C
Many people never pray until times get hard for them, and they know that only The Lord can bring them comfort.
And I don't care how many Christians deny it...the fear of eternal damnation is largely instrumental in helping them to keep their faith.
If in this world, God uses (Note: I stated "uses" not "causes") pain, suffering, and fear as a means of keeping us obedient; what tools do you think He will use to keep us in check after this world is gone, and we live in the new one?
I am assuming, since God doesn't want robots, that even in the new world we will still have a degree of free will.
But...
If in the new world, sin is gone, and everyone chooses to follow God of their own free will...can it still be considered "free will"?
In this new world God will have the exact thing people say He supposedly DOESN'T want: everyone following without question, people praying 24/7, never straying from the righteous path. Never saying or doing anything unrelated to the devotion to our God.
Sounds like robots to me. I could be content with that, and I imagine others can as well.
But can God?
If proof of your our and faith in God is tested through our obedience and devotion to Him in the face of fear and trials; what will be the proof of our love when all of those things are gone, and we follow blindly because we have no other choice?
And I don't care how many Christians deny it...the fear of eternal damnation is largely instrumental in helping them to keep their faith.
If in this world, God uses (Note: I stated "uses" not "causes") pain, suffering, and fear as a means of keeping us obedient; what tools do you think He will use to keep us in check after this world is gone, and we live in the new one?
I am assuming, since God doesn't want robots, that even in the new world we will still have a degree of free will.
But...
If in the new world, sin is gone, and everyone chooses to follow God of their own free will...can it still be considered "free will"?
In this new world God will have the exact thing people say He supposedly DOESN'T want: everyone following without question, people praying 24/7, never straying from the righteous path. Never saying or doing anything unrelated to the devotion to our God.
Sounds like robots to me. I could be content with that, and I imagine others can as well.
But can God?
If proof of your our and faith in God is tested through our obedience and devotion to Him in the face of fear and trials; what will be the proof of our love when all of those things are gone, and we follow blindly because we have no other choice?