[MOVED] I Don't Believe that God is Good Anymore

[aiki]

There are many things, but just to name a few:

Hosea 13:16

2 Kings 2:23-24

If you're really interested in well-reasoned answers to your questions, one book you ought to read would be Paul Copan's "Is God a Moral Monster? Making Sense of the Old Testament God."

Let me take a brief stab at responding to the two verses/passages you've offered here:

Hosea 13:16
16 Samaria will be held guilty, For she has rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword, Their little ones will be dashed in pieces, And their pregnant women will be ripped open.

Does this verse say God will act to rip open pregnant women? Does it say that God will dash children into pieces? No. Men will do this to the people of Samaria. Wicked men, enemies of the Samaritan people, would attack and savage Samaria. And this would happen, in part, because the people of Samaria had turned from God in rebellion and forsaken, not just God's leadership, but His protection that went along with His leadership.

This is what happens to any person who rejects God. When such a person steps outside of God's authority and protection in their rejection of Him, they become vulnerable to the Enemy, Satan, and to the World he controls. And the devil is playing for keeps, a "roaring lion seeking whom he may devour." He delights in provoking wicked people to do his will, smashing children to pieces and ripping open pregnant women - among other vile obscenities and atrocities.

God is also making clear just how evil a thing it is to spurn Him. It is a wicked act to rebel against Him. Why? Because He is the Maker and Sustainer of Everything. God not only brought everything into being but keeps it going moment-by-moment. The breath you take to speak your defiance of God is the breath God has made possible; the mind you exercise in rebellious thought and attitude toward God is the mind He gave you and sustains continually; the physical strength you use to enact disobedient, sinful deeds is imparted to you from God. Why should you be able to employ these things God has given and sustains to God-defying ends? As Greta Thunberg would say, "How dare you?" What enormous hubris, what staggering arrogance, we show when we take God's gifts of life, and strength, and wit and use them to snub Him! Why should God take this lying down? Well, He doesn't. As the wicked people of Samaria found out.

2 Kings 2:23-25
23 Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up by the way, young lads came out from the city and mocked him and said to him, "Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!"
24 When he looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two lads of their number.
25 He went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

Was Elisha just another dude? Some scruffy, old religious nut that young men could disrespect and mock? No. He was a well-known prophet of God, a speaker for the Almighty Jehovah, and worthy of enormous respect in that role. To mock Elisha was to mock the God whose agent Elisha was - as those young men well knew. Those "lads" of Bethel knew they were sneering at God, not just Elisha, which is why God (not Elisha) sent a couple of bears to tear them up.

God warns us all against mocking Him.

Galatians 6:7
7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.

One day, holy God will judge each person according to their deeds and it will be for many a terrible, terrible day - much worse than a bear-mauling. Will you accept the lesson of 2 Kings 2:23-24 and the warning of Galatians 6:7, or just continue to shake your fist at God?

 

[Jaedan]

If you're really interested in well-reasoned answers to your questions, one book you ought to read would be Paul Copan's "Is God a Moral Monster? Making Sense of the Old Testament God."

Let me take a brief stab at responding to the two verses/passages you've offered here:

Hosea 13:16
16 Samaria will be held guilty, For she has rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword, Their little ones will be dashed in pieces, And their pregnant women will be ripped open.

Does this verse say God will act to rip open pregnant women? Does it say that God will dash children into pieces? No. Men will do this to the people of Samaria. Wicked men, enemies of the Samaritan people, would attack and savage Samaria. And this would happen, in part, because the people of Samaria had turned from God in rebellion and forsaken, not just God's leadership, but His protection that went along with His leadership.

This is what happens to any person who rejects God. When such a person steps outside of God's authority and protection in their rejection of Him, they become vulnerable to the Enemy, Satan, and to the World he controls. And the devil is playing for keeps, a "roaring lion seeking whom he may devour." He delights in provoking wicked people to do his will, smashing children to pieces and ripping open pregnant women - among other vile obscenities and atrocities.

God is also making clear just how evil a thing it is to spurn Him. It is a wicked act to rebel against Him. Why? Because He is the Maker and Sustainer of Everything. God not only brought everything into being but keeps it going moment-by-moment. The breath you take to speak your defiance of God is the breath God has made possible; the mind you exercise in rebellious thought and attitude toward God is the mind He gave you and sustains continually; the physical strength you use to enact disobedient, sinful deeds is imparted to you from God. Why should you be able to employ these things God has given and sustains to God-defying ends. As Greta Thunberg would say, "How dare you?" What enormous hubris, what staggering arrogance, we show when we take God's gifts of life, and strength, and wit and use them to snub Him! Why should God take this lying down? Well, He doesn't. As the wicked people of Samaria found out.

2 Kings 2:23-25
23 Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up by the way, young lads came out from the city and mocked him and said to him, "Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!"
24 When he looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two lads of their number.
25 He went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

Was Elisha just another dude? Some scruffy, old religious nut that young men could disrespect and mock? No. He was a well-known prophet of God, a speaker for the Almighty Jehovah, and worthy of enormous respect in that role. To mock Elisha was to mock the God whose agent Elisha was - as those young men well knew. Those "lads" of Bethel knew they were sneering at God, not just Elisha, which is why God (not Elisha) sent a couple of bears to tear them up.

God warns us all against mocking Him.

Galatians 6:7
7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.

One day, holy God will judge each person according to their deeds and it will be for many a terrible, terrible day - much worse than a bear-mauling. Will you accept the lesson of 2 Kings 2:23-24 and the warning of Galatians 6:7, or just continue to shake your fist at God?

Leaders and well-known people are mocked (anyone for that matter is mocked). A dictator is someone who sometimes takes severe action to silence (or even kill) someone who doesn't agree (or mocks) him or her. Correct me if you are wrong, but it seems like your telling me that God is really thin-skinned.

 

[aiki]

Thin-skinned? Interesting. I think of it as being worthy of the highest respect possible. God, being the Creator and Sustainer of Everything, deserves such respect. How, then, is it "thin-skinned" of Him to insist upon it from us? Is a Supreme Court judge just being "thin-skinned" when he demands respect in his courtroom? Is a five-star general just being "thin-skinned" when he demands respect - and obedience - from the soldiers he commands? God's person and place far, far exceeds in greatness, in authority and power, any judge or general and yet you think He should be content to be disrespected? I don't see how that makes sense...

In any case, God puts up with an enormous amount of disrespect from humanity and has done pretty much from the beginning. But not forever.

 

[Zonderzug]

Jaedan,
If the Bible is not worthy of trust almost all intelligent people would not believe it. But look around and there are so many intelligent people who not only believe it but live by it and defend it. Ask yourself, why? Because they know that it is reasonable, trustworthy and those who properly apply intelligence, research, and time to pour and study it, discover that it is true. Work on how you read the Bible, it needs to be read properly, within the proper context, otherwise it is easy to get lost and force our own understanding (eigesis). I advised you before to join a Bible study and help maybe from a pastor to clear some things. One pastor said eighty percent of conversations today are immediately looked upon with negative lenses. I think the same applies to reading God’s word. If you approach it with strong disbelief or wrong way of reading it, it might not only take you a longer time but you might never even get it. Proper perspective is very important. Let me offer a very simplified scenario. Before you blame God for everything, consider this, if you caught a nasty disease and a doctor treated you for three days at the hospital. Sometimes the treatment was painful. But you recovered. Is the doctor still good to you?

 

[Paulomycin]

What external standard of "good" or "evil" are you using to judge God with? You must necessarily do this first. You can't take it for granted either, because that's the crux of the entire position you've chosen to take. If you open the Bible and you see God doing "bad things," then you're judging the God of the Bible from an external standard.

 

[Aussie Pete]

"Many people have more respect for movie star than they do for God. If George Clooney says something, it must be true. Utter garbage."

Honestly, I would believe something more if it came from George Clooney rather than God. Clooney is a real, physical person who has an audible voice. God is a "person" who can very easily just be my mind fooling with me (or the "devil").

"If George Clooney says something, it must be true. Utter garbage."

If God says something, it must be true. Utter garbage too. People have been saying that God has been saying things to them for centuries. Look where that has taken us. A lot of confusion and turmoil found in so-called "Christian politics," personal struggles, and etc has been caused by someone thinking "I think God spoke to me. It must be true!"

I did not say that what people say is true. You know what I said. Jesus said that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Are you saying that He is a liar?

 

[fhansen]

I'm still deciding on whenever or not I believe in God or not.

I don't believe that God is not good anymore because of any negative circumstances or occurrences that are happening in my life (I don't blame or point fingers at "God" for anything. Life is simply prone to negative things). I simply believe that God is not good due to what is stated in the bible.

This may seem like a stupid question, but, why do you (a Christian) think that God is good?

The knowledge of God before Christ was less perfect, more distorted, incomplete-and more influenced by human preconceptions and values than the revelation brought to us by Jesus. We sort of default to conceiving of a being something like ourselves and at any rate God is often viewed as angry, distant, aloof in His superiority, even petty and jealous at times. Jesus came to reveal a very different God, one whose character is much closer to that described by 1 Cor 13:4-8.

God loves man, His own handiwork made in His own image, intensely, and has always wanted the very best for him. Enmity and jealousy come from man, not God.

We need to come to trust, and Jesus came for that very reason. In and through Him we find the true God, one who's infinitely good, trustworthy, merciful, and kind, who wishes to serve His beloved creation. So strong is this love and of His desire that we know this love, for our own good, that He would even suffer an excruciatingly humiliating and painful death on a cross in human flesh at the hands of His own creation, due to and in spite of their sin and preference for darkness, if that's what it takes to prove a goodness and love that know no bounds, so that we may turn, and embrace that light and love too, and be changed by it. Love, powerful, humble love, is the primary glory and beauty of God-and it makes life worth living, eternally.

 

[Leaf473]

Leaders and well-known people are mocked (anyone for that matter is mocked). A dictator is someone who sometimes takes severe action to silence (or even kill) someone who doesn't agree (or mocks) him or her. Correct me if you are wrong, but it seems like your telling me that God is really thin-skinned.

I have some friends who are Jehovah's Witnesses, and they were telling me that the reason that the world is such a bad place (in their opinion) to live is that Satan is running things here on Earth. And why does God let Satan run things? Because Satan taunted God saying that he could do a better job than God could. So God had to respond to the taunts of one of his creations so that other beings he created wouldn't think he was weak or something. Billions of people have to suffer, but that's just how it is.

imo, that makes God sound like he suffers from low self-esteem, similar to the idea you were talking about of God being thin-skinned.

I haven't read all the posts in this thread, so maybe this is already been covered, but

Considering the idea of good and evil, or good and bad,
What is your idea of a good world? Would people in it have the ability to choose evil?

 

[Rene Loup]

Are you reading, studying and KNOWING Scripture, or are you just reading all the controversial parts only?

 

[ViaCrucis]

I'm still deciding on whenever or not I believe in God or not.

I don't believe that God is not good anymore because of any negative circumstances or occurrences that are happening in my life (I don't blame or point fingers at "God" for anything. Life is simply prone to negative things). I simply believe that God is not good due to what is stated in the bible.

This may seem like a stupid question, but, why do you (a Christian) think that God is good?

The simple and short answer is because He is.

The longer answer is that God made all things, and made all things good; when creation fell He did not abandon it, but chose to redeem it. He called a man by the name of Abraham to be a father of many nations, the one through whom would come the Christ--Jesus. God worked through fallen men down through the ages, slowly revealing Himself, finally and most importantly, He revealed Himself in fullness in Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, the only-begotten Son.

And this Jesus freely and humbly abandoned Himself in love and sacrifice to a hostile, wicked world in order to save it. And this He has done, by the means of Himself, by His righteous life, His death, and His resurrection. This same Jesus who now lives and reigns at the right hand of the Father will come again, the dead will be raised, all creation will be renewed and restored, and love, peace, mercy, justice, freedom, and goodness shall be forever and ever, world without end.

We have a God of loving compassion, the good Creator God who refuses to abandon the world to death, hell, and entropy. The God who intends to set all things to rights, by His grace, by our Lord Christ.

We worship He who is love.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Bruce Leiter]

I'm still deciding on whenever or not I believe in God or not.

I don't believe that God is not good anymore because of any negative circumstances or occurrences that are happening in my life (I don't blame or point fingers at "God" for anything. Life is simply prone to negative things). I simply believe that God is not good due to what is stated in the bible.

This may seem like a stupid question, but, why do you (a Christian) think that God is good?

I don't believe there are any "stupid" questions. I have asked your implied question as to whether God is really good at all. So you blame God for your or other people's suffering? Job, David, Hobakkuk, and Jeremiah in the Bible did too. Their problem was that they saw the big difference between their experiences and the Bible's description of God as good.

You must realize that humans have messed up the universe that God made very good, beginning with Adam and Eve's sin in Genesis 3. So blaming God for the messes that humans have caused is unrealistic and unfair to God, who allows but doesn't cause suffering.

You may be angry with God for permitting the messes in your life. In that case, tell him persistently how you feel in prayer until he gives you his peace (Philippians 4:6-7).

 

[Fervent]

Leaders and well-known people are mocked (anyone for that matter is mocked). A dictator is someone who sometimes takes severe action to silence (or even kill) someone who doesn't agree (or mocks) him or her. Correct me if you are wrong, but it seems like your telling me that God is really thin-skinned.

Your position ignores a couple of things and presumes to judge without the full picture, and as a hypocrite.

God not being mocked is not a matter of ego or control, but necessity. If evil is allowed even the slightest consideration than God would be evil. It must be judged and judged harshly and in perfect holiness, without mercy. Those "lads" weren't simply mocking, nor were they young kids. They were threatening him, essentially telling him if God didn't take him as He took Elijah they would take deal with him. They were judged accordingly. Any one in a position of leadership knows you must at times make hard decisions, deal out consequences to those who have accrued them. God is responsible for this on a cosmic scale, and our myopic viewpoint doesn't allow us a proper perch to determine the correctness of His actions. Not only is He good, He is the definition of what it means to be good and our understanding of good is an analogy for that which is in accord with God's will.

To judge and condemn without complete information, now THAT is evil. When God holds you accountable for your evil, He will remain good.

 

[Dorothy Mae]

I'm still deciding on whenever or not I believe in God or not.

I don't believe that God is not good anymore because of any negative circumstances or occurrences that are happening in my life (I don't blame or point fingers at "God" for anything. Life is simply prone to negative things). I simply believe that God is not good due to what is stated in the bible.

This may seem like a stupid question, but, why do you (a Christian) think that God is good?

Because everything He does is good and I have not seen anything to the contrary. Why do you think the Bible describes Him as not good? We seem to be seeing different things in the same book.

 

[Dorothy Mae]

The God, as found in the bible, is not a good God. He is full of contradictions, and everything is our fault, even our unbelief.

You get paradise, but here's a tree for good measure, and yes, you'll fail the test. I know, because I am God. Abraham finally gets a child? Sacrifice him...okay, okay, here's a lamb. Poor Isaac. Hope he doesn't retain that memory. The world has devolved? Drown everyone. And the survivors can build their own ark and watch the others drown. You looked back? Salt you become, Lot's wife. Sorry. Free will and all.

We can commit the unforgivable sin, but aren't told what it is precisely, so we can worry endlessly about having broken it. Fun, right?

You don't believe? Your fault. Worst still, you weren't chosen, sorry. Just not one of the elect, I guess.

You believe with all your heart and obey every commandment? Well, the devil now gets God's permission to destroy everything you love, kill your children, cover you with boils and make you want to die (sorry, Job). Of course, the devil is given free reign to do everything but kill you, because that would actually be merciful! Wait, what? That's right. There's a double blessing in it for you, though, with new children, 'cause the others are dead.

Jesus dies for your sins, but you can still go to hell. Judas betrays with a kiss (like the Godfather), but he was selected for the job, poor soul.

The paradoxes, "first shall be last, last shall be first." What? If you don't get the parables, you aren't part of the club. It's not ambiguous, you're ambiguous!

And my personal favourite, as if the threat of hell weren't bad enough, the last chapter you read is about how the world ends, just to terrify you, and if you're a Christian, be prepared to be tortured and die. But I thought Jesus sacrificed so we may have life more abundantly, no? Wasn't that sacrifice enough? No? Let's all read into every ambiguous sign, then, and worry about the end days, cause that's not anxiety inducing, or anything. Throw in a secret rapture to keep you terrified daily. Throw in denominations that don't believe in the rapture. Now throw in religions that don't believe in Jesus, including the one that starts the bible, Judaism. Yeah, I feel real good about things now. But why all this anxiety?

I now find the trinity really difficult to digest, and the fact that Jesus doesn't just say he is God, but makes others say it. Then no one wants credit for crucifying him. And he is mocked with a crown. It's too much now.

Actually, my child brain couldn't understand the trinity at all and it messed with my sense of logic. That's child abuse. It also made me paranoid to believe I was being watched all the time and being judged at every turn. More child abuse. Should I be killed without repenting my last sin, hell awaits, I was told. Also, you must honour your parents, but nothing in there about child abuse. Odd, since the more vulnerable one depends on the other JUST TO SURVIVE.

Mind control. Brainwashing. You turn the other cheek. Pray for others. Forgive when they don't seek it (for your health, of course), and worry you are not good enough all the time, and when you are, don't you dare take credit! You can do nothing on your own (wow), you filthy sinner (more condemnation). Add in songs that call you a wretch saved by grace. Wait, saved by grace? So now don't worry. Sin until the last moment and then ask for forgiveness. Those law-abiding atheists are all in hell (they didn't believe in the finished work of Jesus), and you can be in heaven with the rapists and the murderers. Or something. No, no that's not right, faith without deeds (works) is dead. But once saved always saved. Um. Here, wear a cross of torture around your neck instead of a crown, or something royal. It will all make sense eventually. In the meantime, argue amongst yourselves, yes?

Sorry for the long post. I admit I could have gone another five minutes, so....

TL; DR: I am convinced you are right and we've been played. The God of the bible sounds more like the one for this fallen world. The real God is pure love, and He loves you and your neighbour equally, always and forever. So love each other already and go do good things. Because just praying for someone to help doesn't make sense - you are the help. The end.

There are those people who want to know and understand the truth. Then there are those people who want to accuse others (including God) of evil to justify themselves. The former one can give satisfying answers to. The latter do not want answers. Those reading texts like above need to descern which type of person is writing.

 

[Religiot]

I'm still deciding on whenever or not I believe in God or not.

I don't believe that God is not good anymore because of any negative circumstances or occurrences that are happening in my life (I don't blame or point fingers at "God" for anything. Life is simply prone to negative things). I simply believe that God is not good due to what is stated in the bible.

This may seem like a stupid question, but, why do you (a Christian) think that God is good?

Because as the Creator, He could very well have made us to live in torment, yet, He made us to live in paradise: that alone demonstrates that it pleases Him for us to be happy--that should be obvious to anyone who is paying attention to the facts.

 

[mama2one]

follow

 

[ewq1938]

 

[Mark Quayle]

I'm still deciding on whenever or not I believe in God or not.

I don't believe that God is not good anymore because of any negative circumstances or occurrences that are happening in my life (I don't blame or point fingers at "God" for anything. Life is simply prone to negative things). I simply believe that God is not good due to what is stated in the bible.

This may seem like a stupid question, but, why do you (a Christian) think that God is good?

If God is God, he is Creator. He would have no reason to create, if he was not good.

He would have nothing to gain by being less than good. If he had evil intention toward his creation, he would be bored with it. And if he was God, he would have known ahead that it was boring --so what's the point?

 

[Strong in Him]

I'm still deciding on whenever or not I believe in God or not.

What are some of the things that make you believe, or not believe, in God?

I don't believe that God is not good anymore because of any negative circumstances or occurrences that are happening in my life

Looking at circumstances to decide whether or not God exists is never the right way to do things.
Are you saying "I don't believe he's there because if he was he would give me a good life"? That's not the right way round either - there are many stories of people in other countries becoming Christians, in spite of poverty, persecution etc.

I simply believe that God is not good due to what is stated in the bible.

The fact that he loves us all, unconditionally, you mean?
Or that Jesus, God, accepted everyone, including the outcasts of society, and healed and taught them?
Or that God IS love?

This may seem like a stupid question, but, why do you (a Christian) think that God is good?

Because he created us in his image and said that his creation was very good.
Because when mankind deliberately rebelled against his word and he could have said "that's it; I've had it with you", he made it possible for people to confess their sins and be forgiven, so that they could have a relationship with him. He didn't do this only once, but time and time again throughout the OT.
Because he came to earth himself, in Jesus, and allowed the people he had created to reject him, beat him and kill him - because this was the only way we could be reconciled to the Father, Roman 5:11, John 14:6.
Because God does not wait for us to be good enough to receive his love, neither do we have to do anything to earn it, (we can't.) Jesus died for sinners, Romans 5:8 - for those who hated him.

Because I spent years judging God's love for me by my circumstances, and he showed me that this was completely the wrong way to look at it. God loves me, not because I am good, worthy etc etc, but because he is love. He loves me in the good times, the great times, the celebrations; he loves me in the not so good times, or when I am complaining that things aren't going "my" way.

 

[Strong in Him]

The God, as found in the bible, is not a good God. He is full of contradictions,

What does it mean to you then to "hope in Jesus only" if he, God, is full of contradictions?
How do you know what to trust?

You get paradise, but here's a tree for good measure, and yes, you'll fail the test. I know, because I am God.

Adam chose to deliberately disobey the command that he had heard from God.
How is that anyone's fault except Adam's?

Abraham finally gets a child? Sacrifice him...okay, okay, here's a lamb.

God stopped Abraham from sacrificing Isaac - he didn't want a child sacrifice, he wanted to see if Abraham might be prepared to give up something that was very special to him.
You realise that this is a foreshadowing of the cross? That when Abraham said, "God himself will provide the lamb for the sacrifice, my son", this was a prophecy, looking ahead to the time when God would provide a Lamb for sacrifice, his Son?

Poor Isaac. Hope he doesn't retain that memory.

Isaac grew up to serve and worship that same God; so presumably he didn't.

We can commit the unforgivable sin, but aren't told what it is precisely, so we can worry endlessly about having broken it.

Only if you don't read Scripture.
We are told exactly what the unforgiveable sin is: Jesus was driving out demons and the Pharisees said that this miracle was being done in the power of the devil, Mark 3:23-30. That was blasphemy against the Holy Spirit - claiming that something done in God's power was in fact due to the evil one; giving the devil the credit for a miracle that you know was from God, Mark 3:29-30.

You don't believe? Your fault. Worst still, you weren't chosen, sorry. Just not one of the elect, I guess.

That's not what the Bible says; that is the interpretation of some people.

Jesus dies for your sins, but you can still go to hell.

Only if you choose to reject him and the free gift that God offers, Romans 6:23.

Judas betrays with a kiss (like the Godfather), but he was selected for the job, poor soul.

Judas had a choice.
Whether or not he is in hell is controversial and a matter of debate - because we don't know.

The paradoxes, "first shall be last, last shall be first." What? If you don't get the parables, you aren't part of the club. It's not ambiguous, you're ambiguous!

"The first shall be last" is a teaching, not a parable.
Parables have more than one meaning and are ambiguous.

And my personal favourite, as if the threat of hell weren't bad enough, the last chapter you read is about how the world ends, just to terrify you, and if you're a Christian, be prepared to be tortured and die.

Christians have eternal life.
If we are tortured and killed it's because others in the world hate us, our faith, our Saviour and what we stand for. It's always been like that, and Jesus even warned us that if people hated him they would hate us too.
That doesn't mean we are going to be tortured for eternity.

But I thought Jesus sacrificed so we may have life more abundantly, no?

Yes, eternal life - not life in this fallen, sinful world.
The teaching that Jesus died to give us all a good, comfortable, happy life here on earth, is misguided and wrong.

I now find the trinity really difficult to digest, and the fact that Jesus doesn't just say he is God, but makes others say it.

He didn't make anyone say anything.
That's the whole point; God doesn't force anything on us.

Actually, my child brain couldn't understand the trinity at all

Join the club.
I doubt anyone can figure out the Trinity - how could we? God is eternal and infinite; we are created beings, with finite brains and understanding.

That's child abuse.

No, it isn't.

It also made me paranoid to believe I was being watched all the time and being judged at every turn. More child abuse.

If anyone said to you "you have to understand the Trinity perfectly or you cannot be a Christian/will die", that is very bad, unscriptural teaching, and could even be child abuse - a way of manipulating you to do/believe what they wanted.
That was very much their sin and their fault - it is not Biblical teaching.

Should I be killed without repenting my last sin, hell awaits, I was told. Also, you must honour your parents, but nothing in there about child abuse. Odd, since the more vulnerable one depends on the other JUST TO SURVIVE.

The Bible does not teach that you should honour your parents if they are abusing/beating you. And if they are manipulating you; scaring you into submission with false teachings, you don't have to agree with them.
When Jesus was "lost" in the temple, we are told that he went back with his parents and was obedient to them. He may have been very hurt that they didn't remember/realise who he was - but he still respected and was obedient to them.

Mind control. Brainwashing. You turn the other cheek. Pray for others. Forgive when they don't seek it (for your health, of course), and worry you are not good enough all the time, and when you are, don't you dare take credit!

Sounds like you've received some dreadful teaching in the past - but that's not Biblical.
We are not to become puffed up with pride and believe that achievements are ALL our own, nothing to do with God; but there's no harm in rejoicing in the gifts that God has given you and that sometimes you do a good job.
Paul was proud of all the churches that he founded and the people who came to faith in Jesus. God himself said that his creation was very good, not "ok"; very good.

TL; DR: I am convinced you are right and we've been played. The God of the bible sounds more like the one for this fallen world.

The god that you've been taught about is not the God of the Bible.

The real God is pure love,

Yes, he is.
That doesn't mean he can never rebuke, or discipline, people.

So love each other already and go do good things.

Very important.
Not the way to salvation, of course - but still important.

Because just praying for someone to help doesn't make sense - you are the help.

So asking for God's help doesn't work/isn't the answer?
That's the opposite of what the Bible, and Jesus, say. It's certainly true that we could be the answer to our own prayers, but there are many testimonies of how God has helped people in difficulties and how they've achieved things with his help that they could not otherwise have done.