2007-01-26 11:45:46 · 51 answers · asked by acgsk 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
With a loving God like that, who needs a devil?
2007-01-26 11:51:53 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 4⤋
Well, when you were a baby and you played with the electric cords and sockets, or ran into the street, and you got a few hard licks or swats.. is that a good way of saying, "I love you?"
And your childhood lessons are but a few short years.. But you eventually learned that you should obey your parents in order to preserve your very own life... you also learned that if you disobeyed or rebelled, there was a price to pay....
You will hear the Gospel until Jesus comes, and you will be judged by His word.. If he warns you about Hell, (all through your life) and you "still" refuse to surrender to God's purpose for your life.. I would say that yes, God is just...
His love will not permit you to bring your rebellion into His Kingdom, and that is love....
Think on these things..
2007-01-26 11:56:23 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
God does not do the sending, we send ourself; by not believing in Him and His Son Jesus Christ.
God is also a Just Ruler - which means that He will not let anything He has said 'slide past anyone'. Unlike our justices, when a law is set in place and the consequences of that law are known to all -YET people insist on doing their own thing. They will have to suffer the consequences or God will become a liar.
He tells us that anyone who believes in Him and His Son Jesus Christ will have eternal life. But those who choose to not believe will not have eternal life.
Just like the nations of this world have rules and regulations, so does the Kingdom of God; why would He allow illegals (those who break His rules or do not believe in Him in the first place) into His Kingdom?
2007-01-26 12:04:17 · answer #3 · answered by whathappentothisnation 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Yes it is, even parents punish their children. We are His children and He has the right to punish us too.
What the question should include is: But then also, is it saying "I love you to your Creator" if you deny Him or even His existance?
It is really a circle here, saying you love someone may mean you'd protect them, but also that you would correct them because of that love. And if they deny your love, then is there not good reason to actuall give them your wrath for their choices that are not in alignment with the Father's standards?
If someone knows something is a sin and they commit it anyway, then it is a sin unto them.
However if they do not know something is a sin that they do, then they are not help accountable for it.
If we then KNOW the consequences of sin is Hell, then are we not choosing Hell over Heaven, if we commit that sin and do not repent? Is not then the blame on us, and not our loving God?
This is an age old question, but a GOOD ONE!
Thanks for asking it!!!
2007-01-26 12:00:48 · answer #4 · answered by Jewel 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
The "I love you" was written in blood on His cross. Sending someone to Hell is saying "I am Holy, and will by no means clear the guilty."
2007-01-26 11:54:53 · answer #5 · answered by revulayshun 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Good way to say I love you is "Here's your chance to live with me eternally in spite of the fact you deserve to go to Hell for all eternity. It's still your choice because I do really love you...balls in your court.
2007-01-26 11:53:02 · answer #6 · answered by Mawm 5 · 4⤊ 1⤋
No if you are talking about hellfire --the threat,thought, idea, concept, act, deed --is totally foreign from the Bible. Please note a commentary:
*** T-74 pp. 1-4 Hellfire-Is It Part of Divine Justice? ***
Hellfire-Is It Part of Divine Justice?
Have you ever seen someone tortured? We hope not. Deliberate torture is sickening and abhorrent. What, though, of torture inflicted by God? Can you imagine such a thing? Yet, this is exactly what is implied by the teaching of hellfire, an official doctrine in many religions.
Imagine, for a moment, the following horrific scene: A person is being roasted on a hot iron plate. In his agony he screams for mercy, but nobody listens. The torture goes on and on, hour after hour, day after day-without pause!
Whatever crime the victim may have committed, would not your heart go out to him? What of the one who ordered the torture? Could he be a loving person? In no way! Love is merciful and shows pity. A loving father may punish his children, but he would never torture them!
Nevertheless, many religions teach that God tortures sinners in an eternal hellfire. This, it is claimed, is divine justice. If that is true, who created that terrible place of eternal torment? And who is responsible for the excruciating agonies inflicted there? The answers would seem obvious. If such a place really exists, then God would have to be the creator of it, and he would be responsible for what happens there.
Can you accept that? The Bible says: "God is love." (1 John 4:8) Would a God of love inflict torture that even humans with any measure of decency find revolting? Surely not!
An Unreasonable Teaching
Still, many believe that the wicked will go to a fiery hell and be tormented forever. Is this teaching logical? The human life span is limited to 70 or 80 years. Even if someone perpetrated extreme wickedness for his whole lifetime, would everlasting torment be a just punishment? No. It would be grossly unjust to torment a man forever for the limited number of sins that he can commit in a lifetime.
Who knows the truth about what happens after we die? Only God can reveal this information, and he has done so in his written Word, the Bible, referred to above. Here is what the Bible says: "As the [beast] dies, so the [man] dies; and they all have but one spirit . . . All are going to one place. They have all come to be from the dust, and they are all returning to the dust." (Ecclesiastes 3:19, 20) There is no mention here of a fiery hell. Humans return to dust-to nonexistence-when they die.
In order to be tormented, an individual has to be conscious. Are the dead conscious? No. "The living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all, neither do they anymore have wages, because the remembrance of them has been forgotten." (Ecclesiastes 9:5) It is impossible for the dead, "conscious of nothing at all," to experience the agonies of hellfire.
A Harmful Doctrine
Some maintain that the teaching of hellfire is useful, true or not. Why? They say it serves as a deterrent to wrongdoing. Is that true? Well, is the crime rate in regions where people believe in hellfire lower than in other places? Hardly! In fact, the doctrine of hellfire is very harmful. Will a person who believes that God torments people view torture as something abhorrent? Why should he? Those believing in a cruel god often become cruel like their god.
In whatever way a reasonable person may look at the matter, he cannot accept the existence of a hell of torment. Logic rebels against it. Human nature is repelled by it. More important, God's Word does not say that such a place exists. When a person dies, "he goes back to his ground; in that day his thoughts do perish."-Psalm 146:4.
2007-01-26 11:58:06 · answer #7 · answered by THA 5 · 0⤊ 3⤋
The only way you go to Hell is if you send yourself there by not obeying the Ten Commandments. You have a free will and you can choose to live a good life or one that does harm to others.
2007-01-26 11:51:53 · answer #8 · answered by mandm 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Do you love God? Do you give any thought to Him? Is He a part of your daily life? Do you believe His Son Jesus died for you, so that you can stand perfect before God? If you answer no to these questions, then why would you want to go to Heaven and spend eternity with God, when you didn't want Him in your life here?
2007-01-26 11:58:09 · answer #9 · answered by angel 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I'm a christian, but it annoys me when other supposed Christians are smug about their position and take far too much for granted. You shouldn't try to force your opinion on others. Christianity is supposed to be about love, not feeling superior to others. If you think that, then you are NOT a Christian. Jesus had something to say about arrogance and pride; I suggest you read the Bible again.
2007-01-26 11:56:12 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you were to seek the truth you would find the answer Judging a righteous God would be a poor begining.It is the law that condemns you and is a loving God that was tortured to pay the penalty of death for you. It is a seriously problematic man that rejects this gift of salvation and blames the savior for allowing him the choice.
2007-01-26 11:54:45 · answer #11 · answered by djmantx 7 · 4⤊ 1⤋