(October 29, 2023 at 6:31 am)h4ym4n Wrote:(October 28, 2023 at 4:52 pm)Barry Wrote: Good question Ahriman. God created humankind for a reason. God didn’t just create us as a huge experiment and then ignore us. Humankind started sinning, thinking they didn’t need God. They thought they knew better. Sinning is doing what we, in our hearts, know is against God”s will. God became man, in Jesus Christ, and came to us to teach us how to live. Jesus gave us the “Greatest Commandment” i.e. “Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength”. He added “and love your neighbour as yourself”.
God also gave us free will. So, yes, God doesn’t interfere with your decision-making”. But God gave you life and made you in “his own image and likeness”. A spiritual being with a human soul.
You don’t have to pay any attention to God. Christians believe our souls are eternal and that we go to heaven or hell. Hell is a choice. It’s for people who choose to ignore God in their life. As a Roman Catholic I do not believe one has to be a Christian to go to heaven, but we have to do God’s will. It is written in our hearts.
God gave us the Ten Commandments, the Bible, and the Catholic Church, to help us turn back to him.
90% of baptised Catholics do not attend weekly Mass in Europe and Australia. 80% in USA. They are not really Catholics. The Catholic Church has had a lot of problems, child abuse and the cover up being a terrible example. But it is, nevertheless, the “one, true Church”.
The only way we can live a truly happy life is by loving God and doing his will. That is why we should “pay attention to God”. Money, power, sex, material things never make anyone truly happy. Our secular society is a miserable society.
I am waging my own campaign in the Catholic Church to try to make it an evangelising Church, but my humble efforts fall on deaf ears. Nevertheless it is a gift from God to help us reach true happiness both on earth and eternally.
God is a mystery, but God exists.
God also gave us free will.
When does god actually give this “free will”?
I was forced to be born
I was forced with the parents I have
I was forced to be born in this part of the world
I had my penis mutilated days after birth.
Can I make a choice god didn’t want me to make?
Actually no, you can't, because God doesn't care what you "choose" to do. Life is like a "choose your own adventure" book. There are choices, that seemingly lead to different outcomes, but in the end, it's all scripted.
"Imagination, life is your creation"