Theists: Why does god punish people after death?

[JMP300z]

Why does an all powerfull benevolent god desire to punish those who do not believe in him for eternity?

I can understand the reward/heaven part kinda, but the punishment/hell part seems crazy.

Why would he go through the trouble? Why would he be so cruel? Wouldnt the absence from him be punishment enough??

-JP

[Darryl_P]

IMO it's not for eternity. You most likely reincarnate into a lesser creature and get another chance to rethink what you did wrong in your life as a human, having to suffer with lesser capabilities all the while.

Alternatively, God may come up with something more ingenious to get you to believe in Him. In any case, God always gets it right, even if I don't know what He will do.

[Nielsio]

[ QUOTE ]
Why does an all powerfull benevolent god desire to punish those who do not believe in him for eternity?

I can understand the reward/heaven part kinda, but the punishment/hell part seems crazy.

Why would he go through the trouble? Why would he be so cruel? Wouldnt the absence from him be punishment enough??

-JP

[/ QUOTE ]

Carrot, stick.

[Peter666]

"Wouldnt the absence from him be punishment enought??"

Yes, it would. And when one separates themselves from all goodness, all beauty, all happiness etc, what are they left with? The opposite.

The fires of a physical Hell would actually be a distraction from the more painful intellectual loss of everything you ever wanted.

[SNOWBALL]

Once you wade past the shallow end of the New Testament into the back half of the Old Testament, get ready: it turns out God's a [censored] lunatic, and He loves the taste of your blood. Old Testament God ain't letting Himself get nailed to any crosses like some pussy; OT God wouldn't spit on your balls if they were on fire. If He covers your eyes with boils to win a bet with Satan, consider yourself lucky He didn't turn your city into a mushroom cloud for not praying to Him enough. Even a cursory reading of the Old Testament leaves only one conclusion: God is a total hardass, and if you step out of line He will most likely drop you in the time it takes most people to open a door.

[pilliwinks]

Love the link, Snowball. Jay has a way with words (and pictures).

He's great at pointing out all the drastic things God did, but no so good at explaining why he did them. Since we are lucky enough to have been told the 'big picture' it seems a shame to ignore it.

[hmkpoker]

Because God is a prick.

Simple.

[Dane S]

Because God is the fully realized self and hell represents the inevitable and endless self-torture of the egocentric and isolated individual.

[godBoy]

[ QUOTE ]
IMO it's not for eternity. You most likely reincarnate into a lesser creature and get another chance to rethink what you did wrong in your life as a human, having to suffer with lesser capabilities all the while.

[/ QUOTE ]

Why are those who have been re-incarnated going round screaming, repent now you [censored]!

[godBoy]

Hell isn't where the devil will prod at you with his firy poker..

Hell is simply what is the absence of God. It wasn't designed for torture, it's that way beacuse on earth we can experience both the hellish and the comforts and pleasures that come with God.