As far as I know, it's called 'Scrupulosity' .... aka Religious OCD... it makes the stuff of God TERRIFYING and I have had it for 25 years with awful demonic torment...
i won't really talk about scriptures that have scared me half to death, coz that wouldn't help you... but the main thing is the doctrine of eternal torture in the flames of hell...
i used to pace the floor in tears, for YEARS over that doctrine... it never occurred to me that hell was THE PROBLEM, since i just took it for granted as part of Christianity... i couldn't leave the house and go to the supermarket, thinking that MOST people have that fate in front of them!!! i searched the internet for 'scrupe-groups' to find some support, but most of them were run by priests and only made things way worse.
finally i found one with the most recent post being about the doctrine of eternal hell... the guy gave a bunch of links to learn about 'The Victorious Gospel'.... and I went and devoured them all, like
'love wins'.
'mercy upon all' and
tentmaker.org and a site called
'what the hell is hell?' there is also
'tentmaker777' on youtube, tho i'm not sure if he's still alive.
i went back to thank the guy, but i looked at the date of the post and it was from years before!!! it was the latest post in the forum, but it totally cleared out the forum of all sufferers and it went quiet!!!
amazing.
the fear of God is a healthy respect, the TERROR of God is the fear of hell mostly, coz God is kind and sweet other than that. sure God is 'just'... but in the OT we saw God's justice 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth'... NOT 'eternal torture in flames for an eye'... the worst justice in the OT was death... which is NOTHING compared to eternal suffering.
eternal punishment does not make sense, it does no good, when God punishes or chastises, it's remedial, and He gives double for your trouble in the end... and do we really believe Jesus died for the world to give them all eternal life, MOST having 'life' in hell, would Jesus really make things INFINITELY worse?? besides, if our punishment was eternity in hell, Jesus couldn't have paid the price for our sins with death. also, ok, there is one scripture that talks about punishment, in Hebrews... but we must remember, even if we have incurred God's judgement... His 'mercy TRIUMPHS over judgement'... and God doesn't 'cast off' or stay angry FOREVER.
anyway, i still have problems with it, coz 'just in case eternal damnation is true'.... i'm scared is all... and notice that i did not say that God doesn't punish, i only say it's not forever!
there's a movie on netflix called 'come sunday' about a preacher that had God speak to him about hell... it's good, a true story.
here is a song God sang to me during the tough times, i still listen to it a lot...
'Faith'
also, remember not to talk about this much, coz mainstream Christianity says it's heresy... do your homework, and you will see the Love of God, but will incur the wrath of 'the traditions of men'
God says 'come, let us reason together'... so do that.... Jesus is the Saviour of THE WORLD, and the dark ages traditions of men make that Word of no effect... coz have you ever noticed that by the time it's all said and done in the Bible, pretty much EVERYTHING is sin? even that which is without faith is sin, no matter what it is... and us skeerdy cats are NOT in faith about much lol... so approach Jesus, like a little child, knowing you can do nothing without Him, trusting in His Blood and the FINISHED work of the Cross... anyway, so if we have 'faith' in eternal punishment in hell, that's where we get near death experiences of hell for wearing makeup and such... it's horrible!! ...Once, during an 'episode', i had a demon tell me a big big lie... it said that christianity is their religion because that way they can convince people they deserve hell for any little thing. but it's not Christianity that does that, it's the doctrine of eternal hell... so you may glean what i'm saying about the doctrine of eternal punishment, and that 'type' of believing... here's a
LITTLE JOKE
we have to rightly divide the Word of Truth... it's a two edged sword, a sweet perfume to us, but a stench to those who are perishing... fear hath torment, but perfect love casts out all fear... you ever wonder what that means? what is God's PERFECT love He has given the world? The VICTORIOUS Gospel.
There is no distinction here, and there cannot be any more distinctions. All are sinners without distinction, and all will be made righteous without any merit on their part by his grace which has come to pass in Christ Jesus (Rom. 3:24)
That God out of love has reconciled the world to himself through Christ, leading to acquittal and life for all human beings who became unrighteous in Adam (
Rom 5:18-19)
Sorry if I killed the thread, but I have to speak up when someone is in need, and i know the help... this doctrine has led to INSANITY for many people.