WrongClub_Lucius
Active Member
"O.K. so, how do you people who believe in eternal torture in fire, how do you tuck your children in at night and explain to them that God loves you but if you don't love Him He is going to torture you in fire, not for the length of your favorite video, not for the length of a day, not even for the length of a year but it will be unending. Mommy and Daddy will be in heaven while you writhe in unimaginable suffering because this is what God does to those who don't love Him."
How do people believe this and escape reconciling this belief with possible eventualities of life?
Few people actually think about what they "believe", and Christian parent's don't waste a moment thinking that their children may not really believe. I mean, they are such great parents, so it isn't possible that their kid could go to hell. Maybe someone else's kid, but not theirs. I mean, just look at the number of Christian kids that continue to go to church after their parent's are no longer in the position to make them go...oh wait, never mind...
We know a couple bits of information that may add up to a completely different reality than what has been propogated through history.
First, the Apostle Paul says that "we will judge angels". What does this mean? Nobody knows.
And then, we know that "every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord." This happens after Satan is revealed to us.
Third, we know that this adventure started with eating from "The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil." Developing this a bit further, as a good pastor would, we know that "knowledge" means "learning by experience....so simple substitution reveals it is "the tree of the [learning by experience] of good and evil."
What is all this learning about? Is it about gaining the ability to judge? Preposterous, I know...but Paul says that we will judge angels.
And finally, when Satan is revealed and is there along with Jesus, everyone bows to Jesus and confesses that Jesus is Lord.... Granted the Bible doesn't explicitly say that God asked for a show of hands, or something like that, but it really feels like all of humanity is deciding who is worthy to be called Lord....judging, deciding...
Anyway, how is Jesus going to condemn for eternity anybody who confesses him to be Lord? I don't know. That doesn't sound right to me.
The Bible spends more time talking about rewards and crowns for the faithful.
And the whole "new earth" thing...heaven is described as a city, and nothing that causes suffering can enter into it. It almost sounds like there is a somewhat less heavenly existence surrounding the city?
And as a matter of fact, Jesus describes hell as "weaping and gnashing of teeth". I haven't studied this, but the whole "burning in Hell for eternity" thing is likely more tradition than fact.
(Part of this theory is that what is actually going on in this world is quite a bit different than what tradition tells us.)
Upvote
0