So... Our knowledge, curiousity, self-awareness, and all those other things that make humans tinker? I guess being naive and lacking knowledge is fine, maybe someone stupid will eat the apple again
Of course there isnt free will! If people did what they wanted to, no one would follow a dictatorship religion. A question for religion. If all our purpose in life is to spread religion, die, then go to heaven and worship god forever, then why the hell do we exist? Why do we exist if we are supposed to follow a predetermined path of slavery?
The problem with evaluating heaven like this is we are using the world's standards. Heaven is literally completely unimaginable. It will not be a dictatorship, or a boring church-y place you're stuck in for eternity. It will be out-of-this world amazing, and indescribable. Hell, on the other hand, is going to be unimaginably terrible, painful, and awful for eternity. I would much rather follow God to try to attain Heaven, and if I'm wrong and God is not real, what have I lost? But if I am right, and there is a God, choosing the other path would have terrible consequences.
This is not our purpose in life. Everyone's purpose is different. God knows the past, present, and future, and is in all those times right now (trippy). Therefore, He does know what is best for us, and we as Christians strive to follow His plan, but in the end it is up to us whether we will live for Him or ignoring Him. Some people are called to lead others to faith, others are called to service, discipleship, preaching, apologetics, evangelism, or just living God centered lives. As to your first point, there is most definitely free will. I have chosen to follow and love God, no one forced me. The way you become a Christian is by choosing to follow God.
Your argument is invalid because you are only pursuing one god. If you really wanted to truly live by that argument, you would have to pursue the gods of every religion that has some form of punishment for not believing. Then you would have all grounds covered.
It comes off as a USSR choice to some of us. You get two options. A "pro" (determined by the USSR (or god in this analogy)), and a con (not choosing the first choice).
But, having read the Bible, and believing that it is historically accurate, I have easily decided that my faith is based upon the Bible and Jesus Christ, not upon the Koran, or the Bible + the book of Mormon, or Budda's teachings, or any other religion. Also, if I followed all the religions, that I would most certainly be not following Christianity, as one of the Ten Commandments is to not follow any other God.
Did you even look at what i linked?... I also happened to study that subject in a history class of mine, and know that that page is accurate.
For me personally, the subject of "Hell" has been problematic. The point of Jesus coming to earth was for us to get be able to go and live with God again. Why would he subject disobedient children to pain and damnation? What about people who didn't get a chance to learn the true faith? What about people who were raised strictly in one way? What about people who are genuinely good people but they chose the wrong faith? Those are a couple questions that have really bothered me. God thinks of us as his children, so why would he sentence them to that kind of torment? We were given Agency for a reason, and I'm not saying people won't face consequences for decisions they make, but to the extent that you will live in torture? That's not what God is about. My belief is that though it won't be glorious, the only "torture" you'll submit is the complete and total recollection of your sins. That alone will be enough to make some people wish they had lived differently. Earlier on this thread I was asked what Mormons thought of the South Park episode. I've been asked DOZENS of times if that is what we really believe. Even though I've explained my religion to the people who asked, because of that episode some remained completely ignorant and said "You're wrong" as if South Park has some sort of reputable history. TV shows can ruin someones entire perspective for a religion for completely wrong reasons, and it's not completely the person watching's fault. I'm not saying that I know what it will be like at all, but I don't see the general portrayal of Hell as remotely accurate, and that is based on my religion / personal views.
I asked my friend who is much deeper into it than I currently am these exact questions a couple years ago. He said that (not sure how it's worded in the bible) the blind, deaf, and dumb are automatically saved. I also asked him a question along the lines of "What if someone is born blind and deaf and CAN'T ever be exposed to Jesus, or babies who are to young to understand anything." The requirement of heaven for those who truly believe is reserved for those of us who have been exposed to the truth of it all and then make a conscious decision to either believe in Jesus or reject him.
I agree with that, but I'm not really sure about the dumb/mute part since they can still hear and see his word. I do believe people with disabilities prohibiting them from learning or being capable of understanding His message/word are exempt from final "Judgement." I'm not going to try understanding the exact qualifications for Heaven. I don't think we COULD fully understand, and with that I don't think we can fully understand the qualifications for Hell.
When it said the "blind/deaf" part I don't think it means LITERALLY only. Like, if you've never SEEN the word, you're technically blind to it's existence and if you're deaf to it, you've never heard it.
