I'm not Christian and never have been.
One of the things I don't like about Christianity is, it seems to me that the main motivation Christians have for their beliefs is that God is very powerful and will punish people if they disobey Him. God's message seems to be "worship me or suffer" (especially in the OT), and I just don't respect that as the basis for a way of life.
Now, some people will say that Christianity isn't about fear, but about *love*. That they *love* God. But, can this really be true? Almost every Christian I've discussed these matters with has told me that you can't truly understand God (and certainly can't judge Him)... well... how can you love someone that you can't understand? Also, if you can't judge God, then you can't judge him to be either loving or good, right? If God is beyond our understanding, then I figure love is sort of off-the-table. Love requires understanding.
But fear of Hell? Requires no understanding at all, just aversion to flame.
2007-03-23 01:13:49 · 25 answers · asked by tylerism 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
is the begining of wisdom
2007-03-23 01:16:15 · answer #1 · answered by Obino 10-10 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Do you love your parents because you love them or because you are afraid they will punish you?
While it isn't possible to understand God in the same way we humans understand each other there are critical areas where we get insight into God's nature.
For example, God is a good and loving parent. Doesn't a good parent punish his children when they're wrong. Doesn't a parent excercise tough love when it's necessary.
God sees the world from a very different perspective than we do. I had one person compare it to 2 kids watching a parade from a fence. We humans are the kid standing on the ground watching the parade through a hole in the fence. Our view is restricted by to fence to only a little bit ahead, a little behind and what's right in front of us. God is like the kid sitting on top of the fence. His view is unrestricted. He sees everything all at once. He's trying to describe the parade to us but most people only believe what they can see instead of trusting the friend with the better view.
Does that help a little. Feel free to email me if you would like more.
Frankly I don't fear Hell because I trust what my friend at the top of the fence tells me.
2007-03-23 01:42:02 · answer #2 · answered by Mandy43110 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I think it's reasonable to say that some come to God because they are afraid of going to hell. That is not the only reason though. Many come to God because they recognize who He is and what He has done. To say you can not understand God only means because He is so vast you will not be able to comprend all of Him, but then you will never be able to comprend all of any individual you know. We can know God and His thoughts and feelings. It takes some work, just like any relationship. It's not about fear but when you start to get a better picture of God you learn to be in awe of Him.
Many people also don't recognize that the God of the Old Testament was doing the same thing then that He is now. He was giving people guidelines for life. If you follow His guidelines your life will be blessed because you will avoid many dangers as well as being in a place that God can bless you. If you don't follow the guidelines your setting yourself up for traps, danger, and disease.
Consider this, one of the dietary laws was not to eat meat out of the same wooden bowl as you drank milk. Seems kind of nit-picky but studies in the 70's indicated that wood is pourous and meat juices will get into the wood providing a wonderful habitate for germs, usually salmonella. By not using the same bowl the Hebrew was safe from that disease. God couldn't explain germs to them but He could give them guidelines to keep them safe.
People, however, have a tendency to make guidelines into ritual. If you don't have a relationship with God the ritual becomes the focus. In that case you move outside of a safe place and into a place where you are separated from God. Then the trouble starts. Much of what happened to the Hebrews in the Old Testament came from the focus on tradition rather than God. God wanted the relationship.
sorry so long
2007-03-23 01:38:54 · answer #3 · answered by kaehya2003 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, all these threats about disobedience and the promises for the chosen favorite are human created to control others to fall in line. Granted, the teachings with reinforcement (positive and negative) were very powerful at the time, but things has changed. Human intelligence prompt us to find the truth about why religions were created and the real truth is that a god that's all powerful simply does not exist.
2007-03-23 01:39:25 · answer #4 · answered by ShanShui 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Honey, i hear ya, i really do. It took me so much time and i had to go through so much pain until i found my way back to God. The best thing i can think of right now to tell you is to follow Christ and not the religion. And I really found so much more spirtiuality once i realised that pantheism is the truth - we are all interconnected and God is omnipresent and far greater than any of us can ever imagine. We have much to learn in this lifetime, but i have faith now which i didn't have before. Try to accept and be loving towards all people - i believe that Jesus would have been the most fun-loving and down-to-earth guy. i am very spiritual rather than religious, but Jesus seems to be my main spiritual guide. I follow him, although I also believe that all is interconnected and the Christ spirit lives on in the Universe. Find what resonates with you personally - it is not our position to judge others - even other christians! It is great to see someone looking for honest answers. Seek and ye shall find. God bless.
2007-03-23 01:22:31 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
The abrahamic god is a representative of all that is primitive within us.... of all those primal emotions that govern us in moments of distress when the minds of all but the strongest-willed of us will break down: Love, Hate, Fear .. etc.
It glorifies these things even when they oppose each other because each is representative of the primal.... the primitive... the old way.
Each is representative of something that invariably harms us that we need to evolve past the simple need for.
And christianity indeed will fade from the world with progress... When we can learn not to love, hate nor fear any more.... then christianity will be worthless.
2007-03-23 01:31:36 · answer #6 · answered by Nihilist Templar 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
People who don't believe in hell are the ones who go there.
There is a hot for cold, up for down, positive for negative, right for wrong, light for dark...stands to reason there is a right and wrong...and a heaven and hell.
People today aren't worth so much. God works on the ones that are His. If the rest are confused and don't care...it's a small thing. What is God's comes to God. The rest will go to hell though they do not believe it is there.
2007-03-25 08:24:06 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Would you worship something or someone that is at your peer level? I would not. God is above us all. I do not fear Him. I think you confuse fear with reverance. It seems to me that non-Christians want some act of God to always be blatantly obvious but he works in very mysterious ways that you must trust. You may pray for one thing and get another because He knows that in the end it is what will be better for you. It can be very simple things or complex, but He is always there.
It is not making you fear hell in order to stay in line, he just lets you know that just like anything else there is an opposite: black/white, odd/even, heaven/hell.
2007-03-23 01:18:21 · answer #8 · answered by For_Gondor! 5 · 1⤊ 2⤋
I am a christian, we love God with all our hearts, soul, and mind. What He means by fearing him is that, ,let me put it this way if you sin you go to Hell and if your a christian and you got Christ living in you then you ill feel like the life has been sucked out of you cause you cant have God in you if you a sinner, but what they mean as to fear God is to know that if you sin that God can kill you in a blink of an eye, he could make a lightning bult on a clear blue sky come and kill or you might just die, and then if you have sin in you life and you die then you go to hell, And we Christians beleive that, we have fear of God cause we know that if we sin that He Could send His Son Jesus to come get us and to bring us home and if you sinned before it and didn't ask for forgiveness than you will be left here, and so we have the fear know that if we sin we could die and live in eternal punishment.
2007-03-23 01:22:48 · answer #9 · answered by Prince_Krona 2 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Christianity is based on:
I cannot accept that I will not live forever, even though nothing does.
Maybe there's some sort of loophole that let's me get around the "everything dies" rule.
This religion looks good. It not only takes care of my denial of death thing but I also get to feel superior to everyone else and claim to be speaking for god when I make rules for other people. Plus I can make up whatever I want and claim that god has told me that.
2007-03-23 01:21:17 · answer #10 · answered by frugernity 6 · 3⤊ 2⤋
I sympathise with your response, and share your mystification with Christians whose faith is dominated by fear of the Hereafter.This does not seem to me to be a very healthy basis for faith, just as fear is not a very healthy basis for any loving relationship. The fourth chapter of John's first epistle has something relevant to say about this - words of reassurance and reproach:
"16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. 17: Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. 18: There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. 19: We love him, because he first loved us."
Amen.
2007-03-23 01:33:48 · answer #11 · answered by completelysurroundedbyimbeciles 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋