"If a man rapes your mother,should the 'Loving judge' let the rapist go free?
How do you define love anyway?"
So the argument is that if you wouldn't let a rapist go free, why should a sinner not suffer eternal torment, correct? We all agree on this interpretation, right? Sounds like a straw man argument to me. What do you think? Is finite punishment for a finite act a little bit of an oversimplified analogy to eternal torment for fleeting sins?
2007-12-20 03:58:11 · 22 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Wow you are a dictionary of ignorance. Your question is a sad bait-n-hook attempt, that could only be asked by one seeking to prey on simple minds. This is sad and you stand for what? For whom? I have already answer the "why".
2007-12-20 04:05:25 · answer #1 · answered by 2U2 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The act of raping my mother is not the point at all. You want to punish for a deed. The fact that a man would rape someone is that the drive inside of him that caused him to do such a deed is the fact that he is a sinner. Once a sinner starts doing deeds the deeds he does keeps getting worse and worse. Check anybody's rap sheet with usually prove this point. We are all sinners born that way. Jesus came to die for those sins. Through him(Jesus) we are forgiven. The only thing we have to do is believe, repent and be baptised.
When Jesus forgives us it is then we receive the gift of eternal life. But if we are charged with a crime by the law of the land we should be punished accordingly. For example the thief on the cross was punished for his crimes but believed and repented. He still had to be punished but Jesus forgave him and told him..."this day you will be in paradise" the other one was lost eternally
2007-12-20 04:11:23 · answer #2 · answered by Tommiecat 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
So you asked a question and got a question for an answer.
No matter what hideous crime you or anyone else has done, is doing now or will do in the future, Jesus has taken that and you are forgiven because He sacrificed Himself.....taken that crime (sin) and by His precious blood washed it away.
Now that is love. Leaving the glory of heaven and being born a man. Living with the temptations all men have and not giving in to them. Being hungry and thirsty and cold and everything man experiences
Jesus felt. So He knows what you and all
people go through in their lives. Then having done no wrong, lets man kill Him so that He can save them. That is Love.
Now after doing that for mankind, man has the gall to not believe and accept what Jesus did and thinks that they should not be in eternal torment because they don`t want to believe and worship the God who created them and then saved them from themselves for left on their own, this world would be so much worse than it is now.
As a matter of fact, for those who are saved by the blood of Jesus, this world is the closest they will get to hell and for those who are not saved, this world is the closest they will get to heaven.
2007-12-20 04:15:37 · answer #3 · answered by Blessed 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
As a former Christian, I feel qualified to answer this question. The answer you would get from a knowledgable Christian is that the man that committed rape should be allowed to repent, turn to Christ and then be loved and forgiven by God.
They would argue that God's law does call for death as a punishment for some offences. Since Christians believe that death on Earth is not final - the punishment of death is temporary, and therefore finite. After all, everyone lives forever, it is just a question of location: Heaven or Hell.
2007-12-20 04:07:14 · answer #4 · answered by nestprop 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I am a Christian and I believe that is the dumbest answer I have ever read. I also don't believe in hell because I believe hell to be a man made concept to control people by fear. I define love to be unconditional which means that it does not matter what you have done in your life, when you come face to face with the eternal and unconditional love, you will be changed and you will see how the things that you have done wrong have not only affectied the lives of the people that were hurt by you, but also how that has hurt you too. I believe that you can know that love in this life or in the next and that is your choice.
2007-12-20 04:07:27 · answer #5 · answered by Jessy 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
We are all subject to the laws.
But God is above all man-made laws.
If He & HE ALONE, forgives the man what right do we have to question. After all, he forgave me, & I was just as bad as the rapist, as seen here:
Revelation 21:8 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
8But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."
2007-12-20 04:03:49 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Because you love a person even though they do wrong doesn't mean that they should be without judgment for what they have done.
Even in the Bible even though David did wrong God did not save him from the punishment.
True love comes from being able to love the person even while you dish out punishment.
Do you love your child even though he is wrong and do you still love that child while you are punishing him or her.
See that is where true love comes from not letting someone get away with everything that is not love.
2007-12-20 04:07:36 · answer #7 · answered by Cookyduster 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hello Theists
I had a quick look at your profile. Actually, I come to YA and answer questions to help me learn what other people wonder about God. I find it helps me work out the subtle distinctions of Christian theology and its implications for real people (other than myself, of course) and their beliefs.
As for your question, what one person may or may not think about God's intentions is somewhat problematic. Christianity is highly individualistic and always has been. The efforts by state and church to force conformance to a particular standard has always caused more problems than it solved. We are called to work out our salvation as individual persons before a personal God (that is a God who is also a person).
You might have a look at the scene in the movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" When Delmer gets baptized in the river, he declares, "All my sins are forgiven... even that Piggly Wiggly I knocked over in..." and Everett responds with the perfectly accurate, "You may be fixed up with the Allmighty, but you'll find the state of Mississippi is a little less forgiving."
There is an important lesson that is glossed over in this dialogue; that true repentence of a wicked act is granted instant remission. This is not "justice", but mercy. The eternal torment that awaits the unrepentent is not for "fleeting sins" but for a state of the will. It is the willful refusal to acknowledge my own evil that sends me to eternal torment, "...through my fault, through my own fault, through my own most grievous fault." It is not a "fleeting sin" but a state of mind that shapes my entire life.
The other side of the question, the human desire for justice, makes it difficult for us to "forgive those who have sinned against us." We desire justice, not mercy. We want to see the evil ones punished. Our sense of justice demands it.
It is only through the mercy and example of Christ on the cross that we can have any hope of overcoming our own willful desire for vengeance. This "will fullness" is, theolgically speaking, as much a sin as the original evil act. "Forgive us our sins *as we forgive* those who have sinned against us." The forgiveness we are called to practice brings healing and unity where once there was only pain and separation.
When we look to the ministry and cross of Christ we see the art of mercy practiced. God will forgive any who ask it, no matter what they have done.
"Father, forgive them, they know not what they do."
Dave
2007-12-20 05:05:40 · answer #8 · answered by dgosse_ca 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God is like Marlon Brando, making us an offer we can't refuse: "Pay me fealty, or I will send the Devil by to burn down your soul!" The concept of eternal torment is how the shamans keep the doubters in line, whatever brand of Allmighty they are peddling.
Since I believe that once I die I am simply dead, and since I would prefer not to be dead, I would find the remote possibility of eternal life rather comforting. I can understand how the notion sells a lot of soap.
Those out there who are offended by this should consider: is it better to burn in Hell than to be nowhere at all? Would an eternity spent down the road from Jimmy Swaggart be all that much of an improvement?
2007-12-20 04:11:35 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
The problem with the finite act/infinite punishment scenario is that you are not sent to Hell for any one particular sin. Hell is for those who have spent a lifetime rejecting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Accepting Christ's sacrifice on the Cross is the only thing that will satisfy God's justice. Going to Hell is the cumulative result of one's choices, not just the effects of one sin.
God makes the rules, and we can either choose to obey Him or we can reject His authority. Anyone who doesn't like His version of salvation is free to take the matter up with Him, but don't be surprised if He doesn't change His mind just to suit your idea of what's fair.
2007-12-20 04:07:24 · answer #10 · answered by Wolfeblayde 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
And the answer I gave, which was Biblical, got a thumbs down, dear one.
God sent His Son to reconcile us to Him by His own Son's sacrifice. Before that, we were lost in our sin. So by accepting Christ's sacrifice as payment in full for our sins, past, present and future, we are reconciled to God and will spend eternity with Him.
By rejecting that free gift, we choose eternity apart from God.
The choice is ours.
Christ spoke more about hell than He spoke about heaven because He wanted to warn people about it. It's very real. But we can choose NOT to go there.
May God bless you richly this Christmas season!
2007-12-20 04:03:28 · answer #11 · answered by Devoted1 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋