Lovely post. You are exactly right - why not spread love and give to others as He wants us to do? Instead we are fighting over so many insignificant trivialities. Thank you for posting!

Wow, there is a HUGE list of addressable issues within this post. Let's see if I can't tackle at least one or two...

As for the "why does bad thing X happen" sorts of questions:
God is all powerful but He also gave us Free Will and one of the symptoms of Free Will, if you would, is the responsibility of dealing with the consequences of those actions. As for world hunger, rape, this that and the other, they all evolved due to human choices.

As for passion, knowledge, and the like: first gain the Kknowledge, then you can cultivate the Wisdom, the Truth of things will feed the Passion ignited by Faith, Wisdom will guide it.

As for tge "unfathomable", while I admit there are things about God and His plan that we will never know and understand, I think the "unfathomable" is overdone in an attempt to retain ignorance and control. God's character can be seen in peole, nature, the Bible, all around you. He is a Just and Compassionate God. As for those things beyond us, they are whsat make Faith possible, and Faith, not necessarily Knowledge, is what the human souls blossoms in.

great post!  I loved reading this and seeing what people have to say in response.  I think the daunting task of answering the difficult questions for non-believers is what scares most Christians away from being more verbal about their faith.

@too_pretty_to_die@xanga - once again, someone is unable to explain why belief matters more to God than action.

Saint James addresses this very point:  "Faith without works is dead."

This indicates that our actions are as important as our faith.

@LoBornlite@xanga - clearly not, if a non-Christian--regardless of how he lived his life--will always be sentenced to Hell.  the only conclusion i can arrive at based on this doctrine is that God judges us based on what we believe in, not what we do. 

@Lady_Kelacy@xanga - so a non-Christian trying to be a good person is somehow faking it?  frankly, the nicest people i've ever met have all been non-Christians.  they deserve Heaven more than most Christians i've met.

@too_pretty_to_die@xanga - frankly, the nicest people i've ever met have all been non-Christians. 

It's this very observation of yours that lays me low.

@LoBornlite@xanga - this is true.  but what does it mean to intentionally choose Hell?  can one consider it to be a choice if the individual doesn't even acknowledge that Hell exists? 

and that wasn't my intention, but it's true.  i associate with very few Christians (or at least, people that most other Christians would consider to be "true" Christians...) for this reason. 

@musterion99@xanga - i never said actions don't matter to God.  but it's pretty obvious that He cares about belief more.  and i have many many issues with this logic.  i don't judge others based on what they believe, nor does our legal system for that matter.  i fail to see the reasoning behind determining a soul's eternal resting place based on whether they held a particular belief.

@too_pretty_to_die@xanga -  i never said actions don't matter to God.  but it's pretty obvious that He cares about belief more.

Well, this has been debated by theologians. The bible says that "faith without works is dead." It's hard to say for sure what he cares about more but I understand what you're saying.

i don't judge others based on what they believe, nor does our legal system for that matter.

If someone says that they believe it's ok to molest children, you don't judge them? I certainly do. Someone that believes that is a pervert and if I had children, I would absolutely judge them and not allow them to be around my children. If you say different, then you are crazy. They would almost certainly have already molested children or will do so in the future if they haven't already. No one that hasn't molested or is looking for the opportunity to molest them, would say it's ok to molest them.

i fail to see the reasoning behind determining a soul's eternal resting place based on whether they held a particular belief.

It's based upon 2 things. 1 - We have sinned against God. 2 - Jesus died for our sins.

That's the only way our sins can be forgiven according to God. If you willingly reject that, then you have made that choice.

@too_pretty_to_die@xanga - but, again, where's the logic?

That's just a matter of perspective. To me, since I believe I have sinned and that Jesus died for my sins, it's logical for me to accept that. I understand that for you it's not logical.

so the question becomes: why is death the equal of salvation, instead of leading a good life?

The biblical answer is that no matter what relative good we do, we still have the problem of our sin. Sin deserves death according to God. Jesus is the only one that has not sinned and the only one that could be the perfect sacrifice. He didn't have to do that. He could have let us die in our sins but loved us enough to pay our penalty for us. I understand that unless you believe you have sinned, this doesn't make sense.

i'm a christian and i still count myself a seeker. i think a lot and i ask a lot of hard questions. here's what i want to know from revelife: why in tarnation do we feel like we have to draw more, more, more lines to separate people into little boxes? haven't we done enough of that already? and what in heavens name is wrong with "seeker-friendly" churches? i don't want other christians to come up to me thumping their bibles and "answering" a world of a question with a couple short sentences, black and white phrasing, and bang! a bible verse. sometimes no one can answer a question for you. some things aren't so easy, and when you reduce them to such a level, i really think that's wrong and you're missing out on entire levels of understanding. you want wisdom? you have to ask for it, you have to seek for it. you have to work for it.

@musterion99@xanga - 

"That's just a matter of perspective. To me,
since I believe I have sinned and that Jesus died for my sins, it's
logical for me to accept that. I understand that for you it's not
logical."

but that makes no sense, either.  by believing, you've already accepted.  you also seem to think i don't believe in sin... but i do.  and i do believe that Jesus died for everyone's sins (regardless of whether they accept it... a true sacrifice would benefit everyone, not just Christians).  but i'm not going to fully commit myself to sponsoring a religion based essentially on blood sacrifice unless i understand why. 

"The biblical answer is that no matter what relative good we do, we still have the problem of our sin."

that really doesn't answer anything.  why is it that no action can erase sin, but a mere acceptance of a belief can? 

"Jesus is the only one that has not sinned and the only one that could be the perfect sacrifice."

but again, why is a sacrifice necessary?  to me, all it does is sanctify human suffering.  and at its very core, it's based on a rather pagan belief that only a sacrifice can appease a god.  as transcendent as the Judeo-Christian deity is, i would assume He is capable of other methods of cleansing one of sin.

"He didn't have to do that. He could have let us die in our sins but loved us enough to pay our penalty for us."

i hear this often, as though i'm supposed to feel so badly for him that i'll worship him out of guilt.  but it's simply not true.  if God is omnipotent, He knew from the start that such a sacrifice would be necessary.  furthermore, if Jesus was truly God in the flesh, then he WAS God and never really had a choice to begin with. 

@musterion99@xanga - 

"That's sounds confusing. Why would  you believe that Jesus died for your sins if you don't know why?"

well, i certainly don't doubt that Jesus existed and died on the cross for a purpose.  but no one has ever fully explained to me said purpose, or why that method was chosen as opposed to some other way of redemption. 

"It's not a mere acceptance of belief. It's
the fact that Jesus died for our sins. That's why we're forgiven, not
merely our belief."

then why is acceptance required?  if the act of Jesus' sacrifice did all the work, then it should apply to any and all, regardless of faith or lack thereof. 

"I can't go into the mind of God and know why that's his will. I'm not God."

but clearly, something about that concept speaks to you... otherwise you wouldn't base your life around it.  so what of those who have no such disposition? 

"But now you're basing that upon your own
limited understanding made from a person that has sin rather than
trusting the almighty God's wisdom in this."

God has never personally spoken to me about such matters.  and i certainly am not going to base my life around anything less.  so far, all i have is man's wisdom of interpreting what is meant to be God's word.  how is that infallible?

"Again, I don't understand why you say you believe that Jesus died for your sins."

because, as far as i'm concerned, the historical Jesus allowed himself to die on the cross for that purpose.  whether i believe that it worked, or was necessary, is irrelevant.

"I agree that Jesus is God but how do you come to the conclusion that he didn't have a choice?"

because the choice has to be offered by someone.  if Jesus is God, who is offering the choice? 

besides that... God is bound by His omnipotence just as much as we are.  if He can foresee that He will do something in the future, He pretty much has to.

Wow! there is a lot to comment on. God leaves us many natural examples of Spiritual truths.  As in marriage.  You have to chose to get married and committ to that.  It's a decision and you can point to the date and time the legal transaction took place, just like in giving your life to Christ.  It is a decision and a vow. It gives you rights as well as responsibilities.  Who would want to marry someone who did not chose them, love them, believe them or trust them?  These things are important to God just like they are important to us. He wants us to chose him but he won't force us.