- Aug 4, 2013
- 4,999
- 2,485
- 75
- Country
- United States
- Faith
- Eastern Orthodox
- Marital Status
- Married
Is God really love?
Let's start out by defining love. Let's use first the common and accepted definition: love is seeking to do that for another being which is in their best interests. Love always does that which is best for the other person.
Now let's take the Bible definition:
1Co 13:4 The love is long-suffering, it is kind, the love doth not envy, the love doth not vaunt itself, is not puffed up, 5 doth not act unseemly, doth not seek its own things, is not provoked, doth not impute evil, 6 rejoiceth not over the unrighteousness, and rejoiceth with the truth;
7 all things it beareth, all it believeth, all it hopeth, all it endureth. 8 The love doth never fail;
And finally, the outworking of such love as instructed by Jesus:
Mat 5:43 Ye heard that it was said: Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and shalt hate thine enemy; 44 but I -- I say to you, Love your enemies, bless those cursing you, do good to those hating you, and pray for those accusing you falsely, and persecuting you, 45 that ye may be sons of your Father in the heavens, because His sun He doth cause to rise on evil and good, and He doth send rain on righteous and unrighteous. 46 'For, if ye may love those loving you, what reward have ye? do not also the tax-gatherers the same? 47 and if ye may salute your brethren only, what do ye abundant? do not also the tax-gatherers so? 48 ye shall therefore be perfect, as your Father who is in the heavens is perfect.
So according to Jesus, to do good to those who are your enemies makes us perfect like our Father in heaven.
But according to the concept of eternal conscious torment, God does not forgive His enemies, does not do good to them, but instead gets revenge on them in the most excruciating manner possible.
Which is love: chastising a wayward and rebellious child so that it may be healed of its rebellion, or putting that child's hand on a hot stove and leaving it there for the rest of its life?
Which is love: creating sentient beings that will be tortured forever so that you can receive glory from their suffering, or having a plan to rescue them from themselves after a period of chastening?
Which is love: destroying sin forever so that it no longer can desecrate what you have created, or keeping it alive in sentient beings to torment them forever and ever because you will neither annihilate nor cure them?
Which is love: torturing sentient beings forever in a punishment that accomplishes absolutely nothing and in its endlessness never ceases, or chastising them in fire which will burn away their evil and bring them to the holiness which was the original plan for all mankind?
How is it that we can speak of "God is love" out of one side of our mouths and then attribute to Him things that if you or I were to do them, we would be labeled as psychotics and madmen? Has Christianity lost site of what love really is and does? Or is God only love because you get to go to heaven, but if the rest of the world doesn't ......meeeeaaaah, so what?
And how is that last attitude really love - the desiring of the best for others - on your part?
Let's start out by defining love. Let's use first the common and accepted definition: love is seeking to do that for another being which is in their best interests. Love always does that which is best for the other person.
Now let's take the Bible definition:
1Co 13:4 The love is long-suffering, it is kind, the love doth not envy, the love doth not vaunt itself, is not puffed up, 5 doth not act unseemly, doth not seek its own things, is not provoked, doth not impute evil, 6 rejoiceth not over the unrighteousness, and rejoiceth with the truth;
7 all things it beareth, all it believeth, all it hopeth, all it endureth. 8 The love doth never fail;
And finally, the outworking of such love as instructed by Jesus:
Mat 5:43 Ye heard that it was said: Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and shalt hate thine enemy; 44 but I -- I say to you, Love your enemies, bless those cursing you, do good to those hating you, and pray for those accusing you falsely, and persecuting you, 45 that ye may be sons of your Father in the heavens, because His sun He doth cause to rise on evil and good, and He doth send rain on righteous and unrighteous. 46 'For, if ye may love those loving you, what reward have ye? do not also the tax-gatherers the same? 47 and if ye may salute your brethren only, what do ye abundant? do not also the tax-gatherers so? 48 ye shall therefore be perfect, as your Father who is in the heavens is perfect.
So according to Jesus, to do good to those who are your enemies makes us perfect like our Father in heaven.
But according to the concept of eternal conscious torment, God does not forgive His enemies, does not do good to them, but instead gets revenge on them in the most excruciating manner possible.
Which is love: chastising a wayward and rebellious child so that it may be healed of its rebellion, or putting that child's hand on a hot stove and leaving it there for the rest of its life?
Which is love: creating sentient beings that will be tortured forever so that you can receive glory from their suffering, or having a plan to rescue them from themselves after a period of chastening?
Which is love: destroying sin forever so that it no longer can desecrate what you have created, or keeping it alive in sentient beings to torment them forever and ever because you will neither annihilate nor cure them?
Which is love: torturing sentient beings forever in a punishment that accomplishes absolutely nothing and in its endlessness never ceases, or chastising them in fire which will burn away their evil and bring them to the holiness which was the original plan for all mankind?
How is it that we can speak of "God is love" out of one side of our mouths and then attribute to Him things that if you or I were to do them, we would be labeled as psychotics and madmen? Has Christianity lost site of what love really is and does? Or is God only love because you get to go to heaven, but if the rest of the world doesn't ......meeeeaaaah, so what?
And how is that last attitude really love - the desiring of the best for others - on your part?