Do you expect people to believe?

Question

I find little fault with the "teachings" of the bible. I do however understand that things can be lost in translation. I also understand that man has tampered with the bible over the years. (fact) Now do you expect me to believe that a loving God will punish me for using a brain of His design? I think many Christian focus so much on the reward/punishment that they forget the point. Be good to one another. I can not accept that a boy in China grows up a buddist dies and goes to a Hell. And if you insist that that is just the way it is he had a choice and all that jazz. Then How do you think, even with all the faith in the world, you serve a just God. I simple find that hard to believe. And that is just one example. With so many things pointing away from this being logical then do you really expect people to believe?

If you want to know why I care email me.

sisterzeal: I am willing to take that chance.

Jayceeinspect: You said "Good Christian". Yet Jesus said if you believe I am the way you are saved. Why are they not all "Good Christians" then? If you say by their works then your back to judgeing on merit to be a Good Christian then we are all pretty much doomed.

C.L.; He left it open for interpretation by allowing man to be his vessel.

I did read the quran. Let's just say that is a whole other story.

So with so much adverse information God expects me to believe without any question? And he won't even say Hi. Everything given to me as evidence has another even more plausible explanation. So where is my Accoutability? As a father I expect my children to ask why in order to learn. And I have not found a situation that I would turn my back on them. Is he not better than I?

Answer 1

I'm with you Shane. Well said. God granted us the gift of "free will".

Let's break this down in the simplest form so all you closed-minded fundamentalists can grasp the point that is being made...

The bible is full of TONS of moral lessons. If you are a half-way decent person your gonna live your life positively and loving and look for the good things in life. You won't murder, you won't steal and you won't do anything that is going to get your a$$ thrown in jail, basically.

The religious leaders of old took the scriptures and turned them around and learned that it was so easy to control people based entirely on the fear factor. And I KNOW that God doesn't want us to live in fear. It goes against all the moral lessons that are written in your bible.

Hell has many interpretations as well. It is, again, a tool used to keep y'all living in fear.

I'd rather live life according to the "moral lessons" that the bible teaches and exercise my right to free will. I'll be damned if I gonna let some religious fanatic hold me in the grip of fear by telling me how to live my life. My life belongs to me.

Answer 2

I totally agree. I an a religious person and all that, but most Christians don't even BEGIN to comprehend what different languages Ancient Hebrew and Moder Engish are, and that the Bible they are probably reading is not God's word in the original text, yet they treat it as such.

Not to mention that they say you have to know Jesus in order to get to heaven, yet what about all those people in Africa who have never even heard of Israel, let alone Jesus. So those people go to hell for being born in an isolated community?

On top of that, the Bible punishes Eve for eating the apple of the tree of knowledge, yet God gives Solomon the Gift of Wisdom. That seems very hypocritical to me.

EDIT: To Yachadhoo, if you had ever taken a single class on Greek of Hebrew as I have, you would understand that NO translation from the ancient version of those languages can be 100% accurate.

Answer 3

Maybe the reason the Buddhist boy goes to hell is because all the Christians sat around twiddling their thumbs when Christ commanded them to take the gospel to all parts of the world.

Your ideas are very contrary to the Word of God, and I dare you to provide any proof that the Bible was tampered with. At any given period in history there DID exist uncorrupted scripture and that's a fact. Even through various attempts to corrupt or eliminate the Bible it has survived just as the Lord promised. He is true to His Word, and if you think His Word could be lost to corruption or that he accepts unrepentant sinners into heaven then yours is a very weak god indeed, not the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

You've broken the second of the Ten Commandments by creating a false image of an "ideal" god in your mind. The true God needs to be seen and accepted for who He is. You can't just decide who he is based on what you'd like him to be.

Answer 4

I only expect intelligent individuals to believe. In the Bible there are literal sayings and figurative. A good Christian knows without the help of the Holy Spirit to reveal the meanings you interpret with your misunderstandings and blame the Bible for your mistakes. Take care and may God bless you spiritually.

Answer 5

I not expect people to believe and the Bible says many will not. It a personal choice. But, God created everything and it His to do as He please. I not believe God will torture unbelievers for eternity, that not seem correct. When I read I see people are cast into a lake of fire. In John 15:6 Jesus mentions branches being thrown into the fire. I threw a stick in a fire and it burned up and was no more. I hope I am correct in believe that those who do not believe will just die as they believe anyway. Those who do according to God will can expect the peace and trouble free life God had intended before sin. But, I no scholar and I know there more to this than we read in the Bible, it started with Satan and it really between him and God. We just being fought for in the balance. It no different than a parent being concerned for their child doing drugs. They fight for life and the drugs fight for death.

Answer 6

The error in your line of thought is as follows:

IF God were "just" then ALL people - including that boy in China who grows up a Buddhist AND the Bible believer who grew up in a Bible believing country and home - would go to hell!

For all fall short of the glory of God.
That is, NO ONE is without fault.
That is, ALL have sinned.
No one is perfect and holy, as God commands us all to be.

If God were ONLY just and fair, then all would necessarily go to hell.

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And the Greek text that serves as the springboard for all translations and man's tamperings...is extremely accurate and untampered with.
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Do I "expect" people to believe?

Actually, no. I don't. I have very low expectations for people.

Without a miraculous act of God, no one would believe.

So no, I do not expect people to believe.

And when one does, I am all the more amazed at His awesome grace!

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Answer 7

you know, I hear this idea a lot. But I know that how a person comes to Jesus is because they are searching for truth and righteousness.

People won't go to hell because of the religion they chose, that is only an effect of the cause of their own heart. Anybody can be a "good" person without God, but THAT's missing the point. When they stand before God it will be about the state of their heart, their lives are only evidence of that.

When your heart wants good things, you find God. It's far more simple than religion.

Answer 8

The point is not to be good to one another first. The point is to love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength above all else.

If you do that then the good that you do to others will be eternal good, not the good that is the same thing in the long run as doing bad to others.

The only way that you can truly believe in God is to humble yourself as a child. Go to him as a little child and he will give you wisdom and understanding.

Answer 9

Yes

Think about it. The old are wise through experience.

If you were 6,000 years old what would you know

God is OLDER than that.

Why do you even think you know better than GOD!

You ain't even 60, and God is OVER 6,000 year old

You DARE question God's wisdom!

I know 4 year olds that are wiser than some 40 year olds!

Answer 10

The whole Hell thing is the worst way to promote Christianity. They should be much more focused on what Christ had to say about God and what he wants for us. Hell was an addition made to secure the Pope's position of power back when the Popes were power-hungry madmen.