Is Love And Respect For God REALLY Genuine?

if there is anticipation of a future reward or fear of a punishment?








For example, if I told my kids,





"I want you to love and respect me as your mother." and they ask,


"What will I get in return."


I tell them, "Nothing, I am not going to buy your love."


"Well what if I don't love and respect you, what will you do to me?" they ask


"Nothing. I am not going to threaten you to get your love and respect either. Of course, I'll be sad but it won't change my love for you."





Now isn't that truly giving them the chance to choose freely?





Compared to say.....





"You better love and respect me if you want to go to Disneyland and if you don't I'll put you in foster care with horrid people who will abuse you all your life!"





What parent has to bribe or threaten their kids to get their love? And if we as parents would not do it, why do we think our Divine Parent has to resort to such underhanded meaures?





Your thoughts?

Is Love And Respect For God REALLY Genuine?
God loves you even if you don't love Him in return, It's called unconditional love.
Reply:Well, yeah, except basically God said if you don't love him you'll go to hell. So I'd say that when push-comes-to-shove the God portrayed in the bible is more like the one on the bottom.
Reply:God gave us a choice.It is up to us to deside.please learn more about God and dont wait to long if you havent desided.


If you have God bless you.
Reply:It wouldn't matter whether or not it is genuine. That's not the point.





There is no good thing in any of us. We have nothing in us that would merit God's favor.





We are saved by his grace and mercy and he puts his spirit in us and causes us to shine as a light in a dark place when we confess that he gave us new life.





That makes us love him.





1 John 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.
Reply:It is for me, and all who truly believe in Christ and His word in the Bible.
Reply:Parental love for their children (especially mothers) is instinctive. It's not earned in any way nor is it ever driven away.





The child's love for their parents is another story altogether. Parents cannot 'make' their children love them but they can, by example, raise them to respect themselves, their parents and others. Bribery leads to false hope and false love and should be avoided at all costs.
Reply:I do believe religion is to guide people, but I think sometimes you should listen to your heart. the prophets lived long time ago, they trained the people in their own time and they would have done this if they were with us. we just stick to what they have said maybe we'll find our ways too.


I think sometimes your heart shows the way better than the books educations.


as I read once in a book heaven and hell are for constructing human's soul.
Reply:"You shouldn't question God, God is perfect in every way and has a reason for everything..." or something...now, I agree with you 100% Why is it that the "true" God needs to bribe people into believing in Him? I would rather follow a god in my own choosing, as in your fist example...but Christians do not usually paint that sort of picture, nor does any religion. One reason why I hate reliigon and do not believe in any god that man has "found" yet...maybe there IS a god out there, but we just haven't "found" him/her/it yet...if any sort of divine being has to resort to bribery for followers, that usually holds ill for any follower of said god...I'm just shocked that the Christian religion hasn't fallen apart by now...well, fallen apart any more than it has....hope I helped some...^_^
Reply:i go to a christian school. oddly enough, i'm not a christian. but what i've noticed is that during chapel (fifteen minutes of praise to god) all they do during the sermon is whisper to each other about crap that happens to them at school. they don't worship or respect their god at all.


and when it is time to sing to him, which apparently is one of god's favorite things, they sit their and don't because they're too embarassed even though everyone else should be singing too.


and the only time they stop talking is when a prayer starts. then they continue on right after the prayer ends with 'amen'. they all act like public schoolers though. they call themselves christians, but they definitely don't act like christians.
Reply:Much love is two ways, it does not make it invalid because it will end in reward
Reply:good cop, bad cop.





its a classic.
Reply:No... so it is my belief that the Atheists, who are charitable and generous out of their own cognition with no hope for immortality or damnation have the better shot at paradise if there is one then the believers who act essentially out of fear of loss.
Reply:kids love and respect their parents a lot more if there are consequences for wrong doing rather than letting them get away with it. kids that are not punished for being bad usually become very disrespect full to everybody and if disrespect is a sign of love than i don't want it.
Reply:god and religion is just a fabrication to control people´s minds...politics and law is a way of controlling people´s actions...Therefore religion is human related, religions talk a bout superior entities who behave just like humans...in an attempt to explain their gods religions just humanize everything, and in the attempt of ensuring control they emphasize the idea of punishment and reward...Exactly the same as law and politics do.


It is evident religion is just man made since it follows the same schemes as politics