is it good that god requires belief in it/praise

[Saltmeister]

Originally Posted by shadowman

jesus seems like a nice fella until you dont trust him

is it trustworthy on gods point to screw us over if we dont believe in him?

is god just trying to prove to us that we are hopeless without him.

is that the whole point of christianity?

if its so urgent, why doesnt he just save everyone regardless of what happens in life.

if its so urgent, why cant he at least show up and tell us the deal, instead of keeping us guessing till our own peril.

if we are to live forever after death, then what is death but uterly meaningless. think about it. it can only be viewed as an event where god says: after this event, i judge you and punish or reward you.

and thats all death is.

You're referring to the "classical mindset" in Christianity. Could we perhaps take a step back and pretend we've have never seen or known Christianity before? I'm sure that a lot of what you're saying here comes from what Christians have been telling you about Christianity.

It's not so much that I disagree with what you're been told, but just that I believe that whoever told you these things were talking more about what Christianity meant to them and their own perception of it. It is not the absolute, precise or exact picture of Christianity. They're beliefs about Christianity are true, but only based on what they've seen and known. Not all Christians are the same.

If all Christians were the same, and if all Christians had to believe exactly the same thing, Christianity would be impersonal. It would be a religion that's used to manipulate people. Your personal identity and dignity wouldn't matter. You'd just be a pawn, a tool to be used for the personal gratification of another. They're talking about their relationship with God. This is what their relationship with God is like. You're not compelled to see your relationship with God the same way as they do. Doing so does not mean you're not Christian.

Think of God as just another soul out there in the universe that offers you a relationship. What makes Him different from everyone else is that He's God. The King. Emperor. President. The First Citizen in the Kingdom. Most powerful individual in the whole universe. This relationship is a special one. It's a relationship with your Creator.

I don't think God will get angry or punish you if you refuse the invitation. You simply don't go to the party. If you don't want to go you don't go. If you're not interested you don't miss out on anything. There is no punishment. That's what you wanted. We are condemned by our own conscience. If we insist that hell-fire will come to everyone else, then hellfire will come to us if we're not careful. Better to be safe and not talk about the hellfire at all.

If you want to have a relationship with God, particularly through Christianity, it's probably best to come up with your own reasons for doing it, not because someone else told you you'd be thrown into a lake of fire if you didn't. That would be impersonal. Your personal feelings wouldn't matter and that wouldn't be right. That would be wrong. Very wrong.

There is no need for you to be a victim of a person or people who has an attitude that your relationship with God must be exactly the same as the kind that they are having with God. That is not to say they are victimising you (let's not get cynical here). They may simply be telling you what Christianity means to them. Perfectly legitimate.

You can choose to swallow it, or swallow it down with a grain of salt.

Here's the catch: I am aware and understand that you or those who introduced you to Christianity are afraid that without these so-called concepts of "hell" and "forgiveness" Christianity couldn't possibly exist or be Christianity.

It's a common fear in Christianity, to tread beyond these waters. But methinks the universe of Christianity is a bit bigger than that.

The reason why we're afraid to tread further may be because of what Christianity has been through in the last century. Christianity has been hurt. It's been wounded and assaulted and is confused about how to respond. It's made us cautious even to slightly unorthodox concepts that we've never thought of before. Speculation, contemplation, exploration are often discouraged.

It's not so true of the people here at CR, but I can imagine the background of those with whom you've made contact.