July 2, 2006
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Here’s a question for you:
What is the punishment for sin (any sin, or if you want to be specific,
rejecting God)? Eternity in Hell. Why did Jesus have to die
on the cross? To pay the price (accept the punishment) for our
sins. How much time did Jesus spend in Hell? Definitely not
an eternity. So in order for everyone in the history of the world (after Jesus) not to spend eternity in
Hell, they must accept the death and “suffering” of some god-man who only
spent a couple of days (or less, depending upon your doctrine) in
Hell. That sounds very fair to me.
Sure, you’ll probably say something about it being unbearable
punishment for him, being God, to carry the sin of the world upon
him, so great as to not possibly compare with an eternity in
Hell. In other words, it’s like Warren Buffett having to stay in
a two-star hotel. It’s torture!
Comments (6)
That is a question that I have been debating for a few months now as well. I do not think that Jesus ever went to Hell, as there is no Biblical basis to believe that He did. I agree that the situtation you have set out above is ridiculus. I am starting to think less in terms of Christ’s death as a payment for sins, but more like a loving act from God that makes it possible for those who participate in Christ to look forward to the resurrection.
I am starting to think of it like this: Every person is lost and hopeless in their original sin, which leads to death. God sent Jesus, and Jesus was faithfully obedient to God, facing death, trusting God to raise Him again. Indeed, God raised Jesus, and in that way Jesus defeated death. Now we have the opportunity to follow Jesus in that faith story. If we trust God and participate in Christ, then we too can hope for our own resurrection (probably meaning both heaven and an eschatological resurrection in the New Earth). By dying to our sin (notice, not “sins”, but “Sin”), we can trust God to raise us again as a new creation. All of this is aided by the Holy Spirit. So, as my teacher describes it, this is not the Justification by Faith model, but PPME: Pneumalogical Participatory Martyrological Eschatology.
You know George…i think you know the answers to most of your questions you post on here…and like myself just don’t like accepting them because all too often those answers have led down paths that included pain and death and despair and torture of the heart and soul.
Fucking Assholes on Xanga cannot answer your questions…no one person can…but keep typing your posts, because I love reading them and they make me think.
Miss ya man,
Kyle
Cool man, we’re making grounds. It sounds like Christianity is not for you, so forget about it because it is just getting you angrier. You need to find something for yourself. What do you believe? Ask yourself. You believe what you do and don’t what you don’t. Nobody affects that. What I meant by saying you are ruining your life is because you are not trying to find something, but rather trying to prove others wrong, which is wrong because no one person’s belief is untrue, because it’s a belief. That’s why people “believe” in God… not “know for a fact” that there is God. And youhave to accept that you need to let them be, and you need to find what’s right for you.
Here’s the problem about you not knowing who you are. When you were young, you put your entire meaning into the church. Now that it’s gone, you feel that you have lost your meaning. You can’t put meaning into things that have no value. You need to put meaning into one thing: Your individuality. Yourself is the only thing that cannot be taken away, unless you give it away, like one does when they put their meaning into church, love, possessions, money, etc. When something has no meaning, then it has no purpose, which means it is not real. And if you give away all of your meaning to other things, then you feel as if you have no meaning, or purpose, which makes you nonexistent. That’s called despair. You can have all you want, don’t be mistaken, but don’t put false meaning into these things, because that takes away your own meaning. You have to accpet that none of these things are real, which means, when you lose these things, you won’t feel like you’ve lost your own purpose.
You need to listen to the song, Strawberry Fields Forever” by John Lennon. It’s all about how even today, we can still feel carefree and even naive like a child, we just have to find out how. Because Living is easy with eyes close. Let me take you down to Strawbery Fields (a state of childhood naivety) where nothing is real and nothing to get hung about. You have to find your own Strawberry Fields…Forever.
Later man, take it easy.
-(Some Fucking Asshole on Xanga) Casey
dude you would never believe how many freaking people have looked at my site because of my comment on your page…damn xanga stalkers…LOL
I think it’s funny what a little cursing will do…good thing Jesus loves me right!
Thanks for the words by the way…hope to catch up with you in s-town sometime in the near future.
I appreciated being able to read your “deconversion” post.
It was well written and very concise.
I like what Casey has had to say.
god. sometimes I can’t read these things at 2:43 a.m.
Sup Friend I found this on another site and thought I would share it with you. It explains how God’s judgement and mercy works in an illustration easier to understand. If I have offended you I apologize:
You haver been ordered to appear before court for a crime you committed Carefully read the following in preparation for your litigation.
THE JUDGE: I want to teach you some important principles of the law, so please answer the following questions thoughtfully.
DEFENDANT: Yes your honor.
THE JUDGE: Do you consider yourself to be a good person?
DEFENDANT: Yes, I am a good person.
THE JUDGE: Have you ever lied . . . even once; including ‘white’ lies?
DEFENDANT: Yes your honor.
THE JUDGE: What does that make you?
DEFENDANT: Human your honor.
THE JUDGE: So you are saying that you make “mistakes.” You have human weaknesses. That may be true. Nevertheless, in the eyes of the law, you are a liar. If you kill one person, you are a murderer; if you tell one lie, you are a liar.
DEFENDANT: But your honor, there are many people worse than me.
THE JUDGE: That is irrelevant. You have lied, so what does that make you?
DEFENDANT: A “liar” your honor.
THE JUDGE: Have you ever stolen anything?
DEFENDANT: Yes, your honor, I have. But that was in the past.
THE JUDGE: Everything that we have done is “in the past.” You have stolen, so what does that make you?
DEFENDANT: A “thief” your honor.
THE JUDGE: So, by your own admission, you are a lying thief.
DEFENDANT: But your honor, I am sorry for stealing, and I won’t do it again.
THE JUDGE: You should be sorry for stealing- you know right from wrong . . . and yet you broke the law. And of course you shouldn’t do it again! You have admitted to me that you are a thief, and therefore you must be punished for transgression of the law.
DEFENDANT: But I have given money to charities . . .
THE JUDGE: That is commendable, but what has that to do with your crime? You are guilty, and you must be punished. The law demands that.
The previous scenario highlights the most common mistakes people make about God and His Law (the Ten Commandments). Almost all of us think that we are good people. We also mistakenly think that our good works, and our sorrow for sin and the fact that we won’t do it again (repentance), will save us when we face God. However, the Day will come when each of us will stand before Him who the Bible calls “the Judge of all the earth.” It is then that we will see His anger revealed against murderers, rapists, thieves, liars, adulterers, etc. God’s justice will be so thorough, He will even judge hatred as murder, and “every idle word that men speak.” Jesus said, “Whoever looks upon a woman and lusts after her has committed adultery already with her in his heart.” Have you ever done that? Will you be innocent or guilty on that Day of breaking God’s Law?
Remember that the Law doesn’t see the fact that you have “weaknesses” or that “everybody else does it,” as a legitimate excuse. God is “good,” and He will make sure absolute justice is done. Being sorry or not sinning again won’t save you because you should be sorry (you have a conscience), and of course you shouldn’t sin again. Your good works may be commendable, but they will have nothing to do with your case.
If you are found to be guilty (and we all are guilty), according to the Bible you will end up in Hell. All you can do is fling yourself on the mercy of the Judge . . . and the Bible tells us that He is also rich in mercy. It is not His will that you go to Hell. He provided a way for you to be forgiven. He so loves you that He sent His Son to take your punishment: “God demonstrated His love toward us, in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Then Jesus rose from the dead and defeated death. If you will repent (turn away from sin) and trust in Him, God will forgive you and grant you everlasting life. It’s as simple as this— we broke God’s Law, and Jesus paid our fine. If we repent and trust Him, we are free to leave the Courtroom – our case can be dismissed! God loves you and will never leave you.