Darkstar Wrote:There are people who have suffered much worse than that.
None of us have had the wrath of God upon them. If this was all just physical, I'm sure people have had things worse, but this is not just about pain sensors or psychological damage.
minimalist Wrote:Really? When is the last time any one was "resurrected?" Because I gotta tell you, dead means fucking dead.
Jesus has been the only one so far. The next time it happens is the end of the world (and its everyone, believers and non-believers, at one time).
Zen Badger Wrote:And where is the sacrifice?
He puts up with a bit of abuse for three days and then goes to heaven, which he knew was going to happen anyway.
Mere mortals on the hand have endured years of torture for their beliefs(frequently at the hands of the church).
Now if jesus had offered to take the place of even one sinner in hell THAT would have been a true sacrifice.
This is nothing.
He gets abused for his entire life. He knew that it would end, but that doesn't stop the actual problem at hand. People went and rebuilt houses in New Orleans after Katrina. They could have played Call of Duty instead. While this isn't suffering, they did sacrifice their time. The sacrifice isn't meaningless because it's temporal.
Finally, I think you're confusing two things with your comment "if jesus had offered to take the place of even one sinner...". First, if Jesus had not come, the conclusion of all people was death, not hell. This is first stated in Genesis 3 and really echoed in Ecclesiastes 9. Jesus' undue suffering allows us to be resurrected eternally, thus undoing the death sentence. Everyone is resurrected, believers and non-believers. From here, the new covenant (biblical concept, would take a while to explain, just trust me, means "contract" or "agreement") between God and an individual is what allows for "eternal life" and prevents "eternal death" (not bodily). At the very root of the covenant, the basic necessity is trust in God. There are things this leads to, but the foundation of this is at least some degree of trust. If the relationship is rejected, now hell comes into play. This isn't a place where God tortures you because you won't vote for him in the universal popularity contest. This is the place you go on your own free will because you don't want to be near God. This sucks for you because here there is sin, and the believers will never see sin again. God allows this. I imagine hell to be a little like the earth we have now with no death. If we do not take evil out of the equation, the lack of "death" is a curse, not a blessing.
The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.