Why would anyone believe in a God that would hurt them?

Question

I was raised Southern Baptist (born again Christians) by my parents. I remember there being lots of Fear and Fire and brimstone sermons.
Once I became an adult I turned completely away from that whole thing. I cannot believe in a God that would send me, or anyone to hell. (I do believe in God, but not that God).
Now, please keep in mind that if that is what one does believe....well that is their choice.
I just don't understand why you would want anything to do with a God that would send you to hell?

Creatrix, You are right I meant to say "worship" instead of "believe."
thanks!
and I don't know either!

I have read the first 29 questions and most are pretty darn good....but I get the feeling that people think that if I don't believe EXACTLY what the bible says then I must not be living a decent or good life, and that could not be further from the truth...I pray, I am a good person, I like to help others...etc....so I do not need to be a "christian" to be a good and decent person. I guess that is one of the parts I don't get!
I believe in God, I do Not believe in satan or hell. I do Not beleive Jesus was born of a virgin...I do beleive he was nailed to a cross, but not for our sins, he was nailed to a cross because he was pissing people off for speaking what he believed to be true.
I think Most of the Bible is made up stories.
I hope this helps some.

Answer 1

"I wouldn't want to be part of any religion whose symbol is a man nailed to two pieces of wood" -George Carlin.

I think we need to zero in on your question by defining "hurt." I have yet to hear a compelling answer to why God takes infants? Why I bet there were some good Christians in New Orleans during Katrina, why didn't he save them?

Natural disaster and disease are not man inflicted pain. I get self-infliction such as war, crime, and "consequences for sin".

This God is a crutch, a romantic comfort fantasy to our consciousness that we cannot except "non-existence"

Because man can reason, he has reasoned himself into a tangible immortality.

We are all part of the homogeneous dynamic energy of the universe. We were all born together and we will never die as energy as long as the universe exist. Take pleasure in knowing that the self is the center of the universe (per the Dalai Lama) and we are all part of God (but not in the classical infinite interiority concept leads us to believe). In this way we are immortal, and we cannot even begin to comprehend the transition between being and energy.

My alternate answer, Chicka bow wow wow....:)

Answer 2

Sometimes you people just make me laugh, no offense. I advice you to read your bible, read the new testament, make sure you read the last book of the new testament which is Revelations. It's about when God will come and take those who live and work in his ways. The bible is the book of God, so if you read your bible you should have no doubt on what to believe in, unless you want to do what pleases you the most. I use to be very scared about the whole hell thing when i was little, but when i became an adult and now i know that all we need to do as christians is to read the bible and obey the laws, ask for forgiveness when we sin, and talk to others about it. You can be your own teacher if you take time to read the bible and understand everything. I hope this helps, God bless you.

Answer 3

For one thing the thought that God sends people to Hell is just a lie. The choice is actually in the hands of the person. Either a person can accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour and go to Heaven. Or a person can choose to not accept Jesus and therefore send themselves on a path to Hell. It is always a good thing to know that no matter how far away from Jesus you have gone, it only takes a simple prayer to come back into His arms. Simply put, people choose to go to Hell. "God is not willing that any should perish, but that all would come into the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ"

Answer 4

John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Because of Adam and Eve's disobedience, we all inherited the sin nature. We are all sinners. Any of us can be homosexuals, murders, fornicators, thieves, adulterers, gossipers, addicts, gluttons or liars. Probably even more than one of those. We all posses this sin nature, which causes us all to be born separated from God and do the things that He has told us not to do..

Jesus came to the earth for the purpose of becoming the blood sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. Those of us who will choose Him as our Lord and Savior and repent (which means to turn away from sin), will be given the free gift of forgiveness and eternal life with God. When we choose Jesus, God declares us blameless. This is called justification.

God doesn't want anyone to be lost. He loves us so much even though we are born sinners. He has provided Jesus’ sacrifice for us while we are still sinners.

Not choosing Jesus is the only way that we remain separated from God. It is then, our job to stay filled with the Holy Spirit that He has given to Christians (those who have accepted Jesus) for the help we need to obey Him.

God sanctifies us which means He makes us holy. Sanctification is living every day in light of who we are in Christ. It is practiced purity- a challenge, especially in the culture in which we live.

Prayer, submittance and obedience is what God has ask us to do for our benefit.

Coming to Jesus for love, leadership and forgiveness is the way to have a better life here, a renewed relationship with God and the promise of Heaven.

There are only two places that we can end up at the end of our lives. That is Heaven or Hell. We are the ones who get to choose. You know what God wants us to do.

It took me a long time to realize that God loves me. He loves you too. You have grown up being taught that He is mean and unloving. Not true. You must find a fellowship that teaches His love and ignore the ones that try to scare you into believing. It's all about love and wanting to follow Jesus. God bless.

Answer 5

You have some good questions and some good concerns.

God wants us to love him.

I don't think of hell as fire and brimstone. I think that hell is just the absence of God. the total and complete absence of God. Being in complete and total darkness.

God is love and pure light and hell is the complete opposite. God wants us to be with him. But if we cant love him on our own and we choose a different path, then that is our choice, not his doing.

Answer 6

I grew up Southern Baptist also and I was never taught that my God would hurt me. God doesn't send anyone to hell. It's there decision as to if they want to follow God or Satan.Why is it that everyone wants to make God out to be a monster or blame everything on him? Read your Bible. It will show you that God is a loving and forgiving God not someone trying to hurt people. All anyone has to do is believe in God and call on his name and he is there to help them.

Answer 7

You have allowed the enemy and religion to lie to you about who God really is. Read your Bible, pray, and ask God to reveal his true nature to you. You cannot believe that murders or rapist can go to hell? So...they should just be able to go through life with no regret about their crimes and the people they hurt and be rewarded with Heaven in the end? I'm sorry, but there has to be a balance. God has to judge us...he isn't a push over...most times I find people who believe in this hippie, completely tolerant of everything God...have some sins that they don't want to let go of. God is just...justice is a part of his character...because of this he will punish those who do not repent of their misdeeds and come back to him. The disobidient will not be rewarded...that is not a just God. Sorry.

Answer 8

God does not hurt anyone. He gives you the choice to live your life to your own whim. It is up to you if you choose Heaven or Hell not him. You live a life of good and accept God and spread his word you will not have to worry about Hell. You live a life tarnishing and turning your back on God and go against his teachings and rules you will be punished and sent to Hell. It is all up to us as our own person if we will go to Hell or not. God wishes all his children to be by his side but there comes a price when you turn your back on him and do not accept him or his ways.

Answer 9

A lot of people find it hard to believe in a God that won't send you to hell once you've been saved. I find it intriguing that you believe in a God that doesn't punish you at all... Would you email me about it sometime?

Answer 10

the concern with believing in god is it truly is constructive continuously take it on no longer some thing else yet someone note. there's no info for his existence. human beings declare there is info which incorporates feeling a calling from god yet purely attending to understand to comprehend that that's what it became after looking faith x. situation with this social gathering on my own is that human beings rather do not look to comprehend the workings of the mind nor their own thoughts and a feeling of vacancy and shortage of purpose better so having a likely root in lethargy/melancholy and so on. and so on. and so on. i can't teach nor disprove that there is a god, although i imagine good judgment on my own could make absolutely everyone run for the hills at the same time as it includes prepared faith once you check out each of the atrocities they have inflicted upon mankind. i'm in my view confident that issues which incorporates the crusades and witch burnings and so on. are purely a part of the previous contained in the western international owing to the upward thrust of reason. human beings declare they could by no potential do such issues as we talk even though it truly is continually taking position in parts of the international which strongly signifies that our modern disgust with the flaws of the church's previous is fairly all the way down to social reform in questioning. faith does little better than to reproduce hatred worry and mistrust. the purely reason it continues to be round as we talk is because in case you puzzled it contained in the days of yorn, better typically than no longer it meant a short and hasty lack of existence. "adult men by no potential do evil so thoroughly and cheerfully as at the same time as they do it from non secular conviction." - Blaise Pascal