I'll try
Submitted by Dakota on May 26 2002 17:30:30
In reply to Not logical submitted by A.I. Watcher on May 26 2002 15:16:48
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"It was my understanding that the however many millions of people it was whom your god killed by drowning in the flood were sinners and doomed to an eternity of unspeakable horror and torture in hell. Is this not your understanding too? So where's the good deal?" The good deal is that everyone isn't eternally separated from God, which is what we deserve. I don't know that everyone who died in the flood was sent to hell. It's quite possible many were sent to heaven, but there's really know way to know. But God is the ultimate judge whether you like it or not, and I trust His judgments to be right. Also, there may be different levels of hell. The serial killer may be in a worse place than the average Joe who rejects God. Some people have suggested that just the separation from God after a soul sees the truth will be torture enough. "But is the pain not permanent? Again, I understood that billions of people are and will be burning in the flames of hell being tortured for eternity by your god. In what way is the pain temporary? Do you subscribe to a different set of beliefs than most Christians?" Temporary for those who get to heaven. And God isn't torturing them, Satan is. God did nothing except deny them entrance into heaven because He can't abide with unholiness. The individuals are the ones who made that choice. It's not like they weren't warned and given a very easy way to become holy in God's eyes. "But your god is supposed to have defined what is holy and what isn't. He stacked the deck against most people in the world who ever were or who ever will be. That was his choice after all as Christians claim there is no limit to his power. I believe omnipotence is an important doctrinal issue." God IS holy. It's His very nature. The only way you can say He stacked the deck is that He gave us free will. Would you prefer the alternative? I wouldn't. And being omnipotent doesn't mean there is nothing He can't do. God cannot sin. He cannot go against His holy nature. And there are many things He chooses not to do. Sometimes we understand why, other times we don't. "So why would a loving, omnipotent god stack the system in such a way that most of the people he created would suffer never-ending flames of agony and torment. Sorry but that's the opposite of love." We did it to ourselves. He gave us a perfect world to rule over and enjoy. He gave us free will to do as we wished but placed certain boundaries we were not to cross. But, of course, we cross them. When we sin, we become unholy. And God can't abide with unholiness, which is why we need salvation. Even though He loves us, we can't be in His presence if we aren't cleansed. This is something else God can't do. He can't decide to put aside our holy vs. unholy differences and welcome everyone into His presence regardless. I don't know why. That's just how it is. Maybe I'll ask Him when I see Him. This is as far as I'm going to go with debating. If you want to argue more, go to religeous debate chat or something. You always focus on the negative. I'm not saying anything should be ignored, but where is the balance? Why don't you ever talk about how Jesus (God in the flesh) came down to Earth to suffer and die so that we sinners can have a free ticket to heaven? He didn't have to do that. And what about all the teachings, such as love for your fellow man? Not to mention all the good things God has done in individual's lives such as mine. have you ever looked out to the ocean, or across a mountain range, and asked yourself why a Being who could create all that be concerned with an insignificant flee such as you or I? You demand to be on the same level as God and understand everything as God does before you accept Him. That simply isn't possible. I would refer you back to what God told Job, when Job questioned Him. It's quite appropriate. And if you were not refusing to talk to God, I challenge you again to try. When I didn't believe, I said something along the lines of "God, I'm not acknowledging you're out there, but if you are........" You can start there. If He really doesn't exist, as you claim, then you've lost nothing. You will never find true Christianity without eventually having a one on one with God. I'm sure you've heard it said that Christianity is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It's true. So ask Him to reveal Himself to you, if you dare. Otherwise, stop wasting my time. Dakota |
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