I admit I could have worded my last question better, and I am sorry. I didn't recieve the answer I felt I needed, so I reworded it and made it clearer.
If god gave us the ability of free will. If god gave us the gift of choice, why are we punished when we choose our own path, and our own choices? Obviously he would want us to make up our own minds about everything, hence giving us Free Will. Yet, when we do, we get punished and sent to "Hell".
Why did he bother with Free Will at all if he wanted us all to blindly follow his command? I don't see the point, please enlighten me.
2007-11-27 19:38:25 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
"Christians see Hell as the eternal punishment for unrepentant sinners, as well as for the Devil and his demons." wikipedia
2007-11-27 19:53:47 · update #1
The Christian god's free will is nothing more than veiled coercion. Since you know the outcome of your choices, they are never truly free.
Christianity is like a game where you can obey the rules and win, disobey the rules and lose, but you are never allowed to get up and leave.
2007-11-27 19:56:35 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
I just LOVE it when a question is asked of Christians (or theists), and some smart alec just HAS to respond and say that all our answers will be crap.
Anyway, the short answer is this (and I'll try not to make it a cop-out or a bunch of crap, though it'll probably seem that way no matter what I do):
Hell is only an extension of free will. If one chooses to be separate from God, He respects their choice...for eternity. Hell was not created for humans. We're not meant to go there.
Hell is a total separation from God. God is light, love, wisdom, illumination, revelation, peace, joy, contentment...all these then would be absent in hell. And THAT is what makes hell such a horrible place.
But I don't believe that God would judge us in a way that isn't fair. I honestly don't know HOW we'll be judged, but I assume that if God is a just God, and He's worthy of any praise, that we will be judged fairly.
I think if a person sincerely seeks after God, asking Him all the time to help them if He exists, but die before finding Him (or before He finds them, whichever the case might be), God won't judge them harshly, especially if they tried to live a righteous life. But that's only my opinion. The Bible seems really cut-and-dry on this subject, but it doesn't go into detail. I'm sure there are exceptions to the rule. But again, only my opinion.
2007-11-28 03:50:39 · answer #2 · answered by The_Cricket: Thinking Pink! 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It sounds like you are tracking the true answer, but haven't caught up to it yet. It's like the quarterback has thrown the ball, but you have a ways to go in order to catch it.
You acknowledged that free will is the issue, and God prefers
( according to people like me ) , that we choose His way.
But that's not going to be for every one. When I look back on my life, I know that I as being guided to God. It wasn't blindness, except for the blindness in me otherwise called stubbornness. I knew that I had a spirit before I was Christian, and that opened up my life more and more as time went on - I didn't have to wonder any more.
So those who are drawn by the Spirit of God are no more blind than a person with the next number at a crowded deli. They see what is going on, and take the the ticket up to the counter because it's their turn.
For those without a ticket, and do not care to have a ticket, well, they have to wait for everyone to leave before they can get served. Other than that, they just have to go get Oscar Myer at the store or something.
That's all an exercise in free will, is it not? You can go into that deli if you want to, it's just that the word of God tells me that everyone won't want to. Not everyone is a 'desired customer'. God decides ( contrary to what many Christians might be telling you ) , who He wants, and who He doesn't want. And there are some famous parts of the Bible which illustrate this.
( Like Pharaoh, like the incident with the handwriting on the wall, etc. )
If this seems crazy, or unclear to you, please e-mail me and tell me. Because I would like to make this clear to you, and anyone else reading this.
2007-11-28 04:53:23 · answer #3 · answered by Christian Sinner 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Compare it to the relationship between a parent and a child.
A parent loves their child with all their heart, and hopes that child will make the right choices and behave properly. Sometimes children make wrong choices and do wrong things, and get punished by the parent. It doesnt mean the parent loves the child any less, nor does it mean the child is programmed to obey every rule the parent sets.
The parent HOPES the child will obey, but if they dont, there are consequences.
2007-11-28 18:30:01 · answer #4 · answered by catwomanmeeeeow 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hell is not punishment, at least in the sense that you mean it. It isn't that we get punished for not choosing God--it's that we get rewarded for choosing him. Hell is merely a place to eternally 'store' the souls of those who do not choose God.
He wanted us to choose to follow his commands. If we blindly followed them we would not be showing love and obedience--we would be following programming. By choosing to follow them, however, we are saying that he means enough to us that we will do what he wants us to even though we don't have to.
2007-11-28 03:47:15 · answer #5 · answered by SDW 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Free will requires alternatives. The opposite of righteousness is wickedness. The opposite of God is hell. You have the option to recognize Him as God or acknowledge yourself as a god. If you are a god you will have every right and opportunity to pursue your godhood, unfortunately for those who choose that path that means in absence of Him.
2007-11-28 03:49:01 · answer #6 · answered by sympleesymple 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
He gave us free will because he doesn't want to force his love on us. If he did, it would be rape not love. When we step out of a perfect direction out on our own will things are bound to happen. It's like taking the best road you know, then trying to take a short cut and getting lost.
2007-11-28 03:52:53 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Ah, you see, you think we should 'blindly' follow His commands. You have begun your reasoning from an erroneous point.
This would be 'Non-Euclidean Theology'--LOL!!!
Ab adsurdum, ergo ad absurdum......
2007-11-28 03:49:14 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
"Free will" doesn't mean "choices free of consequences".
2007-11-28 03:58:11 · answer #9 · answered by Open Heart Searchery 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
get ready for tons of cop outs and bollocks
2007-11-28 03:41:47 · answer #10 · answered by Dr. R PhD in Revolution 5 · 1⤊ 4⤋