Let me put it this way: should unbelievers be scared?
Well...
I was trying to be less sarcastic, Timmy. And then you post a question like this... *exasperated sigh*
Scared of what? The dark? Germs? Shadows? Public places?
God?
Someone who doesn't believe in God would have a difficult time believing they should be scared of Him, wouldn't you think?
Or do you mean to ask if we believe that unbelievers should be scared, even if they don't believe or perhaps because they don't believe?
But again, it is difficult to convince someone to be afraid of something they do not believe at some level. And if they believe at some level, they are not unbelievers...
But in answer to your question, fear has motivated many people to good or evil over the millenia. But it is not a good motivator. Fear doesn't change the heart or mind of a person, but at best (or worst) simply alters their behavior for a time. That said, Hell is not, or should not be, a motivator. Thoughts of hell might get some people to change their ways for a time, but only God, through grace and the cross, can change a heart.
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What we make of the Bible will never be as great a thing as what the Bible will - if we let it - make of us.~Rich Mullins
I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.~Galileo Galilei
BTW, what nonsarcastic thing would you have posted, if I had stopped with post #208?
Actually, I wasn't going to respond at all, but I felt bad for you being so lonely...
I answered post #208 at the end of my sarcastic post:
Quote:
Originally Posted by missourimary
Fear has motivated many people to good or evil over the millenia. But it is not a good motivator. Fear doesn't change the heart or mind of a person, but at best (or worst) simply alters their behavior for a time. That said, Hell is not, or should not be, a motivator. Thoughts of hell might get some people to change their ways for a time, but only God, through grace and the cross, can change a heart.
__________________
What we make of the Bible will never be as great a thing as what the Bible will - if we let it - make of us.~Rich Mullins
I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.~Galileo Galilei
Last edited by missourimary; 02-18-2010 at 12:00 PM.
Think God (or Peter) goofed, when He (or Peter) spread fear throughout the early church by killing Ananias and Sapphira for lying about what they gave? Maybe showing them mercy, patiently teaching them and guiding them to repentance, would have been a better strategy?
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Hebrews 13:23 Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty
God doesn't make mistakes. But I have no idea why some things happened in the Bible.
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What we make of the Bible will never be as great a thing as what the Bible will - if we let it - make of us.~Rich Mullins
I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.~Galileo Galilei
Yes, but men can make mistakes. Oh, except the men who wrote the Bible. They didn't make any mistakes at all. And the men who, centuries later, gathered up a collection of perfect books and called them the Bible. They didn't make any mistakes, either.
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Hebrews 13:23 Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty
I wonder how long ago the Earth or mankind would have self-destructed from men's mistakes, if God hadn't intervened in some way? Just sayin'.
__________________
What we make of the Bible will never be as great a thing as what the Bible will - if we let it - make of us.~Rich Mullins
I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.~Galileo Galilei
Does God know that a lot of people get it wrong, when they think He is talking to them? Does He know that people sometimes die, when that happens? Does He know that some people say God said something when they know He really didn't, in order to control or harm others or to look important?
Does He know some people will not believe everything they hear, when someone tells them God said such and such? And some won't believe God ever spoke to anyone?
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Hebrews 13:23 Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty
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