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Don't know if this has been asked before. I've never seen it.
I get that God has to separate Himself from sinful creatures. What I don't understand and continuously fail to understand is why the place He separates Himself from His wayward children has to be fiery and filled with the worst possible torture. Why couldn't He just create a dark pit where everyone stumbles around in the dark? What is the logical purpose of tossing them into a lake of fire where they writhe around for eternity like the T-1000 in the smelt cauldron at the end of Terminator 2?
Please, serious answers only. I really want to understand the logic. This is not a debate between universalists vs ET so please no "He won't do that" from Uni's. Please no personal attacks. Please no:
1. you're trying to start another fight
2. you have a hidden agenda
3. you're a troublemaker
4. you're in darkness therefore you can never understand......Try me.
5. sarcasm like, "Why don't you ask Him."
If you're going to say, "because that's what God's word says", please save it. I already know that. I'd just like to understand the reason or better, the logic of why God demands that the unsaved have to burn in horrible torment instead of just being in a painless eternal place of darkness. Isn't being eternally separated from Him and losing out on all the joys of heaven enough punishment in His eyes?
By common pop-culture meaning, hell, by definition is painful, but not necessarily fiery. Could be fiery in the literal sense or in the metaphorical sense.
Not a big religious guy here, but it seems to me that as people have the choice to embrace God or turn away from him, knowing the consequenses, then they choose damnation and the fiery pit for themselves.
It seems to me to be a contrast between reward in heaven for living by God's law vs. choosing to live an unrepentant, perhaps even evil life, and choosing by your actions which way you want to go.
The Bible says that God will forgive and save any who ask for redemption, so if you don't wish that kind of peace, then it is on your head if you suffer eternal torment.
Why does it have to be a horrible place? incentive. People won't choose the hard way of living a virtuous life unless there is a reward, (heaven) or horrible punishment, (hell).
Like I said, not a big religious guy, so I don't have a degree in theology, but the question and answer seem to be pretty much cause and effect to me.
I didn't design the system, but that is the way it looks to me anyway.
Don't know if this has been asked before. I've never seen it.
I get that God has to separate Himself from sinful creatures. What I don't understand and continuously fail to understand is why the place He separates Himself from His wayward children has to be fiery and filled with the worst possible torture. Why couldn't He just create a dark pit where everyone stumbles around in the dark? What is the logical purpose of tossing them into a lake of fire where they writhe around for eternity like the T-1000 in the smelt cauldron at the end of Terminator 2?
Please, serious answers only. I really want to understand the logic. This is not a debate between universalists vs ET so please no "He won't do that" from Uni's. Please no personal attacks. Please no:
1. you're trying to start another fight
2. you have a hidden agenda
3. you're a troublemaker
4. you're in darkness therefore you can never understand......Try me.
5. sarcasm like, "Why don't you ask Him."
If you're going to say, "because that's what God's word says", please save it. I already know that. I'd just like to understand the reason or better, the logic of why God demands that the unsaved have to burn in horrible torment instead of just being in a painless eternal place of darkness. Isn't being eternally separated from Him and losing out on all the joys of heaven enough punishment in His eyes?
I just don't know what to make of this question. I have quite a few smart ass answers like it can't be that bad if I can make my bed in it. Why it is depicted as being fiery and painful, the answer can only come from someone who believes in it, and if they can't answer it, I can only hope they can get beyond his ways are higher than ours to appease their minds.
not sure if how hot folks believe it will be. but according to scripture it will be tolerable, and more tolerable for some. not sure how this will be approached, but Jesus did say that it will be more tolerable for ... than for ...., so that must mean that it will be hotter and warmer and maybe even cool for those that are very nice folks who never heard of God. not sure. why some say it must be painful when the flesh profit nothing. I am sure you will get good answers, hopefully it does not turn into another hell/no hell debate and many other threads.
Don't know if this has been asked before. I've never seen it.
I get that God has to separate Himself from sinful creatures. What I don't understand and continuously fail to understand is why the place He separates Himself from His wayward children has to be fiery and filled with the worst possible torture. Why couldn't He just create a dark pit where everyone stumbles around in the dark? What is the logical purpose of tossing them into a lake of fire where they writhe around for eternity like the T-1000 in the smelt cauldron at the end of Terminator 2?
Please, serious answers only. I really want to understand the logic. This is not a debate between universalists vs ET so please no "He won't do that" from Uni's. Please no personal attacks. Please no:
1. you're trying to start another fight
2. you have a hidden agenda
3. you're a troublemaker
4. you're in darkness therefore you can never understand......Try me.
5. sarcasm like, "Why don't you ask Him."
If you're going to say, "because that's what God's word says", please save it. I already know that. I'd just like to understand the reason or better, the logic of why God demands that the unsaved have to burn in horrible torment instead of just being in a painless eternal place of darkness. Isn't being eternally separated from Him and losing out on all the joys of heaven enough punishment in His eyes?
I actually don't get the idea that people can be separated from God. In God "we move and live and have our being (exist)", so how could anyone survive being separated from God? It makes no sense.
For a long time I believed hell was literally fiery. I think I got that mostly from pop-culture - books (some Christian some not), movies (hollywood loves hell), friends, dante's-inferno-type-stuff, etc. And from church talking about hellfire.
I actually don't get the idea that people can be separated from God. In God "we move and live and have our being (exist)", so how could anyone survive being separated from God? It makes no sense.
Don't know if this has been asked before. I've never seen it.
I get that God has to separate Himself from sinful creatures. What I don't understand and continuously fail to understand is why the place He separates Himself from His wayward children has to be fiery and filled with the worst possible torture. Why couldn't He just create a dark pit where everyone stumbles around in the dark? What is the logical purpose of tossing them into a lake of fire where they writhe around for eternity like the T-1000 in the smelt cauldron at the end of Terminator 2?
Please, serious answers only. I really want to understand the logic. This is not a debate between universalists vs ET so please no "He won't do that" from Uni's. Please no personal attacks. Please no:
1. you're trying to start another fight
2. you have a hidden agenda
3. you're a troublemaker
4. you're in darkness therefore you can never understand......Try me.
5. sarcasm like, "Why don't you ask Him."
If you're going to say, "because that's what God's word says", please save it. I already know that. I'd just like to understand the reason or better, the logic of why God demands that the unsaved have to burn in horrible torment instead of just being in a painless eternal place of darkness. Isn't being eternally separated from Him and losing out on all the joys of heaven enough punishment in His eyes?
The fire is God's holy wrath against sin. At the cross Jesus took all of God's holy wrath upon Himself and lived to say "It is finished!" If there had been any of our sins left in the body of Jesus then God's holy wrath would still be upon Him and He would still be on the cross today. That is why believers will never experience God's judgment or wrath against sin because Jesus bore it all. (See my thread I made recently here called 'Under grace, the sacrifice is greater than the judgment') Those who reject the once and for all sacrifice are subject to God's holy wrath against sin because you rejected the truth that God released all of His wrath on Jesus for our sins. Hell is where God has placed His holy wrath for all sin that is not atoned for. In God's eyes all of the sins of the world have been atoned for, but if you choose to reject this to the bitter end then you will be sent to the place where un-atoned sin is punished. To reject Jesus' sacrifice is to hold on to your sin nature and your sins. A holy and just God cannot leave sin unpunished and He didn't. But those who choose to reject the truth of Jesus' finished work on the cross will be subject to God's holy wrath against sin.
Salvation does not happen by osmosis. Adam made a choice to be a sinner in the beginning and now everyone will choose if they want to be righteous by choosing to believe in Jesus or not.
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