Why or why not?
2007-03-06 15:57:42 · 9 answers · asked by NHBaritone 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Nope. There is nothing that any human being could do that would warrant eternal torture or eternal torment. Semantics don't win you points.
2007-03-06 16:02:50 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
Well, lets say your driving down the road in your car and you come to a sign that says ''road stops ahead and then there is a huge pit of vipers and pitbulls that are pissed off'', would you keep driving or turn your car around? God doesn't want us to suffer. God gave his only begotten son to die for us because he loved us so much he was willing to sacrifice his own son to a unbarable death just so we would have a chance at life everlasting with him. Yet most people still see the Pitbull and Viper sign and keep on driving. Lets not blame God for our own stupid mistakes!
2007-03-06 16:17:27 · answer #2 · answered by J D 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I am assuming that by "human crime" you mean sin. If this is the case, the Bible says that the wages of sin is death (not only physical, but also spiritual). If you don't accept Christ into your life, that means you are willing to have to pay for your sin yourself, by spending eternity in hell.
If you don't want to spend eternity in hell, the solution is simple. Turn from your sin and turn to Jesus.
2007-03-06 16:06:55 · answer #3 · answered by Miranda 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Of course not...and neither does God.
The populare concept of "hell" is strictly a human invention...God does not need or want that sort of "revenge".
In the original language "hell" is nothing but the grave...and, at the end, both death and hell are scheduled to be destroyed in The Lake of Fire.
Good riddance, I say.
2007-03-06 16:23:41 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
no way.
God (to the christian perspective, which I assume is the religion you are referring to) is all-loving (which it says in the bible) and all judging??? except of those who worship him...this would contradict himself. He gave us free will. Is he going to punish us for all eternity for not choosing him when he gave us the choice to begin with. If he wanted us all to worship him right now, wouldnt he have made us without a choice. And if not, wouldnt he be extremly cruel. He would be 30 times worse than Hitler. That wouldnt be a God anyone would want to worship, that would be people's perception of "satan". Hope these thoughts arent too scattered.
2007-03-06 16:06:14 · answer #5 · answered by Mo 4 · 3⤊ 1⤋
The bible says a day to god is like a thousand years, or a thousand years will be like a day.
The bible also says that unbelievers will be thrown in the lake of fire where death and hades will be thrown - as well as Satan. Here it seems like they will disappear for ever (eternal death).
2007-03-06 16:06:56 · answer #6 · answered by Charles H 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Absolutely NOT. That is why Heaven and Hell are mythological places created by Christians to make themselves appear better than everyone else. That's what they do best.
2007-03-06 17:16:54 · answer #7 · answered by Cookie 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Hell is a place of torment felt by the unbelievers, not a place of torture.
An omnipotent God cannot create a person that is incapable of not choosing to sin. If we are unable to choose, then we are mere automatons.
A person may choose to seek after your own needs and desires, to reject a communion with one's Maker, so God respectfully gives you what you have freely chosen. As C.S. Lewis stated:
"There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, in the end, 'Thy will be done.'"
Consider the following...
1. Wouldn't everyone repent when faced with hell?
2. Would God let out people who repented?
One argument against hell is this: No person in his right mind would choose eternal punishment in hell over heaven. Therefore everyone would repent when sent to hell. If God lets the repentant leave, hell will be empty (and therefore can be disregarded). If God doesn't let the repentant leave, God is unjust for continuing to punish them after they've repented.
The trouble with this line of reasoning is that repentance is not simply a matter of one saying, "Okay, I'll say whatever you want me to, just get me out of here!" Repentance involves acknowledging one's guilt, feeling remorse and the desire to change one's behavior, accepting Christ's sacrifice as atoning punishment for one's wrongs and agreeing to love and obey God (including Christ as God the Son).
This includes by definition acceptance of eternal punishment in hell as just punishment for one's sins. While the skeptic may still object that continued punishment of the repentant is unjust, the truly repentant will respond that their continued punishment is deserved and could only end through God's mercy.
However, in reality people in hell won't repent, in particular not any skeptic who makes the above argument.
If one thinks God is unjust for punishing people in hell, actually going there isn't going to make one suddenly decide that God is just and deserves one's love and worship after all.
People are given their entire lives on Earth as an opportunity to repent and accept God; if they refuse each day of their lives to repent and believe they're justified in doing so, it's hardly conceivable that punishment in hell would change their minds.
Since hell is comprised of those who would never repent, the second question above is only a hypothetical one; it could be argued either way. In practice, someone who would repent in hell would be given the opportunity to repent on Earth and would presumably repent before they died, not after.
As for eternal punishment for finite life of sin:
The answer is this our sin bears an eternal consequence because it is ultimately against an eternal God. When King David committed the sins of adultery and murder he stated, Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight (Psalm 51:4). David had sinned against Bathsheba and Uriah, how could David claim to have only sinned against God? David understood that all sin is ultimately against God. God is an eternal and infinite Being. As a result, all sin is worthy of an eternal punishment.
An earthly example of this would be comparing attacking your neighbor and attacking the President of the United States. Yes, both are crimes, but attacking the President would result in far greater consequences. How much more does sin against a holy and infinite God warrant a terrible consequence?
2007-03-06 16:15:48 · answer #8 · answered by Ask Mr. Religion 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
torment not torture, read the Bible
2007-03-06 16:01:50 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋