Good post NVR ... yeah, reminds of the fable of how god told the first man mentioned in the fairy tale not to eat from a tree otherwise he'd PWND him. Same today, "if u do this, then this or that will or won't happen" it's a nice mind control technique.
Is there a Christian message without the element of fear/perceived threat?
by nvrgnbk 133 Replies latest jw friends
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BurnTheShips
salvation from God's wrath.
That there is an element of fear is undeniable, but there is an element of fear in any human action or aspect of life. To reduce Christianity to acting out of fear/reward misses a lot. So no, it isn't all about escaping God's wrath. And those that act like this merely make very poor Christians! Christianity tells us to act out of love. This is its highest motivation. I think as Christians that we believe we are saved "from" something, but also "for" something. We are saved from our current state so that we may participate in a higher life. It is our free choice as to what life we choose. A gift from God is the ability to choose Him, or not. Another gift is that He actually allows us to choose Him if we wish. Each choice leads to a different place. One place is in separation and isolation from God, itself an ineffable torment, the other is in communion and relationship with him, itself an ineffable bliss.
BTS
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heathen
I don't think the idea was to coerce or to frighten people with hell fire , the idea was to spread good news that all those suffering in the world could be saved and live forever . IMO God is a motivator with promises of good things to come , not threats . He does however explain that those who don't chose his way will not get the rewards once his anger reaches it's limits they will be destroyed but will not know pain and suffering for eternity either only the end of consciousness all together .
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nvrgnbk
they will be destroyed but will not know pain and suffering for eternity either only the end of consciousness all together .
Is that consistent with what the Christian Bible says?
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milligal
Christianity has been historically one of the least loving religions out there. It is riddled with God's 'accountability' (including burnings at the stake and the crusades come to mind) It's a control issue. In America the constitution is based in part on the idea that religion (christianity) will enforce social rules that the government does not want to legislate...'control the masses'. That is one of the reasons it is allowed.
People can interpret christianity any way they want to, but in the end the Bible is a viscious, violent book filled with the punishment for acting against God. Anyone who says otherwise is not being fair or using the entire Bible as the western christian base has designated it.
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poppers
Hi nvr!
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nvrgnbk
Great to see you, poppers!
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purplesofa
hey Clam,
purps
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Clam
G'day Purps!
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AK - Jeff
I have called it the 'carrot and whip'.
I do like the form of Christian thinking that highlights 'love, mercy, and grace', but it seems that it often, if not always, subjugates those who don't fall under certain acceptable 'Christian practices' to the use of force to prove God's power. This is much of the reason I have moved away from Christian theology.
I fall into the 'I don't know' category that Clam alluded to earlier - but I really believe that God/Universe would not scourge me for believing that, as a parent, I could never do what those claiming to be his 'children' expect Him to do. Hellfire or Eternal death at Armageddon represent to me a God that is Vengeance, not a God of Love.
Jeff