A few things to ponder:
1. Is God playing favoritism with the Bible’s notion of a ‘chosen people’? Or is it simply because Yahweh was an ancient Hebrew god?
.
2. If A has a child who, out of ignorance or for spiteful reasons, does not recognize or acknowledge A as his parent. Would A want the child to die, or worse, suffer eternally because of it? Most people would still love the child, no matter what. Could God be any worse than a human parent?
.
3. If A owes me money, someone else can pay on A’s behalf and I’m made whole. But if A punched me in the face, I will never accept it if B offers to let me punch him in return. Why would God think it is justice to punish someone as payment for someone else’s transgressions?
.
4. But our sins must be paid for, one way or the other; according to the Bible, but God so loves us…. Then why can’t God simply forgive our sins, the same way we are told to forgive others? Moreover, God being omniscient surely understands most of our sins are the direct result of being human, not because of a motive to harm others. Could it be the charges against us are trumped up and actually sound more like the scare tactics commonly used by organized religions?
.
5. Regardless, we are all sinners and destined to die; not to mention the fact that we are born sinners thanks to Adam and Eve. Given such a grim reality, why would God allow the human race to perpetuate? God can put an end to it all and perhaps start over. Instead, the Bible says God is content to let more born sinners loose on earth and to give them a savior.
But men had lived for millennia in places like China before Jesus even appeared on the scene. Sadly, these people are all eternally damned without a savior, along with untold numbers of others who for some reason either did not receive the message or made the wrong choice.
.
6. If knowing and accepting such a plan of a savior is so important it means life or death for every human being, you can bet God will leave nothing to chance and will make that knowledge an innate part of our being. Just like migrating birds know exactly what to do and how to navigate, or how lowly animals know to save a kill to bring back to their young even against their own survival instinct.
.
7. The Bible also says children are a gift from God. That is all good and well. But does anyone remember being asked whether they want to be born as a sinner, to be given as a gift? Since we are not inanimate objects like a box of chocolate, does this gifting event sound right without our prior consent?
.
Some people like to say God’s way is higher than our ways and that it is not for us to understand everything. Fine, but if God is not in a position to provide answers to our questions concerning the need for a savior, then it is safe to say God did not ask us to make any life or death choice regarding such savior.
Good luck with that!
More things to ponder:
1. Born of a man and a woman = Born sinner already condemned to burn eternally in Hell
Born of a woman alone (however it defies all natural laws known to man and requires man to put aside all God-given intellect to accept) = Savior absolutely sinless and beyond reproach
It boggles the mind how God continues to give out the first type as gifts to man and man considers them blessings.
.
2. Some people apparently relish the ancient fable in the OT about a woman and a snake (#703, #707). Perhaps they may want to temper their scorn of the woman a bit considering that:
At least half of all Christians today (Catholics) honor a woman as the Mother of God, essentially putting a woman above God.
If you want proof modern Christianity has little to do with the Almighty, there you have it.
.
3. As evidenced in this thread alone, people are so enamored with John 3:16 they seem to enjoy the sound of the verse swirling in their head without thinking much. Let’s look closer:
* “For God so loved the world,”
Obviously not so much that he is willing to forgive with no strings attached all human beings, his children, that dwell therein.
* “that he gave his only begotten Son,”
Every human being is a precious child of God. Period. Anyone who denies that is the true unbeliever.
* “that whosoever believeth in him”
By ‘him’, does it mean the ancient Hebrew god Yahweh (Jehovah) that later morphed into the NT god that morphed once again into Jesus? No, thanks.
* “should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Who condemned the world to perish in the first place? And for what grievous crimes that fit the sentence?
Some will say man had chosen death since the time of Adam and Eve. If so, God should stop gifting man with children anymore, and should have done so right after man made that choice. As I mentioned earlier in #610, I don’t recall ever asking to be born into the world. Does anyone?
Organized religion is nothing without aggrandized rhetoric and catch phrases, because they always work, apparently.