the power of god

[SpecialEdition]

If God did not have the power to throw you into hell, then would it matter if you sinned? What is the point of right and wrong from a religious perspective if God just makes suggestions and does not intervene afterwards?

Well it's not really so much about what God is going to do about it as it is about the people around you trying to enforce God's word. Peer pressure is crazy and when you get around people who want to humiliate you and exploit you for not being God fearing enough it becomes pretty easy to fall in line. Having to deal with other people's bullshit and how they want to punish you for your sins seems a lot more difficult to deal with then the idea of eternal hell - especially if Jesus died for your sins and God is forgiving.

If I believed in God I'd be more concerned about the punishment from my peers than I would about my soul in the afterlife.

 

[just me]

I'm sue I poorly communicated my premise. Just that right is only right because God has the power to back it up. If he didn't have that power then why do the "right" (read: prescribed behavior by human as per gods instructions) thing. It goes for any power system really.

Doing the right thing actually has nothing to do with power in Christianity. All the law and commandments are summed up in "Love your neighbor as yourself" and "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind."

"Thou shalt not covet" is a spiritual thing more to do with the mind and how we think.

 

[just me]

Matthew 25: 31-46 is one of my favorite passages in the Bible for many reasons, but I want to talk about the difference in attitude between those chosen and those not.

The righteous were being called to His right hand to inherit the Kingdom prepared for them for all the good things they did to Him. The righteous asked, "When did we clothe You, feed you, etc."

The unrighteous were being called to His left hand for eternal damnation for all the things they did NOT do to Him. The unrighteous asked, "When did we NOT clothe You, feed You, etc." trying to cover their butts.

I sense pride with no backing with the wicked, but confusion and caution with the righteous just to make sure. Maybe this is why they were called sheep and goats? God compared Himself to the least of the people. "40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." and "45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me."

If fear, it is not from those that love one another and confess Jesus as their Saviour.

 

[markpierre]

Well it's not really so much about what God is going to do about it as it is about the people around you trying to enforce God's word. Peer pressure is crazy and when you get around people who want to humiliate you and exploit you for not being God fearing enough it becomes pretty easy to fall in line. Having to deal with other people's bullshit and how they want to punish you for your sins seems a lot more difficult to deal with then the idea of eternal hell - especially if Jesus died for your sins and God is forgiving.

If I believed in God I'd be more concerned about the punishment from my peers than I would about my soul in the afterlife.

That's really sweet. I think the idea of 'punishment is purely a human one. We punish each other and we punish ourselves. That's what and only what we need to be redeemed from. I believe there can be a hell, if that's what one chooses. But it's a choice, like every thing else. But the only people who can talk about it are those who have visited it and returned. And interestingly, for them, it was was redemption. If there is a hell, it would have to have a divine purpose.