God Is Imaginary - Proof 21

== Proof #21 - Understand Jesus' Core Message ==
~~~~Simply take a moment to think about the following statement:
"Hello, my name is Jesus. I love you deeply. I have loved you since you were conceived in the womb and I will love you for all eternity. I died for you on the cross because I love you so much. I long to have a loving personal relationship with you. I will answer all of your prayers through my love. But if you do not get down on your knees and worship me, and if you do not EAT MY BODY and DRINK MY BLOOD, then I WILL INCINERATE YOU WITH UNIMAGINABLY TORTUOUS PAIN IN THE FIRES OF HELL FOR ALL ETERNITY BWAH HA HA HA HA HA!"
Yes, this is the central message of Christianity. See John 6:53-54 and Mark 16:16.
Think about this message. We have a being who, according to the Standard Model of God, embodies love. Yet, if you do not get down on your knees and worship him, you will be physically tortured for all eternity. What sort of love is that?
The utter silliness and contradiction of Jesus' core message should make it obvious to you: God is imaginary.~~~~
Okay, so wading through a large amount of childish emotion, ignorance, and utter lack of any kind of context, the argument here is actually a pretty old one. It has to do with a real alleged contradiction between the characteristics of God, namely his eternal love, and the reality of Gehenna, eternal punishment.
Better men than I have addressed this problem through the ages, and I doubt MB has not read any of them. However he makes the argument perhaps so that his readers will find comfort in denouncing Christianity and disbelieving God because this argument resonates with their desire to not be subject to punishment for their sin. However, it is not a logical argument and I will do my best to break down why.
=== By What Standard Do You Judge? ===
A part of this ancient rejection of God based on the existence of Gehenna is nothing more than setting up one's self as standard and judge. By what standard is MB declaring that eternal punishment is unjust or not good? It can only be himself as the standard, in which case, why should we use his opinion as the standard by which we judge anything?
Is MB willing to say that no evil exists in the world? Is he willing to concede that there are therefore no evil doers? Will he admit, then, that no one deserves punishment of any kind for any action whatsoever? What then is justice? No, the very concept of justice is the applying of consequences mete to the crime. MB will likely argue for some extent and duration of punishment for crime. If MB is just to any extent, he must allow for this. If MB considers himself to be a good person to any extent, he must denounce evil [which he actually thinks he's doing by publishing his website!].
If God is just, then He must punish sin. If God is good, then He must properly address that which is evil. To fail to do so would make God unjust and evil. So unless MB is using an arbitrary set of standards of what is just and good, he has failed to show a contradiction in the characteristics of God and the existence of Gehenna.
=== A Brief Case for Gehenna ===
I will provide a brief outline of some premises that defend the concept of Gehenna. I do not intend to go into them in depth here as I do not believe it is necessary. Should someone care to study them deeper, they can find me on FB and discuss it there.
# Man has free will to choose God or not-God.
# Man does (generally speaking) choose not-God, what the Bible calls sin.
# God is holy.
# Because God is holy, sin separates a man from God, what the Bible calls spiritual death.
# Part of God's holiness, righteousness, goodness demands that He cannot simply ignore sin.
# Since God is perfect in holiness and since sin separates man from God, ultimate rejection of God ends in ultimate separation from God, what the Bible refers to as Gehenna. This happens when a person dies physically in their sin, since physical death ends the opportunity to make choices for or against God. The Bible clearly teaches that whatever spiritual state you are in when you die, that is what determines your eternal destination.
# Eternity is not infinite time. It is a state of being not bound by time at all.
# The soul is eternal, being made in the image of God. Therefore:
# If the reward [nearness to God without medium] is eternal, the punishment [separation from God] must also be eternal for an eternal entity such as the soul.
# If the extent of propitiation required no less than the death of Jesus, God's unique Son and the expression of His perfect love, then the extent of punishment for rejecting that, must be no less than Gehenna.
It is only by setting one's self up as the standard that any kind of condemnation can be made of Gehenna. Any attempt to use the Bible as the standard in order to show a contradiction ends in failure because of the nature of God's justice and goodness. Gehenna doesn't show that God does not love the individual, it is the end consequence when the individual rejects God's love.
In Truth and Love.