Hell and Crime Rates Shock Researchers

 

To those who have made a covenant with God by sacrifice, these following words are beautiful and satisfying to the soul: Psalms 119-105:

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

But, to those who have not surrendered their lives to Christ, the following is true: Proverbs 4:19:

The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.

Isaiah 59:9-10 speaks of the judgment that fell upon Israel as a result of their deep rebellion:

9 Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness.

10 We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noon day as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men.

All of mankind has at one time sat in darkness, but some of us—the born-again—have seen the Light.  Matthew 4:16 speaks of the coming of Jesus Christ to redeem the souls of men bound in darkness.  It reads:

The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.

The marvelous literalness of the Word and the Light are truly staggering.  Many features on GodSaidManSaid address the marvels of the latest scientific discoveries on this eternal glory and you can review them at your leisure.  But the question to you, dear visitor, is “Have you seen the Light?”  Are you born-again?  Are you ready to step out of darkness?  Do you want answers to all of your questions, every single one?  Would you like a mind cleared of confusion and a peace and a purpose that exceeds the earth’s resources?  Would you like all your sin and shame expunged from your record today?  Would you like to start all over again, this time walking in the Light? This time clean and white as the driven snow?  GodSaidManSaid has eternally good news for you.  Today is your day of salvation.  Click onto “Further With Jesus” for childlike instructions and immediate entry into the Kingdom of God.  Your miracle will happen now.  Now for today’s subject.    

GOD SAID, Mark 9:43-48:

43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:

44 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:

46 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:

48 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

GOD SAID, Luke 16:22-24:

22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

GOD SAID, Revelation 20:12-15:

12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

GOD SAID, Romans 11:21-22:

21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.

22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

MAN SAID:  There is no hell to shun or heaven to gain.  If it feels good, do it.  There’s no judgment day or eternal punishment. 

Now THE RECORD.  The magnificent benefits of God—who is the engineer, the designer, the manufacturer of all life—and His Words are a wonder to behold.  God’s Words, found in the majority-text, Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible, are directions to the owner’s manual of life.  Those seeking the Truth simply need to read.  God’s Words are perfect words.  To the successful man, woman, and child, to the successful marriage, to the successful family, they will be foundational.  All of our questions have been answered. 

It’s quite exhilarating to the redeemed to see that man’s latest discoveries in the various sciences, and academia as a whole, consistently confirm the inerrancy of Holy Writ, holy writings penned thousands of years ago, wisdom that only the maker of life could know.  Welcome to GodSaidManSaid; this is feature article 603 that once again proves that the Bible was written by holy men of God whose writings were dictated by the Creator of all.  All features are archived in text and streaming audio on this site, and every Thursday evening, they grow by one.  May the face of our God shine upon you with Light and Truth. 

Much of today’s Christianity is not the Christianity of the Bible, the Christianity that frees man’s soul.  Man is interested in the smiley-face bumper sticker that says “Smile, God Loves You.”  That, of course, is true if you understand God’s love.  John 3:16:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

God’s love is Christ, whose blood paid the price for our sins, and is found in His hand extended.  Reject that hand, and damnation is the result.  Mark 16:15-16:

15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

God loved man in the days of Noah, but only eight humans were on the ark, and millions, if not billions, who rejected the preaching of Noah were destroyed by the flood.  Jesus said in Matthew 24:37:

But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Take no confidence in numbers. 

A year or two ago, a brother in Christ called with a question.  He was teaching Bible study at the church he attended, and his pastor said that in the future, he should no longer reference the devil, hell, sin, or judgment, but should focus on God’s love. 

Two common doctrines parade around in the Christian ranks.  The are dressed up in Jesus clothes, but are colossal errors.  One doctrine says that God is the God of tolerance, the “big tent” God, when in fact, God has zero tolerance.  John 14:6:

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Does that sound like tolerance?  God is truth.  Two plus two equals four, and 3.99 won’t do, no matter how cleverly it is presented.  Truth knows no opinion.  God is truth and zero tolerance is the very nature of truth. 

A second dominant doctrine is the doctrine of unconditional love, of which there is none.  God’s love will forgive sin, but His love has conditions: we must depart from sin.  II Timothy 2:19:

Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

I John 2:4-5:

4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

Matthew 24:13:

But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

God’s love is conditional.  These doctrines sound good, but are truly Satanic deceptions.  Romans 16:17-18:

17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.

18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

My friend’s pastor was caught up in today’s doctrine of tolerance and unconditional love, and the devil, sin, judgment, and hell were no longer part of the formula. 

Heaven and hell are central to salvation.  You can’t have one in this earthly experience without the other.  Keep in mind that in the Garden of Eden, in the midst of the garden, were two trees: one eternal life, one eternal damnation.  Hebrews 10:31:

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

The Word of God is abundantly clear and aggressively teaches the terrors of an eternal hell, as well as contrasting the glories of an eternal heaven.  In Deuteronomy, chapter 28’s 68 verses, Moses speaks of blessings and cursings.  The first 14 verses address the blessings of the righteous; the remaining 54 verses speak of the cursings of the disobedient.  Hell and judgment are central to the plan of salvation.  Those who reject the teaching of the devil, hell, and damnation are only walking on one Gospel leg. 

Isn’t it beautiful to see today’s science confirming the inerrancy of the Word of God with such an ever-increasing frequency?  New research says yes, absolutely yes, to the teaching of hell.  The June 20, 2012 headline in The Daily Mail Reporter reads, “Hell beats heaven as divine law enforcer as fear of eternal damnation keeps crime rates down.”  A bullet point in the report reads: 

Welcome to Hell: The University of Oregon study suggests a real link between populations who believe this is real, and the crime rate. 

Religions are thought to serve as protection against unethical behavior, but when it comes to committing crimes, specific religious beliefs are a deciding factor. 

Researchers from the University of Oregon based their findings on 26 years of data involving 143,197 people in 67 countries. 

The researchers point out there is a growing body of evidence suggesting supernatural punishment emerged as an effective cultural innovation to get people to act more ethically toward each other. 

In 2003, Harvard University researchers found gross domestic product is higher in developed countries when people believe more in hell than heaven.  [End of quote]

In the research article The Daily Mail is referring to, titled “Divergent Effects of Beliefs in Heaven and Hell on National Crime Rates, the researchers themselves published the following:

This pattern of results is consistent with theories highlighting the effectiveness of supernatural punishment—specifically—at regulating moral behavior and, as a result, group cooperation.  These theories argue that human punishment is a highly effective deterrent to anti-social behavior within groups, but one that faces inevitable limitations of scale.  Human monitors cannot see all transgressions, human judgers cannot adjudicate with perfect precision, and human punishers are neither able to apprehend every transgressor, nor escape the potential dangers of retribution.  Divine punishment, on the other hand, has emerged as a cultural tool to overcome a number of those limitations.  Unlike humans, divine punishers can be omniscient, omnipotent, infallible, and untouchable—and therefore able to effectively deter transgressors who may, for whatever reason, be undeterred by earthly policing systems. 

Supernatural benevolence, however, is not theorized to be similarly effective at stabilizing cooperation within groups.  Moreover, the evidence thus far suggests that though the more “positive” religious attributes may provide their own benefits, such as better self-esteem or health coping, their role in encouraging moral behavior may be, at best, minimal and, at worst, negative. 

The strength of these effects is made clear by examining crime rates as a function of the degree to which a greater percent of people in a nation believe in heaven than in hell.  Rates of belief in heaven are virtually always higher than rates of belief in hell; however, as the degree of that discrepancy increases (from roughly equal proportions of the population believing in the two concepts, to up to 40% more believing in heaven than in hell), so too do crime rates. 

The present findings tie rates of belief at the societal level to national crime rates; the direct causal explanation for this effect is that individuals who believe in heaven and not hell take punishment less seriously and are thus more likely to commit crimes. 

Though little research in economic and social policy concentrates on religion, economists have observed that hell beliefs may positively impact the economic growth of developing nations.  It is quite possible that the present findings, which tie belief in hell to lower levels of anti-social behavior, may serve as one of the key explanatory mechanisms underlying this economic trend. [End of quote]

The Word of God is true and righteous altogether.  Its counsel is perfect and its balance beyond reproach.  Those who disregard it do it to their own hurt.

GOD SAID, Mark 9:43-48:

43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:

44 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:

46 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:

48 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

GOD SAID, Luke 16:22-24:

22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

GOD SAID, Revelation 20:12-15:

12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

GOD SAID, Romans 11:21-22:

21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.

22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

MAN SAID:  There is no hell to shun or heaven to gain.  If it feels good, do it.  There’s no judgment day or eternal punishment. 

Now you have THE RECORD.

 

 

References:

Authorized King James Version

“Hell beats heaven as divine law enforcer as fear of eternal damnation keeps crime rates down,” Daily Mail, June 20, 2012

Rhemtulla, M. and Shariff A., “Divergent Effects of Beliefs in Heaven and Hell on National Crime Rates,” University of Oregon, June 18, 2012

 

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