The title sounds dumb I know, but hear me out.
For the sake of argument, let's just say that god does in fact exist. Being an atheist, I would therefore be condemned to suffer an eternity of torment in hell. But...
Why? I am a good person. I'm not a criminal and I've never done drugs. On any normal day, I will go out of my way to help someone if they ask. Sometimes they don't even need to; I'll just offer my help. So if god is just sitting up there watching all this, why would he send me to hell? Because I don't believe? It was him after all who gave me the ability to not believe. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't, because I find the idea of an omnipotent creator absurd and illogical. If he truly did love me, as the bible says he claims to do, then surely he would be able to overlook the transgression of a difference of opinion when I am an overall good person.
Anyone else share the same theory, or have something to counter with?
I haven't read yet any of the responses you've gotten so far, but here is my view on the matter and one which should give you hope.
I am talking to you strictly on biblical terms of which all of it has to do with an existing deity, that would be the creator God.
Apart from that, anything can be imagined.
The very fact of our existence, the fact that we are as gods, meaning having the ability to reason, makes us above the animal kingdom in intelligence and special created beings.
That favor was bestowed on us first at our loss, but then restored for our benefit and the loss of one, the Son of God, verses the loss of many.
The whole biblical narrative of the existence of God and mankind deal with just that issue.
If one chose not to believe in God and the what is written of Him in the bible, then there only remains whatever one can imagine the reasons for life to be, and that without hope.
Having set up the stage, I can now give you a synopsis of the dealing between God and mankind.
The term ... "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:"...is the desire of God. Don't let the "let us" words throw you off, as though there were more than one God. That can be explained later.
But for the moment we want to concentrate on these words "in our image, after our likeness:".
That right there is the reason for our being created.
The problem with that was that if we are created in His likeness and His image, we actually become as gods, lower case g, with powers only to make intelligent decisions.
That created a problem between the only one God and the many gods as far as supreme authority was concerned.
The one God (Creater of all there is) is the supreme creator can not co-exist with other gods unless one of them be extinguished.
Guess who had to die? Us!
Restoration for (us) therefore, was in the mix from the very get go.
And that is what the whole existence of the bible explains.
The "restore-er" is none but the Son of God.
Son of God verses the sons of God taking the death penalty is the restoration of mankind from the dead.
I don't expect that this simple explanation give you a complete understanding of who or what God is and how He relates to us, but as like a seed planted.
If the seed planted takes on good ground, it will prosper, but if it falls on hard soil, the chances of survival are slim.
Such is the information concerning the workings of God written in print, and that is so that the seed of His spirit be planted on good soil (soil in this case meaning us, as in our willingness to look into the existence and workings of God in our lives) that being so...His spirit would grow us into mature believers.
As a mature believer, I have come to the understanding that Jesus paid the penalty for all of us, that only one soul should become became lost verses the many. (All of us)
What does that mean? Well, it means that you as an unbeliever have been given the right to life via Gods restoration process, believe it or not.
Your choice, should you decide, is a matter of believing or not in God.
Let me just say in closing, that the world as a whole was conceived in darkness. (Meaning without knowledge of the existence of God).
Until the spirit of light (God) came over the waters (people) and divided the waters (People) between two places, heaven and earth.
That was the first creation, the physical.
The second and lasting creation was in the spiritual which had to do with our restoration via Jesus Christ.
In Christ we can be born again as new creatures, not of this world but of the next.
That my friend is the hope I want to give you to look into.
God is not a respecter of persons, but rather looks at the heart of which it is, and if you have a good heart, as you claim to have, then God is strongly looking at you in favor.
May you have a prosperous spiritual quest in finding that peace and hope that you seek, evidenced by the very question you posted in this thread.
Blessings, AJ
