Replies

I find the Bible has a serious contradiction. On the one hand it reports that God is infinite in His love and mercy. On the other hand it reports that I, along with billions and billions of others, will be tortured with fire forever and ever without end. In my case, I will be tortured (supposedly) because I studied the evidence carefully (I have a four year degree in Biblical Studies), and have decided that the evidence is insufficient. That’s my crime. It’s like asking a jury to weigh the evidence, then punish them if they make a mistake. Not just punish them, but torture them without end. How does that square with love and mercy?

If you are open to advice, if I were you I would make it my life's overarching, compelling imperative to reexamine the evidence, in case, perchance, your conclusion is incorrect.

The reason I suggest this is because many others (myself icluded) have also diligently studied the Bible, and have come to the opposite conclusion.

Now, those who come to a different conclusion as yourself may be right, and they may be wrong. But as you yourself have stated, the stakes are very high.

I am curious as to what kind of universe do you think you are living in? One created by a loving God, or the result of blind, impersonal chance. If the latter is correct, then nothing much matters, does it? As Dostoevski famously noted: "If there is no God, then everything is permitted." I.e., to speak of "injustice" in a universe without a Righteous and Just Judge is meaningless. Evolution is a cruel and heartless Master, and knows nothing of "justice".

Thus the question presents itself: on what basis do you speak of God as being "unjust"? None of us can pretend to know what God's judgment will be regarding each of us, but I am confident that His Judgment will be just, and on that Day every mouth will be shut:

"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse." Romans 1:19-21 .

I am curious as to what kind of universe do you think you are living in? One created by a loving God, or the result of blind, impersonal chance.

False choice. I may choose to believe that we live in a world created by a supreme being, just that it might be slightly more than 6,000 years old. How do you explain billions of years of stellar processes to an illiterate goat herder. How can a person, who has probably never traveled few miles from home, know if the Himalayan mountains were covered in water when he doesn't even know they exist. And those are the people you would need to hold the tradition until writing got invented. I just happen to be a bit more open to errors in transmission during the thousands of years when Genesis was an oral tradition.

“I am curious as to what kind of universe do you think you are living in? One created by a loving God, or the result of blind, impersonal chance.”

I admit that’s a hard one. Forty years ago I was a Darwinist. Then I was a anti-darwinist Christian for 30 years, a minister for many of those. I certainly don’t claim to know all the answers, and I still have grave doubts about Darwinism. Perhaps I’m a Jeffersonian deist. I’m not quite sure. In any case, I do see evidence of a benevolent, intelligent Creator.

Re: justice, see my remarks to the other poster, just above.