Reconsiling Hell... the answer lies in the family
OP - September 19, 2013, 05:45 PM
I have always been puzzled at the motives of the traditional Abrahamic God.
Why would God create mankind to worship him and then punish mankind with eternal torture in hell if they don't worship him? If a person were to do that, we'd probably call them some kind of Narcissistic psychopath; or some other word a professional psychiatrist would associate.
And yet, as I reflect on it, we as humans do seem to have that in common with the accounts of God. Many people get pets like dogs for the express purpose of that dog being a loyal toy to 'love' them. Now most of us wouldn't get sadistic on the dog if the dog chose not to love us and disobey us. But various degrees of people do certainly treat dogs very poorly. People can and do get sadistic on a dog if it does not obey its role to love and obey its master. In a sense, God's motives to both create and punish humanity is a very human thing.
Yet, I think there is an even more apt relationship within humanity that can provide insight into the Abrahamic God's motivation that does not conflate humanity with a dog. That is the parent-child relationship.
In many tradtional cultures and even today, people choose to have children for predominantly selfish reasons.
1. To have someone take care of them in old age and obey them in general
2. To have someone to love them
Although, I would argue it is much more up front in traditional cultures. Many traditional cultures make no bones about the child's duty to their parents. The child is there to take care of the parents and obey them.
Modern cultures try to emphasize the love part of the relationship instead of the obedience part.
And what happens if the child chooses not to serve the motives of the parent. They don't choose to love them. They don't wish to obey them?
For 'good' parents (in my view), they accept their child might have different idea on life or they may not be compatible as people, and they let the child live their own life as they grow up to be an adult.
For 'bad' parents (in my view) they refuse to accept that their creation may not love them and do their bidding and they respond by casting the child as bad and punishment is due. This might be an appropriate way to treat a infant or kid, but not as an adult.
This thought has provided me with some insight. What confused me for years in that how could people reconcile the idea of hell with the idea of a loving God. How could anyone wish such punishment on someone just for not believing and loving their creator? How could anyone call such a God moral or loving or decent? Words like narassistic psychopath seem more appropriate.
But now it is more clear. People have been conditioned since birth to not just accept this kind of relationship, but to actually be bound by duty to it. They were raised by parents who to varying degrees expect them to love them and obey them or they are 'bad' children. In a sense, this relationship is then transferred unto humanity as a whole.
It is thus of no surprise that has society has become less traditional in its family roles. Children are more independent and there is less duty towards them, that the belief in the traditional Abrahamic God is lessened. The relationship with parents is more to do with voluntary love and affection. The relationship with God is more to do with general love and kindness. The concept of hell trails away as an afterthought of a past time.
thoughts?
Topic: Reconsiling Hell... the answer lies in the family