Hypothetical question: If you were god...?

Question

For the purposes of this question, assume that by being god you are "An entity that is for all intents and purposes omnipotent and omniscient." Your motivations and desires are still your own mind, but you possess power of all creation, and let's just say you're responsible for the creation of the universe. You can know as much or as little about current faiths as you want to answer this question. So, this being said:

Would you send people to hell FOREVER for not believing in you? What about if they were child molesters or murderers? How loving of a god would you be? Can you think of any solutions that would be as loving or more loving than a god that sends people to hell for all eternity?

Serious question: How loving or vindictful of a deity would you be?

And none of this "They send themselves to hell" thing. You created the rule that if they do X they go to hell, it's your doing. As an omnipotent entity, by not PREVENTING them from going to hell, you are sending them to hell. Omnipotence is crazy like that.

Answer 1

First of all, we humans of extremely low intelligence have no reference or ability to judge the acts of God whose intelligence is infinite. You may think that this is a cop out but it isn't. I am intelligent enough to know the serious limits of the human mind,
language, logic, and conceptions.

Second; God doesn't want any one to go to hell. He sent Moses,
the Prophets, and His Son Jesus to tell us how to live lovingly with others, how to go to Heaven, and how to avoid hell. The Holy Spirit inspired the writers of the Bible to record these teachings and He sent His Son Jesus to die on the Cross to atone for our sins. If a person refuses all of that, you really can't blame God if that person goes to hell.

Because God's nature is love he had to give his human creatures
the ability to choose to love Him or not. Love that is not freely given is not love. Robots cannot love their designer. To love God is to obey His Commandments. Love is not a feeling; love is a decision, to do what is in the best interests of the other.

Answer 2

I was actually discussing this with a friend the other day. Through the discussion, we both decided that reincarnation with an end result of heaven for those who had grown far enough spiritually was the best possible way to handle an afterlife. It would keep all bad people out of 'heaven' yet still allow those who are bad as many chances as they need to get everything figured out.

If I were god, I would also make sure to make myself known to anyone who was sincerely searching, wouldn't have created disease, and would do something to limit the effect of bad people on good people (not sure what, but I would know how if I were omnipotent and omniscient).

Answer 3

Well first of all, I would not care if people believed in my or not. I am all powerful, why would I care that beings that are less than ants to me would believe I existed? It makes no logical sense. I would pride logic over blind faith, those that are child molesters or murders are mentally flawed in some way, they would be repaired and sent back to Earth to give life another try. I would not interfere in the lives of anyone while they live on Earth, it would be their responsibility make a life for them selves. There would be no hell, there is nothing that you could do in the 80 or 90 years of your life that could possibly warrant an eternity of damnation. Those that did not believe would believe when they died, I would not fault them for the superstitious nonsense that people made so unbelievable. The one thing I might intervene on is that stupid Bible, I would not allow such contradicting non-sense to be created in my name, and I would punish those that did create it with another trip to Earth to live life all over again. Everyone would live life over and over again in different classes of life till they all knew what it was like to walk in another's shoes. Then when everyone knows what it is like to be in everyone shoes, and the are perfect and do not need to be reincarnated on Earth anymore, I would give everyone their own reality where they can create their own universe so they would know what it is like to be me.

Answer 4

That is something about the concept of hell I never got (or believed in, for that matter). No, I, being much less caring and compassionate than this "God" is said to be, would never send anyone to hell for all of eternity, no matter what they did. NO action, or combination of actions, is EVER bad enough to justify an eternity of suffering. Of any magnitude. I would be a kind and understanding God.

Not only that, I would make it perfectly clear to everyone in the universe that I existed, what I am, and what I want from them. I'm not about to leave them to go on only what I allegedly said to people who believed the Earth was flat, thousands of years ago.

But I believe that if God does exist, what most people believe about him is far from accurate. And if he exists, I can't very well criticize him, he (or it, which would make more sense) knows and understands what's going on, and what needs to be done, much better than I ever could.

Answer 5

How can a human comprehend what it is to be "An entity that is for all intents and purposes omnipotent and omniscient?" I don't think a human can.
To answer your real question (if there is a loving God, how can he send people to hell), you must understand that God is infinite and holy, and therefore infinitely holy.
The just punishment for damaging or desecrating something of little import is a punishment of little import.
God is of infinite Import and holiness, and therefore any offence against him deserves infinite punishment. This is where God's mercy and love come in; where he gives us a second chance instead of sending us straight to hell for an infinite duration (eternity).
Because God is infinite, we can never comprehend him, but if we understand this truth, we can come to see him a little more clearly.
P.S: Elphaba, I think the secondary, temporary hell you are referring to is pretty close to what we Catholics call purgatory, so I agree with the concept. Thumbs up from me.

Answer 6

Would you send people to hell FOREVER for not believing in you? absolutely, because i informed them of who i was from the very beginning and all i asked was that they put no other god above me....I am totally righteous and hate sin and know that they will not be able to resist sinning since I gave them a will, but I did, after all send my son to live the perfect sinless life and die in their place so they can still have eternal life if only they will accept that He did this for them....I gave them a great tool, the Bible for instructions on living their lives peacably and with as little sin as possible so they and I can have a personal relationship....Prior to sending my Son, my children were "saved" based on their faith in the coming of my Son.
What about if they were child molesters or murderers? I am faithful to forgive them if they repent in ernest.
How loving of a god would you be? I would be forgiving/merciful and full of grace and whatever adversity happens in satan's world to them, if they will maintain a relationship with me, I will give them strength, courage, and peace while facing it.
Can you think of any solutions that would be as loving or more loving than a god that sends people to hell for all eternity?I gave them every chance in the world, I was clear about my ground rules...they made their bad choices and didn't accept my redemption [i.e. my Son]....they laughed at the fact about hell while they were alive....they get what they deserve.

Answer 7

I wouldn't make a hell , its too cruel. No one should be punished with eternal torment for just mortal life of "sin". I hate that word. Its not just , or loving . As for people who were really bad , I would give them a second chance at a life on earth . Good people could go to "heaven" or what ever .

Answer 8

I would give several chances for people to stop the wicked things they were doing (repent), but if I could see into people's hearts and minds and all I saw in some was evil, I would destroy them. If I saw good in them, I would send people that loved me into their lives to help them increase their good, because the only true goodness and purity would come from me, hypothetically. I would do much like God is doing, pluck the weeds and keep the fruitful. Keep the sheep, kill the wolves. It just makes sense.

Answer 9

i think i would be loving. Except when it came to child molesters, rapists and murderers - it's straight to hell for them. Everyone else - forgive their sins - and if they didn't believe in me - i'd make them watch political speeches from history for all eternity. LOL just kidding! Nothing beyond the above 3 mentioned atrocities would be unforgivable.

Answer 10

No, nor would I allow my creations to go to hell for all eternity either.

If G-d is the nature of goodness and only wants good for us. Their is no way eternal damnation could exist. Period