Does God punish...?

Question

Does God punish or do we suffer the consequence of our own choices when doing wrong?

Answer 1

Yes God does, but I say more so than not we suffer because of bad choices we made.

Answer 2

I have yet to read the entire Bible so my answer will be derived only from the information and knowledge I currently have. People who have yet to repent activate the consequences of their own choices. Sin entered the world and the Bible informs what the resulting set consequences of sin are. Results of the consequences can be described as 'anything less than perfection' with the consequences affects on perception, cognition, emotion, personality, behavior, interpersonal relationships, spiritual areas, and physical areas, many and varied. Keeping in mind that God is capable of all things such as requiring extra or lesser punishment. If a person attempts to harm a Christian spiritually, mentally, or physically (through witch craft, satanic practices, control (abuse)), I suspect that, as well as activating the set consequences for that sin, that person may be harmed by God's will carried out through and by the Christian's ministering angels (keeping in mind that in such a situation the Christian has been informed by the Bible to love and pray for their enemy). This is still a consequence of that person's own choice of sin. If a person curses the Holy Spirit they activate the even greater consequences that God says he has set in place. This also is still the set consequences of that person's choice to sin. A Christian who sins and then repents has the option of prayer to negate the set earthly consequences of their sin and by repenting will already nullify some of the affects on the mentioned areas.

Answer 3

Firstly theres no such thing as right or wrong unless you say so or if others say so. God has no say in the matter therefore God has no punishment to dwelve out.
What you do to another is your choice or the others choice, once again no punishment or reward. You are simplying evolving into something bigger. Whatever you do to another will be done to you not as a punishment or reward but simply as an act for your evolution as a human being. So in the end the choice is always yours, what do you want to do?

Answer 4

God punishes. But one can punish themselves also. Such as, you know it's wrong to drink and drive a car. Yet say you do anyway. You have a car wreck. You don't die, yet, you are crippled for the rest of your natural life. That wasn't God or the devil that did it. It was you did it to yourself. But in the end at judgment day. God is going to judge everyone, everywhere. All those that believe and are saved will receive Heaven as a reward. All and everyone not saved will be punished by God.

Answer 5

When we are out of the will of God we do suffer consequences of our own choices. God's punishment will go with judgement.

Answer 6

Choices and consequences. As for God punishing us, it's been my experience and observation that most people's wrongs catch up to them in their own time. For example, my wife's ex-husband molested his own daughter and years later was in an auto accident that left him in a vegetative state. God? Fate? Draw your own conclusion(s). Myself, I'm a big fan of fate. Not the "Final Destination" style fate; REAL fate.

Answer 7

Consequences.

Answer 8

God, the Supreme Being, is the Supreme Controller, the Master, the Witness, and fulfilling everyone's desires since time immemorial. In one sense it is through His potency that we suffer in this material existence.

"Those who are envious and mischievous, who are the lowest among men, I perpetually cast into the ocean of material existence, into various demoniac species of life."
Bhagavad Gita As It Is 16.19
http://vedabase.net/bg/16/19/en

Here we see the God in His incarnation as Sri Krsna is admitting that He casts them into demoniace species of life and this is punishment. However, the fact is all souls desired like this through countless lives of reincarnation.

In another sense we are suffering by our own choice. We chose to be forgetful and neglectful of God. We chose to be in ignorance. We chose these things in an effort to be god ourselves; however, this is not possible. God cannot allow us to be God.
There is only one God. That is a law in a sense. Therefore, we cannot replace God. God has created this material existence whereby we can imagine that we are competing with God's position.

There are three types of laws:

*laws of God
*laws of Nature
*laws of Man

We want to follow all three if possible, but the most important is the laws of God.

Answer 9

There is no god to punish anyone. Your own memories is what decides how you feel about yourself upon leaving physical form.