What comes first, family or God?

[nobspeople]

The below link is lengthy (about 60 minutes), but speaks, in part, about how one's religious beliefs in a religion can cause families to fracture. We see this happen in families of no religion, Scientologists, Mormons, Catholics, JWs (as in this example) etc.
While this doesn't always happen, at what point does one (or should one) put their belief system before their family?
Does God command such a thing, or is it something the religion dictates only?

[DieAmartyr]

[Replying to nobspeople in post #4] It won't work for you when you die and lift up your eyes in hell. We feel exactly like we do in life only our location changes. The fear is maddening and the torment is horrendous. To die without God is the worst fate a man can experience. There is no love in hell, no compassion, no second chances. Start this at 4:10

[nobspeople]

[Replying to nobspeople in post #4] It won't work for you when you die and lift up your eyes in hell. We feel exactly like we do in life only our location changes. The fear is maddening and the torment is horrendous. To die without God is the worst fate a man can experience. There is no love in hell, no compassion, no second chances. Start this at 4:10

All belief you choose to believe. Which is fine. I believed it too, for a long long time. I was freed from it. Liberating. Am I positive I'm right? No more or less than you're positive you're right. I've lived long enough and experienced things, both literal and, what can only be described as supernatural, but still I made my decision to the best of my ability. No amount of fearmongering from you can change that. But thanks anyway - humor is always appreciated.

[Tcg]

It won't work for you when you die and lift up your eyes in hell.

This argument fails in that there is no reason to accept that there is a place like hell or any other afterlife for that matter.


Tcg

[Paul of Tarsus]

While this doesn't always happen, at what point does one (or should one) put their belief system before their family?

One must put God above all else, and that includes family and friends.

Does God command such a thing, or is it something the religion dictates only?

Christ commanded that if need be, we must forsake and even hate our families if they get in the way of our allegiance to God.

“Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple...

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.

If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

[brunumb]

Christ commanded that if need be, we must forsake and even hate our families if they get in the way of our allegiance to God.

What sort of pathetic, egotistical deity requires humans to behave in such an abhorrent manner? Would a genuine loving God have said such a thing? Never. What we really have is anonymously written claims alleged to have come from God but clearly written by human beings as religious propaganda. Today we still have manipulative people willing to exploit those words to their own advantage at the expense of the welfare of their fellow human beings.

[JehovahsWitness]

What comes first, family or God?

For me God. My devotion and relationship with Him is a non-negotiable. Jehovah comes first always.



JW






FURTHER READING Does God Come First in Your Family?
https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1995723#h=2

For more, please go to other posts related to...

PRAYER, GOD, and ....WORSHIP

[Paul of Tarsus]

Christ commanded that if need be, we must forsake and even hate our families if they get in the way of our allegiance to God.

What sort of pathetic, egotistical deity requires humans to behave in such an abhorrent manner? Would a genuine loving God have said such a thing? Never.

I'm not so sure. Since we live in a fallen world, moral dilemmas are part of life. Sometimes we need to experience conflicts with our families if there are conflicts with them. An atheist, for example, might fight with her Christian family if she disapproves of their faith. She may resent their beliefs and become estranged from them. As I hope you can see, atheism can cause enmity and division within a family too.

So would a loving God require people to have troubles with their families? In some cases, yes, God may have no choice. He sent his Son to us to redeem us. Not all of us will accept that redemption, and families may become split over who accepts Christ and who doesn't. Keep in mind that all are welcome to accept Christ, and that includes all the members of any family.

What we really have is anonymously written claims alleged to have come from God but clearly written by human beings as religious propaganda. Today we still have manipulative people willing to exploit those words to their own advantage at the expense of the welfare of their fellow human beings.

There are many "religious phonies." God is well aware of them and has warned us not to believe them. Please don't let their wrongdoing cause you to reject God.

[brunumb]

Since we live in a fallen world, moral dilemmas are part of life. Sometimes we need to experience conflicts with our families if there are conflicts with them. An atheist, for example, might fight with her Christian family if she disapproves of their faith. She may resent their beliefs and become estranged from them. As I hope you can see, atheism can cause enmity and division within a family too.

The alleged fallen world is nothing more than religious propaganda. It is an invented excuse to account for a world with many problems that the ever-loving God does nothing to address.

The atheist in a Christian family is far more likely to suffer the consequences of the evil practice of shunning than engaging in any fights over belief. The family would be fearful of her disbelief and use enforced estrangement to protect themselves from having their beliefs challenged in any way. If one member can see the light then the perceived danger is that the rest may follow. There is no reason for the atheist to reject and hate her family. Sadly, the converse does not appear to be true.

[Paul of Tarsus]

Since we live in a fallen world, moral dilemmas are part of life. Sometimes we need to experience conflicts with our families if there are conflicts with them. An atheist, for example, might fight with her Christian family if she disapproves of their faith. She may resent their beliefs and become estranged from them. As I hope you can see, atheism can cause enmity and division within a family too.

The alleged fallen world is nothing more than religious propaganda. It is an invented excuse to account for a world with many problems that the ever-loving God does nothing to address.

That's a very harsh judgment of a point of view developed by people who as much as you want to honestly understand why we live in such a troubled world. You seem to have a theology of your own regarding this issue: An "ever-loving" God would solve all the world's problems. How is that theology any more legitimate than Christian theology?

My own theology regarding conflict and suffering is that God cannot solve all the world's troubles. Many people simply will not accept his instructions to us to do so.

The atheist in a Christian family is far more likely to suffer the consequences of the evil practice of shunning than engaging in any fights over belief. The family would be fearful of her disbelief and use enforced estrangement to protect themselves from having their beliefs challenged in any way. If one member can see the light then the perceived danger is that the rest may follow. There is no reason for the atheist to reject and hate her family. Sadly, the converse does not appear to be true.

Do you have any evidence for this assertion? I do know that some atheists can be cruel to Christians for no other reason than that Christians have the faith they do. I have been ridiculed by atheists. I've heard that Madalyn Murray O'Hair, founder of American Atheists, disowned one of her sons when he became a Christian.

[brunumb]

[Replying to Paul of Tarsus in post #20]

The ever-loving God I referred to is the one worshiped by Christians. Many of the world's problems are the result of natural factors beyond human control but easily fixed by a deity that actually cares about humanity. Drought, floods and plagues are just some things where a little intervention from God would alleviate much suffering. It is not a fallen world.

As for evidence regarding the harm caused by the hateful practice of shunning, one just has to search the internet to find countless personal testimonies. Extremist sects like the FLDS, JWs and so on discourage people from reaching out and researching such things no doubt because what is uncovered invariably paints them in a very bad light. While there will obviously be atheists who are insensitive enough to abuse believers because of their faith, my observation is that the converse is far more prevalent undoubtedly due to the dominant numbers of theists.