If God is omnipotent & all knowing & salvation is only through His grace, then why are "sinners" punished?

Question

Protestantism expounds on things being preordained. If this is indeed the case, then these so-called sinners are not responsible for their actions. They have been "set up" by God. Therefore, they are merely playing a part. And if this is the case, then there is no such thing as sin, only offence against the sensibilities of other human beings.

Answer 1

God creates a perfect world and we screw it up. Then he bends over backwards to give us another chance and you insult him for it.
Yeah, that looks smart on you.

Answer 2

because God is also Just and Holy....

but something to consider is to ask the question on its head...if God truly is all powerful and can do anything, why should he save anyone?

You're question assumes that the "creation" has rights from the "creator"...grace is only truly grace if there is a chance for judgment...if no one was judged, would this truly be grace?

In terms of things being "preordained", there are a variety of views of what exactly this means by many protestant theologians. In the limited time and space here, it will be hard to go into each one, but the main views today are (1) open theism (e.g.. Greg Boyd, et al/) (2) Simple-foreknowledge (David Hunt, et. al) (3) middle knowledge (William Craig, et al) and the Augustinian-Calvinist View (Paul Helm, et al).

But, they would all suggest your understanding of "sin" is different from what the Bible classifies as "sin." Specifically, if you are saying that "sin" has to be bound by total free-will, then yes you are right. I don't think the Bible would make that classification. For instance, in Exod the story says that God hardened Pharoah's heart for the Exodus narrative to take place and there is no reason to think that God also didn't classify that as sin.

Now, to the question of whether that is "fair' in our eyes is another matter. As a human, I would say that is totally not fair..but again, going back to the original point, should we judge God (creator) based on how we (creation) would like to be treated?

The one thing the BIble does seem clear about, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." - Rom 10:13..that seems to be one of the themes throughout the Bible

Answer 3

We are all born sinners, with a sin nature, and prone to do things that offend God. All are on the road to eternal judgment. God, chooses out some for salvation, not according to their good deeds or their position on earth, but out of grace, love and mercy.
God takes sin very seriously. Sin offends His holiness and righteousness. He cannot allow sin to enter His presence. A penalty has to be paid for that sin. One sin is worthy of death in God's economy. Either Christ paid for your sin by His death, or you do. God's righteousness demands payment for sin. You are totally responsible, and completely incapable of doing anything about it. Only through Christ can one be totally forgiven, justified, redeemed and made right with God.
But, if you are an unbeliever at this time, you don't believe in God, Jesus, sin, Heaven or Hell, so go out and have a good time and don't worry about it, it is all a fabrication, isn't it?

Answer 4

i will purely communicate for myself. when I see human beings posting that others ought to have faith or they are going to be in hell perpetually, i'm getting annoyed. HOW do you get every person to love every person else... even God... if threats are used? I even have by no capacity feared, yet consistently enjoyed. Church isn't a development... church is a team of people getting at the same time to pay attention and communicate God's observe and that i by no capacity understood why such a large style of incorporate somber and "ultimate". I consistently concept it is going to elicit smiles and happiness to verify. Why ought to that is extra like a chore than something relaxing to do? If that is a chore and concern is what drives you, something is incorrect. we are all liable for being our unholy selves. lol some individuals do in basic terms an more desirable interest of it! :)

Answer 5

Do Buddhists believe in a creator god?

No, we do not. There are several logical reasons for this. The Buddha, like modern scientists, sociologists and psychologists, believed that religious ideas and especially the god idea have their origins in fear. The Buddha says:

"Gripped by fear men go to sacred mountains, sacred groves, sacred trees and shrines." *Dhammpada 188

Primitive man found himself in a dangerous and hostile world, the fear of wild animals, of not being able to find enough food, of injury or disease, and of natural phenomena like thunder, lightning and volcanoes was constantly with him. Finding no security, he created the idea of god in order to give him comfort in good times, courage in times of danger and consolation when things went wrong. To this day, you will notice that people become more religious at times of crises, you will hear them say that the belief in a god gives them the strength they need to deal with life. You will hear them explain that they believe in god because they prayed in time of need and their prayer was answered. All this seems to support the Buddha’s teaching that the god-idea is a response to fear and frustration. The Buddha taught us to try to understand our fears, to lessen our desires and to calmly and courageously accept the things we cannot change. He replaced fear, not with irrational belief but with rational understanding.

The second reason the Buddha did not believe in a creator god is because there does not seem to be any evidence to support this idea. There are numerous religions, all claiming that they alone have god’s words preserved in their holy book, that they alone understand god’s nature, that their god exists and that the gods of other religions do not. Some claim that god is masculine, some that she is feminine and others that it is neuter. They are all satisfied that there is ample evidence to prove the existence of their god but they laugh in disbelief at the evidence other religions use to prove the existence of another god. It is not surprising that with so many different religions spending so many centuries trying to prove the existence of their gods that still no real, concrete, substantial or irrefutable evidence has been found. Buddhists suspend judgement until such evidence is forthcoming.

The third reason the Buddha did not believe in a creator god is that the belief is not necessary. Some claim that the belief in a god is necessary in order to explain the origin of the universe. But this is not so. Science has very convincingly explained how the universe came into being without having to introduce the god-idea. Some claim that belief in god is necessary to have a happy, meaningful life. Again we can see that this is not so. There are millions of Atheists, free-thinkers and Buddhists, who live useful, happy and meaningful lives without belief in a creator god. Some claim that belief in god’s power is necessary because humans, being weak, do not have the strength to help themselves. Once again, the evidence indicates the opposite. One often hears of people who have overcome great disabilities and handicaps, enormous odds and difficulties through their own inner resources, through their own efforts and without belief in a god. Some claim that god is necessary in order to give man salvation. But this argument only holds good if you accept the theological concept of salvation and Buddhists do not accept such a concept. Based on his own experience, the Buddha saw that each human being had the capacity to purify the mind, develop infinite love and compassion and perfect understanding. He shifted attention from the heavens to the heart and encouraged us to find solutions to our problems through self-understanding.

But if there is no creator god how did the universe get here?

All religions have myths and stories which attempt to answer this question. In ancient times, when man simply did not know, such myths were adequate, but in the 20th century, in the age of physics, astronomy and geology, such myths have been superseded by scientific fact. Science has explained the origin of the universe without recourse to the god-idea.

Answer 6

If you have come to God thur grace then you are not a sinner,then you know that the one,s who did not come to God are sinner,s ,again their choice not God,s, and we know where sinner,s go[[to Hell.

Answer 7

There is only ONE dance going on. Only ONE dancer. Sin is the belief in separation- which is only an error in perception and can be corrected, not punished as is perceived with sin.

Answer 8

According to your reasoning it is not necessary to punish a child if it contravenes the rules that you as a parent have designated.We are not merely playing a part, we are writing the script.

Answer 9

Yes, you are correct, everyone is set up for the final showdown.
Sinners and unbelievers who go to Hell are part of the set-up.
It's sad that they will be in eternal agony, but you have to let it all happen the way God likes it.

Just try to cover your own ast as well as possible.

Remember one thing -- God is really angry that he lost that big wager with Satan, so tread lightly, you could end up in eternal torment yourself, if you just look at him funny.

Answer 10

because we have free will. God is not omnipotent. He can not interfere with or take away our free will.