...allegedly, I have a choice to love god or not.
If I freely love god, I get to go to heaven. If I don't, he promises me hell.
Isn't that a little like someone saying "you can love me of your own free will, or you can take a bullet from this gun"?
How does trying to coerce me into loving him by promising me hell if I don't translate into "free will"?
At least if I don't choose to love a particular lady she doesn't toss me into the bonfire for eternity (at least, not a sane lady).
Perhaps it would be easier to love your god if he weren't promising eternal damnation for those who freely choose not to love him.
When god says "love me or else...", it doesn't exactly sound like he gives a damn about people freely choosing to love him, does it?
2006-09-16 13:18:02 · 11 answers · asked by bobkgins_sock_puppet_2 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I see now why you have such a problem with God.
You have dunce knowledge about Him.
There is no place in the Holy Bible that says: Love God and go to heaven.
Your theology rather hurts, my friend. I would hear TRUTH 1 time, before I went off on a rampage like your doing.
BTW: Love God, all you want. Love God till the cows come home. Good Luck.
.
people go strait to hell every hour and love God the entire trip.
..
2006-09-16 13:37:35 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 0⤋
How many times do you have to ask the same question in different ways?
Christianity is not a "love me or else" concept of God. You are clearly ignorant to the teachings of Christ.
You assertion that "it's not fair" for a God to send a human to hell if he doesn't accept the "free reconciliation", is peredicated on the belief that you, as a human DESERVE to go to heaven.
Christ doesn't teach this, He teaches for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. As humans, we aren't perfect. That shouldn't be an abstract concept. The concept of heaven is a "perfect place". So how could someone exist in a perfect place if they haven't become perfect. A human's destiny is hell, we aren't perfect, that's were we deserve to go.
God gave us His Son to make ALL humans perfect in God's eyes. Not to force love of God...but to free us of our destiny of hell.
2006-09-16 20:34:03 · answer #2 · answered by asafam23 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Actually, the vast majority of religions don't require to you love God or be punished. It's just a very limited few that insist their belief system is the only valid one. And the threat of damnation is how they get people to buy into that One True Way⢠model.
2006-09-16 20:20:20 · answer #3 · answered by coragryph 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
How can you love someone you don't know? You apparently don't know God. Don't get caught up in all the "what if's". Read "A Purpose Driven Life", maybe it will help with some of your questions. It sound like you need a purpose in life.
2006-09-16 20:25:20 · answer #4 · answered by Rea 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You can love god all you want, but he is a God of the law, and to deal with him you deal with the law.
All 613 laws and 10 commandments!
It is Christ that will remove sin so that one can stand before God free of sin!
2006-09-16 21:34:36 · answer #5 · answered by Grandreal 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Exactly right! Love can't be forced. It's not God's threats that draw people to him, it's his love.
God doesn't ask us to love him or else, he asks us to choose Life. God is the only Source of Life, so rejecting him is rejecting Life. He demonstrates love by dying to prevent us from having to experience that death ourselves. Understanding that kind of love is what draws people to love him back.
2006-09-16 20:26:49 · answer #6 · answered by jewel_flower 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
well for one, you need to understand why God sends people to hell. its not becuase they don't believe in Him, its because they have sinned, and have broken His perfect moral law, the 10 commandments. The punishment for breaking His law is eternity in Hell. Now in the old testament, they had to make a blood offering, a sacrifice, to recieve forgiveness for breaking that law. Now in the new testament, God shows us how much He loves us, by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to live a prefect life, so that he would be the perfect sacrifice for us so that we can be forgiven. He gave us His life, so that we might be forgiven, provided that we repent of our sins, and put our faith and trust in Him.
2006-09-16 20:26:02 · answer #7 · answered by Jason M 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Threats from God is just a reflection of man's natural opposition to God. Man is not born part of the Divine Love. That belongs to God only.
When you learn to love God for giving you life, God does not appear threatening and angry because you are not threatening and angry toward God anymore or toward the neighbor.
2006-09-16 20:21:40 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Very true. You should be a Universalist.
Go UU!
Anyway... I completely agree. Although, having dated a few insane people...
2006-09-16 20:20:12 · answer #9 · answered by Zachary J 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
This is a fear based ideal you have chosen to ponder......its a black hole don't waste your time.....that what one would describe as "listening to the static"
2006-09-16 21:44:17 · answer #10 · answered by macrominded 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋