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Do you believe in a God that Tortures people for eternity? [I Christian]

Some christians believe it but are troubled by a god that seems so evil.

Some christians delight in the thought of hell and cant wait to laugh at their enemies burning alive for eternity(these are called psychopaths)

And some christians try to not speculate what exactly hell or heaven are, or perhaps they have some interpretation that eases their conscience.

What do you think about the concept of eternal torture? Do believe it is the best form of punishment/justice that the omnipotent mind of a loving God could devise? Or maybe just the vindictive musings of a primitive warmongering society?
curiosi · 61-69, F
God doesn't torture anyone, people CHOOSE where they will spend eternity.
pride49 · 31-35, M
@curiosi they do not
Frenchmansfury · 26-30, M
@curiosi can you choose to believe in something that you don't find convincing? if I dont believe in Jesus can I force myself to be convinced otherwise?
curiosi · 61-69, F
@Frenchmansfury You're right, can't just convince yourself, but we do choose if we want to be kind or not. I had a real problem with all of this myself. I gave up church, stopped listening to others and sought out answers on my own. They came. So I will leave you with that as I can't convince you as that wouldn't be faith.
How can it be punishment and reform you if it never ends? But Yahweh was originally a war God so it makes sense.
What is disturbing are the indeed psychopaths. Not only God meeting the definition of one but his followers that love the idea of others being hurt.
Know one of those on here actually. They even have the charismatic part as well. But after they said they would be okay with God murdering their children I knew what that person was.
SW-User
No, I don’t believe in it. It’s just a tool to motivate belief through fear.

If you need the motive of potential eternal torture to behave righteously, what does that say about your behavior? What does that say about the foundation of your moral code?

The Old Testament Sheol is not even described as a place of eternal torment. That’s something that came later and was probably inspired by Greek mythology.
Doomflower · 36-40, M
Christianity is immoral even without the hellfire. Accepting a human sacrifice (which is LITERALLY what peeps are doing by "accepting" the "gift of salvation") is beyond f*cked up.
REMsleep · 41-45, F
@Doomflower You are angry and its not my doing
LoveTriumphsOverHate · 36-40, M
@Doomflower Why do you hate Christianity?
Doomflower · 36-40, M
@LoveTriumphsOverHate because it is immoral at best and harmful at worst.
bugeye · 26-30, F
growing up my parents scared me into behaving with this but nowadays i see it as only fear mongering. there's better ways to raise your children without "Putting the fear of god in them"

it doesn't scare me now, neither does the boogieman or freddy kruger.
pikminboy · 26-30, M
i'm also christian in some sense, my mom is really is, and i seen a video of a guy sayying that basically God dont send you to Hell, everyone is going directly to hell automatically because of sin, unless you choose the 'lifeboat' jesus to save you.
cherokeepatti · 61-69, F
They will be separated from God and that is bad enough.
Thevy29 · 41-45, M
Since Lucifer was Gods favourite child who got a little too big for his britches, and got sent down to hell were he would be reviled and hated by Christians for being the antichrist for all eternity. There would be a good chance that hell is actually a pretty nice place to live. Lucifer's way of sticking it to the old man.
LoveTriumphsOverHate · 36-40, M
No, their souls are obliterated in the second death.
Frenchmansfury · 26-30, M
@LoveTriumphsOverHate do I also have a perogative to claim life? If I were to take a small creature like a mouse and cause it as much pain as possible because I don't like it, and tell anyone who thought that was wrong of me that I have a perogative to do whatever I want to a mouse, would you find any problem with that?

To answer your question, I don't see why an omnipotent God would have trouble changing the mind of hitler or stalin. Arguably, though we cant go back in time and check, these men were very likely suffering from mental illnesses like psychopathy and sociopathy. If these mental illnesses were fixed, or God had simply not allowed them to develop in the first place, hitler and stalin would have been unrecognizably better people. The kind of people a loving god might desire in his paradise.
LoveTriumphsOverHate · 36-40, M
@Frenchmansfury You're not G-d so your point is moot.
Frenchmansfury · 26-30, M
@LoveTriumphsOverHate ok, fair enough.

If a radical Muslim threw battery acid in your daughters face for not wearing a veil in public, you would probably object right? So this Muslim tells you that Allah decides what's right or wrong and he decides what punishments shall be issued for certain crimes. You are not Allah so your points are moot.

This Muslim is using the exact same logic as you. Do you find it rational?
Sidewinder · 36-40, M
Sounds like a perfect description of The Devil, and all the names he goes by.

Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub, Iblis, etc.
REMsleep · 41-45, F
I believe that eternal separation from God with no relief of being able to communicate with God while knowing that he does exsist is the main part of Hell. It is eternal separation from The Holy Spirit.
No one can imagine right now what that feels like.
Other pain will be there too. I don't know how much is literal and how much is allegory.
The take away is that you won't get another chance and that you will be cut off from happiness
Zonuss · 41-45, M
Perhaps what many have come to believe nowadays is to be cut off from God. Can you imagine being in a cold dark World filled with zombies and demons for eternity. That alone is scary enough.
Frenchmansfury · 26-30, M
@cherokeepatti why are they devoid of compassion?
cherokeepatti · 61-69, F
@Frenchmansfury they have a twisted way of looking at life.
Frenchmansfury · 26-30, M
@cherokeepatti it is interesting that you say that.

I look at those who we would say lack compassion and love for other people as people who are also suffering. As I brought up in another thread, people who are sociopaths and psychopaths have something demonstrably wrong with their physical brains. An omnipotent, loving God who aspires to compassion and asks it of his followers, would surely look at this physical ailment that his creature had no control over, and fix them.

Take someone like Vladimir Putin. A ruthless, manipulative, murderous man if ever their was one. What strikes you as most compassionate?

To throw putin in a place of torture for eternity and forget about him?

Or to take the time and use your infinite power and knowledge to correct the mental illness and help him be a better person?

If we're going to talk about compassion, I think you'd have to choose the latter to remain consistent.
It’s one of the many reasons I left the church and no longer bother with organized religion. I was always under the impression that religion should make people kinder to each other. But based upon the actions of the Abrahamic deity in the Old Testament, cruelty is certainly godly.

 
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