In Immigrant Areas, a Culture Clash Over Gay Marriage

[razark]

Originally Posted by ZeeWolf

Ok, If (I am assuming) you read the bible and you have considered what
was said and then decide to reject it then it's all said and done - what
can I say?

My view is that I do not choose what to believe and disbelieve. I can no more choose to believe the bible than I can choose to believe that water is not wet, or choose to believe the sky is green. Belief is the result of your brain processing the information it has available. I will not say that I have read every word of the bible, but I have read large portions of it, and find it to resemble more an ancient society's world view and less an authoritative book of history, science, morality, or any other subject. In addition, I have read other accounts of history and the history of the bible, and that further removed the bible from the category of authoritative literature.

Originally Posted by ZeeWolf

And then the more I studied the more I became convinced of the historical
authenticity of the accounts given in the bible.

And the more I learned about the bible, the less I was able to consider it accurate.


However, none of that addresses the question. Even if we take every bit of the bible as true, why is hell necessary? The only thing I can see it being needed for is to coerce people to comply. If god is omnipotent/omniscient, he should be able to achieve his ends without the need of eternal torture. If he is omnibenevolent, eternal torture (or even non-eternal torture) should go against his very nature.