What is...

[NIMBYatheist42!!!]

What exactly is smiting?!
Is it just making one pay for something they've done, or God sending someone to eternal damnation in the bowls of hell?
Does it allow for someone to repent or is it just instantaneous beatdown?
Does one die when smited or do they live?
Is it kind of like getting pwnd by God?
(Like this guy)----------->

I want to clear this up! Not just for me, but for the rest of the people that wonder what Christian smiting is.

 

[CalledToWait]

Good question .

First off, the word "smite" is not found in many translations of the Bible. A more common term is God's "wrath", as in "His wrath burned against Israel".

The wrath or "smite" of God never comes on a whim. Never. Ever. God doesn't wake up and say "I feel it...John Smith is going DOWN TODAY!!! MUAHAHA!!" That's not in the character of God. God is loving, but he is also a just and holy God. He gives us time to repent from sin before sending his wrath, and he'll often send warning judgements, to warn people of their impending doom if they choose to stiff God.

Whether people die or not is up to God. If God does, rest assured, he gave plenty of warnings, MANY more than we deserve. That he would have grace and mercy towards us sinners is a miracle in itself.

If you have any more questions, just ask .

His Warrior,
~CalledToWait

 

[heron]

Usually when you see those verses (look through Jeremiah), the whole passage talks about community injustices...oppressing widows and orphans, using fixed measurements, mistreating people....things that any of us would get indignant over. Many of those passages also offer a way out.

We've seen so many movies and comedy shows where people joke about it or consider it unreasonable, that we forget the protective nature behind smiting.

I've never seen a smiting, but I've seen some churches split at a very appropriate time.

 

[cannibaltribe]

ROFLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!

NIMBY,

Your question made me think about how "religious speak" must sound to people who haven't grown up around it.

You know, we don't all walk around talking like televangelists!!! LOL

Does it allow for someone to repent or is it just instantaneous beatdown?

Yes, repentence is offered before Godly smackdown begins.

Does one die when smited or do they live?

When God is provoked to the point of smiting, a lot of dying is involved; sometimes complete annihilation, other times only partial dying and usually captivity (the latter is what usually happened to Israel).

Soddom and Gomorrah were completely smited out of existence.

CalledToWait gave you a great answer.

 

[Soft Rains]

Usually when you see those verses (look through Jeremiah), the whole passage talks about community injustices...oppressing widows and orphans, using fixed measurements, mistreating people....things that any of us would get indignant over.

Good point. This reminds me of a book I read which said that "the good news about injustice is that God hates it." We should remind ourselves that the good news about sin is that God hates it. God's wrath is good news because he is wrathful against all tyrants, abusers, exploiters, and manipulaters. God's wrath is good news to sinners because he punishes his children in order to deliver them from evil.

A lot of Christians don't believe in "hell" or "wrath" as such. A lot of Christians will agree with you that conventional understandings of "smiting" and "damnation" are pretty much nonsense. Don't listen to people who tell you that God might smite you because you touch or pick your nose or get a "D" in calculus -- God is wrathful against people who say such things, and you should be too.

The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish, and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and goodwill shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger, those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers, and you will know my name is The Lord, when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

 

[Kim_R]

The fact that you've the courage to come into a Christian forum and ask a question laced with such condescension and ignorance tells me quite clearly you have lost faith in Christ. You seek to justify yourself by challenging God to prove you wrong. God does not work like this.

Read your book. Post in this thread the answer to your question when you find it out.

 

[heron]

What exactly is smiting?!
Encarta: "Affect somebody strongly or disastrously."
Also "Fill somebody with love," but we know you're not referring to that one.

Is it just making one pay for something they've done,
Here are some examples:

"Is Israel a slave? Was he born to serfdom for him to be preyed on like this?...Have you not brought this on yourself by abandoning your God when he was guiding you on your way?" Jer. 2:14-17

"The bend their tongues like a bow; not truth but falsehood...Each one cheats his friend, never telling the truth...each wishes his neighbor peace, while in his heart plotting a trap for him. Shall I fail to punish them for this...?"
Jer. 9:4-8

"With nothing but oppression in her (the city)....from the least to the greatest, they are all greedy for gain; prophet no less than priest, all of them practice fraud... What do I care about incense imported from Sheba, or fragrant cane from a distant country? ...Your sacrifices do not please me."
(continued)

or God sending someone to eternal damnation in the bowls of hell?
"In front of this people I shall now lay obstacles for them to stumble over....Do not venture out onto the roads, for the enemy's sword is there, terror on every side....Put on a sackcloth... "
Jer. 6:6-25

This example shows a release of God's covering of protection from enemies, rather than a sending to damnation.

Does it allow for someone to repent or is it just instantaneous beatdown?

The smite passages are warnings. Some of them were not carried out, because they were usually "If you don't stop this..."

"From the day your ancestors left Egypt until today, I have sent you all my servants the prophets, persistently sending them day after day. But they have not listened to me." Jer. 7:25, 26

"Come back..I shall give you shepherds after my own heart, who will pasture you wisely and discreetly." Jer. 3:14

Does one die when smited or do they live?
Sometimes. But they get plenty of warning. One dies from the electric chair, but it prevents multiple unchecked deaths and injustices. (I'm not getting into criminal justice debates here, just trying to show some logic in God's justice system.)


I sometimes panic and cringe when I read the smite passages--a natural reaction to making sure I'm not the one getting punished. But these were also a comfort to me at a time when spiritual leaders were abusing their flock, and the people had no recourse. Then it's nice to know that God sees what's going on and is willing to take the underdog's side.