Christians and Vengeance

[Starcrash]

I think it's kinda sick that Christians worship a God who tortures people. A god that willingly sends people to Hell is not a kind being, and those who would blame humans for their own fates are those who don't seem to realize that God would have had to build Hell and set the rules for who goes there. Also, it's not just up to people to "want to believe" as Christians would have you think, because they all see countless denominations that have "gotten it wrong" and worship incorrectly. That means that they believe that a lot of people are willing to follow God's commands but are ill-equipped to do it right.


However, that's not what this post is about. This is about Christians actively seeking to torture people rather than just being accepting of a God who does it.

Quote:Proverbs 25:21-22 If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;
if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head,
and the Lord will reward you.

What this verse prescribes is being nice to your enemy (a good moral!) because it will hurt him (a bad moral). It's killing with kindness. Not only is this suggesting that you do nice things with cruel intent, but it's pretty silly to think it'll work. Anyone who understand cognitive dissonance knows that being nice to someone in retaliation for meanness won't cause them to "see the error of their ways" or make them feel bad, but rather they'll try to rationalize why they deserve your kind treatment. Has this ever been effective as a way to hurt one's enemy? I'm doubtful. But why would anyone with a good heart even look for ways to hurt another person?

[fstratzero]

I always thought that hell was merely a way for the religious to do nothing, but feel like they did.

[Flowergurl]

Yes. I know exactly what you mean! I was raised as a Christian - Christian high school, church twice per week (Sometimes three times per week), Christian books and music, etc. That one always got me, too. I used to think, even as a teenager, "Weird. Why not be nice to, uh, be nice?" There are a lot of evil writings in the Old Testament.
The only things that I feel are worth reading in the Bible right now are the words of Jesus. "Love your neighbour as you love yourself." "Bless those that curse you." A far cry from the dark, Old Testament God.

[Starcrash]

(21-12-2012 09:28 AM)Flowergurl Wrote:  Yes. I know exactly what you mean! I was raised as a Christian - Christian high school, church twice per week (Sometimes three times per week), Christian books and music, etc. That one always got me, too. I used to think, even as a teenager, "Weird. Why not be nice to, uh, be nice?" There are a lot of evil writings in the Old Testament.
The only things that I feel are worth reading in the Bible right now are the words of Jesus. "Love your neighbour as you love yourself." "Bless those that curse you." A far cry from the dark, Old Testament God.

You might enjoy browsing through the Skeptics' Annotated Bible. It's quite an eye-opener, and it's much more interesting to those who are familiar with the entirety of the bible. And it even points out the "good stuff" found throughout the bible. The Sermon on the Mount really was very moral and ethical... in fact, most of Jesus' teachings were... and I think Jesus would have also frowned on wanting to "heap coals" on an enemy. But sadly he didn't reject the Old Testament and its evil.

[Flowergurl]

(21-12-2012 08:40 PM)Starcrash Wrote:  most of Jesus' teachings were... and I think Jesus would have also frowned on wanting to "heap coals" on an enemy. But sadly he didn't reject the Old Testament and its evil.

This is true.