♥ Christians: Can you help me answer some questions?

Question

Okay I have to admit a few years ago I felt "close" with God but now I began to realize some things and I feel like it's not that I don't choose to believe, it's that I Can't believe in God. So I have some questions that can hopefully help me with this. Thanks

1) If God is so great how could he punish Adam and Eve so harshly for eating from the tree? He made them experience pain and took so much away. Isn't this a cruel thing to do?

2) How is homosexuality so bad? I know the bible is against it, but exactly why is it bad?

3) How could the bible support slavery and stoning and such awful things?

4) If God is "all-forgiving" why does he send all non-believers to hell? This sounds like an awful thing to do! And isn't it his fault in the first place for not convincing them of his existence during their lifetime?

So if you could answer these questions that would be great!

Okay new questions:
1) When were Adam and Eve placed on the Earth in comparison with the dinosaurs? What is the timeline between the 2?

2) How can I pray to God when I never feel his presence? For years I prayed and believed but it never felt like my prayers were being listened to. Was I doing it wrong?

Answer 1

Hi, let me offer my thoughts on your questions--I am no expert, but I do have a Master of Divinity degree, so I do know some things. Note that anything I say would be my own opinion, based on what I have learned and experienced, as a person of faith.

I do not insist that everyone believe as I do; I think faith and belief needs to be shared and explored.

Any way to answer your questions:
1) The story of Adam and Eve is not necessarily fact, but based on ancient myths. What is important is that it tells something about our relationship to God, and how sin can come between humans and the love of God. However, even in the story of Adam and Eve, God shows mercy and forgiveness by blessing them and their offspring, and forging a special relationship with them that surivive despite the sin of Adam and Eve and God's dissapointment.

2) I do not think homosexuality is bad or a sin; but I am in the minority here. Most Christians would keep to the philosophy of "Hate the sin but love the sinner". The Bible is not really specific about homosexuality, but mostly the disapproval was because God wanted people to be "fruitful and mulitply" and being gay does not lead to pregnancy and large families. Again this was more of a cultural thing in the ancient near east, to promote big families and the growth of the Hebrew people. Christ did not teach hate, but acceptance, love and forgiveness--which is why most Christians would say "Hate the sin, but love the sinner".

3) Slavery in the Bible times was not like slavery during the 18th and 19th centuries here in --it was not always brutal, but a profession, and a way to move up in the world if you had nothing to begin with. Many slaves could earn their freedom and a good livelihood in time. It was not always a good thing, but take the story of Joseph who was sold to slavery in Egypt, but became a person of power--in time. As for stoning, the Bible was not very supportive of that--at least Jesus was not--he stopped the crowd from stoning a woman, challenging the crowd "Let the one among you who is without sin, cast the first stone."

4) Christ came to down to us, as God's love and forgiveness, so that we would no longer have to worry about being good enough to earn God's love, and be free to worship God and to share our faith with others. I do not believe that God does not send non-belivers to Hell; I think that God comes to people in ways that people can understand God, as Christ, Moses, Mohammed, Buddha, etc. (remember this is my opinion). I do not believe in Hell, but I do believe that people can keep themselves separated from God's love, and find themselves in an empty place, alone. Kind of like being surrounded by air, but suffocating because we do not have the faith to take a breath.
I do not believe that God forces us to believe, but comes to us with open arms. God's love is given to us freely, but some people refuse the gift, or do not think that the gift is really for them.
Being isolated from the love of God and of each other, to me, seems worse than Hell. It is lonliness.

I hope this helps--I could go on and on, but do not want to do that to you. But feel free to ask me anything else.

Answer 2

1) If God is so great how could he punish Adam and Eve so harshly for eating from the tree? He made them experience pain and took so much away. Isn't this a cruel thing to do?

Our problem is we don't understand the severity of our seemingly "little" sins. The wages of sin is DEATH. You sin once, you deserve hell. That's how serious it is, and no it's not cruel, because they did it to themselves.


2) How is homosexuality so bad? I know the bible is against it, but exactly why is it bad?

Because the marriage relationship (1 man + 1 woman) is meant to signify Christ's relationship with the church. Any way you botch it, it's spitting in his face.


3) How could the bible support slavery and stoning and such awful things?

Both of these things come from the Old Testament (we go by the New). Slaves could only be obtained during war - enemies taken captive - or, in some situations, a person would actually choose to become a slave. Slaves didn't have it all bad. They weren't slaves in the way we think of slaves. I think they were released after about 6 years, and they inherited a lot of their master's wealth. It wasn't a bad way to live. As for stoning, that was a law for the Jews only, to keep them pure so that Jesus could come through their bloodline. God was very strict with them for that reason.



4) If God is "all-forgiving" why does he send all non-believers to hell? This sounds like an awful thing to do! And isn't it his fault in the first place for not convincing them of his existence during their lifetime?

Hell is the absence of God, and people choose it for themselves when they willingly turn away from him. We are all corrupt and all deserve hell, that's why Jesus came to stand in our place and take the punishment onto himself, so that if we accept it we can go free. If there were no hell and no punishment for wrong, God would be corrupt. God is not corrupt. He is a good and righteous judge.

Answer 3

God punished them for disobeying Him. They had two rules don't eat from those trees and they could not listen. They know the consequences of eating of the fruit would be death and you cannot blame God for keeping his word. 2. Homosexuality is not any different from anything else God says don't do. A sin is a sin. 3. They Bible doesn't support slavery. There were slaves in those times and was put in the Bible. With Jesus coming there was no longer the need for such harsh punishment. Remember Jesus said when the people wanted to stone the women that who had no sin could throw the first stone. John8:11. The laws in the Bible were written before Christ's birth and that changes things for us who believe. Lastly God doesn't send anyone to hell. People go to hell because they reject God. People have freewill and it is up to the person to reject or accept God. You reject God your whole life and when life is over you think you will spend eternity with God. That I don't understand.

Answer 4

1. OK God did not punish Adam and Eve. They had one rule and broke it. Every action in the natural world has consequences. The good thing for eating of this 'one' thing was to know right and wrong, but the other side was to have to toil for your food and make your own way.
2. Homosexuality is not Bad per say, but it is against nature. True HOMOSEXUALITY is uncommon, choosing to be bisexual or jut to 'experiment' with different sex acts have led to many transmitted diseases. This is the real reason .
3. In bible times there were 'slaves' not like the black thing here in the US. Employees would be the better term. Read about what the bible says how to treat these 'slaves'
4. Stoning was the punishment for crimes in the time of the bible. There must be some consequences for our actions against society.
5. PLEASE DO NOT LET LITTLE THINGS YOU ARE UNSURE ABOUT KEEP YOU FROM THE TRUTH. THE ONLY POWER SATAN HAS IS TO MAKE YOU TAKE A SECOND THOUGHT ABOUT THE LOVE OF GOD.

Answer 5

1) The reason is that God instructed them not to do this and if you understand that is was not an actual eating of an apple, but much more, then it makes sense. But you are still questioning God's decision.

2) It is very clear in the Bible that it is an "abomination" pretty harsh word. It means that God's intention for males and females what being horribly used.

3) It did not support slavery. Stoning was a way to kill someone in those days, just like we have the death penalty today. You are failing to look at what is happening, you are not reading what is going on.

4) He does not send them to Hell, they get chances to turn to him. The end hasn't happened yet. No, it is not his fault, people choose not to come to him.

I think you need someone who really knows the Bible to study with you. On your own, you are not getting some important facts; the Bible has translations, transliterations, parables, actual fact, etc., etc. Also, you have to read from the beginning of the book of whatever to understand where the following verses are heading.

Also, do you have a Strongs Concordance? If not, how are you fully understanding the words that you are reading? Invest $20 in a Strongs, it gives meanings. Some of the Bibles words mean something different today, did you know that?

And you CAN believe, you are just choosing not to because you have not really understood what you need to do. Get a good Bible teacher and then you will understand more.

Answer 6

1) He told them not to....if your parent's told you not to do something and you did... wouldn't they be pissed? As far as Eve eating the apple, i think it's something Women do everyday. We belive that we are being screwed over, that someone is keeping something from us and that we want to be part of that adventure too. NOW the real question.. is it more important that Eve ate the apple, or that it happens everyday?
2) My views on homosexuality: Yeah, the bible says it's bad. Marriage was ment to be a beautiful thing between a man and a women. The bible also says lying is bad, cheating is bad, stealing is bad..... Noone is holding banner up at me because i lie. All of our sins are equal, and Jesus forgives us for them.
3) Times were different then. I wouldn't say the bible SUPPORTS slavery. Moses did free the jews from slavery, by way of god. He did care for the Jews, they are still his chosen people. It's more of a "hey, if you're enslaved this is how you should make the best of it". It can also apply to work, though i personally think it's a stretch.
4) Why should he convince them? Honestly. I belive he is a fair god, and if you haven't heard of him, why is he going to send you to hell? If you're 3 or 4 and don't belive in him, he isn't going to send you to hell. If you've heard of him, and still deny him, thats not his fault.

Answer 7

1. It seems like it's harsh. And not only that, but the trials and pains we ourselves go through in life often seem like they are way worse than what we should deserve. But it's not a cruel punishment. It's what they (and we) need to become our best and most complete, joyful selves. It's not that we deserve to feel pain as a punishment for something we did wrong. It's that the pain itself can elevate us to people who are better, and will experience pleasure more intensely later.

2. I don't think it is. I struggle with why the Bible said that, and some other things too (see my questions on here I just asked). I think that people back then were prejudiced, just like a lot of people today, and they didn't understand it. They were 'icked' out by it, and so they thought they spoke for God when they said it was wrong. Just because the Bible may have some human error does not mean that God does not exist, or that the Bible overall is not the record of God's dealing with us through the ages.

3. I just asked this myself. I think maybe human error got in there.

4. I don't think he does. When Jesus was asked about heaven, he never said anything about what you had to believe, but what you had to DO. Help the poor, take up for the oppressed, be righteous and just.

Answer 8

Wow. Ok, number 1.

1) In the Garden of Eden, God strictly told them not to eat the apple on that tree, or they would be taken out of the garden. This isn't cruel that He threw them out, because they disobeyed Him. You know it was the devil that told them to eat the apple, don't you?

2) Homosexuality is awful, because God created men and women so they would love each other. Man and woman, not man-man or woman-woman. I mean, why would you want to marry a person of the same sex? It's just strange! How would they have children?

3) It's not exactly that the Bible supports these things, it's just how people were punished in those times. The Bible says not to murder, so you know it was simply telling you what they did to people who did not obey.

4) It's a personal choice whether to believe in God or not. He only sends the non-believers to Hell because they did not choose to live with Him. We are here on Earth to make a choice. Also, you have to think that Jesus, who died for our sins, wants us to live with Him and love Him. He showed LOTS of love and compassion towards us by doing that. It's shocking not to love Him after He did all of that for us. Once again, going to Hell is punishment. God is convincing people by using the Bible. He is showing us that He is real, and that He REALLY cares about us. That's God's way of proving He was on Earth and that other people actually did listen to Him. Read about all the miracles He performed on people. Plus, Jesus isn't just going to come down to Earth and say, "Look! I'm here, follow Me and you shall be saved!", because it's written in the Bible that He gives everyone the choice of believing or not. Also, Jesus will have a second coming. We're not sure when it will be, but neither does the Lord Himself.
I hope all of this information helped. If it didn't, pray to God and ask Him about these things! Just have faith that He's listening, and He will prove it to you!

Answer 9

♥ Sure cutie! ♥

1) It wasn't just eating the apple - eating the apple was arbitrary - it was the fact that they disobeyed God and went their own way. God's law is holy and he has the instructions to live the best life possible - when we disobey him we hurt ourselves and each other - God saw all the pain and death and war and oppression that was to come into the world because of Adam and Eve's choice... that's why the punishment was so severe...

2) It goes against nature - you only need to look at reproductive parts to realize that male and female are supposed to go together...

3) It doesn't the bible says that the punishment for kidnapping and selling people into slavery is death. As far as stoning - the idea was to keep a society that was free from evil influences that tore people away from God such as murder, adultery, witchcraft etc. Israel was a theocracy though - run by God - these laws do not apply anywhere except in Ancient Israel. They were examples that even the Jews themselves never really followed.

4) God sends everyone to hell who persists in their sinful way of life and will not repent and come to their senses. Hell is punishment for sin not for disbelief - lying, stealing, hatred, rape, murder, all the vileness of this world must be quarantined from heaven - heaven is a holy place where there is no more pain, so those who insist on causing pain must be separated and quarantined.

Does that make sense?

Answer 10

1) Adam and Eve had a choice, a decision to make. God told them NOT to eat from the one tree, but they did NOT listen. Adam and Eve mad that decision. If we are not punished by are wrong actions we can never learn from them.

2) God made women & men for eachother. It is what He wanted. He wants children. We reproduce to make more people to worship Him for creating us. I can not explain the homosexuality though.

3) The Bible does not support things. People were punished for not obeying God. People are punished today in different ways.

4) God does not have a Physical apperance. But He makes Himself known to us by creation, we have nature, animals, water, family , friends. He has blessed us with so much. You can see Him working through other people. You do not have to believe, but He has given us so much to let us know that He exists and wants to save us all. God loves all of His children, He wants them to believe in Him, follow His ways, and lead good lives. He sent His Son to die, giving everyone a second chance to be saved. We can all be saved and He will forgive us. But if you do not believe in Him, how can He love you and save your life?