RE: On Hell and Forgiveness
August 28, 2018 at 1:21 pm
(This post was last modified: August 28, 2018 at 1:30 pm by SteveII.)
(August 28, 2018 at 12:00 pm)Jörmungandr Wrote:(August 28, 2018 at 11:04 am)SteveII Wrote: 3. False analogy. God does not make decisions based on emotions. They are based on essential characteristics of love, justice, holiness, and mercy. As essential characteristics, one cannot be set aside when convenient. They all govern all the time. This is also the answer to whether God loves people in Hell. Yes, he loves all of his creation but it does not matter because there are other constraints in place.
6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”
Go ahead, divorce that whole story (Gen 6) from God's holiness/justice/love/mercy and make the case for 'emotions'.
(August 28, 2018 at 11:53 am)Aroura Wrote:
(August 28, 2018 at 11:33 am)SteveII Wrote: Your question is predicated on a person being unable to respond to God's love. First, it is far from clear whether God's love could not reach such as person. I have to imagine that if there was any healing that can happen, it is in relationship with God--who can satisfy the emotional and spiritual needs of a person better than any other. Second, I have always held that God judges based on your response to the information he has revealed to you. If a person is indeed broken, it is entirely the case God will judge them on what responses were possible--with no one knowing what responses were possible except God.
Thank you also for you very honest and candid response. I find the issue I have is what I have highlighted.
If everything can change as soon as we die, what does your belief and my disbelief matter at all, right now, today? If it all gets reset to 0 and we get the same exact chance after death, then I'm exactly as close to God as you are.
Also, if God takes your experiences away from you or alters you (or them) after death, are you you anymore?
I'm not sure why you highlighted that phrase. I am not abused and have no emotion damage so I can't know anything. I can infer that if God exists, he would be the best source of comfort for anyone who has been damaged and can help people emotionally, spiritually, even physically.
I believe our memories and experiences will persist through death into the afterlife. I also believe that God has the ability to heal the scars of those experiences (presently or after death) so that while they are part of who we were and are, they do not define who we can become.
