Mr. atheist since I used to be you, you'll disagree with that too. The answer is simply free will, yes its truly that simple, many times I read adam and eve story and it seemed foolish the only fool was me! any other way would have been impossible for there to be love, I guess we could have been made to be like robots and made to love god with no brain, but the computer im typing on I certainly do not love it. I like it, I can live without it if needs be. would you have wanted to be made like a robot? ok i do this!!!!! of course not, I posed the question Did god set adam and eve up for failure, yeah that was part of the love, no failure no choice, it was inevitable they would disobey, then I look I deeply looked at who the devil is, his questions, the same questions that decieve today, the very first thing the devil planted was doubt! DID God really say, then the tree of life, how could god take it away, well since you pose the question why do these things happen, if adam and eve eat of the tree of life, these things happen forever, poverty, broken hearted, was , disease, and the prison your in! so what does go do, sends his son the one who every story in the old test pointed to, the redeemer, now what does this redeemer say in his 4 gospels, all these things will come, war, pest, dis, etc. no matter what happens in your life believe in me, do this and then you will eat from the tree of life. where there is none of that. here is the truth it takes a lot more faith to believe in evolution, big bang, no god. whatever. I look at the evolutionist and what he really thinks about me, can he respect the fact that I came from a monkey. he must think theres no purpose to my life. obviously. wait a minute im a relative of the mosquito, maggot, tadpole, so this is what you really think about us mr. evolution. not to mention flea, sperm whale, and everything between.thank you think so highly of us. foolishness isnt it? so if you read the book on evolution, big bang, and mere probability, and the quran, buddha and the bible and have come to these conclusions, then so be it, it's your choice where you want to spend eternity, but if you haven't tell me, WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO BE SO PRESUMPTIOUS.
To all your questions: God is loving. He created us with the ability to choose good or evil because he wanted us to choose him freely. But creating us with that ability to choose means nothing if there is nothing to choose between. And when we chose (as a race) the evil over the good, HE HIMSELF became for us the answer to our need. He took our weaknesses and failings and became human so that he could CORRECT the bad choices we had made. Why call Him God? I usually don't -- I call Him Father. I have prayed and will pray for you that the anger you hold toward Him and the pain your past bad experiences with so-called "Christians" will not hold you back any longer from finding the joy and peace of knowing a loving, eternal father who gave his own SELF to hold you in his arms!
JESUS ... crucified by His own will, RISEN FROM THE DEAD TO CONQUER DEATH, and COMING AGAIN WHEN EVERY KNEE WILL BOW AND ADMIT THAT HE IS LORD!
-- Edited by wordworker on Sunday 3rd of May 2009 05:09:42 PM
__________________
"I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to His holy people." Jude 3 Joyce
