If god unconditionally loves man why do people go to hell?

Question

It seems very odd that God is said to be an all loving and compassionate being that loves everyone. But if you don't love/worship/believe in him you are cast in to hell. That sounds like a jealous angry god to me... That sounds like a god that punishes people for not inflating his ego. Any rational explanations? (please avoid repeating trite comments you've heard from church or your parents or friends. I'd like some actual thought to go into the answers).

And if god is truly a jealous god wouldn't that make him guilty of sin because jealousy/envy/coveting etc... is listed as being a sin multiple times in the bible.

Please please try to put some thought into your answer. When you give a one sentance answer or a bible quotation it just validates the steriotype that you're just a blind sheep following everyone else instead of thinking for yourself.

Answer 1

You just quoted my mother! She's a very Christian person, but she believes that her God would never turn anyone away from heaven if he truly loved them. So, essentially she believes only very, very few souls go to hell - if any at all.

This also something that I questioned for a long time. It's one of the reasons I turned from Christianity. I don't like jealousy in my life.

Answer 2

Hello!! :o) Probably the biggest struggle that I have always had with my Christian faith IS the concept of Hell. Like you - I think it's UNreasonable to punish a person [FOREVER - at least] for an infraction that may have only taken a second or two to commit. And still just as unreasonable [and unfair] if the 'sin' continued on for a PERSONS lifetime. [meaning 70 or so years] To punish someone forever serves absolutely no purpose and makes GOD the ultimate 'revenge monster'. This is why I have looked into this extensively over the years. I now believe [or should I say - I'm 90% sure] that 'Hell' [as we have been lead to believe] is NOT a place of never-ending torment. 'Hell' is actually a holding place - if you will - for the 'unsaved' until 'Judgment Day'. If you are 'saved' - you go to heaven. If you are unsaved you are thrown into what it known as the 'Lake of Fire' - where you will be ANNIHILATED. [As in - exist no more] How long it takes for one to BE annihilated is anyone's guess. But I would think that Hitler will take longer to 'exist no more' than someones unsaved, yet very nice Aunt Elsie. [If you know what I mean] That said... I don't think that God does love 'unconditionally'. At least not in the sense that WE often think that word means. God loves us - but where WE end up depends upon whether or not WE love GOD. It is God's desire [So we are told in the Bible] that NO ONE should perish. [i.e. 'Be thrown into the lake of fire'] The scariest thing to accept is that WE decide OUR 'after-life'. Have a great day!! Craig!! :o)

Answer 3

This is a great question.
Ok, here you go. To understand you must know what hell is.
You are right God is loving and compassionate, so would he cast you to a hell of fire and brimstone just because you did have the faith or the opportunities to love/worship/believe in him? What about people who never heard of God? What about them? Would God be just or fair to send them to Hell? No of course not. God is fair and loving. So there is a way for those who did not have a chance to have that chance.
But then they will still fall short. God knows we are not perfect of course we are going to fall short. Can anyone love and serve god enough? No. But he still loves us. That's why he provided a Savior/Mediator.
Every person who has ever lived will be reunited with a new body. And all will received some level of glory.
Those who have had a chance and are faithful will have the highest degree of glory.
Most of this knowledge was lost. But it's clear as day in the bible. (1st Corinthians 15:40-43 )
False ideas have crept into many teaching. For example infant baptism; how could a loving God ever send an innocent child to hell based on the fact that someone didn't sprinkle water on it's head? Not the God I know.
Many false ideas like this not only confuse believers to deny their reasoning with so-called "faith", but also make their faith easy targets for anyone who can reason.
So then, hell would be not living with God or not receiving the highest degree of glory. The fire and brimstone is for Satan and a few others.

Answer 4

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It's all a crock. Many decades ago the Catholics said that it was a Mortal Sin for eating meat on Friday Imagine that, your bowling Friday night and you have a slice of pepperoni pizza and Wham! You have the suffering and torment of hell for eternity because you didn't confess that sin before you died. Then one day the Catholics said,that it's no longer a Mortal Sin for eating meat on Friday and you don't go to Hell. And I said, "Wait a minute, what about the millions who burned their butts off and the torment? and your just going to say, "Never Mind". But they don't want to talk about it. God did not create man but ancient ignorant man who created God and man also created Hell.

Answer 5

A person needs to ask for forgiveness,believe that God sent his son to die on the cross for our sins "those of us who believe" and except the Lord into our hearts.God does not have an EGO,nor is he jealous.Hell is the price people pay for not believing in him,his son,the fact that he gave his only son to die for our sins to be forgiven,and ask that we have the faith of a mustard seed.It really is simple and easy to do but people need to do it in love and all honesty.Faith is believing that God can and he will.Faith is also believing in what we can't see with our eyes but knowing he is real.

Answer 6

Those that say God has unconditional love are out to lunch! The conditions start right at Gen.2:15 And Jehovah God proceeded to take the man and settle him in the garden of E´den to cultivate it and to take care of it. 16 And Jehovah God also laid this command upon the man: “From every tree of the garden you may eat to satisfaction. 17 But as for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad you must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will positively die."
Andcontinue right on up to Jesus, Mt. 24:13 "But he that has endured to the end is the one that will be saved."
John 10:9 "I am the door; whoever enters through me will be saved, and he will go in and out and find pasturage."
If these, and the many others like these are not 'conditions', I will eat my hat!

Answer 7

God is an observer. Everything that we experience is by our own choosing. In a culture that is full of "If you do that you are going to hell", and you experience that everyday, when you die, you will continue to experience life as you came to know it, but in a spiritual form. Hell is nothing but a "mindset".

God doesn't send people to hell because it is not a place...it is just a train of thought.

Answer 8

THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH,WE SERVE AN ORDERLY AND RIGHTEOUS GOD.as:4:1: From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
Jas:4:2: Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
Jas:4:3: Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
Jas:4:4: Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
Jas:4:5: Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
Jas:4:6: But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
Jas:4:7: Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Jas:4:8: Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
Jas:4:9: Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
Jas:4:10: Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
Jas:4:11: Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.
Jas:4:12: There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?
Jas:4:13: Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
Jas:4:14: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
Jas:4:15: For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
Jas:4:16: But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
Jas:4:17: Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

Answer 9

God loves all people unconditionally We have a choice right now who we serve we either God or satan there is no middle ground. because of sin that started in the garden of eden Jesus Christ paid the way in full for us when He died on calvary. He because of taking our place our sin our shame became the way to heaven. He became the bridge so to speak to God. God never sends anyone to hell we choose it by not accepting HIS son. we choose our destiny by what we do.

Answer 10

Hi coxdebate,

First thing you should know the meaning of God, he is nowhere else he is in you, it is you, I dont know your age so i dont know how much you will understand but, God is yourself, no-one says you go to hell if you do not love him\worship him\or even beleive in him. He is you and you are constant (till alive) so he too is constant, it depends on you till when you beleive in his presence, dont go to church but make a child smile and he will be happy, dont worship him and make a blind\aged person cross the road he will be happy, dont pay any offerings and just help someone who is unlnown to you and he will be happy, now try to understand this that he is within you, for the sake of knowledge just do it once and see how you feel the rest of the day. He has no ego because he is you, you have ego so you question him and expect the answers in your favour but he, he never questions you nor does he compell you to pay services to him, make yourself worthy and you will expereince him inside you, worthy not by the riches but by your deeds of honesty and loyalty and kindness. He is in you just try to co-ordinate with him and you will get all the answers, we love our children eventhough they do not know how to pay respect to us or salute us or honour us but still we love them and care for them, its like that only with him he loves us with whatever we are, but when a child is sometimes out of conduct we do punish him eventhough he is our child but at that time for us the priority is the conduct and not the child's injury or his wish, sometimes we have to teach and teaching is not always sweet but the fruits of teaching are, THEY ARE ALWAYS SWEET,

Thanks and Wish you all the best,
May God be with you and Guide you,