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sailor · 11-24-2003, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by johnnymysto
EleqTrizi't, I'll give it a shot.

The requirement is not that you believe in God. A lot of people believe in God, and have no interest in Christianity or going to Heaven. God's "requirement" (His desire, really), is that you believe that Jesus has paid the only thing that can be paid to forgive you of your rebellion against God. Jesus said the greatest commandment was to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind (Matt. 22:37). So, God wants your love. He wants you to love Him like He loves you. As the one who created you, this seems like a normal request. He's not going to make you do this, but it's what He would like.

Now, as far as you being more forgiving than God, we have to consider the parameters of God's forgiveness. Let's establish that we have all let God down at some point. We have broken a law at some time that God has set in place. When you break a law, even in real life, there must be punishment for it. That is how justice works. So, if God is going to be just and fair to us all, we have to be punished if we break the law. However, in an attempt to show His love and keep us all from being damned, He instead punished Jesus - one supreme, ultimate punishment. Now, all we have to do to avoid receiving the sentence for our crimes is to believe that Jesus has already received it. If you truly believe this, you will realize that love that God showed us, and the love that Jesus must have had for us in order to do that. Then, the worship of God naturally follows.

I hope this has helped. I'm not a theology student, and there are probably some big logical leaps in my explanation. But, I hope this can provide the basis for further discussion.

Good answer. You took the words right out of my mouth.