If GOD gave us FREE WILL why would he threaten us with damnation,hell,torment etc for not following his rules?

Question

Threating people with punishment doesn't allow free will
it's
Forceing it Decsion based on fear
If there were no threats of torture
that would be free will
Free Will=The freedom of the will to choose a course of action without coercion

Coerce=oblige=compel
does not = Free Will

Coerce=oblige=compel
does not = Free Will
Why sould I go to hell because I think
we should allow Gay marriage
for instance
Marriage in America boils down to getting the financial benefits of being married,inheritances,medical insurance
coverage,custody of children,Tax breaks,Social Security benefits passed on to other partner if one dies etc.

Answer 1

because people who invented religions didnt think people would ever question it, so they were not very consistent on their principles...now christians feel forced to explain their religion and many things dont make any sense

Answer 2

I have never really understood why this question comes up. I get the impression you think there's some kind of inconsistency between having free will and being threatened, as if it's not possible to be threatened and to have free will.

Free will is simply the ability to choose. All choices are based on some motivation. All threats do is create in us a motive to make a certain choice. So they seem perfectly consistent to me.

Why does nobody ever apply the same thing to civil law? There are punishments for crimes, but nobody ever says, "How can we have free will if the government is threatening us with fines and imprisonment if we don't obey the law?" I mean most people think you have to have free will before you can be held legally responsible. If threats take away free will, then according to this reasoning, nobody should ever be punished for any crime as long as they were aware that it was a crime and that there was a punishment for it.

Is it just that people don't think the whole thing through before raising this question?

Answer 3

Your logic is flawed just as Don H's is. You make assumptions that everyone would think as you do by not clarifying your question more precisely and exposing your bias. Free will means exactly that. Everyone is given the right to choose freely as they will. To choose infers that there has to be options. Who would want to make a decision without all the facts or as much information that existed? Christians only want people to be informed of the choices available and the rewards or consequences of their decisions that affects their eternal soul. Everyone should be afforded the Truth so that they are able to make an informed decision. Unfortunately there are many out there who seemed determined to deny the right of free speech to Christians and prevent us from sharing the Truth and allowing informed decision making. Rewards, fear, punishment, etc. are just parts of the decision making process. We choose to cross the street when the traffic has stopped out of fear of being hit but we have the free will to choose to get hit if we so desire. Why are you so afraid of people being able to make an informed decision about their own eternity?

Answer 4

God does not threaten. God is Truth. God is just telling everybody the way it is if you choose sin over Salvation! He did not make you a puppet - He loved you enough to give you a free will, then you can reason and choose what you want to do with your life. That should please you. He trusts that you will educate yourself and seek His Will. All good comes from God. Why would you not want to seek His path? Why would you not want to 'choose' the right road over the wrong one? There's no threat - there's just Truth. Learn the Truth and use your free-will, and education, to make a decision. God loves you..... His arms are open..... run, don't walk!

Answer 5

Idiotic idea isn't it.

The first thing that someone should be considering is whether the idea of sin is actually real.

If God is supposed to be perfect how could She have made anything or anyone that wasn't perfect.
Think about it. The idea of sin assumes certain things about God that seem highly unlikely.

First it assumes a God who is too incompetent to organize a simple educational field excursion and figure out a way to get all of the students home safely.

How likely is this that God would not be smart enough to come up with a plan for our salvation that is going to work 100 percent of the time?

It also assumes that God must have created us imperfect if we are sinners.

One might assume that God would be able to create someone perfect each and every time if he chose to. Assuming God is capable of this, then it follows logically that we must be perfect creations if we are actually creations of this perfect God.

Unless of course you are saying that God chose to create us imperfect.

If God created us imperfect then anything that may go wrong is Gods fault, not ours. This seems a bit illogical at best so I think that we need to assume that What God creates would have to be perfect.

If this is the case and Gods creations are perfect, then nothing that we can do could change what God created perfect and make it imperfect unless we think that we are more powerful than God is.

How likely is it that we the creation could be more powerful than the creator. I personally find this idea somewhat amusing, and a bit absurd.

Religion tells us that God is perfect. If this is true then it could hardly be logically for Gods creations to be considered to be anything less than perfect.

If this is the case and we are perfect creations of a perfect God then Nothing that we can ever do could possibly change this perfection that God willed, unless we were so powerful that our choices could override and change the will of God.

How likely is that????

Think about it.

Love and blessings
don

Answer 6

That's a common question, but not exactly how it works. It's not that God condemns people to hell. People end up in hell because they choose to live a life without God. God is in Heaven and to live in sin is to live a life apart from God . . .in hell, which is a spiritual death.

We end up in hell because we choose to live apart from God. It's not so much punishment as it is personal choice. I realize that this is difficult for someone who doesn't know Christ to understand. You don't have to understand it all. Heck, I don't understand it all.

I could go on about how to become a Christian and receive salvation, but this is at least a start. Hope my answer helps.

Answer 7

Because we cannot go to Heaven unless we are Christian. It is not good works that get us into Heaven, it is being a Christian, as only by accepting the sacrifice of Jesus can we get in. All we have to do is accept what Jesus has done for us. We deserve to go to Hell for Original Sin, but God loves the world so much that He gave His only Son so that we might be saved if we accept Him. Open your heart to Jesus.

God bless.

Answer 8

Well first of all - GOD doesn't threaten, HE commands. HE also demands obedience.

Now clearing up that little bit of business - on to your question.

Free Will is meaningless unless you have the freedom to do the wrong thing, to make the wrong choice.

And love and obedience offered under duress; pre-programmed into our DNA somehow - would really not be worth very much, now would they?

Answer 9

Because he knows the torment that will arise in a soul who has perfect knowledge of what evil they did when they return in the presence of God, or the perfect peace from the good. He just wants you to be happy.

Answer 10

Having the freedom to break the rules does not free you from the consequences.

Answer 11

If you are a parent, and tell your children not to play ball in the house or they will be punished with no TV for a week, you are disciplining them. Same for our Heavenly Father.