first Im not trying to convince anyone to give up beliefs in their particular deity,so if you need fear of God to keep you from being a bad/evil person keep believing. for those who are evolved enough to know the difference between right and wrong,and can actualy be good without fear of Gods hell Id like to ask this; why doesn't God love all his children unconditionaly? why would this supposedly perfect being want you to fear and worship him or else?? doesnt He sound like some abusive parent? or an arogant,evil human king? any loving parent loves his/hers children unconditionaly,whether you grow up to be good,honest or a crook,thief,serial killer,whatever (your parents might hate what you became )but will always love you! such is the nature of parents love! they might punish you if you misbehave,but what parent would want to let His children burn in hell for eternity? only some sadistic psychopath would. the men who wrote the "sacred" texts upon which Christianity was founded did not understand that love is always unconditional! so they invented God who loves conditionaly:"please me or burn in hell" what a loving God,parent..NOT!!!
According to Christian doctrine, God does not need us to worship Him, worshiping Him is a tool Christians use to help us to become better human beings. God does not require anything of us. However, since Christians also believe in the power of Satan we often need help form God to resist the temptations that are put before us. Also, Christian doctrine does not explicitly state whether or not anyone has ever gone to hell because God is forgiving. Many parents love their children unconditionally but returning that love is a choice and the same is true for the relationship between God and man. I'm not sure why insults to our intelligence is the only way non-believers seem to be able to address believers (if you need fear of God to keep you from being a bad/evil person keep believing. .....for those who are evolved enough to know the difference between right and wrong,and can actualy be good without fear of Gods hell Id like to ask thisPlease Register or Log in to view the hidden image! but since I have been both an atheist and am now religious I can tell you my life outwardly is not dramatically different than it was before. Previously I did not kill, steal or cheat and do not do so now. The difference is that after a great deal of study, I now believe I that am more than the sum of my parts. Many people simply envision God and Satan as the force for good versus the force for evil. I hope that cleared up some of your glaring misconceptions about Christianity.
First, being a Christian, Jew, Muslim, or whatever religion you have committed yourself or brought up to be, will NOT automaticallly make you a decent being. To believe such a notion is being ignorant of reality. Just as there are great religious people, there are great atheists for that matter. Second, as Johnation Edwards put it, it is God's hand that you stand on. Below his hand lies the burning pit of hell. Yet you laugh and spit in God's face. Was he to remove that hand from which you are saved, surely you will feel regret of everything you done. God does love you, but you do not know. You are not aware of how grateful you are. And don't worry not about how other people act or behave. Worry about yourself. Whether someone behaves good or bad, regardless of religion, is the individual's choice.
And remember there are always sick people out there than twist words of love and forgiveness to say "kill all who disagree" etc... Since it seems these are the only people who ever get any media coverage etc it gives a common misconception about religeon as a whole. Simply put, most religions give a common message about loving your neighbor and forgiving people. Basically live a good life and have faith..
Q, "He" is not so much abusive as "He" is neglectful. If we have been in our anatomically modern form, including cranial capacity, for 80 - 130 thousand years, where's "He" been for all but the last three? Left "his" children wandering aimlessly in the wilderness for about 100 thousand years? Where's the back child support? Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
