(May 28, 2015 at 1:57 am)robvalue Wrote: 1) God literally cannot remove "hell": he was powerful enough to create it but not powerful enough to remove it. It was pretty stupid to make it in the first place, then. It would be like digging a massive hole for people to walk into, knowing you couldn't ever fill it back up.
I don't see any reason God couldn't remove hell, but he created it for a reason, so why would he want to remove it?
Quote:2) God is beyond our understanding so we can't judge him like this. Well, if we can't understand him, we have no way to know he is actually benevolent other than blind faith.
We don't know all that is involved in God's decisions. If he was evil and wanted us to go to hell, then why would he sacrifice himself on our behalf? My decision isn't blind. I know the bible, I'm aware of science, and I know what I sense. You have to make a choice and go with that.
Quote:3) Hell does have a purpose, that being to make sure we follow God. Well, then it's a blatant attempt to influence our decision through threats.
If we do live on after this life, then at that point we're either with him or away from him, depending on our own free choices. Hell is a place of torment because it is existence without God. I know I'm going to catch it from all sides for this, but I really lean toward the belief that, since Jesus died for us all, that hell is a place where one comes to know his need for God and eventually comes to faith. As much as this will distress you, that would mean we would all be together with God eventually.
Quote:And lastly: Christians are "choosing" Islam hell, as well as every other hell that could ever possibly exist, if they do happen to exist and they are wrong about Christianity. Is that fair? Are you choosing Islam hell, if it turns out that is the real hell? It's no different to us "choosing" your hell, if it turns out your hell is real. You don't think Islam hell is real, and we don't think your hell is real.
If Islam hell is real, then I am choosing not to believe in it. I'm choosing christianity, they're choosing Islam, and you're choosing "none of the above". We can only choose one way. If I'm totally sincere abut my beliefs and have truly sought him, I'll let God, who looks at the heart, decide where I go. I'm not saying all religions are correct. I'm saying that we can make our decisions based only on what God has revealed to us.
