Hello,
I have some questions, that I can't find the answers to. (I'm still learning.)
I've been studying and asking God to show me answers to these questions, and yet I'm still so lost.
Hoping someone can help me out a little.
"If God is all-loving, why is there a hell, and why do people constantly die needlessly and innocently?"
Very good question and one you will not find an acceptable answer to from any religious people. In fact, all your questions are good and all are legitimate questions. Before abandoning Christianity to become an agnostic I wrestled with the same questions and read everything I could find for answers. The only answer that makes logical sense is that the "God" of the Bible is a fictional character.
"(E.G. People dying of horrific things like being merely beaten to death by someone they never even knew, or suddenly contracting illness? Or dying of starvation, because they're so poor and couldn't get help? There are worse innocent deaths that happen all the time, but I'd rather not make this too graphic. You get the picture.)"
It is good to bring these things out to the light of day and look at them logically. Jesus is pictured in the Bible as being especially loving and kind to children yet we know that thousands of children are abused, raped and killed every day. Former pastor and writer Dan Barker says that all you have to do is visit a children's cancer hospital to know that there is no God. The Black Plague killed an estimated 75 to 200 million men, women and children if Eurasia in the 14th century was caused by Yersinia pestis, an organism carried by the fleas that infested Rats and other ground rodents. The Bible claims that God is the creator of everything. Why would a loving, compassionate God create Yersinia pestis?
"Also, why is there a hell? The punishment of hells pain, torture and eternal fire is so sickening to think of. And thinking of the people who will go there, simply because they never knew God, or just happened to get caught up in something wrong, for a time and died. Eternal pain is the worst thing to experience. How is this love?
The bible states that his love is unconditional, but this seems to be a very conditional situation, to me. I'm confused."
Hell is nothing but a convenient way to enslave believers to keep supporting the church(s). Fear is a great motivator.
"If God is perfect and omnipotent, why does this all even exist? Can't he just wipe it all out, and destroy satan?"
Then how would religion amass the billions of dollars needed to build cathedrals and mega-churches? It's all about the money and that's the way it's always been.
"He is perfect, yet a mistake was made when satan was allowed to come in and interfere in the garden of eden, was it not? Should he not have interfered, then?"
Why is there a Satan to begin with? Why did a sinless God create a being that brings only pain and misery? The whole concept is ridiculous.
"Also, being all-knowing, should he not have seen this all coming and prevented it?"
That's what any compassionate person would have done.
"Why would he chose to let us live in a world like this?
Also, how is having a choice between God, a perfect heaven of fluffy clouds vs. Eternal suffering and burning free will? It seems like a very forced choice to me, because who in their right mind would choose the latter?"
Don't try to make sense of religious doctrine, you might spoil the dream of the righteous.
"I know the bible says in the end times God will do his final justice once and for all and make things right. However, that will still involve a lot of people going to hell, and I don't understand why he must let us suffer this way, until then."
There is absolutely no way eternal hell can fit with a loving, compassionate, forgiving, heavenly "father."
"Not looking to argue or get into anything, as religious discussions tend to go... just really, honestly looking for answers.
Hoping someone can help me understand these things.
Thank you.
