Wasn't it nice of God to provide the sacrifice He required to avoid the hell He created?

It's kinda like the world nations creating a nuclear arsenal to destroy the world. And near the climax they decide not press the big red button. YAY they saved the world from nuclear destruction.....for now...

First:

The teaching that God sends wicked people to Hell to burn for all eternity is not a scriptural one.

-The original language words for the word hell are "she'ol" and "ha'des". Both mean simply "grave" or "pit".

-Ecclesiastes 9:5 says "For the living are conscious that they will die, but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all" Since the dead cannot feel or experience anything, punishment after death would be illogical and ineffective.

-Genesis 2:17 says "But as for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad you must not eat from it, for in the day you will positively die."

This was God speaking to Adam, warning him what the consequences would be if he disobeyed and ate from the tree. If God was going to send Adam to Hell, wouldn't the fair and loving thing to do be to warn Adam that this would be a consequence of his actions? But God never states that Adam would go to Hell if he disobeys. He simply states that Adam would grow old and and die, and would be unable to enjoy the wonderful life on a paradise earth that God intended for him.

The Bible also says "the wages sin pays is death" (Romans 6:23). By dying we've paid the price for our sins, there's no need for additional punishment.

Second:

God never just *poofs* his will into existence. Just like the moral laws, God created the physical laws that govern our universe and chooses to work within them. Something as complex and awe-inspiring as the universe and intelligent life took time and careful planning in order to create.

Here's an article that you might find interesting. It goes into further detail about the creative days in the Genesis account: http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/10200%E2%80%A6

Ummm, you're forgetting Man's part in all this??

God created Man (and Lucifer) perfect in the beginning. Lucifer let his beauty and position go to his head, and he began to covet God's position. He led a rebellion of 1/3 of the angels in Heaven, and they were kicked out down to Earth.

Lucifer tempted the newly-created humans, who obeyed him instead of God, but God had given them Free Will - the ability to choose good or evil. They chose evil, and we have been saddled with this ever since.

But God provided a way to save us from our bad choices. He took on human form and sacrificed Himself in the flesh (the only possible "perfect" sacrifice), then was resurrected, because God is also Spirit. (He only became "flesh" in the form of Christ.)

When this happened, Lucifer was defeated, and all humans now had the opportunity to use their power if choice to choose to be saved.

Since Heaven is perfect, it can only contain those who consciously choose to be with God. Those who hate God would be miserable in Heaven. And since God is omnipresent, there would be no place for them to go where God wouldn't exist. So they must be destroyed.

Those who choose not to go with God will be destroyed by fire (Hellfire). The destruction will be temporary (the Bible says they will be "burned up" like chaff, they will be "ashes under the soles of our feet") but the consequences of the fire will be eternal - they will never be resurrected again. This is the only humane answer to surrounding Yourself only with those who consciously choose to love You, but not interfering with Free Will.

* "Hell" is not an underworld place like the Greek Hades; it will be a real, physical fire on the surface of this Earth when God purifies the Earth and removes all traces of sin. It will melt all the elements, and every sinner will be consumed away. Then God will set about re-creating the Earth the way it was in the beginning, so that the saved may live on it. That is why the Bible says that sinners will be "ashes under the soles of [our] feet".

Not even a nice try, pard.

He let his own sun suffer the punishment for sin so that we would not need to be lost to him forever in misery. He created Hell so that those of us who can't take good advice need not be lost to him forever in misery.

Read the Revelation. It shows death and Hell both being destroyed so that the four resurrections may occur.

Of course if you read the Bible without your atheistic blindness, you'd see hell was only created for Satan but because of Adam and Eve broke the ONE law God set in place to protect them sin entered the world and the penalty is death. God created the world in seven days to show us how we should work. He created the work week and rested on the seventh to show us how to work, but again because of your atheistic blindness you wouldn't understand that.

Now run along Mr. Ostrich and stick your head in the sand again.

Hello,

Almight God Jehovah DID NOT create 'hell', but PEOPLE did, way back in history, may be as far back as Babylon.

It has been used to frighten and oppress people, to the often material advantage of those ruling over them, the clergy.

Kind regards, Gunter

This is where people argue "Hell is necessary because it's where all evil is kept." This doesn't make sense, though. Why throw them into hell when they can just cease to exist?

@FMZ: I disagree. I am not offended by people ridiculing religions that were designed to control people and mistreat others. I have absolutely no respect for the Judeo-Christian God, who ordered the slaughter of infants in Joshua 6:21, 1 Samuel 15:3, and Ezekiel 9:4-6.

NALT does not "make me sick." I am glad he is taking a stand against a religion that denies equal rights to homosexuals. The people I am disgusted by are the ones like Tammy Tam, who claim that anyone who is a Catholic is "desperately in favor of child rape."

Yes. It was. This is because the entire human race reveled in it's hypocrisy, condemning them to eternal death. I call that justice.

He must have a very keen appreciation of irony.

Hell was created for Satan and those that followed him not us. We go there because we follow the ways of Satan. You are so ignorant. Boo hoo you have to show self control to not go to heaven.