| I don't agree with everything in the bible. I have done some research, which includes long talks with lots of priests of various denominations and laymen of various denominations. I personally feel hell is a very empty place.
My reasoning is simple. A perfectly good being could not eternally condemn anyone. Such a being will not force salvation on anyone however. So, those in hell are those that will not accept God. Those that reject God, like Lucifer, and will not take back that rejection. I believe that Lucifer could return anytime by sincerely saying, "sorry man" and that would be that. The reason that he is in hell is that he will not say that, ever. I'd suppose that there would be a few humans humans that jaded/deluded/prideful/etc.
Why is God not a b@$tard for making people that way? It goes back to my take on free will. I assume that free will is the ultimate good. This means that God must include it in his plans since God is ultimately good. Free will is not possible if God creates us with full fore-knowledge, as that means the way he makes us determines our choices. God is all powerful, and as such, could limit foreknowledge to the minimum necessary when creating people. This enables our free will as at the time of creation, God would not know everything about how we would choose.
A lot of people don't like my arguments along these lines, that's fine though. If you see errors of logic, feel free to point them out, I will try to exlpain in better detail if I have addressed your concern, otherwise I will revamp and try again. I analyze everything, it's my nature. My faith is no exception, to refuse to analyze it seems to me to be a denial of a personal responsibility. To non-Christians (and other Christians), please don't take offense. I consider your beliefs perfectly valid, I just choose to hold my own. |
