Even though he created us and KNEW from the beginning how we would turn out. On the other hand, he set up this whole system of eternal torment in the first place, didn't he? Then he allowed thousands of other religions to spring up, punishing people who choose the wrong one.
Is that how it works? If you live a moral life but aren't 100% perfect, you deserve eternal torture because you didnt BELIEVE the right way.
You're actions count for nothing, but your beliefs count for everything? How fair is that? How can anyone deserve eternal punishment to begin with?
God made the rules here (supposedly), believe the right way or you get tortured forever. He created hell, he allows sould to go there, he decides the rules for getting saved.
There are lots of religions in the world, pick the wrong one and you pay for eternity. Sounds fair to me? Where does the love come in?
Oh, free will. Right. "Do as I say or get tortured forever" that sounds like free will.
2007-09-15 07:37:55 · 49 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
A mugger respects your free will too. He says, "Give me your money or I'll kill you." That's free will right, you make a choice.
God makes the rules. Couldn't he just let us all into heaven? He's in charge. If belief counts more than action than why can't he just let us all slide? What could it hurt?
Sin? God could forgive us, even if we don't believe in him. Seems like he isn't very forgiving at all, if forgiveness is based entirely on believing the right way.
What if you haven't done anything that wrong? Do you still deserve to be tortured for eternity? Just because you didn't beg forgivness in the right way? What if you are really sorry but just don't believe in the right god?
I also love the bit about how you have to get dipped in "magic water" to be saved.
All in all, someone will have to come up with a really good answer to convince me that this isn't just a cheap scare tactic.
2007-09-15 07:45:37 · update #1
That's what I said... that's why I am not religious it's hypocritical, cruel and promotes bigotry. I don't jive with people or or any deity that says "Worship me or burn, doesnt matter if you save the whole of humanity.. If you dont worship me burn!" It's like someone comes up to you on the street and says "kiss my feet or I will hurt you" I would say "hurt me all you want I will never kiss your feet" I say the same to the god you are describing..
2007-09-15 07:45:54 · answer #1 · answered by Kelly + Eternal Universal Energy 7 · 6⤊ 4⤋
I can tell you without any shadow of doubt that the eternal hell concept is from Man and not from God.
Humans are so dramatic. If there are lower suffering realms then man had to make them eternal, just to squeeze the most terror out of the idea.
The current Christian-oriented belief in hell was promoted by the early Catholic church to get more converts through scaring the crap out of them.
There are hell realms described in Hindu and Buddhist scriptures but they are not eternal, just temporary until the soul has been purified of its evil tendencies and then the soul is released to try once again to progress to higher states.
The Muslim hell is pretty much like the Christian hell, eternal and final, and they made it this way for the exact same reason Christians did -- terror~
There is a central point regarding scriptures that always seems to get missed. The translators over the years have always added stuff to support the political views of whoever sponsored the translations. Who can say with certaintly how much has been altered?
Christians added the hell concept as well as many other erroneous concepts to support the growth of their movement. The early Christians were the most guilty of this.
Hell, if is does exist in any form, is actually not a physical place but they attempted to make it so. There is a lot of evidence that Jesus originally taught reincarnation, as did the Jewish mystics with which he was associated such as the Essenes, but the later translators were instructed to remove all these references.
Whenever a religion promotes fear, it is subverting the actual intent of God.
2007-09-15 08:00:24 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Funny thing about being God.. you get to make the rules. Although I should point out there are some texts that never made it into the bible, that suggest God will eventually let everyone out of hell, when the people in heaven see it and appeal to him to free the tortured souls. So you'll only have to go through hell for a really long time if your perfect... would that make it better? lol.
2007-09-15 07:46:44 · answer #3 · answered by scorch_22 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
ok let us go over this one more time- God does not desire anyone to perish, but to come to the knowledge of the truth, and be saved- He LOVES the world so much, He sent His son to pay the price that we could never pay. No matter how good you think you may be , none of us are righteous. Therefore, in order for God to be just, which He is there has to be punishment for sin- either we will receive the punishment we deserve, or we will receive the unconditional love and mercy that we do not through the shed blood of Christ. you are right, free will means making choices and this is one choice that can really effect your future.
2007-09-15 08:06:15 · answer #4 · answered by AdoreHim 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Hell fire and eternal torment are just a big mis-understanding of a metaphor. When you die, you obviously don't feel anything, so even if hell where take literally, you wouldn't feel it. Besides, what is meant is that people who where "bad" won't be remembered. Just like hundreds of years ago, the bodies of thieves and homicides where burned instead of burried, those who are "bad" today will also be forgotten in a similar matter. Their bodies will be "burned" in a fire that doesn't stop burning, instead of burried so that people can't go and remember you.
Again its metaphorical, which means that it is possible to have a thief burried, but for the effects, God won't remember him.
2007-09-15 07:48:16 · answer #5 · answered by Tony C 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It is true that those who have not been saved by Jesus Christ will, unless they repent and turn to Him, go to eternal torment. However, this eternal punishment was originally created specifically for the devil and his angels.
We all have the right to either choose God and eternal life or reject Him and go to eternal damnation. God does not send anyone to hell, each chooses that fate for him/herself.
If someone chooses to reject God, do you really think they would be happy eternally living in Heaven with Him? Nonsense. Those who reject God do so out of rebellion, hatred and sin.Therefore they spend eternity exactly where they want to be, away from God in hell
Because of the fall of Adam and Eve, we are all sinners and as such we are justifiably condemned. God is pure and holy and can not live with sin. If Jesus Christ had not died and rose again, the entire human race would eventually wind up in hell. Because of God's love and grace, Jesus Christ took on Himself the punishment for sin.
There are many false prophets, christs and teachers around these days. All come from Satan, who seeks to deceive the whole world and blind them to the truth. That way he can take as many with him as he can hoodwink.
The war between God and Satan has been waged for centuries. Satan knows his inevitable abode will eventually be the Lake of Fire. He especially hates God, humans, Jews & Christians. He wants to draw as many as possible to join him in eternal damnation.
Choose this day whom you will serve. You can not serve two masters. Choose whether to accept God's gift of salvation through Jesus Christ and thus life, or choose to reject Him and walk into the eternity which you freely chose
2007-09-15 08:02:35 · answer #6 · answered by utuseclocal483 5 · 0⤊ 3⤋
ok well let me ask you something. When you love honesty does that not make you hate liers? Before God comes or lets anyone die the person will hear about God first and to repent but it will be the person decision to do so or not, there will always be a chance to go to heaven, so like say you are something other then christian but never heard of Jesus Christ, God will always make sure that before that person ever dies or before Jesus comes back that the peorson will get a chance to hear about God and to change their ways. So thats fair. Also would it be fair if God let everyone entire heaven, the bad people who lived there lifes in sin and the good people who tried really hard not to live there lifes in sin. Wouldnt you be a upset when you see sinful people that didnt even try to live right and they just got a free pass to entire heaven and there you are working hard not to sin so that you could go to heaven? God being fair again. You dont need to be 100% perfect to entire heaven thats why God sent(Jesus Christ) his only son to die on the cross for us. But God does need to be able to tell that we are trying the BEST we can to be good, and God will see that. Now say that you are a non believer in Jesus Christ but you never did anything wrong except for you didnt belive in Jesus Christ, well like i said before God will give everyone a chance to go to heaven and to know about Him, you just need to say yes to Him or no. That too is fair(everyone getting a chance). Also if you are a chrsitian that does not mean that you are entireing heaven just like that just because you BELIVE in Jesus Christ you actually need to follow His rules(the Bible), dont be a fake christian, just cause you got dipped in water that doesnt make you saved, you need to live your life the right way(even after you have been dipped in that water).
2007-09-15 08:11:34 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
There are lots of things in religions that weren't originally there. People want to believe them so they do, and they use religion to justify the way they felt to begin with. This is the -dark side- of religion, that it can be used so easily to justify the bad side of 'human nature'--jealousy, intolerance, selfishness, etc. etc. The FOUNDERS of religions--Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, etc.--all preach against this, but almost as soon as they're gone leaders spring up and rally their followers by appealing to the worst aspects of their nature.
To be more specific, religion has always been used as a justification for what we might call 'in-group/out-group mentality'. Though Jesus taught the 'brotherhood of man', love your neighbor, love even your enemy, almost as soon as Jesus was gone a new generation of Christian leaders sprang up to reassure their flocks that God loved -them- and hated everyone else, that they would go to a paradise and everyone else would go to eternal punishment. For hundreds of years thereafter, every generation of Christian leaders concentrated more on this theme, amplified the punishment.
Also Jesus had no trouble with human failing, sin, even disbelief. It was hypocrisy that really got his goat. But later Christian leaders made disbelief the real sin. Believers were forgiven their hypocrisy, but sincere non-believers were damned!
You can see this yourself, very clearly, if you do a little reading. Read what Jesus said, quoted in the New Testament, and then what is said -about- Jesus by early 'church fathers' in the first few centuries. Look at Jesus' political philosophy and the philosophy of 'Bible-believing' fundamentalist Christians today! You wonder if these people are talking about the same Jesus!
I agree with you. Nobody can do enough damage in one human lifetime to deserve ETERNAL punishment! And God gave us the critical faculties to think for ourselves, our own moral sense and conscience, and I can't believe he wants us to just give those up and follow some corrupt religious leader like a sheep!
2007-09-15 07:52:37 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋
First, there is nothing in the Bible about fairness. Second, God does not expect us to be 100% perfect. All who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as their savior and live as God's Word instructs, repents their sins when they do not, will be saved. There is the most unbelievable freedom in accepting Christ. Only one not saved can see it as bondage and unfair.
2007-09-15 08:46:39 · answer #9 · answered by lovinghelpertojoe 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
One of the most common but dangerous misunderstandings of the Christian religion is that bible is supposed to be interpreted literally rather then allegorically and that god wrote the texts when it really was humans writing their interpretation of gods words. So yes the bible does have human prone errors and much of the writings have been lost or changed in translation over a thousand year game of telephone. So the bible could have misinterpreted when written. For example Saddam and Guerra was not really about condemning homosexuality, it was using homosexuality not out of natural "love" for each other but only to purposely insult and spit in the face of god with "forbidden knowledge". Its true interpretations are very complex. Plus it only says you ll be condemned for worshiping another god ONLY IF YOUR ALREADY A CHRISTIAN. Its not the act of worshiping another god that's a crime its doing that as a betrayal of your already committed faith of Christianity and as a way to openly spit in the face of god like Saddam and Guerra did with homosexuality (If they were actually homosexuals it would not have been a crime, but they were strait had wives and kids yet engaged homosexually just to test gods will) that makes it a crime. If you are not already a christian then god will love you just as equally as long as it promotes good deeds and welfare. Otherwise god would not have saved the Israelites in the old testament that later became Christian.
2007-09-15 07:48:25 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
God is fair, and God is just. God is the judge and makes the rules. You follow the rules or you are kicked out. Period. God doesn't allow unrepentant sinners in His presence. When you repent you are forgiven and your sins are covered by Grace of Jesus Christ. You choose your own fate. You can repent any time you have breath and follow the rules and not be kicked out. You choose heaven or hell, and that is free will and it is fair. Not believing is no excuse either. Having faith is one of the rules. God is the sovereign, he makes the rules, and just because you don't like them doesn't make them wrong or unfair or unjust.
2007-09-15 07:49:48 · answer #11 · answered by Gma Joan 4 · 1⤊ 4⤋