by Zipporah

Created on: October 25, 2009   Last Updated: October 29, 2009

A loving God does not send anyone to hell. People choose to go to hell. During our lives we make choices which affect future events. We choose to make the choices we make. We often pretend that someone made us make the choices that we made. We fail to acknowledge that no one forces us to make the choices that we make. We cay respond no even if the consequences are death. Some often proclaim "he or she made me do it" but that's not true. We do the things we do because we want to do them. Did God make us do those things or make those choices? I admit, there may be demanding circumstances which affect the choices that we make, but choices made are ours. Our response to those demands are choices and responses we made. When attacked, why does one individual choose to ignore the attack and another individual chooses to respond to the attack. A number of explanations or rationales should be given, but the essence of the matter is that each chose to respond in the manner that they did. For a number of years I wrestled with the question, who is responsible or accountable when a soldier goes to war and kills someone in the "line of service". Is the soldier who pulled the trigger responsible and accountable or the government who sent him to fight?. I now understand that the individual who pulled the trigger that actually killed the individual is responsible for his death. During World War II some men refused to fight because of their belief that it was "wrong" to kill another individual. That was the choice they made. They often experienced negative consequences because of their actions. Some young men refused to go to Viet Nam because of their belief that it was wrong to kill another individual. Rather than serve as a soldier in the Viet Nam war, Cassius Clay "chose" to go to prison. The choices was his. Individual choices send people to hell and not God.

Should God ignore the things that we do? Should he pretend that he does not see? Because God is a loving and "just" God, he allows individuals opportunities to make the choices that they make. They experience the consequences of those choices whether positive or negative. That is often to referred to as "free will". Individuals are not robots. They are free to make choices. When someone performs an act or makes a poor choice, they often blame God for the choices made. They fail or refuse to acknowledge that God did not make those choices. They made those choices. Nature proclaims this truth, "We reap what we sow". Can someone blame God when he or she recieves no grain if they failed to plant? The answer is no although many make this attempt. God Is Love, but God is also a just God. Love demand justice. Parents who love their children discipline them. These parents advise their children. They often plead with their children, but ultimately choices made are the choices made by their children. Should a parent cry, my child should not be held accountable for the things that he did because I made him do them? The answer is yes. The judicial system says Yes. Eventually children become adults who can no longer be shield ed by other adults. Its time to stop blaming God and asking "how could a loving God send people to hell. A loving God does not send people to hell. People choose to go to hell.

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