Would You Accept This proposal of Marriage?

[GospelJohn]

Imagine the person you love and admire most from afar asks you out on a date. During your time together you only confirm what you already believed to be true about them. They are loving, kind, patient, prosperous and a great companion to spend the rest of your life with in marriage. At the end of the evening, this person asks you to marry them so this wonderful evening can go on forever…however, there is one other thing you need to know before you answer. Should you decide that you do not want to accept their offer, you will be cast into prison and tortured forever without chance of possible redemption. Now that you have been given the full story, the suitor asks that you please choose him freely with only love in your heart so that eternal bliss can begin.

Would anyone be able to ignore this last caveat to the suitor's proposal? In fact, didn't everything sound great until they brought up the consequences of not choosing as they would prefer? How is this scenario any different from what the traditional Christian creed asks of Mankind?

[Skyler]

It's different because humans by nature do not love and respect God. They hate him and would do anything in their power to get back at him. As such, given this proposition they would throw it in His face, unless something changed.

[GospelJohn]

Skyler: "It's different because humans by nature do not love and respect God. They hate him and would do anything in their power to get back at him."

GJ: If Man was created "a little less than the Angels," then does it make sense that we hate God and hold something against Him? I personally don't remember a time when I held anything against God, let alone thought I hated Him.

However, my accepting of God's ways as those I would aspire to attain myself does not include the eternal torture of those people that would choose otherwise. Such souls that do not accept God will reap the suffering they sow until they too would learn to follow the path that leads to their greatest happiness...God.

I am one who would be terrified of a God that could enforce such an eternal punishment against sinners...which includes us all.

[Evales]

I would say that he did not allow me to choose freely. I could never choose to marry someone who would hurt me if I did not. Not because I would prefer pain. But because I couldn't choose freely with love in my heart. As was his condition. In my heart would instead be fear.

[JoeyKnothead]

It's different because humans by nature do not love and respect God. They hate him and would do anything in their power to get back at him. As such, given this proposition they would throw it in His face, unless something changed.

Kinda hard to get back at something that can't be shown to be there.

As for the OP, I don't see any reason to respect any individual or entity that would threaten me into respect for them. If this respect is so based on an eternity of torment, I'd rather have the torment. Who needs a God that is so pernicious and insecure?

[James15]

GJ: If I believed that your analogy was accurate, I'm sure I would have the same reaction that a number of others have already had--but I don't think it works that way.

Consider 1 John 4:18-19 "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us."

Just two verses earlier (1 John 4:16) it says "God is love."

In the old testament there is another marriage analogy, but completely different from the one you described. This is the analogy that I believe reflects the truth.

Hosea 1:2 "When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, 'Go, take to yourself a wife of harlotry and have children of harlotry; for the land commits flagrant harlotry, forsaking the LORD."

Anyways, I believe that the Bible is true, and I think that the picture we get in Hosea is accurate, as opposed to the "bridegroom-with-a-knife-at-your-throat" understanding.

[OnceConvinced]

They hate him and would do anything in their power to get back at him.

I have yet to come across a human such as this. What sort of people do you mix with?

I see the scenario as very accurate. We have an offer here of something amazing, whether we love this person or not. However the whole threat of eternal suffering shows that the person is not as loving or caring as he appears. But from my point of view, taking this scenario as it is, I'd take the offer out of fear just to avoid the eternal torture.

The problem is if we want to make the OPs scenario more realistic we have to add further details to it. For one thing the person making the offer you have never actually even met. In fact someone else is passing these messages to you, claiming this person to be real. They even have supposed letters from this person to you, confessing their undying love to you. So I am being asked to accept the marriage proposal of someone I have never met who may not even exist. In that case I would have to reject the proposal of marriage and consider it scare tactics on the part of the person who is delivering the messages. That person is probably trying to control me in some way.

[bernee51]

It's different because humans by nature do not love and respect God.

Clearly one cannot love or respect an entity that one does not hold to exist.

They hate him and would do anything in their power to get back at him.

This is a common christian fantasy. They cannot fathom non-belief ergo they assume the non believer actually does beleive and hates god for some reason

Get used to it Skyler - some people REALLY do not believe in your god.

[Nilloc James]

It's different because humans by nature do not love and respect God. They hate him and would do anything in their power to get back at him. As such, given this proposition they would throw it in His face, unless something changed.

Ummm yeah, I hate something I don't beleive exists...

Do you hate the flying pasta monster?

[Skyler]

Skyler: "It's different because humans by nature do not love and respect God. They hate him and would do anything in their power to get back at him."

GJ: If Man was created "a little less than the Angels," then does it make sense that we hate God and hold something against Him? I personally don't remember a time when I held anything against God, let alone thought I hated Him.

Remember, Man is not in the same state as when he was created. After the Fall, mankind became totally depraved and incapable of anything but hating Him except through His providential grace. cf Romans 1:18-32.

However, my accepting of God's ways as those I would aspire to attain myself does not include the eternal torture of those people that would choose otherwise. Such souls that do not accept God will reap the suffering they sow until they too would learn to follow the path that leads to their greatest happiness...God.

I think the problem here is that your view of human nature is too high. Humanity, because of the fall, is no longer good by default, but evil. As such it is the enemy of God and, because of repeated offenses against a thrice-holy God, deserves whatever punishment He sees fit to give them. No one deserves to go to heaven--we all deserve eternal punishment.

But... from before He created the universe, He had a certain elect which he chose to save, forgiving their sins and laying their punishment on His Son. These elect are, contrary to their deserts, given eternal life and destined to be the bride of the Son of God.

I am one who would be terrified of a God that could enforce such an eternal punishment against sinners...which includes us all.

I would be terrified if he couldn't enforce justice on those who rightly deserved it.

Skyler