Why Do Sinners All Get Exactly The Same Punishment? (soul, worship, Jews)
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I'm the last person who should be preaching, but here's what I've learned:
It is a misconception that God will send people to Hell. He is truly "a loving and merciful God", and He offers you eternal life. If you choose to accept His offer, you MUST follow His commandments. You cannot pick and choose the parts of the Bible you like, and ignore the parts you don't like, or those that are not convenient, or that are not part of your culture. The Bible is a mixture of literal and symbolic teachings, and you cannot take a verse here and a verse there out of context and draw short-sighted conclusions. You will be confused, as you are now and as the vast majority of Christians are (the Bible even warns us about this). You must read, study, and LIVE the teachings, and put enough pieces of this unimaginable jigsaw puzzle together just to get even a glimpse of the big picture.
Like everyone, you will die. Later, you will be resurrected, and you will then be a part of one of two groups - 1. those who believed and followed and 2. those who didn't. If you refuse to accept and believe, you will undoubtedly be in the second group. If you believe, but do not follow, you will still be in the second group (Satan himself certainly believes in God, but he obviously is not a follower). Those who end up in the second group will NOT be punished by God, but they WILL be destroyed. They will simply be casualties of war. But you will not burn or suffer for all eternity. You will simply be destroyed, and you'll know nothing after that. The belief that you will burn for eternity is simply a misinterpretation of the scriptures.
I'm very analytical, and for most of my life, I also questioned the existence of God. But I never came to a solid conclusion until about two or three years ago. I continued to look for answers. I discovered that there were more than 400 prophecies in the Bible. All of them point in one direction, and about 300 of them point toward one man. Most amazingly, ALL of them were fulfilled! The odds against this are more than staggering, more than mind-boggling. This is the "science" that convinced me.
Today, I'm a total Christian rookie, but one who has started living a true Christian life, all the way down to "honoring the Sabbath", i.e. Saturday, and "keeping it holy."
The truth is, MontanaGuy, living a Christian life is scary. It includes the realization that something so amazing exists that we can't even comprehend it. We simply aren't capable. And it is virtually impossible to live a Christian life. "We are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners." But we can't live in denial just because we don't understand.
Here's my most sincere advice: Keep searching for the answers, but never say "No, there is no God." If you say God is not "a loving and merciful God", then you are ackowledging His existence. If you acknowledge His existence, you must strive to understand what YOU can do to make it to where you want to be. Do you want to go to Heaven? Then, do what He asks (commands). ALWAYS make the right decision. You know what that is. Don't compare what you do to Stalin and Hitler, compare it to Jesus. He is the goal to strive toward. Think always about what's best for other people, not what you want or think you need. Always sacrifice for others. Even if it means losing your job, your car, or your home, or going to jail, or dying. Read the Ten Commandments over and over, and start living ALL TEN Commandments. You will NOT be disappointed!
Finally, if Jesus were alive today, what church would he go to? If you want to know the answer, let me know.
Good luck and God bless you and all the others who are trying to help you understand.
I'm the last person who should be preaching, but here's what I've learned:
It is a misconception that God will send people to Hell. He is truly "a loving and merciful God", and He offers you eternal life. If you choose to accept His offer, you MUST follow His commandments. You cannot pick and choose the parts of the Bible you like, and ignore the parts you don't like, or those that are not convenient, or that are not part of your culture. The Bible is a mixture of literal and symbolic teachings, and you cannot take a verse here and a verse there out of context and draw short-sighted conclusions. You will be confused, as you are now and as the vast majority of Christians are (the Bible even warns us about this). You must read, study, and LIVE the teachings, and put enough pieces of this unimaginable jigsaw puzzle together just to get even a glimpse of the big picture.
Like everyone, you will die. Later, you will be resurrected, and you will then be a part of one of two groups - 1. those who believed and followed and 2. those who didn't. If you refuse to accept and believe, you will undoubtedly be in the second group. If you believe, but do not follow, you will still be in the second group (Satan himself certainly believes in God, but he obviously is not a follower). Those who end up in the second group will NOT be punished by God, but they WILL be destroyed. They will simply be casualties of war. But you will not burn or suffer for all eternity. You will simply be destroyed, and you'll know nothing after that. The belief that you will burn for eternity is simply a misinterpretation of the scriptures.
I'm very analytical, and for most of my life, I also questioned the existence of God. But I never came to a solid conclusion until about two or three years ago. I continued to look for answers. I discovered that there were more than 400 prophecies in the Bible. All of them point in one direction, and about 300 of them point toward one man. Most amazingly, ALL of them were fulfilled! The odds against this are more than staggering, more than mind-boggling. This is the "science" that convinced me.
Today, I'm a total Christian rookie, but one who has started living a true Christian life, all the way down to "honoring the Sabbath", i.e. Saturday, and "keeping it holy."
The truth is, MontanaGuy, living a Christian life is scary. It includes the realization that something so amazing exists that we can't even comprehend it. We simply aren't capable. And it is virtually impossible to live a Christian life. "We are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners." But we can't live in denial just because we don't understand.
Here's my most sincere advice: Keep searching for the answers, but never say "No, there is no God." If you say God is not "a loving and merciful God", then you are ackowledging His existence. If you acknowledge His existence, you must strive to understand what YOU can do to make it to where you want to be. Do you want to go to Heaven? Then, do what He asks (commands). ALWAYS make the right decision. You know what that is. Don't compare what you do to Stalin and Hitler, compare it to Jesus. He is the goal to strive toward. Think always about what's best for other people, not what you want or think you need. Always sacrifice for others. Even if it means losing your job, your car, or your home, or going to jail, or dying. Read the Ten Commandments over and over, and start living ALL TEN Commandments. You will NOT be disappointed!
Finally, if Jesus were alive today, what church would he go to? If you want to know the answer, let me know.
Good luck and God bless you and all the others who are trying to help you understand.
"Whosoever"
That which can be asserted without proof, can be dismissed without proof - Christopher Hitchens
I'm asking this question because of a recent post I did and it got me to thinking about how God supposedly deals with sinners. In our justice system we have a punishment or sentence that is based on the crime that's been committed. A parking ticket gets a small fine, a drunk driver will get a much larger fine and possibly a little jail time, an armed robber will likely get a few years in prison and a murderer will possibly get a life sentence or even the death penalty in some cases. Ok, that all makes sense to me, the punishment fits the crime. However the Bible only describes two possible outcomes for my life, heaven or hell. As an atheist I've been told that I'll be getting a one way ticket to the lake of fire to suffer for eternity. My crime? I simply don't think that God exists. I'll be getting the exact punishment that Stalin and Hitler will get even though I've never hurt anyone in my life and I've tried to be a decent human being. Now we've all been told what a loving and merciful God we have and how he values each and every one of us and yet the Bible says I'll suffer more torment than the most depraved human being has ever inflicted on another human being. What kind of a God would do that and does this belief even make any sense?
Thats a really good point. I'm athiest and i've never really thought about that. But then again not much of the bible or religion makes sense to me anyway thats why i disagree with it.
I'm glad to see one of my very old threads is still occationally active. I do think it's an interesting question and despite some attempts to explain it the Bible seems to lay out a "one punishment fits all" sort of answer. I find that many believers tend to downplay the Old Testament when it sounds a little too harsh and suggest that the New Testament has a kinder, gentler point of view. Revelations is in the New Testament and the last book in the Bible but it still presents a very grim ending for people like myself whose only crime is that they don't believe it.
I think if we classify all sin (lying, cheating, murder, child molestation) as sin whether big or not so big then one punishment suits all too. I have heard some people say that as sure as there is a heaven, there is a hell..I say that as sure as there is everlasting life, there is everlasting death..
Sins here on Earth have different price tags anywhere from speeding to murder,but on a Heavenly perspective God hates all sin especially when one continually lives in that sin.
A person,who has committed a murder has a chance to attain the kingdom of Heaven if he has true repentance with all of one.s heart and mind where one has no chance if they have turn their backs completely on God.
I agree that God forgives the sins of the repentant..He sees into their hearts and souls..We can't..We can only go by outward appearances and actions..
Sins here on Earth have different price tags anywhere from speeding to murder,but on a Heavenly perspective God hates all sin especially when one continually lives in that sin.
A person,who has committed a murder has a chance to attain the kingdom of Heaven if he has true repentance with all of one.s heart and mind where one has no chance if they have turn their backs completely on God.
Well I suppose that'd be a nice story if I were a murderer... it'd give me something to reflect on as I rotted the rest of my life away in jail....
Well I suppose that'd be a nice story if I were a murderer... it'd give me something to reflect on as I rotted the rest of my life away in jail....
David Berkowitz(Son of Sam) has turned his life over to Christ,he was a serial killer if you remember and was given a life sentence but yet he chose the righteous way of the Lord. It is like Blue stated in her post,God is the only one that knows the true heart of an individual, man can only judge the outer appearance of an individual.
David Berkowitz(Son of Sam) has turned his life over to Christ,he was a serial killer if you remember and was given a life sentence but yet he chose the righteous way of the Lord. It is like Blue stated in her post,God is the only one that knows the true heart of an individual, man can only judge the outer appearance of an individual.
Isn't that the same guy who thought his next door neighbor's barking dog was telling him to commit all those murders? I don't think the "Son of Sam" is a prime example of ration and logic coming to a belief in God... Then again, that could just be me
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. I have heard some people say that as sure as there is a heaven, there is a hell..I say that as sure as there is everlasting life, there is everlasting death..
