(April 30, 2015 at 6:44 pm)Nestor Wrote: Stop making your arguments so compelling. There's virtually no chance any critic you meet will stand to get passed the cheribum and its scary flaming sword if you keep dismissing their honest reflections with omnipotent rebuttals such as that.
I disagree that "worship me or burn for eternity" is an honest reflection by someone who's seriously tried to understand the Bible.
In Eden, did god sit on a throne and require A&E to come and bow down before him? No. There is no record of A&E worshipping.
The Mosaic law includes sacrifices and festivals which could be considered worship. However, it did not threaten hell. The deal was that If Israel obeyed the law, they would rule over the other nations on earth.
Coming to the Gospels, Jesus washes his disciples' feet and says that they're no longer servants, but rather friends.
Paul says that we are god's children, his heirs, and joint heirs with Christ.
When we worship, it's not out of fear of hell, it's out of love. 1 John 4:19 - We love Him because He first loved us.
The bible mentions the fear of god, but note that it says the fear of god is the beginning of wisdom. Love is the destination.
The greatest commandment isn't to worship god, or to fear him. It is to love him. Love doesn't indicate worship, which is clear as the second commandment is to love one's neighbor, which clearly doesn't mean worshipping all your neighbors.
If you don't want to read the Bible, that's your choice. But why would you then act as if you know what it says?
