Why is God So Mean?

[Fire7]

I was going to use a more philosophical, intellectual title to address this matter, but the bible itself says of itself that it is so simple that a fool shouldn't err. So, like a child, I'm keeping it simple, because there really is no other way to put it.

I was born and raised in the pentecostal church. I no longer claim Christianity, but in my search for knowing God, I still listen to sermons. The sermons I listen to are usually by black hellfire and brimstone preachers, because that;s what I'm most familiar with. I don't know if you're familiar with a man named G Craig Lewis. But if you are, then you have an idea of the type of ministers I listen to. What I honestly have a hard time understanding is why it feels to me that God is hell-bent on sending me to hell?

You might think that I'm exaggerating when I make this statement, but I am by no means being overdramatic. I try very hard to believe that when these preachers say "God loves you but hates your sin," that they mean it. I try with everything within me to believe that these people really love me. But I have to be honest. I have never felt love coming from these preachers. I always feel that they are just saying what they have been taught to say, if they aren't just in it for the show. I do believe that some of them are genuine and sincere. But you can also be sincerely wrong.

even all of these testimonies I have ben hearing over the years of people who died and went to hell, and were brought back to tell about it. I listen closely, and what I gather is that it is very hard to make it into Heaven. And I don;t undertand if God really wants people in Heaven, why He made it so hard to get in. It just doesn't seem right. It seems to me like He plays favorites. But why create people just to throw them in hell. It's almost like He enjoys it. Even many preacher talk as if they're glad there is a hell and glad you're going. It's like if you don't live up to THEIR standard (personal hidden agenda), you can't do anything right, and for that you ARE going to hell. I also don;t understand why God is so hard on homosexuals when He created the very biology that made them that way. And don;t tell me that they weren't born that way, because I am one.

Unless you have seen things through, of course, you cannot fully understand where I'm coming from, and most of this is just hot air to you. And this is another thing; Christians are poor listeners and bad at understanding. They just love to judge others so they can (secretly... and often unconsciously)feel better about themselves. I know this because I've spent my lifetime (29 years) around them. I've seen Christians of every kind, so I know what I'm talking about. But I would literally be here for a couple of days describing to you all of the contradictions I have observed throughout this exclusive belief system.

And as much as I want to know God and be His closest friend, I feel that He doesn't really want to get to know me, but is just out to play mind games with me. I'm not being irreverent or sacrilerious: I'm just being honest. It makes me not feel like praying, even though I want to. It makes me not want to read the bible, because it's full of contradictions (and don't tell me there aren't, when they are very blatant). God just seems, to me, to be the cruelest, most cold blooded, hard hearted, unforgiving, stone faced, dominating, ruthless, non caring, bi-polar, sadistic, spiteful, wicked terrorist of all time.

Have you seen this recent testimony of a girl, Angelica Zambrano, who claims to have gone to hell for 23 hours and saw Selena Quintanilla, Michael Jackson, and children in hell?
"23 Hours Dead" - Testimony of Angelica Zambrano (with English voice-over) - YouTube

 

[apocalypseArisen]

Religion doesn't always make sense. That's why most people just "have faith" and make it go away

But hey, I come from a pentacostal background too, and I'm non-religious now. if you ever want to talk about anything, throw me a PM.

 

[Crazy4GODword]

Religion is a problem when putting it first, its a relationship with God that matters most. Religious practices are just practices and it's not like love that can save you. God isn't mean but loves, kids think parents are mean but they try to help.

 

[Joshua175]

Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

We are saved by grace, through faith.

Romans 10:11 "For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed."

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Luke 9:56 "For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them."

Romans :12-16 "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.

But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. "


Death came by Adam, not God. God is loving, by man death came into the world specifically Adam. But by Jesus Christ Grace was given to many through Faith and that's it. Believe in Jesus and ask him into your heart, submit yourself to him and confess that he is Lord, that's all it takes.

2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."


Romans 10:9 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."


Now did God make it hard? Nope he didn't. According to scripture all it takes to be saved is the Saviour Jesus Christ who died in your place. Who took your punishment for what Adam did. If you are not for Jesus you are against him. God is everything good and how can you be in his presents if you are against him? Then if you are not in the presents of God, you are in the presents of evil. There is light and there is darkness. If you reject the light, you get darkness.

John 3:19 "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."

 

[Adrianv125]

hmmmm. Jesus was in the beginning according to john 1:1, and He is God. So then He was there when the world was created, and indeed all things were made through Him and for Him as it says in Colossians 1.

So if Jesus is indeed God, did His life on earth reflect what you said? and I quote:

"God just seems, to me, to be the cruelest, most cold blooded, hard hearted, unforgiving, stone faced, dominating, ruthless, non caring, bi-polar, sadistic, spiteful, wicked terrorist of all time."

I think anyone who reads the gospels can disagree completely with your statement above. Even Pilate couldn't find fault in Him.

Now, even in the old testament God is still the God of mercy.

Nehemiah 9

1 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, in sackcloth, and with dust on their heads.[a] 2 Then those of Israelite lineage separated themselves from all foreigners; and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. 3 And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for one-fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the LORD their God.
4 Then Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the stairs of the Levites and cried out with a loud voice to the LORD their God. 5 And the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said:

“Stand up and bless the LORD your God
Forever and ever!

“ Blessed be Your glorious name,
Which is exalted above all blessing and praise!
6 You alone are the LORD;
You have made heaven,
The heaven of heavens, with all their host,
The earth and everything on it,
The seas and all that is in them,
And You preserve them all.
The host of heaven worships You.

7 “You are the LORD God,
Who chose Abram,
And brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans,
And gave him the name Abraham;

8 You found his heart faithful before You,
And made a covenant with him
To give the land of the Canaanites,
The Hittites, the Amorites,
The Perizzites, the Jebusites,
And the Girga****es—
To give it to his descendants.
You have performed Your words,
For You are righteous.

9 “You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt,
And heard their cry by the Red Sea.

10 You showed signs and wonders against Pharaoh,
Against all his servants,
And against all the people of his land.
For You knew that they acted proudly against them.
So You made a name for Yourself, as it is this day.

11 And You divided the sea before them,
So that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land;
And their persecutors You threw into the deep,
As a stone into the mighty waters.

12 Moreover You led them by day with a cloudy pillar,
And by night with a pillar of fire,
To give them light on the road
Which they should travel.

13 “You came down also on Mount Sinai,
And spoke with them from heaven,
And gave them just ordinances and true laws,
Good statutes and commandments.

14 You made known to them Your holy Sabbath,
And commanded them precepts, statutes and laws,
By the hand of Moses Your servant.

15 You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger,
And brought them water out of the rock for their thirst,
And told them to go in to possess the land
Which You had sworn to give them.

16 “But they and our fathers acted proudly,
Hardened their necks,
And did not heed Your commandments.

17 They refused to obey,
And they were not mindful of Your wonders
That You did among them.
But they hardened their necks,
And in their rebellion
They appointed a leader
To return to their bondage.
But You are God,
Ready to pardon,
Gracious and merciful,
Slow to anger,
Abundant in kindness,
And did not forsake them.

18 “Even when they made a molded calf for themselves,
And said, ‘This is your god
That brought you up out of Egypt,’
And worked great provocations,

19 Yet in Your manifold mercies
You did not forsake them in the wilderness.
The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day,
To lead them on the road;
Nor the pillar of fire by night,
To show them light,
And the way they should go.

20 You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them,
And did not withhold Your manna from their mouth,
And gave them water for their thirst.

21 Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness;
They lacked nothing;
Their clothes did not wear out[c]
And their feet did not swell.

22 “ Moreover You gave them kingdoms and nations,
And divided them into districts.[d]
So they took possession of the land of Sihon,
The land of[e] the king of Heshbon,
And the land of Og king of Bashan.

23 You also multiplied their children as the stars of heaven,
And brought them into the land
Which You had told their fathers
To go in and possess.

24 So the people went in
And possessed the land;
You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land,
The Canaanites,
And gave them into their hands,
With their kings
And the people of the land,
That they might do with them as they wished.

25 And they took strong cities and a rich land,
And possessed houses full of all goods,
Cisterns already dug, vineyards, olive groves,
And fruit trees in abundance.
So they ate and were filled and grew fat,
And delighted themselves in Your great goodness.

26 “ Nevertheless they were disobedient
And rebelled against You,
Cast Your law behind their backs
And killed Your prophets, who testified against them
To turn them to Yourself;
And they worked great provocations.

27 Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their enemies,
Who oppressed them;
And in the time of their trouble,
When they cried to You,
You heard from heaven;
And according to Your abundant mercies
You gave them deliverers who saved them
From the hand of their enemies.

28 “But after they had rest,
They again did evil before You.
Therefore You left them in the hand of their enemies,
So that they had dominion over them;
Yet when they returned and cried out to You,
You heard from heaven;
And many times You delivered them according to Your mercies,

29 And testified against them,
That You might bring them back to Your law.
Yet they acted proudly,
And did not heed Your commandments,
But sinned against Your judgments,

‘ Which if a man does, he shall live by them.’[f]
And they shrugged their shoulders,
Stiffened their necks,
And would not hear.

30 Yet for many years You had patience with them,
And testified against them by Your Spirit in Your prophets.
Yet they would not listen;
Therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.

31 Nevertheless in Your great mercy
You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them;
For You are God, gracious and merciful.

32 “Now therefore, our God,
The great, the mighty, and awesome God,
Who keeps covenant and mercy:
Do not let all the trouble seem small before You
That has come upon us,
Our kings and our princes,
Our priests and our prophets,
Our fathers and on all Your people,
From the days of the kings of Assyria until this day.

33 However You are just in all that has befallen us;
For You have dealt faithfully,
But we have done wickedly.

34 Neither our kings nor our princes,
Our priests nor our fathers,
Have kept Your law,
Nor heeded Your commandments and Your testimonies,
With which You testified against them.

35 For they have not served You in their kingdom,
Or in the many good things that You gave them,
Or in the large and rich land which You set before them;
Nor did they turn from their wicked works.

36 “Here we are, servants today!
And the land that You gave to our fathers,
To eat its fruit and its bounty,
Here we are, servants in it!

37 And it yields much increase to the kings
You have set over us,
Because of our sins;
Also they have dominion over our bodies and our cattle
At their pleasure;
And we are in great distress.

38 “And because of all this,
We make a sure covenant and write it;
Our leaders, our Levites, and our priests seal it.”


Yeah, even the children of Israel knew God is the God of mercy, love, and kindness.

 

[Brandon777]

Have you seen this recent testimony of a girl, Angelica Zambrano, who claims to have gone to hell for 23 hours and saw Selena Quintanilla, Michael Jackson, and children in hell?
"23 Hours Dead" - Testimony of Angelica Zambrano (with English voice-over) - YouTube

I still strongly claim the faith and you may be surprised when you hear me say that I don’t blame you for feeling the way you do. Those kinds of preachers do more damage than good. While most of them are well meaning God isn’t the type to condemn Christians. “For there is now no condemnation for the saints (Romans 8:1).” And we are not supposed to judge those outside the church as it is expected of them to fall because they are steeped in darkness. The Biblical proof goes further than the New Testament into the Old Testament too. Exodus 34 says that Yahweh is abounding in loving kindness for thousands. And it is by GRACE we are saved through faith. God is a kind God and His wrath is only stirred after an extended time of repeated, blatant spit in your face kind of behavior. Example: Israel and their Idols for generation after generation. And If God didn’t step in and do something about it, and punished them as children then they would have been justly destined for the judgment of hell. YET read 2 Peter 3:9 and it says “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” In fact read all of 2 Peter Chapter 3. Get it into you.

 

[UsugimiBilly]

I don't understand why people say they've discarded religion but still retain religion's beliefs.

 

[jandian]

If the preachers discourage you, then go directly to God.....

 

[mygunsnroses]

I totally agree with you. Religion does not make sense. There are so many inaccuracies just simply explained with the phrase, "you just have to have faith." That's such a cop-out!! The bible was written by humans, who according to Christianity are imperfect and open to error, so therefore doesn't that mean that the bible is also open to error? Also, the bible ignores all scientific and geographical evidence. It is indisputable that the world is millions of years old, yet according to the bible it is mere thousands. Something else which is extremely strange is the difference between the "God" of the Old Testament and the "God" of the New Testament, with the former being vengeful, angry and destructive, wanting people to fear rather than love him and saving only the Jews, whilst discarding all other people, in contrast with the God of the New Testament who Jesus claims loves everyone. WHERE ARE THE DINOSAURS? A simple question representing the bible's blatant ignorance of evolution. People such as these "brimstone preachers" use religion to have power over people, it is not real. Thanks.

 

[MissCris]

God didn't give us RELIGION, He gave us His only Son. HUMANS brought religion about, because it was easier for them to create their own rules and remain in their sins without feeling too bad about it than it was to follow the teaching of Jesus Christ (whom most religions claim to follow, and yet...well, we can see the destructive results of separate religions all around us).

The point is, God is not 'mean'. He is righteous, just, and holy- something that no human being can be. The difference between people who feel that it is cruel to make us this way and that God can't possibly love us, and people who know the love of God is this: ACCEPTING that we are all sinners, that we all fall short, but that God gave us the gift of his Son to SAVE us, and ACCEPTING THAT GIFT.

 

[sloppy3]

I totally agree with you. Religion does not make sense. There are so many inaccuracies just simply explained with the phrase, "you just have to have faith." That's such a cop-out!! The bible was written by humans, who according to Christianity are imperfect and open to error, so therefore doesn't that mean that the bible is also open to error? Also, the bible ignores all scientific and geographical evidence. It is indisputable that the world is millions of years old, yet according to the bible it is mere thousands. Something else which is extremely strange is the difference between the "God" of the Old Testament and the "God" of the New Testament, with the former being vengeful, angry and destructive, wanting people to fear rather than love him and saving only the Jews, whilst discarding all other people, in contrast with the God of the New Testament who Jesus claims loves everyone. WHERE ARE THE DINOSAURS? A simple question representing the bible's blatant ignorance of evolution. People such as these "brimstone preachers" use religion to have power over people, it is not real. Thanks.

I don't think you will last long on this forum buddy

 

[sloppy3]

The point is, God is not 'mean'. He is righteous, just, and holy- something that no human being can be.

This is the statement that I hear so many times and its the one that really represents to entire problem with Christianity.

It seems so sad to me that you denigrate your virtues, achievments, thoughts, actions and principles in this way.

When Christians say "I'd be nothing without God" it makes me shudder. My view is that you made God, not the other way round.

I hope for, and expect, responses to my statement but please dont bash me

 

[Tobby17]

I was going to use a more philosophical, intellectual title to address this matter, but the bible itself says of itself that it is so simple that a fool shouldn't err. So, like a child, I'm keeping it simple, because there really is no other way to put it.

Maybe another title would have been better.. Or???

What I honestly have a hard time understanding is why it feels to me that God is hell-bent on sending me to hell?

God is not bent on sending you to hell, you might be the one bent on sending yourself to hell

But I have to be honest. I have never felt love coming from these preachers. I always feel that they are just saying what they have been taught to say, if they aren't just in it for the show

.

Sounds like you need to get a new church and have better preachers preach to u. It's very funny that just a few days ago, i was thinking in my mind and just feeling a little bit frustrated at people who teach more about Hell instead of God's Love..

I listen closely, and what I gather is that it is very hard to make it into Heaven

Ofcourse, it is hard to get into heaven, as a matter of fact, the bible says it will be easier for a Camel to go through a needle than for some people to go into heaven.. I'm not sure i wrote it correctly.. But just because it's hard, doesn't mean you should stop trying. Will you stop writing your school exams just because they are difficult?

But why create people just to throw them in hell. It's almost like He enjoys it.

If he enjoys it, he wouldn't bother sending his son to redeem us, would he?

I also don;t understand why God is so hard on homosexuals when He created the very biology that made them that way. And don;t tell me that they weren't born that way, because I am one

God is not hard on homosexuals, People are.. Now can you be born an homosexual?.. No!!.. Just like you can't be born a liar or a serial killer, or a murderer or born a prostitute, so also is it impossible to be born an homosexual.. The thing is we are all born with the nature of sin and we all have the tendency to sin, be it Homosexualism, Lying, Prostitution or whatever.. So am i born an homosexual? NO, am i born a liar? No, am i born with the tendency to Sin?.. YES!!

PS: I also struggle with this feelings

God bless.. bye!

Unless you have seen things through, of course, you cannot fully understand where I'm coming from, and most of this is just hot air to you. And this is another thing; Christians are poor listeners and bad at understanding. They just love to judge others so they can (secretly... and often unconsciously)feel better about themselves. I know this because I've spent my lifetime (29 years) around them. I've seen Christians of every kind, so I know what I'm talking about. But I would literally be here for a couple of days describing to you all of the contradictions I have observed throughout this exclusive belief system.

And as much as I want to know God and be His closest friend, I feel that He doesn't really want to get to know me, but is just out to play mind games with me. I'm not being irreverent or sacrilerious: I'm just being honest. It makes me not feel like praying, even though I want to. It makes me not want to read the bible, because it's full of contradictions (and don't tell me there aren't, when they are very blatant). God just seems, to me, to be the cruelest, most cold blooded, hard hearted, unforgiving, stone faced, dominating, ruthless, non caring, bi-polar, sadistic, spiteful, wicked terrorist of all time.

Have you seen this recent testimony of a girl, Angelica Zambrano, who claims to have gone to hell for 23 hours and saw Selena Quintanilla, Michael Jackson, and children in hell?
"23 Hours Dead" - Testimony of Angelica Zambrano (with English voice-over) - YouTube[/QUOTE]

 

[Deadtosin]

I posted a little about this in the other thread, but I think I'll dive a litte deeper into it here, not just for you but anyone else who opens this thread later.
God created man to live with Him. To dwell with Him. We chose to sin (adam and eve) God is perfect He CAN'T live in sin. So now suddenly we weren't able to perform our purpose which is to fellowship with God. Our flesh became corrupted, for we were given unto our sins, after all we have free will, and without having God within us we just got more and more wicked with time. God loves us so much He paid a righteous fee for us. His blood would absolve our sins, that just brings us back to level. Remember we can't be more than righteous, but in the blood of the Lamb our clothes are washed white, He will remember our sins no more. At this point we accept "by free will" to be cleansed and then seeing what a dangerous line we walk here on earth surrounded by sin and deception (cause satan hates us and wants us to suffer away from God, like he must) we hold fast to the Holy Spirit that dwells within us. We learn to know His voice and follow where He leads us. So that when it is all said and done we remain blameless unto that very day.

We must not say GOD sent us to Hell. It is being without God that is hell, and we are the ones who chose not to follow Him. Why? cause we don't believe Him. He says, this is the only way to salvation, what do we (the world) say? naaa, thats not true, its just a bunch of religion, c'mon lets do what we want and surely God will make it all better. HE TRIED!!! HE IS CURRENTLY TRYING!! but what will HE do? take our free will? we know He can't live in sin its not in His perfect nature. So the ball is in our court. What do we do?

 

[Deadtosin]

Accept Jesus and do what He says. Thats what.

 

[Deadtosin]

I totally agree with you. Religion does not make sense. There are so many inaccuracies just simply explained with the phrase, "you just have to have faith." That's such a cop-out!! The bible was written by humans, who according to Christianity are imperfect and open to error, so therefore doesn't that mean that the bible is also open to error? Also, the bible ignores all scientific and geographical evidence. It is indisputable that the world is millions of years old, yet according to the bible it is mere thousands. Something else which is extremely strange is the difference between the "God" of the Old Testament and the "God" of the New Testament, with the former being vengeful, angry and destructive, wanting people to fear rather than love him and saving only the Jews, whilst discarding all other people, in contrast with the God of the New Testament who Jesus claims loves everyone. WHERE ARE THE DINOSAURS? A simple question representing the bible's blatant ignorance of evolution. People such as these "brimstone preachers" use religion to have power over people, it is not real. Thanks.

interestingly enough, you can find in the old testament whenever it talks about the messianic prophecies foretelling Jesus, that He will be loving, gentle, a lamb unto the slaughter etc. I have actually marvelled at that very thought you had. That in the old testament when God was so wrathful and angry there were still descriptions of that loving and gentle Jesus. As far as dinosaurs I would like to go back to Genesis, back before it rained. It says there was water below the firmament and water above the firmament. It didn't rain in those days but a mist would water the earth. In those days people lived to be around a 1000 years old. Now we know today that if an athlete wants to heal an injury he can be placed in a pressure chamber. And if fact if you lived in a pressure chamber you might live to be a 1000 years old. Now the water all fell at once as you can read by Noa's arc story, and suddenly after the earth flooded, people began to live shorter and shorter lives. Now regarding dinosaurs, lizards never stop growing. Can you imagine what a 1000 year old iguana would look like?
I have also read in some ancient tribal folk lore, that there used to be elders that they called the "long noses" and of course you know that the nose and ears never stop growing, so you can imagine how a 900 year old nose might look. Lol. Also keep in mind that what science has believed they are always changing. They believed petrification took a million or so years. Then they found a petrified cowboy boot with a petrified foot inside of it. Also they thought stalagtites and stalagmites took hundreds of thousands of years. But now we can find a 14 foot stalagtite growing out of a leaky waterhose in arkansas. The moon travels away from the earth at a certain amount of inches a year. One scientist pointed out that if dinosaurs died 65,000,000 years ago he could tell you why. Because the moon was so close it would have decapitated them. Also there are deserts that grow so many miles a year as the wind blows to the west. If this planet were 5 billion years old why do they still grow? there are many questions and nothing is so for sure that we can go on scientifically. One scientist said the reason they put millions of years in front of a theory is to fill the gaps with zeros

 

[Deadtosin]

umm just to clarify, some scientists believe that if enough water was hovering above the earths atmosphere (the water above the firmament) it could create a pressure chamber like effect on the earth.

 

[Fire7]

Maybe another title would've been better. Or???

What do you mean?

God is not bent on sending you to hell, you might be the one bent on sending yourself to hell

No one in their right mind wants to go to Hell, sir. I do not want to go to Hell, and I get tired of people telling me that I'm sending myself to Hell. It's another christian cliche.' And it's simply a cop-out of explaining why a "loving," "merciful" "omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent (all-powerful, all-seeing, and all-knowing)" creator would CREATE such a place. The FACT is I did not create Hell. Hell came out of HIS mind. And from all of the many things I have read and heard about Hell, it seems that this creator God has a rather dimented mind. He comes off as more of a Bi-polar psychopath than a loving father. And if God "predestined" me to Hell, then no matter how much He supposedly tries to reach out to me, I'm going to Hell anyway, because He knew and formed me even before the foundations of the world...


Sounds like you need to get a new church and have better preachers preach to u. It's very funny that just a few days ago, i was thinking in my mind and just feeling a little bit frustrated at people who teach more about Hell instead of God's Love...

It's not about a church, in particular. I've been the member of 4 different churches in my 29 years of living, but I also grew up watching christian television on a regular basis and listening to sermons. My mother was the audio person who recorded all of the sermons, so I had the privilege of being able to listen to the same sermon over and over again. I also used to order teaching albums and books from many different ministries. I have listened to sermons on youtube and other video sharing sites. I've read many articles on the internet... so my understanding of God is a culmination of many years, of thousands of hours, of thousands of sermons, by hundreds of ministers. Currently, I don't attend church, and haven't regularly for 3 years or more... But if you want to know what I have been listening to lately, just type in "G. Craig Lewis" into youtube.com and pull up as many of his teachings as you can and listen to them: As a matter of fact, listen to these for starters G Craige Lewis "The truth behind hip-hop" - YouTube , G Craige Lewis - Choose a Side! 1 of 2 - YouTube , G Craige Lewis - Choose a Side! 2 of 2 - YouTube , EX Ministries Video EX-CAST I - YouTube (I think there are 5 parts to this EX cast). Also take a little time to read his blog G. Craige Lewis Blog . The point is, don't just tell me to change preachers without first listening to that preacher yourself to understand why I listen to him.

And I have people telling me, all the time--after expressing these concerns to them,that I should change churches, change gods, change religions, change beloief systems. But it's not that easy. Life doesn't work that way, where you just make something disappear because you don't agree with it. This is an excapist mentality. But I'm not the kind of person who just shuts a person out completely because I don't agree with what he's saying. I could miss very valuable information that way. And what if what they are saying is true? Just because I may stop listening to what they're saying doesn;t change the truth about it.


Of course, it is hard to get into heaven, as a matter of fact, the bible says it will be easier for a Camel to go through a needle than for some people to go into heaven.. I'm not sure i wrote it correctly.. But just because it's hard, doesn't mean you should stop trying. Will you stop writing your school exams just because they are difficult?

What if I try my hardest and still don't make it in? Then I would have wasted my whole life on a gamble. I'm sorry but I take the state of my eternal soul too seriously to play rush-and-roulette with it. I need to KNOW for a fact where I am going before I get there. I don't like those kinds of surprises. As I said, I think that the greatest tragedy in the universe is wasted time. And I don't want to waste my time wish and hoping that I will be one of the lucky ones to make it into Heaven. If I'm going to Hell then I would rather go out with a bang. ...And if things like being mad at someone, not paying tithes, gossiping, smoking, doubting, prayerlessness, cursing, ignorance.. slandering, being effeminate, having pride, having vanity, eating too much, lying, disobeying God (all things mention in the bible, and these "encounters"...and these are not all of the sins) will send a person to Hell, then aren't all of us going to Hell? I mean if it is true that a person can lose his salvation, then there is no way that a person can be completely conscious of all of these things at one time. You will have to walk around constantly saying "Lord forgive me.. Lord forgive me.. Lord forgive me..." non-stop. Say you die unexpectedy and suddenly before being able to say Lord forgive me. Then won't you go straight to Hell?


If he enjoys it, he wouldn't bother sending his son to redeem us, would he?

I've always heard people say "For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten son..." But the truth of the matter is that God so messed up the world that it was the least He could do. Christians sing that song "God is in control." Well, if He is in control, He has a rather poor track record, and He's bad at saving people. If He's not in control then stop lying. Why even sing the song?


God is not hard on homosexuals, People are.. Now can you be born an homosexual?.. No!!.. Just like you can't be born a liar or a serial killer, or a murderer or born a prostitute, so also is it impossible to be born an homosexual.. The thing is we are all born with the nature of sin and we all have the tendency to sin, be it Homosexualism, Lying, Prostitution or whatever.. So am i born an homosexual? NO, am i born a liar? No, am i born with the tendency to Sin?.. YES!!

To link homosexuality with liars, serial killers, murderers, prostitutes... is to assume that a person has control over his sexual preference. Well, orientation is inherent. And I don't have time or space here to go through the evidences of homosexuality being natural. But put it like this. If you can't be born homosexual, then also cannot be born heterosexual. It would be impossible, because homosexuality and heterosexuality have the exact same makeup. It's still sexuality; the only difference is gender. Let me ask you, what do you say about people who were born with both genitalia and are forced to choose a gender? Are they going to Hell? ...There are over 400 species in the animal kingdom that are known to be homosexual. Are they evil animals? ... We are sexual creatures. The very first statement that's made about us when we are born is a sexual statement: "It's a boy!" "It's a girl!" And if you don't believe that sexual orientation is predetermined in the womb, you should do some study into biology.

PS: I also struggle with this feelings

Thanks for being honest with this.

God bless.. bye!

God bless you!
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[Fencepost]

And as much as I want to know God and be His closest friend, I feel that He doesn't really want to get to know me, but is just out to play mind games with me. I'm not being irreverent or sacrilerious: I'm just being honest. It makes me not feel like praying, even though I want to. It makes me not want to read the bible, because it's full of contradictions (and don't tell me there aren't, when they are very blatant). God just seems, to me, to be the cruelest, most cold blooded, hard hearted, unforgiving, stone faced, dominating, ruthless, non caring, bi-polar, sadistic, spiteful, wicked terrorist of all time.

Wow I feel your pain my friend. And I know exactly what your saying about fire and brimestone. I think basically alot of those preachers kinda fllow the scarred straight program. And fire and brimestone is defintely in the bible.

I will try and witeness to you without useing my bible and perhaps that will help you to understand that God is not on the outside looking in at you, unless of course you have never asked him to come into your heart. I am assuming you have since you said you have been listening to fire and brimestone preachers your whole life.

God is not outside but inside He lives within you. And no, i do not mean he lives through your good deeds or he is a part of you that has always been there. I mean when you ask Jesus to come into your heart and save you. That is exactly what he does. The Holy Spirit of an all powerful Living God sets up shop inside your heart, your mind, your soul, your very essence. That is what the term born again means.

And yes some have a very hard time with this concept. The bible does not contradict itself. May seem like that but that is simply because you do not see the whole picture you see bits and pieces as you look into a mirror darkly. My friend, my brother in Christ Jesus you would not even worry about God's judgement if you did not already see a glimpse of the divine. This is not a myth, this is not a assumption, these things were not done in secret but in front of the entire history of the world to present. Mankind has no excuse for their sin.

Mankind, nay the chosen of God took Christ Jesus God's only son nailed him to a cross murdered him in cold blood. With vengeance, with malice in their heart. They freakin murdered the only begotten son of God Christ Jesus. What would you do if someone or a group of people took your child and murdered them. Well, perhaps that will help to open your mind to the concept that we man and woman fall short of God's glory. Because while on the cross Jesus himself Almighty God's only holy son said. "Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing." Luke 23:34 Scofield study bible, sorry had to quote one verse.

All we can do is cry out for God's mercy. I mean cry out because that is where the flood gates open. God will lead you to all truth in Christ Jesus. Praise god thank you for letting me share with you.

 

[Fencepost]

umm just to clarify, some scientists believe that if enough water was hovering above the earths atmosphere (the water above the firmament) it could create a pressure chamber like effect on the earth.

Wow, that is crazy. Yea i know man the earth is connected at the touch of button makes ya wonder all those old timey preachers back in history who said all this technalogy was leading us straight into hell fire. Maybe they weren't so crazy after all, like everyone thought they were.