Quote:
Originally Posted by tdogg
If one believes in sin, then one most likely believes in hell, which is an interesting concept as well. When I am speaking with religious people that believe in the concept of hell, I usually like to ask them a question. What would it take for their child (or other loved one) to do, that they would willingly toss them into what their mind perceives is hell. The answer has always been 'nothing, I would never do that!' To which I reply, then why would you worship a God that is willing to do just that? To which there is only silence.
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Well granted the ideas of Christianity are based in large part on decisions made by men over a thousand years ago, right down to the inclusion or exclusion of certain books from the bible. There is a book called the Revelation of Peter which was very nearly included in the bible but replaced in favor of the Revelation of John the Divine instead. In the Revelation of Peter, Jesus is asked the question how can he let any human go to hell, and his answer was that it was only for a certain period of time. In that context, sending people to hell for God's perspective is like putting them in a time out or sending them to their room. If you asked a parent what they would have to do in order to send their child to a time out, they would probably give you an answer like disobey me. And also don't forget that the imagery of hell HAS to be horrible. Otherwise there really isn't any reason to avoid it, even if it is only for a short time.
And you will be perhaps pleased to know also there are a few references to God in the old testament as a Mother Hen collecting her brood, and other more feminine descriptions. The masculinity of God is a cultural one rather than there being any real truth to it. By the time it was written, women in Mid East already had no standing so writing about a female god would have been poorly received at best.