GOD = Man?

[XChristian]

If Man was created in GOD's image does that mean GOD is capable of cruelty and saddism?

 

[chosenpath]

NO!

A good example is Cain and Abel. This is the first account of cruelty and it occured after sin had developed through satan with Adam and Eve. Notice Abel abided in God as his image but Cain took on the image of satan.
Genesis 4:3
And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. So the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire [is] for you, but you should rule over it."


This is late explained in the NT by Jesus Christ in John 8:44.

You are of [your] father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own [resources], for he is a liar and the father of it.

 

[XChristian]

Thank you Chosenpath for your response but I do not understand. Please expand on your response. Did God create Hell as an eternal punishnment for wicked people? Is time in hell finite? If everyone was created in God's image there must be good in them somewhere? Right? Even if we are the merest shadow of what God is we all must have some good in us? Right or am I wrong?

 

[tansy]

If Man was created in GOD's image does that mean GOD is capable of cruelty and saddism?

Short answer is , no. God is Love.
Adam and Eve were made in the image of God, but when they disobeyed what God had said and ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, that image gf God was defaced or spoilt, and although we are still capable of good things as well as bad, we are no longer innocent, pure and undefiled, and so there is a lot of cruelty in the world.

 

[XChristian]

In response to Tansy,
We are not created in God's image? We are descended from apes after all?

 

[tansy]

In response to Tansy,
We are not created in God's image? We are descended from apes after all?

I do apologize for my inadequate explanation...I was trying to be brief.
No, ~I didn't mean to imply that we are descended from apes, although many Christians believe we did evolve from wherever.
What I meant was that God created mankind inhis image, but that image has been distorted.
Others may well disagree with this, but if you read in Genesis, it says that God created Adam in his image, but then in Chapter 5, verse 3, it says that Adam had a son, who was born in HIS image and likeness (that is Adam's), and I take that to mean that, although mankind still had the stamp of God on him, as it were, he also had the stamp of Adam's now sinful image on him., But, as I say, others may not agree with that interpretation, but it is just a thought.

 

[XChristian]

God is good and is stamp is on on us, yes?

 

[tansy]

Yes, I would say so

 

[chosenpath]

Did God create Hell as an eternal punishnment for wicked people?
First let me correct the difference between Hell and Gehenna which is the lake of fire.
Hell is Hades or Sheol which is the common grave.

7585 sh'owl sheh-ole' or shol {sheh-ole'}; from 7592; Hades or the world of the dead (as if a subterranean retreat), including its accessories and inmates:--grave, hell, pit.


When Adam and Eve sinned God informed them in Genesis 3:19
In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you [are], And to dust you shall return."

Another good example of explaining Hades is Acts 2:26-30.

Job 14:13
"Oh, that You would hide me in the grave, That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past, That You would appoint me a set time, and remember me!

Psalm 146:3-5
Do not put your trust in princes, [Nor] in a son of man, in whom [there is] no help.
His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; In that very day his plans perish. Happy [is he] who [has] the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope [is] in the LORD his God,

Ecclesiastes 9:10 and 12:7
Whatever your hand finds to do, do [it] with your might; for [there is] no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.

Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it.


Gehenna the lake of fire is the second death.

Revelation 20:14
Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Revelation 21:8
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

So hell which God did create is not eternal punishment, but sort of like a time out for what Adam and Eve did.
Revelation 20:13
The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.

Is time in hell finite?

No, time in the lake of fire is finite.

If everyone was created in God's image there must be good in them somewhere? Right? Even if we are the merest shadow of what God is we all must have some good in us?
You are right. It is what we choose that seals our fate.

Deuteronomy 30:15
"See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong [your] days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess.

James 1:13
Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

James 1:21
Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

Read all of Jude 1

 

[XChristian]

So if our good comes from God our Saddism and Cruelty must come from him as well? He did create Hell, yes?

 

[tansy]

So if our good comes from God our Saddism and Cruelty must come from him as well? He did create Hell, yes?

No, I don't believe thatcruelty and sadism comes from God. I think that God knows about both good and evil.
When Adam and Eve were put in the Garden of Eden, God told them that they could eat from the Tree of Life but not from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
I think that in the beginning man was innocent.....he knew nothing of evil and, in a sense, nothing of good. By eating from the Tree of Life, he would have known only the goodness and love of God, but by eating from the other Tree, he came to know about evil also. (I am sure there are others who could explain this far better than I). Because he had disobeyed God, he put up a barrier in effect between God and himself. Nonetheless, God still showed His love for Adam and Eve in various ways, which I won't go into for the moment.

 

[GoodNewsJim]

When we do bad, we're being sinful. Being sinful is generally defined as disobeying God.

 

[Chesterton]

So if our good comes from God our Saddism and Cruelty must come from him as well?

No, only good. Cruelty and sadism are not created "things"; they're wrong ways of seeking something good (like pleasure and fulfillment).

 

[drich0150]

If Man was created in GOD's image does that mean GOD is capable of cruelty and saddism?

cru⋅el   /ˈkru

əl/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [kroo-uh

l] Show IPA Pronunciation

–adjective, -er, -est. 1.willfully or knowingly causing pain or distress to others.2.enjoying the pain or distress of others: the cruel spectators of the gladiatorial contests. 3.causing or marked by great pain or distress: a cruel remark; a cruel affliction. 4.rigid; stern; strict; unrelentingly severe.


sa⋅dism   /ˈseɪ

dɪz

əm, ˈsæd

ɪz-/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [sey-diz-uh

m, sad-iz-] Show IPA Pronunciation

–noun 1.Psychiatry. sexual gratification gained through causing pain or degradation to others. Compare masochism.2.any enjoyment in being cruel.3.extreme cruelty.


To understand the answer to this question you must understand the complete use of the words you are using to describe God, not the popular understandings.

First of all "cruelty" is a matter of perspective.. All except definition 2 of cruel can be used to describe a loving God.. It is the reason why harsh things are allowed to visit us that is important here.

Just like if a child were to claim a large bag of candy after Halloween, and was told to eat 2 pieces of candy a day and was caught eating 10. To the child what may follows next may seem cruel or unfair, but it is in the best interest of the child that the candy be taken away.. Was it cruelty or love that lead the parents to act?

From the child's perspective, in the Halloween candy situation, coupled with a toy or something else he may have wanted and the parents denied him, it would be easy especially if he were still emotional to lash out at his parents and claim or describe a sadistic pattern of cruelty.. Primarily because he doesn't know any better, because his parents through love have protected him from true cruelty and sadistic actions.. All he knows is what causes his little world to spin.. Want and selfishness, and because there is opposition to his want and selfishness, he will either be force to grow spiritually or he will grow to resent the opposition he is faced with.

Often times we can adopt the same view towards God, and how he does things, especially when his will and our want, and selfishness clash.

Did God create Hell as an eternal punishment for wicked people?

Your description is a popular christian belief, But Hell (Simply put)is a place without God or anything of God.. Hell is the alternative to Heaven (Being in the presents of God) If in this life you choose that you do not wish to spend an eternity with God then Hell is the place you can have what you want.. What makes it "hell" is not what medieval artist may have depicted, but a complete absences from God, and the rest of creation. We are members of creation, and as such long to be with the creator, being strip of that opportunity will indeed cause much weeping and gnashing of teeth. The devil doesn't run hell, he's there for the same reason as everyone else is.. He chose to be there. Living out of God's will places you in a realm outside of God's creation when the final Judgment is proclaimed.

if everyone was created in God's image there must be good in them somewhere? Right? Even if we are the merest shadow of what God is we all must have some good in us? Right or am I wrong?

Good and evil is not the measure in which we are Judged.. Our Judgment is a matter of sin and Righteousness.
Sin: Is anything not in the will of God.
Evil: Is a malicious intent to commit sin.
"Good" is just a matter of perspective, or something Mothers will use to determine whether a "good" little boy is deserving of a treat.
Righteousness: Is living in God's expressed will.

As far as being Righteous no one can be righteous enough to earn a place in God's presents. God sets the standards here. He has proclaimed through his law the complete Standard in which righteousness can be obtained. It is written if any of you break the least of my commandments you are guilty of breaking all of them. So being righteous enough is not possible. Now because he is a just God we have an alternative to being "Good" or righteous enough to trying to earn a place in heaven. This is where the whole Jesus thing comes in.

 

[Emmy]

Dear XChristian. When God made Man, we were good. To be in the image of God is to be capable of knowing good and evil. Only Human-Kind is like God. We can think and we can reason. We know the difference between Love and no love. We are capable to love with all our hearts, all our souls and all our minds. We know what it means to love all others, as we love ourselves. God IS LOVE, and we know what it means to become perfect in loving,too. That is what God wants from us. I say this humbly and with love, XChristian. Greetings from Emmy, sister in Christ.

 

[[serious]]

Thank you Chosenpath for your response but I do not understand. Please expand on your response. Did God create Hell as an eternal punishnment for wicked people? Is time in hell finite? If everyone was created in God's image there must be good in them somewhere? Right? Even if we are the merest shadow of what God is we all must have some good in us? Right or am I wrong?

That is the mainstream view, but not the only view of the afterlife. I find either a purgatory type situation or a flat out end of life as the old testament implies to be more in line with a loving God.

I personally don't see how infinite suffering can mesh with the idea of a just God so I understand how it can be a problem for people.