Hello!! :o) I hope you're OK. I've struggled with my faith in Christ practically all my life. [I'm 43 years old now] What upsets me most of all is the idea that God's love for us an 'or else' proposition. You either love God [so we are told] with ALL of your heart, mind and soul - OR ELSE. The 'or else' being - you will experience pain beyond anything you could ever imagine. [After you have died] IF I said to YOU... "Love ME or I will hurt you bad!!" - would you be OK with that?! Could you love me?! If not - why are you OK with that from God?! Some will argue, "God doesn't send anyone to Hell. WE do that!!" But that's like saying... even though the little boys mother gave her son a choice between the good soup and the poisoned soup - it's not HER fault that the boy freely chose the poisoned soup. But that's me. What do you think?! Have a great day!! Craig!! :o)
2006-09-26 11:18:22 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I hear you man. That is a tough one, and certainly makes us feel uncomfortable. I guess my response would be that what you say is true...God's love is a conditional 'or else' and I would argue that God does in fact condemn people to hell if we don't make that choice. But a side note: before you jump to the sending people to hell part, don't forget the good that he does do. God shows us love even before we're given the opportunity/choose to return it, and He certainly won't pass judgment that condemns people to hell before giving them reason and/or love to choose otherwise.
2006-09-26 11:34:08 · answer #1 · answered by shardsoftherepublic 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
First of all, I don't believe in hell. How can so many people in this world be so wrong? I believe every religion is right, and it doesn't matter what you choose.
But to the whole love-me-or-you'll-suffer-thing, it does trouble me.
In order to love god, you must be first introduced to it, think of all these people around the world that have never heard of Christiany, Judaism, or Islam? Do they even get a chance?
All these people say that god and/or jesus loves you whatever you choose, but is this obviously the case if god is so keen on just sending you right down to hell if you don't accept it?
2006-09-26 18:30:10 · answer #2 · answered by Meht™ 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We can never during our earthly life arrive at the point where we love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength -- it is an aspiration of which we always fall short. God wants us to love Him of our own free choice. What earthly father would want his son to show love to him because if he fails to do so he'll get into trouble? No, God wants us to love Him of our own accord. He welcomes us as we are. There is a hymn beginning "Just as I am without one plea" which was written by a woman who, after struggling as you have been, suddenly realized that all she had to do was approach God the way she was, relying on Jesus's atoning death to cover her sins and make her acceptable to Him. That is what the Bible shows us. "There is no fear in love and perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because He first loved us."
2006-09-26 18:31:03 · answer #3 · answered by Doethineb 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I honestly have empathy for you in your struggle. Faith comes easy for me but I to, have questions sometimes. Loving God is not an "or else" thing. Faith is. We only go to Hell for lack of faith, not lack of love. Nevertheless, we do have a reason to love Him. We love Him because He first loved us. If that is not a reason to love Him then what is? And know that questioning God is not a sin, work these things out and you will be a better Christian for it.
2006-09-26 18:24:41 · answer #4 · answered by Cybeq 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That is really not the way it is, the way it is is that God sent his only son to die for your sins it is a free gift, but he will not force you to accept this free gift. But his son's shed blood is the only way you can be forgiven.
If you were drowning and I threw you a rope, and you said I don't like that one throw me another and I didn't have another rope that would be a good example of what God has done for you and why you are free to choose.
2006-09-26 18:57:59 · answer #5 · answered by wisdom 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'd think that the fact that god doesn't exist would be a bigger reason to question Christianity than these details. It seems like an obvious deal-breaker to me. The rest is kinda like arguing about Obi-Wan Kenobi's ethics.
2006-09-26 18:20:51 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Honey, I don't know what church you've been attending, but what you've been taught is wrong! God asks that we follow 10 simple rules and have blind faith, but only one sin is unforgivable, and that is suicide while in your right mind. God is loving and forgiving and few will suffer as you've been told. PLEASE don't give up on God, he'll never give up on you. Pray and ask for his guidance and he'll answer, in your heart. You have a good day too and God bless you always.
2006-09-26 18:30:09 · answer #7 · answered by Daydream Believer 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
that's a common picture painted of god: a big hairy guy with a giant eraser sitting up in heaven just waiting to blot you out.
the bible doesn't say that unless you love god with all your heart, mind and soul, you will go to hell. loving god with all your heart, mind, and soul is a recipe for happiness, not for salvation.
you cannot earn your way to heaven, as you're trying to do. you have to realize how you get to heaven: accepting you're a sinner, realizing you need jesus, and personally asking him into your life to be your lord and savior. after that, it's up to you to search after god, and he does the rest. he's always there to pick you up when you fall, he'll never push you down further.
"it's not a love me or else!" situation, it's a "choose me, or choose hell." i'm afraid that the good side is amazingly good and the bad side is incredibly bad - no room for a gray area there.
even peter, who denied christ three times, was saved and went on to do amazing things for jesus.
god NEVER intended for there to be a hell, that's satan's fault. when satan fell from heaven and basically 'invented' evil, god needed a place to banish sin and whatever it had tainted because sin cannot be in the presence of god. it was reserved for satan and his fallen angels, but satan is going down kicking and screaming. he's grabbed ahold of humanity by the shirt tails when he deceived eve and caused adam to sin. god allowed it to happen without stopping adam from intentionally disobeying, because he had given them a free will by placing the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden. now satan had a firm grip on humanity, and god, to take us back, sent his son to die for our sins. satan still is hanging onto much of humanity, but it's up to us to get out of his grasp and jump into god's hands. sin is fun, so satan's grasp is made stronger with the fact that most people like to be there, it's not until you begin to truly understand god's love and who he is that you want to reach him.
god's love is unconditional and everlasting. he will love you, even if you comdemn yourself to hell. but, just because you love someone, doesn't mean that they'll go to your birthday party. god's invited us all to a celebration that lasts forever and never gets borring, he poured out all his wrath on his son to make the invitations, and he has poured all his love into the world to make it possible, but, some people still don't want to go to the party. if someone doesn't go to heaven, it's because they turned down the invitation, not because god's love ran out or changed, he will NEVER stop loving any person.
try reading part of the new testament everyday, and finding a good church that really teaches the bible, which you'll be able to recognize if you know the bible.
good luck and god bless!
2006-09-26 18:52:18 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have the freedom to choose to love God and accept His son Jesus as your savior or not. you will have to live with the results of the choice you make.
2006-09-26 18:22:19 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Listen I understand how you feel, But God is not the enemy, Satan Is, everyone forgets, that Satan plays a BIG part in this, God did not want anyone to go to HELL, He told Adam and Eve NOT to pertake of the tree of Knowledge of good and evil, But they didn`t listen, he told them if they did they would die, BUT SATAN tempted them, and they ate of it, and SO they were cursed to die, but GOD sent his son so that it would be possable for man to go to heaven , to be brought back from death, thats a GOOD GOD, Satan don`t want anyone to listen to God, he wants everyone to Go to hell. GOD Tells you how to get to heaven, satan tempts you by your lust for things, so you will go to hell.
2006-09-26 18:25:58 · answer #10 · answered by theladylooking 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋