Unanswered questions (about Christianity)

"How God can let a good Atheist or a good Agnostic... or a good Jew can go to hell?" Good? What do you mean by good?

Why did God keep that tree near Adam and Eve, why did it have to be there? If he's all powerful, why did he need a silly tree? Was he testing him? If He is all powerful, I would think He can do what it is He feels necessary.

If Adam and Eve failed the test, why are we being punished? Because we fail the test as well. We re-commit the same failure.

Why did God make us inherently evil instead of good? Free Will is NOT inherently evil, so what is it? Free Will isn't isn't inherently good either.

Why did all powerful God create an Angel that would turn into Satan and torment many people, and make good people question their faith and go to hell? My understanding is that those who are bound for such destruction don't have faith to question. Can someone fall away? Yeah, but don't blame that on Satan... we have a choice.

Out of all of the HUNDREDS of religions, is there a chance that you're wrong? I am on this journey to connect with Christ and that which has been taught to me. Jesus said I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No-one comes to the Father but by me. No margin for error here. I can share what has been told me, but people make their own decisions and where they end up is between them and God, not me. It's not my duty as a Christian to know for certain who will go to Hell. Like if I stood there watching a murderer get gun down by the police after committing the crime, I would have a tendency to believe he would be Hell bound but it's not my call. Hell is a place void of God. Which is pretty hellish. Jesus said, my people hear my voice. It's hard to explain but when I hear Jesus' calling me, it's a connection in my spirit. It's like Jesus pointing and saying "hey you, listen to me, listen to what I saying" and I did/do. It's not about all that other noise about who believes in what or why there are so many different religions etc. It's not even about looking at Christianity as a whole, institution or as a group. It has nothing to do with looking with the mind... trying to answer intellectual questions etc. It's about listening and then accepting what He said/says.

I mean you have all these questions... and some are pretty good ones too. However, ask yourself the only question that really matters... Do you believe in what Christ said/says? If you don't, then why are you worried about Hell if it isn't real? Or concerned about those who might go to hell if you don't believe there is a hell?

One question at a time... certainly there are good atheist catholics muslims ect ect but their false belief allows evil to reign. All can accept Jesus.. they choose not to.

It's right in the ten commandments.

Good idea = here is a very thorough answer that explains many mysteries. - [link to 14lds.com]

OP

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God could be so much more than what you or I could ever imagine. More than everything and more than eternity too... more than anything that any creature could ever behold... we forget and we believe certain things.. and we get real good at believing certain things.. and we forget ourselves and we stop thinking for ourselves.. and those certain things become what we think we are.. but it is not.

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I have news for you... "hell" is the grave... most of us will go there eventually.

The idea of a Dante type hell where sinners are immortal in eternal torture is pagan.

The only immortality the Bible teaches is resurrection of the body.



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OP has correctly discerned the injustice inherent in the common Christian misguided beliefs.

“How fortunate it is that in the mercy of God there will be comparatively few who will partake of this awful misery and eternal darkness.” (Ibid, p. 49.) Thus, hell has an end for all consigned to it except the sons of perdition. They alone remain in a hell which has no end. - [link to lds.org]

Study some Hermetic works. You'll sleep better.

Anything that promotes fear or worry willingly upon others is negative in my mind.

[link to www.hermetics.org]

"How God can let a good Atheist or a good Agnostic... or a good Jew can go to hell?"

It seems that you believe in hell, god, not believeing in god, believing in a higher being and the jews...
You may be very confused.

I will simply say one thing: The God of the Bible is not the real God. The real God would NEVER damn anyone and doesn't, we all come from God and go back to God. The Bible lies, and so does all of religion. The true creator is MORE loving than we are, not less!

do you feel there is no such thing as negativity in the world unless you think/allow it?

Because people are taught it is real and that people do go there! The entire thing is fear based! It's "Do as I say, or go to hell". If you can't see how this would scare people, you aren't paying much attention.

Last Edited by ajk on 08/06/2011 04:10 AM

Every positive has its negative.

These are all really good questions and every christian worth his salt ought to be able to answer them and if not you need to go back and read the Bible more carefully.

I will make an attempt at a few if I may.

Why did God keep that tree near Adam and Eve, why did it have to be there? If he's all powerful, why did he need a silly tree? Was he testing him?
If Adam and Eve failed the test, why are we being punished?

All of God's people are tested to see if their faith is genuine. Starting with Adam, Noah, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Hezekiah, Jesus and the New Testament Saints, all were put to the test to see the genuineness of their faith, in part as a testimony to others and also as a way of refining and purifying the believer.

Zech. 13: 9
" This third I will put into the fire;
I will refine them like silver
and test them like gold.
They will call on my name
and I will answer them;
I will say, ‘They are my people,’
and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’”"

God's kingdom is an incredible place designed for the righteous and the holy. There is an entrance fee to be paid, to be found worthy of entrance. Adam was not worthy. Unfortunately no man has been found worthy except one, Jesus Christ. He in turn paid the penalty that we all deserved to pay so that we might enter in.

Now to address this question more directly. A free willed agent capable of good or evil must be first tested to see if he or she is worthy to inherit the kingdom. So having a test, like the tree, is a given. But God also had an ulterior motive. He placed the Garden of Eden on the world that the devil had ursurped and corrupted for his own, knowing that man would be cast into that world.

Man is thus God's 5'th column, his special forces company, placed behind enemy lines. God knew that out of Adam's seed would come the Messiah who would break satan's power. Once Adam committed sin and was cast into the devil's sphere it was impossible to be fully cleansed of the taint until the coming of Jesus. All of his offspring would fall pray to sin and break God's laws. Thus the curse and the suffering that plagues us to this day.

Now for your big question. How can we be certain that the Bible is the word of God? How can we be sure that this faith is the correct one? The proof is in the overwhelming evidence of the veracity of the Biblical account and more importantly the sublime accuracy of prophecy spanning thousands of years. I studied this in detail myself before becoming a Christian. Here are just a few things one should take note of:

Jesus' precise arrival in Jerusalem, being acknowledged as the Messiah was predicted to the day some 500 years or so before his birth by the prophet Daniel.

Israel was to be scattered and regathered twice, with the second regathering being closely associated with the return of the Messiah. In 1948 Israel was reborn. You'd be hard pressed to find any other nation that has been so destroyed and then reborn. There will be one such other by the way, the antichrist's regime.

The final judgment would be the earth being burned by fire. Hmm nuclear war anyone?

The general condition of the last days, with the love of most growing cold, ethnic wars, rebellious youth, famines, pestilences, increasing earthquakes and fearful waves (Japan anyone?)

Dozens of very precise historical predictions such as the rise of Greece who would destroy the great Persian empire, the coming of Cyrus (prophesied by name prior to his birth) who would destroy Babylon etc.

The apparent fact that 11 out of the 12 apostles were willing to die for their belief in Jesus, when such a denial would have granted them a 'comfortable' life.

There are many other such proofs, but it suffices for me.

Hmmm, some positives have no negatives, some negatives have no positive. Evil has no Good and Good has no evil.

Well said.

Wow, i'm a little shocked by the amount of well-thought out answers here. I'll try to reply as best I can.

How do you know that it's not real? Because you said so?

How do you know it IS? Cause some book says it?

As for how I know it's not, it's common sense. If God is more loving than we, and WE wouldn't torture someone for all eternity, there's no way God would!

Last Edited by ajk on 08/06/2011 04:39 AM

Thanks for the answers Spirit Tracker, I have some follow-up responses.


I mean like me, a good Atheist who doesn't break any commandments and tries to live like Jesus (helpful, passive and forgiving). I'm not putting myself on a high horse but I feel like I'm more Christian than a lot of Christians (a lot of them yell at me/don't forgive me for not believing when I accept their belief), but they get to go to Heaven and I go to Hell (if they exist). I don't know if I can accept the idea that people like me (and especially people in other countries who have NEVER heard of Jesus) go to Hell.


But I'm wondering why He felt it was necessary in the first place to purposely leave something there that has the potential to (perhaps indirectly) ruin everything.


I was under the impression that we were inherently evil because good Atheists and Agnostics (along with other good people who happen to follow another religion - and maybe even babies?) go to Hell no matter how nice, kind, or loving they are.


... Are you implying that I never had faith and was bound for destruction?


But to me, the error is when another religion with another person just as good as any of us happens to read a different book that says that someone else is the Way, Truth, and Life. I feel like they're being condemned for picking up the wrong book, which I'll never agree with.

It's about listening and then accepting what He said/says.

 Quoting: Spirit_Tracker

But others picked up a different book and feel the same exact way about the 'Jesus' of their book. It is unfair to me that they are condemned to Hell (if it exists) for being in the wrong place with the wrong book. Is that what happens?

I believe in what he taught and what he stood for, but with all of these unanswered feelings and questions I just couldn't accept him in my heart anymore.

An example is that there are certain Christians (definitely not all Christians are like this) who SPREAD PURE HATE saying "God hates fags and it's too late to change (if it's too late, WHY WOULD THEY EVEN BRING IT UP?)". A lot of these guys will go to Heaven (even if they asked for forgiveness before they died, they possibly stopped good people from finding Christ through their hate). And good people on the ropes of things like me will go to Hell (if it exists).

Yep, cause "some" book says it, which I believe is the Word of God.

But what about people who were muslim first? Is it their fault that their firm belief is in the wrong path? Saying they have a chance to change is like them telling you to change you belief, you know it won't happen - they reject Jesus the same way you reject their belief. I question why a forgiving God sends one group to Hell for being born in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I know ... I still have lingering feelings about my old beliefs, but according to those beliefs I'm going to be sent to hell for not believing, which just drives me further away. I really like this answer, it makes a lot of sense to me.

Do you consider Hell a peaceful sleep?

Without looking at the other posts, I can tell you why.

We were quite clever and quite creative in our story telling ability many, many years ago.

Nothing much has changed.

Whooa, so are you saying hell has an end for me (if hell exists)? If so, can I Heaven after? Or am I a son of perdition?

Which is a total lie. God cannot be constrained to a book.