthquakes) are getting their sins erased for God states that a believer who gets so much as a prick from a rose thorn gets sins erased for it. Any anxiety, fatigue, illness, hardship, etc. that a believer has erases his/her sins. God says He does this out of mercy, for it is better to be have punishment now and have yourself get closer to purity than to be punished on the Day of Judgment when it is too late and your eternal punishment will be waiting. God says He doesn't put burden on a person more than He can bear, for that is not fair since He created us and knows our weaknesses. God is the best judge and no one goes through a hardship without getting a benefit from it (now or later in the Hereafter -- later being better). So, while non-believers see these things as being something bad from God, Muslims see this as either 1) a test to see how you react, in which case you will be rewarded if you are patient and forebearing or 2) a punishment in this life which is a mercy because if you're punished in this life for it, it means you will have less sins on the Day of Judgment and you won't be punished for it twice.

So, God is both merciful and powerful.

Answer 5

God is eternally forgiving; but whether He forgives or not is up to you. He won't forgive you unless you've realized what you've done and asked for forgiveness. "Ask and you will receive". God asks basically one thing: that you love Him with all your strength, mind, and heart. If you follow Him you will get to Heaven. But there is not only His road. There is also Satan's. If you choose to follow Satan's road, thats your deal, not Gods, and that road leads to Hell. God can't stop you if you aren't willing to be stopped. Either you go down His road, or Satan's road, and He makes sure you are aware of the outcome of each. So being in Hell is not God's problem.
Floods and stuff are part of the earth, part of our life. Death is part of life. We are not to question His intents, but to obey His commands. Why would He let us live in a perfect world when half the population doesn't even think He exists? Tragedies tend to bring people closer to God. Something bad happens and all of a sudden everybody, even those who speak against Him, are crying out to God. If God never intervened in our lives, we would all be set for Hell. We need His mercy, peace, forgiveness, and love. We shouldnt be sitting and watching, but we shouldn't be dwelling in the past. God gave us each a mission in life, and its our job to accomplish it. He is merciful and all powerful, and is waiting with open arms to anybody who will accept Him.

Answer 6

Personally I don't believe in God and I don't need a God. I have everything that I need and I am very happy. Religions are belief systems originated to control and subjugate the less informed masses through fear. Fear of persecution, damnation, purgatory, death and a whole swath of frighteners to keep the people in line. I think that religions are false and a lie and have caused much suffering and death through the ages. God is just a fairy tale to give the lie a persona and to explain the unexplainable. Jules, lecturer. Australia.

Answer 7

God doesnt want to punish us. But he makes us decide on Earth who we love more. Satan or God. Those in Hell chose Satan and got all the baggage with it.
Also think about this, lets say you had a three year old daughter, a man killed her ok. Now the man was being tried for murder but the judge said you know what I love this man so even if its not justice im going to let this man free. You would think it wrong coorect. God mixes Justice and Love perfectly. even those in Hell, he continues to love.

Answer 8

Why would a God give us free will only to punish us?
What 1-time act would validate eternal punishment?

The only logical answer to these type of questions is found in a book below that explains it quite brilliantly and makes so much sense.

WHAT IF LIFE WERE ABOUT DISCOVERING WHO YOU ARE BY EXPERIENCING WHAT YOU'RE NOT INORDER TO EXPERIENCE 'YOU' AS A BEING? EXPERIENCE IS BEYOND SIMPLY KNOWING...READ THIS BOOK.

Answer 9

Unfortunately, you'd better brace yourself for the long list of "God does it because he loves us" replies. Many Christians don't fully buy into the eternal punishment thing. After all, it was concept only added to JudeoChristian teaching after the Greeks (who already held lonstanding concepts of Hell/Hades) became involved.

Answer 10

yes very harsh, but so was Jesus' death on the Cross so take heed. Its your choice Jesus or Hell. Take your theory and dump it, Its not worth a trip to hell, you will not change God's mind with your theory. Its His way or no way.

here's His plan you can not change it:

1. You sinned and deserve hell

2. God provides you with forgivenes through Jesus

3. You confess your sin to God

4. Believe that God will save you

5 You live your life according to His will.

6 You go to heaven and not hell