I am about to ask a serious but utterly reprehensible question

[robvalue]

Belief is not a choice. And you just said I wouldn't be punished for not believing. But I will, because of the reason I stated. It's an inevitable conclusion.

Anyhow, I could never love something that is ordering me to love it "or else". That is a monster.

Well..... an observation, questions and a hypothetical @ you.

Okay sure, but you didn't answer my question. How can you love something you don't think is real?

You say there isn't a god.

I said I don't believe in god. Under certain definitions of God, I will say there is no god, yes. It's an extremely vague term. The biblical god? Yes, I believe that is almost certainly fictional. It's a story like any other. Just one lots of people think is magically real somehow.

If you don't believe in God, why do you call Him a monster? Because of what others tell you about God? Or because you know that for a fact?

It was a hypothetical. If such a thing exists, and it was as you described, it would be a monster. You said his rule is that I have to love him, and if I don't, I'm going to face consequences. That to me is clearly a monstrous being. Was this not what you were saying?

Do you Love Life? Do you Love your fellow man? Do you consider yourself honest, caring loving person? Would you stop to help someone you know is in trouble, or help them in some way? These are just generalizations.

Love life? That's vague. I don't especially enjoy life since I'm extremely depressed. But I still value all life extremely highly. To all the other questions, yes. I consider myself a good and caring person. It's very important to me. Looking after other humans and animals is my number one priority in life.

What "IF" answering [yes] to all of these questions meant you were doing God's will, and in His good graces. Can you accept that as a possibility? And IF not, why?

I have no idea what this has to do with God. He wants me to be nice? Well, we have no problem there. If he wants me to be nice, I'm going to do that anyway. I'm not doing it because he's telling me to, though. If he told me not to be nice, I'd still be nice regardless.

If I'm in his good graces for being a nice person, then I'd say he is a very reasonable being, yes. If however he throws all that aside because I can't love him due to not believing he is real, then he's a monster again. Love is not demanded, it is earned. And step one would be him turning up to interact with me, and then hoping I would love him. That would be somewhat sensible.

If "loving god" is just another way of saying "being nice", then sure, I "love god", but it doesn't actually mean I literally love him. It would be like you loving Luke Skywalker or something, and me saying you're doing "his will". It doesn't make sense.