This is THE QUESTION of the ages. It's been asked millions of times by millions of people. But there has yet to be an answer.
The new going cliche' is that "God doesn't send people to hell, they send themselves." This sounds catchy, but how much truth really is there to this? This would lead one to examine the subject of Free will, election, and predeterminism. I've found that it is impossible to discuss hell without getting into other theological subjects, because it all ties together.
It then always leads back to the question, IF God is in fact omnipresent (everywhere at the same time) omnipotent (all powerful), and omniscient (all knowing), why did He ever allow "sin" or evil to enter into Heaven (where sin began in the form of pride)? If He doesn't make mistakes, how did He manage to create a defective angel? If He is all knowing, why was He furious at Lucifer's rebellion as if He was surprised? If He knew what Lucifer was going to do before He created Him (which the bible clearly illustrates that He did), this means that He created evil (Isaiah 45:7). The bible says that He had already made the plan of redemption from before the foundations of the world. So, it should be a no-brainer that God orchestrated all of the bad along with the good. David even said that God was in hell, as well as Heaven. It would makes sense, because the bible says that the Heavens of Heavens can't contain God, so hell would also have to be inside of God.
I don't understand how Christians come up with the argument that God is not behind disaster and destruction, when it is as clear as day in Isaiah 45:7 alone, not to meantion the many passages throughout scripture that reiterates God's for knowledge of the bad, as well as the good. If He was only all knowing, then, I could see the possibility of Him not being behind evil. But when you put "all powerful and ever present together with all seeing, you have a God who has the upper hand in every single situation and idea. He is the master chess player.
So, my question is, if God is love--not just has love but IS love, what does this say about love? Is love itself a deceitful term? We know that Go hates, because it states examples of His hate all through the bible. Not to be in any way sacrilegious (it's not blasphemous because I'm not accusing), but one cannot HELP but at least wonder if "God" is really a tyrant at least, and a moral monster at the most. Like what excuse can you offer for this biblical God. What reasoning can you come up with to make Him look like less than a universal manipulator?
I can already hear the blasphemy police coming. So, again, I'm not trying to be sacrilegious, I'm just being honest.
The new going cliche' is that "God doesn't send people to hell, they send themselves." This sounds catchy, but how much truth really is there to this? This would lead one to examine the subject of Free will, election, and predeterminism. I've found that it is impossible to discuss hell without getting into other theological subjects, because it all ties together.
It then always leads back to the question, IF God is in fact omnipresent (everywhere at the same time) omnipotent (all powerful), and omniscient (all knowing), why did He ever allow "sin" or evil to enter into Heaven (where sin began in the form of pride)? If He doesn't make mistakes, how did He manage to create a defective angel? If He is all knowing, why was He furious at Lucifer's rebellion as if He was surprised? If He knew what Lucifer was going to do before He created Him (which the bible clearly illustrates that He did), this means that He created evil (Isaiah 45:7). The bible says that He had already made the plan of redemption from before the foundations of the world. So, it should be a no-brainer that God orchestrated all of the bad along with the good. David even said that God was in hell, as well as Heaven. It would makes sense, because the bible says that the Heavens of Heavens can't contain God, so hell would also have to be inside of God.
I don't understand how Christians come up with the argument that God is not behind disaster and destruction, when it is as clear as day in Isaiah 45:7 alone, not to meantion the many passages throughout scripture that reiterates God's for knowledge of the bad, as well as the good. If He was only all knowing, then, I could see the possibility of Him not being behind evil. But when you put "all powerful and ever present together with all seeing, you have a God who has the upper hand in every single situation and idea. He is the master chess player.
So, my question is, if God is love--not just has love but IS love, what does this say about love? Is love itself a deceitful term? We know that Go hates, because it states examples of His hate all through the bible. Not to be in any way sacrilegious (it's not blasphemous because I'm not accusing), but one cannot HELP but at least wonder if "God" is really a tyrant at least, and a moral monster at the most. Like what excuse can you offer for this biblical God. What reasoning can you come up with to make Him look like less than a universal manipulator?
I can already hear the blasphemy police coming. So, again, I'm not trying to be sacrilegious, I'm just being honest.