If Christians claim that this Jesus character really loves me...?

Question

then why does he tell me to either worship him or burn in Hell like here:

Mark
16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

or that I'm either with him or his enemy here:

Luke
11:23 He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.

and here

Matthew
12:30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.

This doesn't seem very loving. Why do Christians tell me to join their religion and worship him if he's so mean and intolerant?

mclarenman,

If he's so loving, why's he telling me to either worship him or burn in Hell? Shouldn't he accept different views? Why is it I can cure cancer and AIDS but be sent to Hell for all eternity, yet a man can rape and murder a thousand women but repent before death and get into Heaven?

That's not fair nor loving at all.

Answer 1

He sounds like an abusive spouse. I'd check into a woman's shelter if I was with someone like Jesus.

Answer 2

Alright alright You're takiing it ALL the wrong way. Look back at your quote from Luke. Did you read that whole section? You are either WITH or AGAINST God, it doesn't matter what religion you're coming from. There is a passage in the bible that was last sunday's (oct. 1 )gospel that follows these lines: one upon a time there was a man that was doing good deeds in the name of Jesus. Jesus's disciples didn't like this beacuse they said this man doesn't even know Jesus we're the real followers. They asked Jesus isn't this wrong that he is using your name? And Jesus said NO! he IS WITH me because he is doing the right thing by helping others.
The point is that even if you are not a Christian, or even religious at all If you are doing good deeds you are alreay on Jesus's side. I really hope this helps you becuase I really believe in that gospel and it's true meaning

Answer 3

It's not like, love me or you'll burn in HELL. There are a lot of parts in the bible that can def. be taken out of context and misunderstood. There's God, and there's the opposite of God, the devil. You've got one or the other. So think about it. If you don't choose God, then you.....what? Go with the other side, which ends in hell. Don't say a food is nasty without tasting it first. Give Jesus a try, and you'll learn and understand what the bible means when it says stuff like that, and you'll understand Him. He's nothing but LOVE. How can you say no to that? And why the heck would people tell you that if God really is "mean" and "intolerant"? Why would they take joy in Jesus if He's cruel? He isn't, I promise.

Answer 4

A parent who is tollerant of self-destructive behaviors is a bad parent. Therefore, intollerance is a virtue in a parent. And God is your heavenly father. Just as your parents (hopefully) taught you not to play cars in the freeway, God sets rules for you to live by so that you do not get hurt.

Sin is worse than a cancer, so he tells you to avoid it. The only way to conquer sin is to love God. If you don't love God, then you will neither understand nor believe that sin can hurt you. So SIN will destroy you. Note that none of the passages you listed above say that God will destroy you.

Sin destroys. God saves. But he gave you free will. If you choose to run headlong into damnation, despite his warnings, don't blame God.

While it is true that God COULD restrain you and FORCE you not to sin, such a choice on his part would be cruel. In fact, any SECULAR child development expert will tell you that physically restraining your children at every turn to keep them from harm is bad for them. Children can't learn to be strong and stand alone until they fall on their backsides a few times.

I could carry the parenthood analogy a lot further, but I'll spare you the pages of text. If you have serious questions about this topic, contact me. I'd be happy to share.

Answer 5

He loves you in that He laid down His own life in death so you wouldn't have to. When you accept His Gift, which His Father, God, accepts as payment for Sin, therefore a Pardon, then you get off scott free. If you don't accept the Pardon, guess what? You take all the penalty for Sin yourself. Rejection of the Gift is a slap in the face to God, do you think He likes people mocking the Son of His Heart? Guess what? He doesn't, so you won't hear kind words about it. Your choice.

Answer 6

Toronto,
Dude you got it right on the analysis, but your conclusion seems to presuppose something negative about God. You are simply missing the point to what He did for us.

He came off His heavenly throne, left perfection, legions of angels, a place without anything harmful or bad, I don't even think that they poop up there; to come down on this planet , this stinking, disease filled, rotting, filthy, rancid s**thole, to set the ones He cares for from the rest of this world.

He offered us a way out of this life that is destined to die twice. Twice. And those that don't choose His way, get the shaft, because He does not want the filth that we are to continue on.

So you have to join His club. I am not talking about going to church. I am talking about being with Him instead of Hell for all eternity. He gave us a way to Him, as well as out of the destiny that we would have otherwise.

To me that's loving. Those that do not accept can go on stinking. They didn't choose Him, and He does not owe them a God damn thing. Does that put it into prspective for you? He went to the trouble to make it so that we could not be damned, and look at the thanks He gets for it!

So, that's my perspective. I'm going with Him. Everyone else can talk trsh bout Him, but you see; He owns them.

He owns them.

Answer 7

You have free choice, you have the choice to become a servant who's job it is to praise the master all the time for the rest of eternity (I guess this makes him feel good about himself) or you can just be tortured. Your choice. No love, no compassion, no understanding, no nothing but the deal he's made. Not sounding like either way you win.

Answer 8

You can not enter in the presence of God unclean and impure. If you do not believe in Jesus Christ for your salvation, then you can not be cleansed and therefore, since there are only two eternal choices. With God or Not with God. Heaven or Hell. There is eternity for all, its just a matter of where you will chose to spend it!

Answer 9

We messed up God's perfect world(fall of man in Genesis) and through Jesus' sacrifice, we can still have fellowship with God. There's only one way though. One Way, One Truth, and One Life. God could have left us to our fate, but He loved us and sent Jesus to do what we couldn't.
Honestly, if I had made a perfect paradise and someone went and messed it up, eventually spitting in my face and ignoring me, telling me that I don't exist, I would've lost my patience and squashed humanity as a whole. For God to have offered a way to Him and to have endured all the rejection, name-calling, and crud proves His infinite patience to me. That's love!
It's not hard. All God asks is that we believe in Him and what Jesus did for us on the cross and repent of our sins. Not really a lot to ask, is it?
Hope this helps!

Answer 10

great job on the Bible study! i mean that! it's amazing! So! do you believe? Also ready John 3:16,17
What Jesus is saying is to follow him, to serve him, to worship him.
If you don't believe in him, Death is the end result. God does love you! and God does want you! to be a part of his family, if you choose not to follow him, then you have made your chioce.
Seek to know Jesus to become apart of his awesome family, and he will open your eyes. serving God is a right to have and to hold.

Answer 11

I thought about the said thing at one time concerning my family. If I am not for them, then I am against them. Is either I love them or hate them. I work hard and provide for them or be slothful and allow them to hungry. We all have choices in one way or the other.