What blows my mind is that people believe that god will drag people kicking and screaming into heaven. There really are people who are disgusted with god and dont want to be anywhere near him.
I hear you.
Now if you think about it, if heaven is filled with people who dont like god, nor do they think his ways are best, do you suppose it will take one minute or two minutes before there is another rebellion in heaven?
The rebellion in heaven was God's plan. But apart from that, you say people will not want to go to heaven, at least that's what I take from what you've put down here. I can see why not, many people that, supposedly, would go to heaven are not my friend, I would actually put it so that I dislike some of those people. And then there is God, the one guy whom I've been looking to evaluate a couple of things with, but who never answers my calls. I don't think our first meet-up hind the gates of heaven would be an entirely peaceful one.
But there is the alternative we keep in mind. I'd certainly choose heaven over hell, because an eternity of punishment would seem rather unpleasant. Even though the people in hell will be far more interesting, I think I'd rather not spend eternity rotting away down there, wherever that may be. So more or less, I think everyone is extorted into heaven - not so much dragged into it. It's really all there is to it: on one hand there is absolute bliss in paradise if you're nice, and then there is absolute torment on the other, would you not please the grand master. Oh, yeah; it's all definitive and for eternity, another fun fact.
It's like training dogs, with punishment and reward. And that's one of the things I find so offensive about it, it's downright degrading of humanity.
Would that put us two steps forward or thousands of years back? If the goverment of the new world is on the shoulders of jesus, do you think all will submit to his goverment? They dont do now, how will they do then?
You tickle my imagination with that first question. I think it would be great. If there was another rebellion in heaven, God might get the point that there is something inherently wrong in his totalitarian mindset and perhaps - with all the luck in the world - try to fix his errors. The best way to do that would be retirement, I guess; since no one would notice him missing anyway, and any large changes (miracles) would only upset a large portion of the world - me included. We've already made peace with extinction, the realistic part of our race at least, so let's just have a ball while we're here and get it over with.
Banishment is not the end of the world, it wasnt for adam and eve, god made a plan. And the lake of fire is banishment too. Will god make a plan? Perhaps, but how long will it take for people to have a change in heart?
I thought the story of Adam and Eve was generally considered a metaphor? Regardless, I think it is most insane to think that torturing people to make them love you is a good plan. Or even a considerable plan! It sounds like a sick man who's locked away someone in a dark and filthy basement, intensely desiring their love but mentally unable to wield proper methods in achieving it.
Perhaps when the power to do evil is taken away and people suffer for having no way of giving expression to it because that is all they are use to, in time they will loose their taste for it. I do consider that eventually, all return to god, but not this time around.
Heneni
So what you're suggesting, is that through punishment, people will somehow magically see what a nice guy God really is and start to love him? Either through an epiphany in the depths of hell or through reincarnation?
