The wrath of God is just and loving. Buffy used the example of having children, so I’ll do the same thing: If you have a child that you love very much, but he/she rebels against you constantly, disobeying every law and command you make, taking every opportunity to spit in your face, and refusing to accept every offer of forgiveness you give him/her, how is it loving to “turn the other cheek” in that situation? Is that how you teach a child to become a good person? Is that loving? No, it’s not, and it never will be. The child needs to be disciplined, and even punished. That’s why Hell is just. Because we spit in God’s face almost constantly. We rebel against Him at every turn. It’s extremely merciful that God would even give us the opportunity to be forgiven, and we still have the audacity to keep spitting in His face and mock Him.

Buffy also mentioned that too many Christians don’t care about others salvation because they “got theirs.” Lots of “Christians” are like that. There are a lot of hypocrites who do a lot of damage to the church and to God’s reputation. But I care, and the fellow believers I know care, and we spend a lot of time trying to help people understand God better, to teach people about God’s love, and mercy, and justice, and wrath, and everything that makes God good, because we don’t try to put everything into a little “God Box” (gregorylawrence). That’s part of the reason why I’m on here, because I do care. I also care about how God is portrayed, and I stand up for His name because I love Him.

I’m sorry so many “believers” have hurt you all. I’d be lying if I said that I haven’t thought about leaving the church because of all the hypocrisy; however, God is good, and He continues to show that to me every day, especially through the most gruesome times. God loves you all; He exists; He’s not some distant being that doesn’t play any role in your lives; He is right next to you waiting to embrace you if you would let Him.

They then have to willingly suspend disbelief and learn ways of avoiding reality, but it’s not too difficult. I know people that will manage it until the day they die, because the construct is so important to them. Without the meaning and purpose their faith gives them, they fear their lives would unravel.

I have seen what happens when people begin to understand that a core value or belief is false or damaging, the initial denial and fear that, if they got that wrong, what else did they get wrong? It really does shake people to the very core of their existence and requires much courage to move forward.

Many will choose to stay where they are. And perhaps the more vocal they become and the more faith they proclaim and the more they attack we atheists, the easier it will be for them to live with their need.

My lovely summed it up best. If you had a child who made a mistake, even many mistakes, would you sentence him/her to eternal torture? If not, why do you accept a god that would do so to his "children", and even relish the idea of such a fate occurring to others?

Nobody should accept such a sadistic brute as their god. Nor should they demand others do so.