How can a Christian reject part of the Bible and still call themselves a Christian?

[Sword of Christ]

Oh, how lucky, we have the two billionth Christian out of two billion Christians who knows what the real interpretation of the Bible is supposed to be.

All educated Christians know this you can read any book about it. Atheists have a stereotypical/distorted view of it and many of their arguments are against that version of Christianity.

How can it be free will if any exercise of that will results in eternal punishment?

No-one is getting punished eternally, what happens is sin separates you from God which can result in a state of spiritual torment which will continue after you die. I'm sure everyone will still be able to accept God love\grace even after they die seeing as life continues after the grave but you can do the same thing before that point which is more ideal.

Why did God design our free will so that virtually any expression of it is evil? Doesn't that sound like a rigged game to you?

Some expressions of it are good and some are evil/harmful.

To put it another way, Christians wouldn't be able to enjoy salvation if there weren't a bunch of people burning in hell.

No-one is literally burning anywhere, there is going to be some torment/damnation for those beings who have a attained full separation from God but they don't want anything to do with God.

How can you say there's no compulsion involved when God offers rewards for getting on the bandwagon and punishes anyone who doesn't?

He rewards everyone with the fullness of an eternal life in a relationship of love with him and with a community of beings. Or you can reject the offer and what you end up with is death, though your conscious existence will continue in some form. God can't force anyone to receive the reward but you don't have to do anything specifically to earn it you just have to either accept it and be transformed by it or you don't. Seeing as we have freewill the option is there to tell God to fuck off with his grace.

Suffering seems so much more pointless when it exists only to satisfy God's desire to see people suffer.

God doesn't desire anyone to suffer but he wants to give us the opportunity of life and advantages of that.

How fucking selfish, not just of Christians for actually believing they are the center of the universe, but of God demanding more out of us than he is willing to give to us.

The good thing you will like to know is God in the Christian sense isn't demanding anything of you instead he is offering you something. In Islam and what have you God does make demands and you have to put on a good performance to earn paradise yourself. In Christianity God says "You are forgiven here you go" and that's your grace there. This is by far the best deal on the table.

I would prefer that nobody suffered. I don't need people dying in agony just so I can appreciate not dying in agony myself.

You will suffer and die yourself but you also have the opportunity to do some genuine good and experience the incredible universe God has created here, and this can be a fully worthwhile part of your eternal life.



Change this to.

You have been saved by Gods grace now stop worrying and enjoy your life. Make sure you work to enable others enjoy their life as well.

And that is Christianity, much better than your bog standard atheism.