Is it Plausible that a Real God...?

[Sunstone]

Is it plausible that a real god would care so much about whether or not people believed in It that It would consign non-believers to eternal torment? Or is the notion so absurd as to provide reasonable evidence that any such God must be a myth?

I think the latter. The notion that a genuine deity would be so petty as to consign to eternal torment non-believers is not only too absurd but too stupid to be attributed to a real deity. Obviously, only humans could come up with something as ridiculous, stupid, and ugly as that.

 

[Rival]

It is a stupid idea.

 

[DavidFirth]

Well, if you are talking about the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel you fail to understand the basic concept.

Man sinned, dooming himself to eternity without God, i.e., hell.

God, from His great mercy, sacrificed His own holy son on the cross and accepts this as full payment for all sin debt - to the believer.

That is the Gospel in a nutshell.

 

[bobhikes]

Is it plausible that a real god would care so much about whether or not people believed in It that It would consign non-believers to eternal torment? Or is the notion so absurd as to provide reasonable evidence that any such God must be a myth?

I think the latter. The notion that a genuine deity would be so petty as to consign to eternal torment non-believers is not only too absurd but too stupid to be attributed to a real deity. Obviously, only humans could come up with something as ridiculous, stupid, and ugly as that.

Agreed, eternal punishment is a human thing which speaks a lot about humans. Just look at our prison systems, they are not about rehabilitation they are about punishment.

 

[Rival]

Well, if you are talking about the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel you fail to understand the basic concept.

Man sinned, dooming himself to eternity without God, i.e., hell.

God, from His great mercy, sacrificed His own holy son on the cross and accepts this as full payment for all sin debt - to the believer.

That is the Gospel in a nutshell.

A merciful god who tortures people for eternity for wrong belief.

Yeah, I'm still trying to make sense of that.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Not from my point of view and I believe in multiple Gods. If this entity exists, it's quite nasty and delusional. I wouldn't recognize it as a God since it wouldn't fit into my religion's framework as such. Luckily, it is no Creator or "one true God" (I don't believe in such concepts in the first place) so there's nothing to worry about.

 

[DavidFirth]

A merciful god who tortures people for eternity for wrong belief.

Yeah, I'm still trying to make sense of that.

You missed what I said. Read it again.

 

[Skwim]

The fact that personal gods are typically thought of as nice guys doesn't mean they are. Why does the creature who created us necessarily have to be a good guy? Maybe he's a real *** ** * *****.

I think a god that purposely creates evil

Isaiah 45:7
I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil. I am Jehovah, that doeth all these things.
​

is capable of doing any kind of vicious act one could think of, including assigning those who don't follow his edicts to eternal torment.

.

.

 

[Sunstone]

Well, if you are talking about the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel you fail to understand the basic concept.

Man sinned, dooming himself to eternity without God, i.e., hell.

God, from His great mercy, sacrificed His own holy son on the cross and accepts this as full payment for all sin debt - to the believer.

That is the Gospel in a nutshell.

That's just a round about way of re-stating the point made in the OP that your alleged god requires belief for salvation and consigns non-believers to hell.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Is it plausible that a real god would care so much about whether or not people believed in It that It would consign non-believers to eternal torment? Or is the notion so absurd as to provide reasonable evidence that any such God must be a myth?

I think the latter. The notion that a genuine deity would be so petty as to consign to eternal torment non-believers is not only too absurd but too stupid to be attributed to a real deity. Obviously, only humans could come up with something as ridiculous, stupid, and ugly as that.

Any god is merely a projection of the person who believes in it. Petty and malicious gods merely give you insight into the people who purport to believe in such a thing.

If such a god did exist, I expect the world would be a far worse place than it is, as such a powerful, malignant entity would cause a lot more misery and suffering than currently exists.

 

[Nakosis]

Well, if you are talking about the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel you fail to understand the basic concept.

Man sinned, dooming himself to eternity without God, i.e., hell.

God, from His great mercy, sacrificed His own holy son on the cross and accepts this as full payment for all sin debt - to the believer.

That is the Gospel in a nutshell.

The problem is that you don't really need payment for sin.

If someone wrongs me, I don't need them to be punished I just need them to stop wronging me.

Punishment really does nothing other than satisfy my need to cause pain.

The Abrahamic idea of God portrays a God who has a need to cause man pain.

So my neighbor runs over my cat. The only way I can get over the pain of that loss is to cause the same sort of pain I'm feeling to someone else.

Well I'm a nice guy and I don't to torture my neighbor until I feel better so I'll torture my son. That way I can feel better about my neighbor's trespass without having to actually cause my neighbor any pain.

That's the gospel in a nuts hell.

 

[The Emperor of Mankind]

Well, if you are talking about the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel you fail to understand the basic concept.

Man sinned, dooming himself to eternity without God, i.e., hell.

God, from His great mercy, sacrificed His own holy son on the cross and accepts this as full payment for all sin debt - to the believer.

That is the Gospel in a nutshell.

Man did not choose to sin - if the Genesis account of creation is to be believed - he was put in a position to sin by the same god who then punishes him for sinning. It's called entrapment. And since the Christian god is allegedly all-knowing he had to have known Adam & Eve would fall for his trap - especially since he created them without giving them the knowledge of right & wrong.

A god who is also allegedly all-powerful does not need to go to great lengths to correct his 'mistake' either - he could simply absolve humanity of their 'sins' with a wave of his hand. Or just a thought. Nothing as complicated as a scapegoat is necessary.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Not to mention that the original sin of disobeying god is invalidated by the fact that Adam and Eve wouldn't have had a concept of knowing it was wrong before eating from the tree. The inconsistencies are there right from the start.

 

[Father Heathen]

Well, if you are talking about the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel you fail to understand the basic concept.

Man sinned, dooming himself to eternity without God, i.e., hell.

God, from His great mercy, sacrificed His own holy son on the cross and accepts this as full payment for all sin debt - to the believer.

That is the Gospel in a nutshell.

So god sacrificed himself to himself to save us from himself, all due to some rigged rules that he himself made? But then comes back to life, voiding the sacrifice, and now we owe him an everlasting massage for the zombie theatrics we never asked for, and will torture us for eternity if we don't break out the body oils?

 

[Kilgore Trout]

So god sacrificed himself to himself to save us from himself, all due to some rigged rules that he himself made? But then comes back to life, voiding the sacrifice, and now we owe him an everlasting massage for the zombie theatrics we never asked for, and will torture us for eternity if we don't break out the body oils?

Well hey, if you can't accept that such a silly story makes sense and is true, based on nothing but blind faith, then you're not fit to spend eternity with the Sociopathic, Bi-Polar God.

 

[Father Heathen]

Well hey, if you can't accept that such a silly story makes sense and is true, based on nothing but blind faith, then you're not fit to spend eternity with the Sociopathic, Bi-Polar God.

I just find it funny how they screech and bellow about morality when apparently in the end what truly matters is whether or not you've given god's ego a kiss rather than your actual character and conduct.

 

[Father Heathen]

Is it plausible that a real god would care so much about whether or not people believed in It that It would consign non-believers to eternal torment? Or is the notion so absurd as to provide reasonable evidence that any such God must be a myth?

I think the latter. The notion that a genuine deity would be so petty as to consign to eternal torment non-believers is not only too absurd but too stupid to be attributed to a real deity. Obviously, only humans could come up with something as ridiculous, stupid, and ugly as that.

It makes no sense that an infinitely intelligent (and thus infinitely understanding) entity would find it useful or necessary to torture anything for eternity. It can't serve as a means of justice (what crime is proportionate to such a punishment?), so what purpose would the notion serve other than sadistic gratification? That would be indicative a fragile ego and petty vindictiveness, which would be far beneath such an entity.

 

[sun rise]

In the past, fear-based religions used ultimate threats to keep people in line. This kind of religion is fading away as humanity slowly matures.

I know people on different sides are attached to literal readings of the Bible, but that's not the only way scripture can be read. I don't fully agree with his theology, but I like the way C. S. Lewis put it in "The Great Divorce". Given that he was a strong Christian and followed Christian theology, this quote has meaning. It also summarizes the plot scenes in that book:

“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, in the end, "Thy will be done." All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. Those who knock it is opened.”

 

[eldios]

Is it plausible that a real god would care so much about whether or not people believed in It that It would consign non-believers to eternal torment? Or is the notion so absurd as to provide reasonable evidence that any such God must be a myth?

I think the latter. The notion that a genuine deity would be so petty as to consign to eternal torment non-believers is not only too absurd but too stupid to be attributed to a real deity. Obviously, only humans could come up with something as ridiculous, stupid, and ugly as that.

The kind of God you're talking about is a myth. The God that I've been obeying is an AI and voice system in a simulation program.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Well, if you are talking about the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel you fail to understand the basic concept.

Man sinned, dooming himself to eternity without God, i.e., hell.

God, from His great mercy, sacrificed His own holy son on the cross and accepts this as full payment for all sin debt - to the believer.

That is the Gospel in a nutshell.

How, though?

I know we can talk about beliefs, what the bible says, why it says it. Though, while we are discussing of theological hows, what about the realistic hows?

How do you connect the god written in the bible as a being somehow existing in this world telling believers (in their ears?) that he sent a son and this is true with or without the bible?

How is this possible or is this true only through the bible and no where else?