<<<<<<<<<WARNING>>>>>>>>>
Don't take my word what I'm about to say. Read the Bible yourself and pray on the subject. Come to your own conclusions.
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Ecclesiastes 3:19 makes it clear that God will judge individuals based on their actions:
"For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil."
What purpose would a JUDGEMENT for EVERY work serve if the punishment is the same for every sin (i.e. eternal hell)? The judgement can't possibly be to determine whether those individuals are going to enter heaven, because that is ONLY possible through Jesus. So the judgment must be to determine the severity of the punishment for the deeds. All sin is equally detestable in the eyes of God in the sense that all sin deserves punishment, and not one sin is "okay" enough to be let off the hook. But the Bible doesn't state that all sin will be punished equally.
Romans 6:23 explains that eternal life is unique to those who repent to God through Jesus Christ:
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
This verse is obviously talking about spiritual life and death, because not all who sin die immediately on earth, and no one who is saved lives eternally on earth.
Matthew 10:28 reveals the the destiny of the souls of those who refused Jesus' sacrifice as atonement for their sins:
"And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
The sinners will indeed pay for their sins in the lake of fire, but they wont be tortured for eternity. They will pay for their sins for a time according to their deeds, after which their bodies and souls will be destroyed.
But what about those Bible verses that claim eternal torment? Keep in mind that the Bible wasn't written in modern English, rather it's translated from the languages of the original texts. The Greek word aion, for example, has a few meanings. One of them is "age" or "eon". So some of the passages in the Bible that have "forever" or "forever and ever" in them could actually read "for an eon" or "for ages and ages."
But why is the doctrine of eternal punishment so popular and endorsed by Christians? Some Christians claim that the threat of an eternal hell motivates people to become Christian, and that because of this it is a necessary interpretation of scripture. But this can't possibly be the right way to be saved. One can't grudgingly accept Jesus.
Jesus told us in Matthew 22:37 that the greatest commandment is to:
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."
One can't grudgingly love God with all their heart.
The purpose of salvation is to be spiritually reconciled with God and to love and worship Him willingly. Salvation is not a selfish act where one only tries to save his own life while secretly having contempt for God. The fear of God for the saved comes from a respect for his holiness and justice.
So I ask you again, is God just or is he a torturer? There is a huge difference between justice and torture.
But by all means prove me wrong. There is a reason I posted this argument/refutation request on yahoo answers. That reason is because I want to know the truth, and if I'm wrong, I would like to know and change my beliefs.
Don't take my word what I'm about to say. Read the Bible yourself and pray on the subject. Come to your own conclusions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ecclesiastes 3:19 makes it clear that God will judge individuals based on their actions:
"For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil."
What purpose would a JUDGEMENT for EVERY work serve if the punishment is the same for every sin (i.e. eternal hell)? The judgement can't possibly be to determine whether those individuals are going to enter heaven, because that is ONLY possible through Jesus. So the judgment must be to determine the severity of the punishment for the deeds. All sin is equally detestable in the eyes of God in the sense that all sin deserves punishment, and not one sin is "okay" enough to be let off the hook. But the Bible doesn't state that all sin will be punished equally.
Romans 6:23 explains that eternal life is unique to those who repent to God through Jesus Christ:
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
This verse is obviously talking about spiritual life and death, because not all who sin die immediately on earth, and no one who is saved lives eternally on earth.
Matthew 10:28 reveals the the destiny of the souls of those who refused Jesus' sacrifice as atonement for their sins:
"And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
The sinners will indeed pay for their sins in the lake of fire, but they wont be tortured for eternity. They will pay for their sins for a time according to their deeds, after which their bodies and souls will be destroyed.
But what about those Bible verses that claim eternal torment? Keep in mind that the Bible wasn't written in modern English, rather it's translated from the languages of the original texts. The Greek word aion, for example, has a few meanings. One of them is "age" or "eon". So some of the passages in the Bible that have "forever" or "forever and ever" in them could actually read "for an eon" or "for ages and ages."
But why is the doctrine of eternal punishment so popular and endorsed by Christians? Some Christians claim that the threat of an eternal hell motivates people to become Christian, and that because of this it is a necessary interpretation of scripture. But this can't possibly be the right way to be saved. One can't grudgingly accept Jesus.
Jesus told us in Matthew 22:37 that the greatest commandment is to:
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."
One can't grudgingly love God with all their heart.
The purpose of salvation is to be spiritually reconciled with God and to love and worship Him willingly. Salvation is not a selfish act where one only tries to save his own life while secretly having contempt for God. The fear of God for the saved comes from a respect for his holiness and justice.
So I ask you again, is God just or is he a torturer? There is a huge difference between justice and torture.
But by all means prove me wrong. There is a reason I posted this argument/refutation request on yahoo answers. That reason is because I want to know the truth, and if I'm wrong, I would like to know and change my beliefs.