For those 'G-d is like a father' types?

Question

Surely, if you could, you would tell all your children how to avoid hell? You would love them and not want them to burn forever?

If G-d is all-powerful and all-loving, then why does he not tell each person, in a way they understand, PERSONALLY (not through a religious text) how they must behave to get into heaven?

Leaving a book around and expecting the child to believe it, when they have seen none of the actual events and have not been told personally by their parent that this is the book to believe... how is that fair?

I know I would make it CLEAR to my kids, because of my love for them, how they can keep from everlasting pain. If they didn't listen, I would keep trying in any way I could. G-d could use any means he has - he could allow angels to appear to everyone...

How is G-d all-loving if he does not even love as a parent would? How is he all-powerful if he cannot actively portray his message to everyone?

And free will is not an issue, I don't think... Even if G-d sent angels to everyone, they would still have the option of not believing.

fish, the way I spell 'G-d' shouldn't be an issue to you. It isn't a typo, I do it on purpose. And you have no buisness knowing why.

Answer 1

You could do well to say God instead of G-d.

Answer 2

There are several views on this. My view is that God does provide everyone with what they need to "avoid Hell," or more accuartely to build a relationship with him. I use as scriptural evidence Acts 17:26&27: And hat made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of th earth, and hath determined the times before apointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us."

And I see evidence of those who have responded to the natural evidence of the same God we see in the Bible in other cultures. The Tao Te Ching in China and the Apache concept of a Spirit who moves in all things are examples that I think are 100% compatible with the Christian concept of God, although less developed.

Other people feel different than I do, however. I'm also going to admit that the thoughts I have on this subject are fairly recent, and that no one credible before the fifteenth century really believed the way I do. Being recent doesn't make it wrong, but it can make it suspect. Just like in any other science, most of what is proposed as a solution is eventually discarded or suplanted.

Some people (Calvanists) believe that God has predestined some people to Heaven, others to Hell. Since he already knows if you're going to Heaven or Hell because he decided, then he can place you where in time and space you will get the message if you're going to Heaven and where you won't if you're going to Hell. To me, that's a lazy solution.

Some suggest that the final decision is actually made at death or shortly after. This would seem to contradict things that imply repentance is something in this life. But it allows God or an angel to provide a brief over view to those who didn't get the message in life and a chance to accept or deny. Again, I think it's a lazy solution.

Personally, I just leave the "how" of it to God, and trust that he does it, without bothering with the "how" so much. I know how he does it for the majority of the world: he provides his word, his church, and his world as evidence. But if he chooses to reveal himself to this or that individual in another way, that's his choice, and more power to him. (so to speak...)

Answer 3

Good points, but:

- Tell all your children to avoid hell? He told Adam exactly how to do this, and he did not obey, dragging the rest of humanity down with him. Our fault, not God's. Sorry, that makes God all-powerful, but not necessary all loving.

- As such, God does not owe anyone an explanation of himself, and he could have gone even further by not even providing scriptures or His Son to us.

- We BECOME adopted children of God through his Son. The rest of the world doesn't want to be saved anyway.

- As His children, God still disciplines us. He has disciplined His own all through the Bible, esp. in the OT.

- So bottom line, God is NOT all-loving as everyone tries to tell you. Who owns the universe? Who tells him how to run it? The scriptures were never meant to make you feel comfortable. Look at the other answers if you want "cushy".

Answer 4

Ok, apparently you don't know God. God isn't like man (human). God does and has told us how to live without using religious text. If you pray to God and sincerely ask for what you want, God will give it to you. You're looking for answers ... God has them all. The answers are there you have to seek for them. God makes everything CLEAR. Nothing is a covered up. All the information that helps you live and avoid "hell" is in the Word of God, whether you receive it in your heart or from the Bible.

Answer 5

God does portray his message in every way possible; through the Bible (what's so hard about John 3:16?); through the sacrifice of his own Son, and through the teaching of ministers. All you have to do to inherit his blessings is to love Him and obey Him, just like any other father.

Answer 6

And there are those of us who find it IMPOSSIBLE to believe, as we have seen the proof that the bible is made-up nonsense. Kind of a cruel joke to play on us, isn't it?

Then there are those of us who prayed to god, and begged him to show us a way to believe, even after seeing that proof. You would think that god would say, "Oh, this poor child really wants to believe in me... He's not DENYING me. He's not revolting against me. He really WANTS to believe in me, and he's asking for my help... I'd better give him a hand..."

Speaking from personal experience... that didn't happen for me.

God does not exist. Sorry folks. I don't make the news. I just report it.

Answer 7

RELIGION AND BIBLE??

I guess it is about time for every man to speak for himself on behalf of his Father and God.
John 20:17; 1Cor..2:9; John 8:32; 17:17; THERE IS TRUTH.
Jesus tells me that his Father and his God is my Father and my God.
Luke 16:14-31;
JeSus tells me that rich [ Pharisee ], religious leaders that do not know the word of God, God kowneth their heart, heaven is not Abraham's bosom Luke 16:16,17,29,31 this is not taught from Genesis to Luke 16: or after Luke 16, to Revelations.
Hell is not the place for the living dead but religious leader that twist the word and do not keep it straight.
Luke 16:16,17,29,31 Truth in his word. Pharisee is already of the livings dead. The imagination of the heart is evil from youth Gen.8:21; Truth is truth and imagination is imagination. THE WITNESS FOR THESE IS FOUND OUTSIDE THE BIBLE.

SOUL

My soul is me, the life of my soul is the spirit of my Father and God, it belongs to him, it is his, at my death from born imperfection, my spirit returns to my Father and my God
and as king David is in hell a cave, Acts 2:27-31 is waiting resurrection.
As David said Psm.104:29,30; Num.16:22; Eccl.3:19-21; 12:7; All to be resurrected.
Angel in hell to judgement day.
Jude 6; 1Pet.3:18-20 2Pet.2:4 from Gen.6:2,4 Judges are 1Cor.6:2,3;
John 3:16; God knows how to renew the face of the earth. Psm.7:2 what a soul is.
Matt.28:19; Eze.37:12-14; Matt.8:11 [ the house of Israel, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob ];
Heb.9:27[ it is same for all in facing the judgement day, 1Cor.15:22-28,51-53 ];
It is appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgement.
1Cor.15:22 AS IN ADAM ALL DIE EVEN SO IN CHRIST SHALL ALL BE MADE ALIVE.
2Cor.5:10
WE SHALL ALL STAND BEFORE THE JUDGEMENT SEAT OF CHRIST
2Pet.3:13; Rev.21:1-5;
Heaven or earth as new.
John 3:13-17 No man went to heaven but Jesus and after Rev.12:6-12 No Satan a place is prepared in heaven John 6:39,40,44; 14:3; unto 1Thes.4:15-17; Heavenly:
This is how he will renew the land belonging to all of Israel. Isa.45:18; 65:17; 66:22,23;
Acts 17:31; 24:15; Philip.2:5,9-12;
John 5:22,26-29; Dan.12:2; Rom.14:9-12; Matt.12:36;
Rev.20:1-6 [ No Satan ], the heavenly first resurrected of the new heavens is there Rev.1:7 [ he comes with the clouds and every eye shall see him ]; 3:12;
Coming down out of heaven form God is the kingdom of the heavens to resurrect,
Rev.20:12,13 from the same place David is resurrected from and where the dead is,
2Pet.3:13 for the new earth, Rev.21:1-5 all is made new.
Rev.21:8
This is the second death not toement forever, but gone forever.
Matt.25:31-34 Holy angels prepare earth fire is for angels, angels do not die Luke 20:34-36; man does die in first and in second death.
Rev.20:7-10;
Fire rains down from heaven to devour Gog and Magog, man given every opportunity.
Satan alone is thrown into the lake of fire where the beast [ what beast as to religion ?]. and the false prophet are [ what false prophet as to religion ? ], and they have been there 1000 years.

RELIGION AND BIBLE??

Answer 8

faith, faith, and faith are the most important things. as it says in Hebrews 11:1 "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN." you have to have faith, without it, you will go to hell for not believing. burning in hell because you're too stubborn to believe is so much harder than reading a book, and saying, "wow, this is pretty amazing, i believe it." just try sometime.

Answer 9

Neckcutter.

Answer 10

God loves us enough that he let's us decide to obey him or not.
He lets us decide to 'read the book' or not. (Can we pass the test, for a subject, without reading the book for the test)?

Answer 11

How can you not understand John 3:16, it sounds pretty obvious to me. www.equip.org