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"In its true essence, religion is a faith-trust in the goodness of God."Some people need fear of torment to "be good," So need promises of a reward to be the same. Others need neither. I find it dangerous to take away others hopes....especially if you arent replacing it with a better hope.
Exactly! Job is a parable which reflects what people once believed. Some still do. I do not!Clearly, you do not see God as Job did.
Job 42:5-6
5 "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You.
6 Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes."
Eternal Hell is God's just punishment of the unrepentant wicked. It is no human invention.
Satan does not and will not "run Hell." This a Hollywood idea, I suspect, with no grounding in Scripture. The only thing Satan will do in Hell is suffer. He will not be in charge there.
Exactly! Job is a parable which reflects what people once believed. Some still do. I do not!
Exactly.
Spoken like a true unbeliever. Maybe you have the only True and living God confused with a figment of your imagination. Do you even value Scripture? I didn't think so.Human invention by Bronze Age apocalyptic thinkers who wrote the scripture! That's not the nature of God, it sounds more like Satan!
I value the true parts of scripture.
That's your opinion based on the false doctrine of the inspiration of scripture. The same false doctrine the Jews used to reject Jesus then and now.Then, you value no Scripture. You can't, in good conscience or with any logical consistency accept some things and not others. A filter like "I can believe this, so this is true" means that you put yourself in the position of god to decide what is real and what is not. But, just because you can believe those parts doesn't mean they are any more or any less true than the others. So, if verses you don't like happen to be written down by the same author who writes the ones you do, it is completely inconsistent to accept some and call the author a liar about the others. Truly, you can have no confidence that any of it is true, in reality. So, you have no faith at all to stand on, in your current position.
That's your opinion based on the false doctrine of the inspiration of scripture. The same false doctrine the Jews used to reject Jesus then and now.
I think a person lacks a "good conscience" when they defend child rape, genocide, a God who puts "lying spirits" and "evil spirits" into people etc. The Bible books are anything but consistent, and no 2 people who belive the books to be inspired has the same belief about what they say.
I can and do extrapolate the spiritual truths from the human error in the scriptures. The Old Testament is a vastly exaggerated, historically inaccurate, nationalistic religious political propaganda document written by Israelites and for an Israelite audience. That frustrates your need for control, it's your problem not mine.
It’s tempting to make the Bible into a fetish or idol, but it’s better to have a sincere, personal relationship with God rather than convince yourself to believe things that are unholy and untrue.Your lie sounds pretty; but, don't expect your impotent god to deliver you. The real God makes promises to those who accept His whole testimony, not just what they want to believe.
Little bit of common sense, the “spirit of truth” etc.
What scripture book did they use in Egypt? What scriptures and traditions did Abraham use? His religion was that of his fathers, from beyond the rivers.
It’s tempting to make the Bible into a fetish or idol, but it’s better to have a sincere, personal relationship with God rather than convince yourself to believe things that are unholy and untrue.
Jesus knew the scriptures were human, he chose the cream of the truths of the Hebrew scripture and left the untruth to die on the vine.
I’m not scared of hell or the boogeyman.
That's your opinion based on the false doctrine of the inspiration of scripture. The same false doctrine the Jews used to reject Jesus then and now.
I think a person lacks a "good conscience" when they defend child rape, genocide, a God who puts "lying spirits" and "evil spirits" into people etc. The Bible books are anything but consistent, and no 2 people who belive the books to be inspired has the same belief about what they say.
I can and do extrapolate the spiritual truths from the human error in the scriptures. The Old Testament is a vastly exaggerated, historically inaccurate, nationalistic religious political propaganda document written by Israelites and for an Israelite audience. That frustrates your need for control, it's your problem not mine.
I have.......and still am experiencing this fear-driven walk with Jesus. I actually feel spiritual dead and it bothers me so much.I've been doing a lot of reflecting on my recent attitude and feelings toward my Christian walk and something very worrying occurred to me. I've found that my main motivation for doing anything that I do (praying, going to church, staying clear of temptation) is fueled by my fear of eternal damnation.
I don't know if anyone else goes through this, but it is scary. What if I am Christian mainly because I'm scared to go to hell?
Very real. ThanksI’ll give you a sincere answer.
It happens to many of us.
WOW! Thank you so much for sharing this.Sounds like, to me, that all you have ever been taught is "Fire, Hell, and Brimstone". God is your Father, and you are His child....He loves you more than you can ever comprehend. If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, then you are saved. This is "condemnation" working on your mind. Paul said that
Romans 8:1 King James Version (KJV)
8 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Here is my testimony when I went through what you are now.
Well I am still new and can't quite figure it out so the rest of my story goes like this:
I went to church all my life, got saved when I was 7. After I became an adult I joined the adult Sunday service. We had a wonderful pastor who just happened to preach his sermon on the very sin I committed that week. At the end of the sermon he invited anyone who needed to come to the alter to rededicate, get saved or be delivered to come forward. I was there every single service. One Sunday after church and getting saved again I went home threw my body on the floor and cried to God uncontrollably and said "I give up, this Christianity thing is too hard and no matter how I try I seem to always mess up!"
Then I heard a voice, it wasn't really audible to my ears but it was very audible in my mind. It said to me "Patty, who do you think I am?"....instinctively somehow I knew he expected me to say something so I said you are God...He asked a second time, I replied a little more hesitantly since the 1st answer didn't seem to be right and said "umm The Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the I AM...(I got it right this time for sure!)...then He asked a 3RD TIME!!! I stuttered and searched my memory of what I was taught about who God is and finally I said what do you want me to say...
He replied soooooo lovingly and tender and said "I am your Father, and as much as you love your daughter so much more do I love you that you can't comprehend it. As your daughter grows up and makes mistakes you will correct her, discipline her at times but never, ever, ever will you stop loving her because of her mistakes. And neither will I stop loving you just because you make a mistake. Allow yourself to be led of the spirit, repent daily and always forgive...as I will always forgive you. Seek Me daily, walk with me, talk with me, tell me what's on your heart. I AM YOUR FATHER!" So wow..
I was approximately 23 y.o. when this happened and it liberated me from condemnation. I now know I am truly saved! Amen!
You are very welcome!WOW! Thank you so much for sharing this.
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