Christians on CS!

[paz]

@ the panhead:

I'm sorry. I re-read what I had posted and wasn't clear. Jesus didn't shun them because they were religious; it was because they were strict under the Law and pretty much believed that anybody who disobeyed the law (which is everybody, because everyone sins) wasn't good enough. And it's true, but now that Jesus came, I believe He shunned them because He defeated the Law -- which they were living under. I know this is a terrible explanation and I'm not 100% on this, but I think it's correct.

actually, he shunned them because they were hypocrites and wanted approval from men. they turned the temple into a market place. many times you will see in the bible that the pharisees and sadducees were only looking for praise from man, rather than from God.

i can get some verses if you want me to. c:

I've got two unrelated questions for any Christians out there, please noted that I do not fully understand Christianity, so I may get some things mixed up. Also if at any point I come off as rude or accusing, please don't talk it that way, I am not trying to be.

1#
Why does hell/Satan/demons punish bad people? Also, why are they considered evil, they punish the bad people, I don't see how that makes them evil. If anything wouldn't that make them good, because they discourage people from being bad. Like a cop or prison guard. f they're goal is to get everyone to be bad, shouldn't they be rewarding people who are bad in life? That way more people would be bad do to lack of repercussions in the afterlife.

That's always confused me.

question number one:

one thing that needs to be understood is that our God is a very just God. demons do not punish anyone nor does Satan, at least, not in the way i think you are asking. God made hell for Satan and the angels who followed him. He never intended it to be a place where people would end up in. Matthew 25:41 says, “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." Also, 2 Peter 3:9 says, "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." and when you say that they are rewarding them, sin is people's reward. when people get high or drunk, that is what they get. anything bad after that is the consequence of the sin they committed. and how exactly do they punish people who are bad? i don't understand your question exactly, but i hope i answered it.

I took out the second question because it seems to be the subject of an argument right now.

As for the first, from what I've heard and seen from almost everyone, if someone commits sins and doesn't ask for forgiveness, and they're bad sins, not just something little like littering, you're supposed to got to hell. Like a mass murder. I've also heard of the nine rings of hell for really bad people. But it seems to me like the devil would want to reward people who commit sins, not punish them. If he wanted people to be evil, then why doesn't he just reward people who are more evil then others in hell. It would remove the motivation for not being evil in afterlife terms.

Did the devil just not plan this out very well?

Also, what exactly did Lucifer do in order to become the devil? I know that he tried to take over as god or something like that, but that's not really evil, just war/a difference of opinion. I don't see how trying to become the leader/disagreeing with someone can make someone evil.

Thank you for answering my questions, I can get a bit confusing/ed at times.

okay, very quickly, before i answer your questions, how exactly is the devil not rewarding people for sinning? how is he punishing them?

[iHolli]

{Hello, everyone...I'm Holli, and I've been watching this thread for a short while. I've wanted to post something but never found the right moment until now.}
{I literally just returned home from the movie God's Not Dead. If you haven't seen it, then go, because it's a wonderful movie! Just seeing the passion that the people have for Jesus is moving, let alone all the other events the movie expresses. It can absolutely change your life--and I believe it is working in mine.}
{Going to a movie and really getting something out of it wasn't something I expected at all. To be honest, I've been a Christian all my life, but there's always been questions, doubts, and days when I just wanted to quit. None of it made sense, be it God or life in general. It's not easy going through life when there doesn't seem to be a point.}
{Last year, I became a student in a private Christain school--first year out of homeschool. Since then things have been tougher than ever, but in all of it God has been at work. This year opened up and I was ready to give up completely. Then things started turning, even if only slightly--and I was invited by a classmate to join a Sunday night Bible study. It's a small group, but I've been welcomed and am enjoying it, even if it's just to see those there. Now? After seeing God's Not Dead, I think I'm finally getting it.}
{I know things aren't going to be easy, but now I realize that, no, I'm not alone after all. It's been an uphill battle for me, and the road might not be getting any less steep. Difference is, I know that I'm not walking it on my own!}
{So, anyway...I guess I just wanted to get it all out there. I think I'm still going to struggle, and I'll need a lot of help, but I'm confident--for I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!}

{God's Not Dead!}

.Holli.

[Thalassic]

http://www.neurodiagnosticdevices.com/b ... -brain.htm
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 160400.htm

I think that article you read has been disproven.
If anything, studies have shown that those who do believe in God suffer less anxiety on a whole. To quote:
"Their findings show religious belief has a calming effect on its devotees, which makes them less likely to feel anxious about making errors or facing the unknown." - (from the second article linked)

God would never purposefully make someone incapable of believing in Him. And He definitely doesn't want people to go to Hell.
I think you have this idea of God being cruel and unfair. And...well, He isn't.
God isn't the person responsible for bad things. Those things happen largely due to human nature, and also the Devil.
Be wary of anyone who tells you otherwise.

██★██ Actually it's this one

If god would never make anyone incapable of believing in him, then how would you explain it? To me it's like.. believing that somewhere in the world exists a 50m large purple elephant. I mean, I could pretend to believe it, pretend to talk to it and understand it, but in reality it would never make sense to me. Same thing with god. I can't even imagine a world where it could be possible, and, just like that, can't imagine a world where I could believe in something as fantasy like as that.

If I told you that my closet leads to Narnia, could you believe me? Probably only if I showed you some proof, and even then I can imagine you'd be skeptical until you see it for yourself. Which is why I don't understand believing in a god. Without any proof, any evidence. Just believing something someone told you, or something you read in some very old book. It's impossible to me.

[corn nerd]

I really hate the fighting around here, so let me share a joke with you guys that they told at church yesterday after the reading!

"A mom goes upstairs to wake her son up for church on a Sunday morning. When she knocks on the door, her son groans and says "I don't wanna go. I'll give you two reasons why. I don't have to, and they don't like me there." His mom sighed and gave him two reasons why he should go; 1. She told him so, and, 2. He is the priest."
I thought it was funny!

@zanjux
Dude you seem like a really good person but stop trying to tell us it's weird to believe in God and stuff. It's deeper than just being told he is real. You can feel it sometimes, and I know that sounds weird but that's how it is. ^3^

[Thalassic]

@zanjux
Dude you seem like a really good person but stop trying to tell us it's weird to believe in God and stuff. It's deeper than just being told he is real. You can feel it sometimes, and I know that sounds weird but that's how it is. ^3^

██★██ I'm just trying to understand because I don't. And so many people in the world do, but no matter how hard I try, it doesnt make sense to me. Even when you say that you can sometimes feel it - I don't. I haven't. I don't understand that.

[tigerdrottningen]

@zanjux
Dude you seem like a really good person but stop trying to tell us it's weird to believe in God and stuff. It's deeper than just being told he is real. You can feel it sometimes, and I know that sounds weird but that's how it is. ^3^

██★██ I'm just trying to understand because I don't. And so many people in the world do, but no matter how hard I try, it doesnt make sense to me. Even when you say that you can sometimes feel it - I don't. I haven't. I don't understand that.

You usually have a reason to believe in God, which makes it easier. For example, you may want to believe that you'll be able to meet your dead family members and/or friends when you die. You need something that ensures you that this will happen. God is one of those things.

I hope this will help you understand it a bit better. Being a christian is so much bigger than just this, but I'd say it's one of the reasons to be a christian c:

[starry--knight]

Zanjux believing in god I agree is a hard thing to grasp. I know it is, because even though I've believed in God my entire life I've had many moments where I've thought there was no such thing as god. But, I come back again to the realization that why wouldn't there be? If there was no god, we would live and then die. No life afterwards you would simply just stop existing. That just doesnt compute. i mean, what about those people that have lived horrible lives, those people who have no hope. Those people who suffer every moment of their existence. So they just live those dreadful lives and then that's it? Or the fact that the earth was positioned so perfectly, that if it was only a few inches one way or another life here would be unsustainable.
I just couldn't think that no such higher being existed. And when you do believe, you get this unexplainable feeling. A feeling of someone with you, even when you can't see them. And it may sound creepy, but it's not. It's the most comforting feeling in the world.

[wotb123]

I really hate the fighting around here, so let me share a joke with you guys that they told at church yesterday after the reading!

"A mom goes upstairs to wake her son up for church on a Sunday morning. When she knocks on the door, her son groans and says "I don't wanna go. I'll give you two reasons why. I don't have to, and they don't like me there." His mom sighed and gave him two reasons why he should go; 1. She told him so, and, 2. He is the priest."
I thought it was funny!

omg lol
i got one too :3

dog: you feed me, you wash me, you walk me, you play with me, you love me, you must be god.
cat: you feed me you wash me, you watch me, i must be god

[wotb123]

A married couple were arguing who is making the coffee, the wife said that in the Bible it says that men should make the coffee and the husband asked her where it said that. The wife opened the Bible and said: "Right here in HEBREWS!"

[starry--knight]

Lol He-brews xD that's a great one! Hahahaha