S/O of the Hymn thread. (sorta)

[stradial]

Again I will say that if I knew for sure God's thoughts, I probably wouldn't be here on Earth.
But we all have our beliefs and I respect every person's beliefs, even if I disagree.
Because, who knows, they could be right and I could be wrong.
As I have said many times, this is what I believe at this time, check with me in a few years, hopefully I will have learned and/or been shown more.

Anyway, here is my question.
Do you believe that God has wrath?

Here is my answer, for me.
I believe that God is love, pure love.
I believe that God gives man, the world, the universe and all things, a set of "laws".
The laws that science has discovered, the laws that are along the line of "you reap what you sow", the law that man apart from a relationship with his God is not whole.
He has a huge part of himself that is "missing" or he feels "incomplete" or he like "he doesn't belong" in the world. He is like a ship without a rudder, it goes whatever way the wind and currents take him.
I believe that God has set these "rules" or "laws" in place and then let's man have free will.
I do not believe that God punishes man for breaking these "laws", I believe that the results of breaking the "laws" is the punishment.
So I do not believe in a God of wrath.
I believe in a God that has laid out a path for man and if you wander from that path you get in the ditches, the stickers and the woods and you experience the results of what comes from going that way.

I also believe that the greatest "punishment" for not trying to walk "God's path" is being apart from the creator.
That means going through life, never a part of but always apart from, both your fellow man and the peace that comes with knowing your creator.
I believe that this feeling apart from the world and those in it, is a major reason that people turn to drink and drugs.

But, these are just my thoughts, what are yours.

 

[LisaC]

Yes, I do believe God has wrath. He showed that throughout the Old Testament and I believe He has done it since, but our egos don't want to give Him the credit.

 

[Blazing Saddles]

Stradial, what are your beliefs based on? Your own personal thoughts, experiences, a combination of different books, etc.......

 

[stradial]

Stradial, what are your beliefs based on? Your own personal thoughts, experiences, a combination of different books, etc.......

My understanding of the Bible, my personal experiences and the teachings of others, both through listening to them and through their writings.
Isn't it basically the same way everyone comes to their beliefs?

 

[Blazing Saddles]

Stradial, what are your beliefs based on? Your own personal thoughts, experiences, a combination of different books, etc.......

My understanding of the Bible, my personal experiences and the teachings of others, both through listening to them and through their writings.
Isn't it basically the same way everyone comes to their beliefs?

thank you for your honesty.

 

[mei lan]

stradial - Yes, I do believe in the wrath of God. However, I think many mistake the wrath of God as being directed at people instead of what it's really directed at - sin, evil, darkness. God is filled with wrath when He encounters

- mothers who cause damage to the genitals of their sons;
- lives devastated by drugs and alcohol;
- people minding their own business who are beheaded by someone in His name;
- children who are abused or neglected or murdered; and
- any other situation where evil abounds.

And even in these cases, God loves the guilty persons involved. But His wrath is kindled against the evil that causes such behavior. As I said in the hymnal thread, because He is everything that is pure and good and holy, He cannot coexist with evil. And because He loves us with such a strong love, He is angered greatly when that evil harms us. He loves us so much, in fact, that He sent His only Son to pay the penalty for our sins so we would have an opportunity to be with Him. He did all that when we were dark and sinful, but He had a vision and a desire that if He paid the debt of our sin, we would turn to Him and be united with Him forever.

To summarize, God's wrath does indeed exist. However, the wrath of God is not against people...the wrath of God is against evil.

 

[stradial]

Thank you all for your input.
I find it interesting and helpful to get others opinions and insight into these type of questions.