According to many God gave human beings free will. So, given that, some people exercise that and consciously choose not to believe he exists. So then, it is said that those people will be judged by God and will not make it to heaven, will be in the lake of fire, etc..
How is it logical for a deity to give something for someone to use and then punish them for using it?
2006-09-16 05:13:13 · 13 answers · asked by genaddt 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
It's not logical. Christianity was made up by men, just like every other religion. And men are fallible, so the religion is fallible. Imagine you are a parent and you give your child something, like a toy or a crayon or something. And then when they USE this thing you gave him/her, would you really punish your child with eternal damnation in a lake of fire? Of course not, because you love your child. This "God" is not a loving God if that's the attitude "he" is going to have. If we're going to be punished forever for not believing in him, he could at least present himself to us and prove he exists. Because if he doesn't he sure is being a poor sport. Blessed be.
2006-09-16 05:26:24 · answer #1 · answered by Maria Isabel 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Well I do not believe God is a punishing God. Society, religious beliefs have led us to believe that. It boils down to cause and effect. Though we are not aware of it, any negative behaviour- even it if seems very minor - brings destructive forces into play. When we speak in an uncivil or rude manner, whenever we cheat, lie, steal, insult or harm other people, we create a force of judgement. These negative forces are the unseen cause behind all the things that just happen to go wrong in our lives. It may take minutes, months, or even years but eventually we must confront the consequences of our reactive deeds. Judgement befalls us to the degree that we inflict judgement upon other people. Life, therefore is cleverly arranged so that we constantly meet and befriend people who commit errors and sins similar to our own. When we judge them, our own fate is sealed at that very moment. It is not God who judges, it is the ego.
2006-09-16 13:00:49 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Let us examine "instinct" with this same criterion ...
In the hypothalamus can be found primal drives we share with amoebas, microbes ... all life ... The drive to feed ... the drive to preserve(fight/flight) ... the drive to procreate ...
They are the classic Greed, Lust and Anger ... I have bothered above to cite their biological basis within us ... likewise they are more or less the "thorn of flesh" that St. Paul told us the spirit should be at war with ...
I would postulate ... our "free will" more or less determines whether we integrate this gift of life ... For no living species would survive without these drives ... or whether we have imbalances such as 1) we wage a war upon them that is irrational that results in repression and irrational inordinate outbursts (zealous aesceticism) ... 2) The other extreme being utter selfish hedonism like a Caligula ...
In final... it is not logical or rational in any context for a Supreme Being to give us something to punish us with ...
2006-09-17 02:52:52 · answer #3 · answered by gmonkai 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God does not punish you for free will, he punishes you for what you do with that free will. No one is sent to hell for their beliefs, they are sent because of their moral crimes. Free will was given so that we might make choices, such as eat any tree in the garden except that one, they had a host of decisions that they could freely make within the boundaries God had set up, and they then went outside of that. Our ability to make choices is one of our defining characteristics, but is out of the depravity of our natures that we freely will to do that which is against God.
2006-09-16 12:21:29 · answer #4 · answered by westfallwatergardens 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It does seem to be a contradiction. God created us with free will. He is not going to "punish" us for it, just what we choose to do with it. If we choose to murder, lie, steal, etc... He will punish us. We each have the capacity to do good or evil. Those are our choices, not His.
If you were to look at the bottom line, the main substance of all God's commandments - He wants us to love Him and other people. Our focus should be on God and the well being of others. If you look at sin for what it is, it is a preoccupation about self, of fulfilling what we perceive to be our own wants and needs, without love or concern of who may get hurt in the process. You will usually find selfishness and pride at the root of most of the evils in this world. Neither is about love and loving, except the self.
The purpose of life is to love. Look at all the books and songs that express this in our cultures and society. It is what we were made for. God could "command" us to love Him, but that would not be love. It would only be obedience. Love, to be love, must be freely given. That is why we were created with free will. To love God. To love others. The choice is always ours, and He respects that decision. We get what we give.
PS. In reponse to Eve giving us free will by eating of the tree of "the knowledge of good and evil". God gave them both free will, with the only restriction being not to eat from that tree. They made the choice, not God, due to this free will. They did it from their selfish desires and temptations, being presuaded by the snake, the devil. Since we now "know Good and Evil", we are without excuse before God for the choices we make.
PSS by the way... which one's Pink? Love'em!
2006-09-16 12:49:15 · answer #5 · answered by Bill Mac 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No God did not give us free will. Eve gave us free will when she ate of the tree of Knowledge after being told not to.
2006-09-16 12:20:14 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
God punishes for sin, not free will. Sin is the abuse of free will.
2006-09-16 12:25:48 · answer #7 · answered by Preacher 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God loves us so much that He doesn't mind burning people in Hell as long as some of us love Him back.
2006-09-16 12:25:53 · answer #8 · answered by Xo 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God gives us free will to make choices and hopefully we will make the right choices,God doesn't want us to be his puppets he wants us to choose him because we love and believe him
2006-09-16 12:19:05 · answer #9 · answered by san_ann68 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Reason number 143 for me not being a Christian.
2006-09-16 12:17:05 · answer #10 · answered by Pablito 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋