I need a christian answer................?

Question

I know this has probably been asked a million times,but, how could a loving God send any soul to hell, regardless of whether they believe in him or not, how can a person be sent to a prison of fire for eternity simply for not committing to a religion, I personally try to be a believer, but I cant do it, I am full of so much doubt, yet I cant totally turn away and say its all false, if there is in fact a judgement day will I be able to plead my case there, and accept God at that point?, or will it be to late?

Answer 1

God doesn't want you to commit to a religion. He wants you to commit to Him.

Answer 2

God does not torture someone in a fiery place forever! We are made in God's image which means in part that some things we just "know" are wrong, perhaps instinctively. For instance, no matter how bad and for how long your child deliberately disobeyed you, would you turn on the cooktop and hold the child's hand against it for even a second? Neither would God! The bible doesn't teach that this will happen either. Thanks to the poorly translated King James Version, the word hell was translated from three different words with three different meanings. When you do research and find out what those words are and what they meant, you find that "hell" is actually the grave, and the "second death" referred to in Revelation 20:14-15 refers to permanent death. Notice verse 14 says "and death and hell were cast into the lake of fire" (KJV). This means that people dying and going to the grave will be done away with forever (compare Rev. 21:4- "...and death will be no more..."). Even the most well- known scripture tells us this- John 3:16! It says that our two options are that we perish (which means to die, be wiped from existence) or we keep living. There is no mention of an eternal fiery torment! Besides, we know that the bible says God IS love, and that everything he does is motivated by love, even his discipline (Hebrews 12:5-7), so what part of his will would be accomplished by tormenting people forever? Where's his love and discipline then? If it's forever, then how could those being tormented ever learn their lesson? Please email me if you have further questions!!!

Answer 3

I wouldn't normally post an answer like this, but you seem so sincere in your question, I'll live with all the thumbs downs I'll get for it....

There's more than one view of hell in Christianity, even though you would never know that if you were raised in a fundamentalist or evangelical tradition. The Orthodox, for example, believe that heaven and hell are really the same place, and that the difference is in the heart of the person. For the righteous person, being in the presence of the living God is heaven, but for the sinner, it is hell. What I would say to you is this... nobody knows for sure what the afterlife will physically be like. All "pictures" of heaven or hell are just guesswork. The idea of a flaming, burning eternal torture has more power as a symbolic truth than a literal one. You don't have to buy into the dogma of a judgmental god. In fact, MANY Christians absolutely agree with you. Believe first in a God of love, and then let that inform your doctrines. The more you come to know the loving God, the more you'll find that you were right all along.

May the Lord give you peace.

Answer 4

The truth is, He won't send anyone to a prison of fire for not being able to commit to a religion.
Young children will automatically be saved in the kingdom of God. Everybody that has ever lived on this earth will judged according to how they have lived their lives. After judgement we will all be rewarded based on how well we did. Christ said in John 14:2 “In my Father’s house are many mansions.” The Apostle Paul saw three heavens (2 Corinthians 12:2), and he said that the glory we receive after we are resurrected will be different (1 Corinthians 15:40-42). If you do not commit to God in this life then the glory that you receive will be a lesser glory, you may not live in a mansion with God, but you will inherit another mansion.
There may be a punishment awaiting you, but it will not be without end unless you have done something horrendous for which there is no forgiveness. Remember when the scriptures speak of eternal punishment that Eternal is a name of God, so Eternal punishment is God’s punishment.
If a person dies without having the opportunity of hearing the gospel in this life then they will be taught the gospel in the spirit world before they are resurrected. See 1 Peter 3:18-20 and 1 Peter 4:6. What would be the point of preaching the gospel the dead spirits in prison unless as Peter says that they will have the opportunity to “live according to God in the spirit?”
What it really boils down to is how much of a reward you want. The best reward will be to those that search out His gospel and accept it in this life and live their lives according to his gospel and the other rewards will be of a lesser glory.

Answer 5

Please study the truth about what happens to unrepentant sinners for yourself. God will guide you. There are a couple of texts in the bible that on the face seem to support such an awful belief as is taught by most Christians but I promise you that the belief in eternal torment is false. The bible says we must add scripture to scripture to get a clear understanding. There are so many texts that tell a much different story. In the end the wicked will be as if they never were. Man is NOT immortal nor is the soul of man. Only the righteous will receive immortality to spend eternity with God. The wicked will be destroyed. Start with the very first lie that the serpent told to Eve. He said if you eat of the fruit you will not die. This is the same lie that is being repeated when some say that the wicked will suffer torment for eternity. If you need texts that support what I am saying, please email me and I will send them to you.

Answer 6

when you're talking about the final judgement, it is after the end of the world. it will be too late then to make a choice. the choice to accept christ is in your lifetime here on earth.

i agree with what someone else said: God does not want you to commit to a religion, he wants you to commit to him.

when talking to non believers, I am always confronted with the question: how could a loving God send anyone to hell?

I agree with another above that it would be contradictory to God's divine nature. God is perfect and cannot allow sin into heaven. Jesus Christ paid the price for the sin and when you

confess your sins he is FAITHFUL and JUST and will cleanse you from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

don't worry, you're not the only one on this earth with doubts.

John 20:27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."

I think you need what Thomas needed in this verse. A true encounter with Christ. Something you will experience in which Christ will reveal himself to you in a way that will change your life. But, that may be the reason you have doubt. You don't want to take a step of faith because you know it will completely change your life. I took that step seven years ago and will never regret it.

Answer 7

I know tons of really devoted Christians struggle with questions like these, because there are so many uncertainities.

One thing that was a big eye-opener for me as a Christian was learning that Hell was made for Satan and his demons, not people. God never wanted people to go there, but if people reject Him they chosen a life without Him. It seems harsh, but if you basically reject everything that's good, all that's left is the bad stuff.

Dude, everyone has doubts. Whether or not you decide to follow Jesus, its not bad to question. God never said he wanted mindless drones who never questioned His authority. I just read a big paragraph in Jeremiah from the Bible titled "Jeremiah Questions God." If God is real and you question Him, then it'll only prove to you how real He is. If He's not, then you find out He's not and either way it's good.

The Bible is clear that you need to make a choice before you die about whether or not you want to love Jesus. But it's not something you earn. You don't even need to say a lengthy prayer. In the Bible it talks about a thief on the cross next to Jesus who was a big "sinner" and he just asks Jesus to remember him in Heaven, and Jesus tells him that he will join Him in Heaven. So it's not like you have to do any big religious thing, it's more a matter of the heart.

I guess I'm just trying to say, don't stress about having doubts or questions. If you didn't, something would be seriously wrong with you, like you had been brainwashed. Probably none of this helped, but if you have any more questions, my email is janeeyre1990@netscape :) God bless!

Answer 8

Yes it has been asked many times before but it is a reasonable question So here goes again:
Have you ever seen anyone tortured?Hopefully 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 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 eternal hellfire. This, it is claimed, is divine justice. If this is true, who created that terrible place of eternal torment? And who is responsible for the excruciating agonies inflicted there? The answer would seem obvious. If such a place really exists, then God would have to be the creator of it, and would be responsible for what happens there.
Can you accept that? The Bible says:"God is love."(1John4:8)Would a God of love inflict torture that even humans with any measure of decency find revolting? Surely not!
Still many believe that the wicked will go to a fiery hell and be tormented forever. Is this teaching logical? The human lifespan is limited to 70 or 80 years. Even if someone perpretrated extreme wickedness for hios whole lifetime,would everlasting torment be a just punishment? No . It would be greatly unjust to torment a person forever for the limited number of sins that he/she 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. 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 from dust, and they are allurning to the dust."(Ecclesiastes3:19,20) 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 rememberance of them has been forgotten."(Ecclesiastes9:5) It is impossible for the dead"conscious of nothing at all," to experience the agonies of of hellfire.
Does that mean that wer are not punished for our sins? No, that is not the case. Our holy God punishes sinners, but he does not torture them. And when sinners repent, he forgives them.

Answer 9

God gives us what we think we want. If we think we can get along without God, then He won't force Himself on us.

As to whether Hell is an eternal prison of fire, I don't know if that's the case. It could simply be the absence of God, in which case the soul ceases to exist (fire being the metaphor).

Those who wish to enter Heaven can only enter one way. There's only one door, and it is Jesus Christ. You must accept Him as your savior while still on this earth.

The fact that you're questioning this is an indication that God's Holy Spirit is calling you. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Study the scriptures. They hold all the truth we need.

Answer 10

How can a loving perfect God *not* send anyone to hell?
If God did not send anyone to hell He would be compromising His perfect righteousness and justice.
Where would justice be without punishment for evil?
God is not an entity that hides his face from sin, nor looks the other way. To God, sin is a very very serious matter.
This is the reason why God sent Jesus Christ, to take the punishment of eternal death for our sins.

Once either Christ returns or you physically die your eternal destination is locked for eternity.

Answer 11

hell is the absences of God. When Satan and one third of the angels rebeled against God, God decided that if they didn't want Him then He would remove Himself from a certian place where He would one day send them because that is what they wanted. When Adam and Eve sinned God decided to give man the choice He gave the angels. The choice is simply, want God or do not want Him. He gave us freewill to choose and during our lives we have that choice. If we are christians and firmly believe in Him with our hearts then we will spend eternity with HIm in heaven. If we reject Him and either deny His existence or worship another, then God will allow us to spend eternity the way we want, without Him. God does not send people to Hell because He hates them, quite the opposite. God loves us and respects our decisions so if we decided we want to live without Him then He will give us that, even if it's not what He wants.