Quote:
Originally Posted by crakjak
The doctrine of men, to teach the ridiculous, spiritual terrorism of endless conscious torture by God of his own creation. This abomination has cause more spiritual failure, mental breakdowns and wars, human suffering in general than any other single sin or evil.
This doctrine is actually at the root of almost all evil in the world.
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Not sure about "almost all", but I agree with the gist of this post. Teaching that God will torture you forever if you don't follow the instructions that some men have written down centuries ago, to those who believe it, causes a lot of problems. A
lot!
Consider when a loved one dies "lost". Believers are required to believe that soul went to hell and will be tortured forever. And they have to believe that loved one
deserves that endless punishment! There isn't even universal agreement on the "age of accountability" doctrine, if the loved one was a young child, nor on what that age actually is, even if the doctrine is true.
Furthermore, many believers don't really know if they themselves will escape that infinite pain. Many factors involved, but basically, they realize that there are many different and even contradictory methods of salvation, and they know they can't be sure they have picked the right one. Even if they guessed right, they can't be sure they followed the instructions correctly. Even if they did, they can't be sure they won't mess something up before they die.
Why aren't Christians depressed and in despair? Well, actually, some are. More than we know, I would guess. (Some can hide it pretty well. I know I did, usually.) And the ones that aren't? Well, good for them. But I think it indicates, for most such believers, they don't
really believe everything they
say they believe. It's the only explanation I can come up with, anyway.
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