God's "mercy"

How can God knowingly let those in Hell suffer for ETERNITY??? people being ripped apart, burned up, beaten, and raped I'm sure, and mutilated for all eternity? He may see our time on earth and the brief suffering we go through here as nothing much, but...

to allow those types of tortures, and far worse I bet, forever to come is a bit sadistic if you ask me. So, someone remind me again of how God is merciful.

That's why He offers the free gift of Salvation - He loved us enough to make a WAY, Jesus, to spend eternity in Heaven (John 3 : 16)...He didn't have to - that's REAL mercy !!

he died for our sins

A human being suffered briefly and died. It was over. That is supposed to be a reason for what I described to be allowed to happen? I'm not trying to argue with you, I just want to understand

hmmm...me too...well..the devil is a fallen angel named lucifer...who is trying to prove god wrong...god isn't the cause of humans' suffering...we are...god lets us make our own decisions...people...in general..make poor ones.

then where is he to help us or to tell us that a decision we are making is not going to benefit us? That we will be in lots of trouble if we go the way we want? Its not fair for Him to throw us in a minefield on the edge of a cilff without a map. Thats what it seems like He is doing.

and blah blah blah is not acceptable to me kristayababii

I have two uncle's that are pastors and the have their own churches in VA. my grampa is a deacon, and everyone in my family are into the church. I have asked, and they couldn't give me acceptable answers

No, I am a very open-minded person. I am not condemning faith in God. I just want to understand that faith. I asked a question just before this one that proves that

hmmm thats kinda my question too I think after life ends he sees whether or not you desrve to go to hell but that does seem pretty wrong like eternity and hes merciful God. its just my opinion but I think he knows if you wil learn or not or if you have tried your hardest to your ability-nobodys elses to have faith and try to follow him.
but thats just me

How could I knowingly NOT introduce someone to Jesus who is standing beside me if I had the chance to and didn't.

There are so many many multiple attestations of our Lord that for me to not say anything, I would rather die than tread water in my ministry!

jax, your question is a good one. And there is no logical answer for it.

As you can see from other responses here, organized religions like Christianity have never been able to logically explain why a perfect and all-powerful god would allow people to suffer for all eternity. Or, for that matter, why such a god would allow his creation to be born with instincts to do certain things, and then make those things punishable for eternity.

If you read the book of Job, in the Bible, a similar question comes up. Why do good people suffer? The ultimate answer given in Job is very unsatisfying. God basically tells Job he has no business questioning the Almighty God because he is a mere mortal.

So that is the Judeo-Christian God's answer for suffering: don't question me!!! Is that the kind of being you want to believe in?

I really wouldnt bother looking for answer for this one. They simply do not have an answer but to have faith. Or it's those who deserve it who burn in hell. I'm sorry, but if it was a person I loved, my kid, no matter what they did, I wouldnt send them to hell. I find it hard to make sense of a loving all-powerful God allowing such a thing... You're asking for a question that has no answer. Keep questioning, and they'll simply say you dont want to see the truth (without actually giving you an answer).

Everyone is responsible for the fruit he gets or the crop he harvests so God created this world for us to worship him and he rewards the one who do this.

JAX..I think God definately wants you to ask these questions...why would anyone including god want blind followers who dont ask questions to solidify their belief? look into your heart for these answers...I struggled (and still do) with these same questions..my question used to be...how could god send the native americans to hell? they are not believers in jesus...the indians lived in north america for hundreds of generations before it was even named america..but I came to the simple answer...he wouldn't.

Note that no christian can actually answer that question.(as kingofpop allready said)

Think about this:
If god, as many people claim him to be, is all-might and all-knowing(note)
WHY would he create humans KNOWING what and when they will do, and what and when WILL happen, and then sending them to hell? Now that's a realy kind god, eh?

Second, if everything is in his power, why doesn't he just elominate satan, and simply send everyone to heaven?

Also, if he is so kind, why would he send his own son to die for our sins, which he himself caused us to have? He allready knew that we are not going to obey some of his rules from the beginning, and so he should have known that people would still sin, even after the death of his son. My my. What a violent god.

What I'm trying to say is that it's, in my opinion, silly to believe in god(the one god) as any of the religion describe it(him) to be.

In a nutshell: No being that creates a situation where the vast majority of sentient beings will be tortured for all eternity can plausibly be called 'just' or 'good' or 'kind' or any of the other labels Christians like to assign to their god. There's no action for which an infinite amount of torture is a plausible punishment.

this is aging on of the things that dosen't make sense with Christianity. the smallest thing can send you to hell.
God offers no real proof of his existence or the bibles vilitity yet if we dont believe in him we are doomed to hell. In my opinion if this is God being a parent than he isn't a good one.

Not all Christians believe in eternal damnation. The Universalists believed that everyone is eventually saved. One view is that the unsaved are consumed and cease to exist. Another view is that Hell is simply not to be in God's presence.

The concept of eternal Hell presents many problems.

God supposedly infinitely loves his children. I wouldn't wish eternal torture on my worst enemy so how is it that I have more compassion for my enemies than God has for his beloved children?

It is evil to punish someone who doesn't deserve it. We live a finite amount of time therefore we can only have finite sins. If Hell's torment goes on for eternity it is infinite punishment for finite sins. Since unjust punishment is evil and God gives an infinite amount of undeserved punishment than God is infinitely evil. By this way of thinking one might become a Satanist choosing the lesser of the two evils.

Erm. Don't you think you're making a lot of assumptions about what hell is?
I personally think hell is exactly what a person asks for. If they reject God and want to be separated from him, that is exactly what hell is. Isolation from God. Whoop de freaking la la, but isn't that what you want?
Also, it is very specific in the Bible that the traditional view of hell (that is, gehenna, the fiery lake of damnation) is reserved for some very special people (the Beast and those who worship him c).

The bible isn't very specific about that at all: http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/interp/hell.html

One view is that the unsaved are consumed and cease to exist.

This is actually what we believe in my religion. (and I'm christian) When you die you are simply dead. No torture or anything. In the bible the word for hell is hades or sheol, and this is just the common grave. Not eternal torture or anything. It's a misinterpretation of the word.
There's a lot more to it than that, but ya...

A lot of interesting comments on this one. However, God does not send people to hell. Understand this, as this is paramount. If a person rejects salvation in Christ then, as scripture says, they are enemies of God. Why? Because God is holy and He is just. His judgments are righteous and perfect. He has given every human being that has ever been born the opportunity to know Him in an intimate, saving way. What about people that've never heard of God? They will be judged according to their deeds to their fellow man. BUT, those in the civilized world who have heard and rejected this message have only themsleves to blame and are without excuse. God is not some monsterous ogre that wants to smite the earth with a curse. He has provided a way to escape the torment of being eternally seperated from Him through Jesus Christ. Some accept this message. Most do not. Why? Because they need an excuse to do whatever, to whom ever, whenever they feel like. Scripture says that the words in this book (the bible) are foolishness to those that are perishing. God's mercy is new every morning and He asks that all would come to repentence and not let any man be lost. He loves us too much.
Put it another way. If a person committed a crime should they not be punished for it? Much in the same way, God must punish sin. A judge hands a sentence down in order that the person be punished. God has done the same with sin. Sin must be dealt with. Because of His great love for His creation He has given us the best and most merciful gift. Jesus Christ. The lamb of God who took the sin of the world, past, present, and future on Himself that He would bridge the gap between God and man and restore a right relationship with Him.
Now that's mercy.