Why Christianity is Fundamentally Flawed

[mrstickball]

IIIIITHE1IIIII said:

mrstickball said:
You may want to study the Bible before stating flaws that do not exist.

You argue that free will really has no play in scenario 1, because external situations influenced a person's decision. Yet, the reality is that God knows the heart of the child, regardless of his upbringing and how his will was or was not involved in a decision.

Romans 9:

14 What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15 For he says to Moses,
“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
16 It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.

Therefore, God knows the true intentions of the child, and makes the value judgment, not you nor I. So what is the power of telling a person about Jesus? The goal is to allow everyone to make a decision, one way or another, if they would accept a relationship with Jesus. So that their free will is expressed at some point. What if its never expressed? Then the argument defaults back on Romans 9 and countless other verses that shows us that God is the ultimate judge of a persons' life and lifestyle, and no one else.

I take it you believe that "Result 2" is how God deals with the situation. The person's free will/"true intentions" is what really matters. In this, you admit that religious practicing is a pointless act. You can pray all you want and go to church as much as you'd like, but it would not matter as long as you are "evil at heart", so to say.

" So what is the power of telling a person about Jesus? The goal is to allow everyone to make a decision, one way or another, if they would accept a relationship with Jesus. So that their free will is expressed at some point."

I guess this is your argument for why religious practicing and spreading your one true belief is a good thing? It doesn't really disprove the flaws that I mentioned in the last two paragraphs in the OP: If converting others (including your offspring) increases their chances of entering heaven, that means those that you choose not to teach about your beliefs will have an unfair disadvantage. If converting others will not affect their chances of entering heaven, then why bother converting them in the first place?

You're forgetting the part where in option 2 he could have rejected God. Salvation isn't up to good works, its up to a relationship with Jesus. If a person has no knowledge of Jesus, its entirely up to God's mercy. Therefore, a relationship with Jesus Christ is assurance of what will happen. Without Jesus, there is no guarentee - that is why its so critical to tell people about Jesus.

Outside of that, why be religious? The goal of a proper relationship with Jesus is a far more beneficial life than without Him. A relationship with Jesus doesn't mean you'll have a perfect life, but one far more beneficial than without God. The Bible contains many promises about what one may benefit from God in this world - love, joy, peace, patience, and other virtues. Yes, those can be attained without God, but with God they come into something far greater than what one may know of outside of a relationship with Jesus.