What happened to the love of Jesus Christ?

Question

How do we come to this point? One of the most famous verses in the bible is John 3:16. The whole religion (at least in my limited understanding) was supposed to be based on the love of a Father for his children. And according to the new testament in numerous places, some of the main things Jesus taught were love & grace. So why are so many of us filled with hate & scorn? I ask this not to rebuke, but with a bone deep sadness. I'm curious, as to how many of us were led to the love & compassion of Jesus by the threat of hell hanging over our heads. So WHY do we try to tear sinners apart to "save" them? Are there really that many of us without sin (John 8:7)? And all this time I thought HE was the only one with that claim. So when we "witness" to someone who hasn't accepted Jesus by telling them they are damned to hell, who's work are we doing? Who's going to start a HEALTHY relationship with Christ based on the fear that he will burn them alive for eternity if they don't?

Answer 1

I know you are suppose to only FEAR GOD. But when I think of GOD I think of love because no one will love me the way that GOD has. I put him first in my life, he has blessed me so much. My understanding of him is so clear and I will serve him until I die.
GOD Bless You



lb_centa Have FAITH in him you will feel his presents you will know that GOD IS REAL

Answer 2

You seem to have started on one idea and moved to another. It is absolutely true that John 3:16 is the classic verse in the New Testament about Jesus and what He came to do. Let us always remember that Jesus spoke a lot more about Hell than He did about Heaven.

The message of the New Testament was forgiveness of sin through Christ's sacrifice, and little, relatively speaking, about what awaited non-believers. However, we can't project a small amount of space in Scripture into an avoidance of the topic. The reality is that there is a Hell for those who reject Christ. No, none of us are sinless, but we know how important it is to believe in the Sinless One, Jesus!

Answer 3

First of all, I am a Christian, and I never have, or never will say that I am better than anyone else, I am just a sinner that was saved by the grace of God. You are asking how I got saved. I was told that I was a sinner, and that I needed Jesus to save me- basically that is the gospel- without Christ I and everyone else will be in hell- yes, Jesus came to preach love and grace, He died on the cross because of His love and grace- but WHY DID HE HAVE TO DIE? IF we did not know that without Christ we are condemned, why would we need to accept Him? The love drew me to Jesus- but the reason He died was to save us from hell, You cannot change that. When I share Christ, I begin with the love of Christ, however, without the whole story there is no complete truth. Jesus did come to save us , and save us from hell. I am not without sin, that is why I need Jesus- what is so wrong with sharing the whole truth in love- I have never started a conversation with by the way, if you don't know Jesus you are going to hell- but I do not water down the truth for tolerance either- Jesus did not do that!! When He told the religious leaders, who were going to stone the adulteress- you are right, He said, "whoever is without sin, cast the first stone"- however what did He say to the woman- "It is ok,?"= No He said, "Go and sin no more". What is a healthy relationship with Christ- one based on truth or half-truth?

Answer 4

Oh no, not again!

I have always been an atheist. OK, that is not completely true. I am not an atheist. I am not a believer. I am not an agnostic. I am none of these because the answer to god's existence is unimportant.

People ask what would convince me that god truly exists. While I am not sure, I am certainly open to any tangible evidence. I do not know what evidence would convince me because I believe it is impossible to prove the existence of god. What evidence would convince you that god does not exist? See the conumdrum: it is difficult to answer their question! See falsifiability (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falsifiability ) for an explanation of theory and the rules of evidence.

Do not quote bible passages as evidence of god's existence. This is my standard of proof, not yours. However, if proof were proffered that convinced me god exists, I would change absolutely nothing in my life or my behavior. The existence or not of god does not matter. Like many humans I live a purposeful life and god does not add more purpose.

What if evidence were produced that convinced you god does not exist with certainty (evidence according to your standards of proof)? What would you change in your life?

- Would you stop evangelizing?
- Would you start sinning more?
- Would you stop helping those less fortunate than you?
- Would you feel that life is meaningless?

Let us examine one area Christians think about atheists. Christians seem to think non-believers hope that their good deeds will get them into heaven, should heaven really exist. The Torah (Old Testament) has a word for this: mitzvah (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitzvah ). Many athests such as myself perform mitzvahs not for the sake of getting an admission ticket into heavan, but because performing good deeds and helping those in need is the right thing to do. In other words, selfless acts.

Christians sometimes proffer Pascal’s Wager (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal%27s_wager ) suggesting to non-believers that they should accept Jesus (per John 3:16) as some sort of insurance policy against hell, just in case it turns out god really exists. The fallacy with this line of reasoning is that faith in god for some reward or to avoid punishment is not faith at all. It is a selfish act to receive something in return for a belief. The point of religious belief so that one can beome a better person, not to receive a reward or please a spiritual being.

Even the Torah talks about sacrafices (or any other act in an effot to please god) displeasing god.

So why do you believe in god? If it is to enter heaven, that is very selfish. If god, heaven, and hell do not exist, would you still perform mitzvahs and follow the Golden Rule or would you say what is the point? Mitzvahs are not meant to please god.

Many Christians also claim that only those who believe can live a moral life and those who do not believe in god have no moral compass. That implies that one lives a moral life, not because it is the right thing to do, but because god expects us to be moral. Again, the fallacy with this reasoning is that mitzvahs and morals should be followed for personal philosophical reasons, not because some god or holy book dictates rules to us.

In summary, I have no stake in god's existence. I do not see existence of heaven or hell as a reward and punishment system. If the whole purpose of the Golden Rule preached by Jesus was to treat others and I would like to be treated, I can follow his philosophy without believing in god. What type of god would want me to pledge my fealty to him or her simply for the sake of believing or proving my allegiance? I would expect god is beyond pride and the need for some following.

For all those thumbs down votes, I ask you to examine your personal motivation for believing in god.

Why is the concept of selflish mitzvahs so difficult for many Christians to comprehend?

Answer 5

ur completely right. Nowadays alot of Christians think that being "saved" makes them better than others. I hate to see those kind of people who judge others by appearance, behavior and stuff like that. I'm Christian and hypocritical "christians" judge me. It's nothing new.

Answer 6

I think the poster is referring to xian's doing and saying things like this http://yourgoingtohell.com/ saying things similar to this website are not going to get someone to turn their life to Jesus.