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Hey, Mark:
~~"Do you want the web sight?"~~
Sure. I've never read the Divine Comedy, though I've been meaning to do so, one of these decades.
~~"Either this is an extremely difficult subject on which I don't know much, or I've lost my ability to argue effectively with you people."~~
It just sounds like you've changed your opinions on a lot of stuff recently and you're coming to grips with it, is all... it takes a long time to fully flesh out your opinions in verbal format.
~~"Almost everybody will be given the opportunity to at least hear the word of God. Those who don't hear will not be held accountable for their non-faith."~~
But why can't one be good and pure regardless of creed? Why should an omnipotent being care what name we call him, or in what form we hold Creation in reverance?
~~"Once you are called into heaven, you will then be made perfect as you are deserving of this gift. Then heaven will be perfect. It would be hard to make somebody perfect if they're not even really interested in learning how to "walk in the way of Christ". You can't help an alcoholic, for example, who loves liquor more than he/she wants to be helped."~~
If an omnipotent God wanted to make someone perfect, all he'd have to do is snap his figurative fingers. It's not a matter of a human convincing another human to quit drinking; that required convincing and cooperation. To remove ALL of someone's imperfections is not a matter of cooperation, it's a matter of fundamentally changing who they are. You could make the argument that only those who are willing to be changed deserve the reward, but again, God created the Unwilling.
Why remove our imperfections anyway? Why remove our humanity as a reward? Why give us this wonderful gift of life, free-will, and humanity in this world, and then snatch it back upon our deaths because it's not pure enough? (or, as the Architect would say, "Less in tune with the parameters of perfection") Is God the ultimate de-gifter? :) For all the fuss religious types make about how incredible the gift of free will and life is, they seem pretty eager to throw it all away. Just my editorializing, of course. :)
~~"People that are truly good inside are sinners too, but they're not so deeply rooted in badness (and money/power can do that to people) that they no longer even know how to be good. Those are the bad hearted people."~~
What makes people bad? Is it the initial condition of their makeup (in which case it's God's fault for making them that way) or is it the fault of their environment for not teaching them morality (in which case it's God's fault for making the world such an arbitrary, amoral place.) If God is indeed completely omnipotent, then everything is his fault, directly or indirectly, including those unfortunates burning in the Pit of Sulfur. |
