Why do people try to scare you with all this' lake of fire' nonsense?

Answer 1

To gain control over your lives so you can tithe to the church.

Answer 2

Those who says that the lake of fire is nonsense and the church is just there to make money...there is a verse in the Bible that says, every head shall bow and every tongue confess, that Jesus is Lord. Its not that we are trying to scare you, its just that we are telling you the truth. Many people are afraid of the truth and therefore they label it "nonsense". Some people can handle the truth, and others can't, but I'll tell you this, you might not believe right now when you have the opportunity to change your ways, but when time is up and its too late, you will be forced to believe...

Answer 3

Because that is what they themselves are focused on.

We constantly hear about a loving God, but when push comes to shove, Christianity is really about eternal torture for those that don't comply.

I love lodTiger's response as it shows how impossible discerning the true meaning of the Bible really is. There are many verses that talk directly about an eternal or everlasting lake of fire, yet the SDAs and JWs are able to use multiple verses and circular logic to state, that God's inspired writers didn't mean everlasting.

One point states that logic tells us that fire cannot last forever, this coming from a group of people who believed that Joshua prayed and the earth stopped revolving for a couple of hours? Where is the logic in that, or in creation, or in the miracle stories? The bible isn't based in Logic at all, why should people rely on it when trying to establish a docrine on hell?

Answer 4

I thought knowledge of the Lake of Fire would stop the fear nonsense, not make it worse, so your question really got my attention.
You see, I keep seeing alot of posts on here where people ask why God who is supposed to be a loving merciful God, would put someone into a pit of torment and leave them there forever and ever?

My answer to them is always from the manuscripts, and that is that there is no
pit of fire and torment forever, only a one-time deal, where if ya don't make it, you are destroyed in that Lake, which is not fire as we understand fire: our kind of fire would not affect the spiritual body - no, this is an all-consuming "fire" that kills both the spiritual body and the soul. It will be merciful, in that it will take as long as it does to walk into it; you would be turned to ashes from within, and gone. No eternal suffering of any kind.
So I thought that would take care of those
ideas that Christianity is just trying to scare people with hell - the Churches may be pushing that stuff to control people, but its
not Gods Word doing it.
You either make it or you don't, plain and simple. God has no controversy with those
who do not set themselves up as his enemies, or as the enemy of His Children.
There is no fear in it, unless you are one
who does act like an enemy of God - then you will not fry like bacon for an eternity, but
simply be destroyed; not even the memory
of you will be recalled. Kaput, gone, byebye.

When you say "lake of fire" in your post,
do you understand that its a 20 second
deal and thats it, or are you writing the term meaning hell with eternal, non-ending torment?
Now you have me confused with how people are defining the term "hell" or "lake of fire". Please, could you clarify this for
me? Thanks

Answer 5

In order to get people to do good, you have to offer a reward. In this case, heaven, nirvana, etc. Another deterant is to show what will happen if you disobey, ie; hell. The idea of a lake of fire is very unappealing to most people so hence why its around to scare people.
Lets put it this way without a consquences people will not behave. Most Christians, NOT ALL, usually adhere to this "fire and brimstone" point of view.

Answer 6

The lake of fire is real, people just don't go there apart from for geolical and seismic studys. Its not a soul container.

Answer 7

If you believe it's nonsense then you have no worries. If you're concerned, maybe you should listen... It's easy to criticize others beliefs, it hard to disprove them. Just because you can't disprove hell/the lake of fire doesn't mean that they don't exist, it just means that you can't really criticize it withy impunity...what if we're right.

Answer 8

For the same reason that parents try to scare their children into looking both ways before crossing the street or by warning them not to put a bobby pin into a wall socket. Just because the person to whom the warning is directed doesn't understand the reason for it doesn't absolve the person giving the warning from their responsibility.

2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Answer 9

And those in the Fire will say to the Keepers of Hell, 'Pray to your Lord that He may lighten for us the punishment for a day.'

Save those on whom thy Lord has had mercy, and for this has He created them. But the word of thy Lord shall be fulfilled: 'Verily, I will fill Hell with the disobedient jinn and men all together.'

Holy Quran

Pledge yourself with prayer and remain steady on it; offer prayer as much as possible and seek nearness (of Allah) through it, because it is, (imposed) upon the believers as timed ordinance (Qur'an 4:103). Have you not heard the reply of the people of hell when they were asked: What hath brought you into the hell? They shall say: We were not of those who offered the regular prayers (to God)! (Qur'an, 74:42-43). Certainly, prayer drops out sins like the dropping of leaves (of trees), and removes them as ropes are removed from the necks of cattle. The Messenger of God - the peace and blessing of Allah he upon him and his descendants - likened it to a hot bath situated at the door of a person who bathes in it five times a day. Will then any dirt remain on him?

Answer 10

Misery loves company.

Answer 11

For the same reason that all liars lie; if they can get you to believe something stupid and get you to act on that belief, they have managed to exercise control over another person.

Yes, it's a petty and stupid kind of control that has little benefit to the liar, but they crave it like a junkie craves heroin.