Domestic abuse victims and Free Will?

[AndrésC64]

God says do what you wish, but make the wrong choice and you will be tortured for eternity in hell. That sir, is not free will. It would be akin to a man telling his girlfriend, do what you wish, but if you choose to leave me, I will track you down and blow your brains out. When a man says this we call him a psychopath and cry out for his imprisonment/execution. When god says the same we call him loving and build churches in his honor.
- William C. Easttom II

[jennifer_bloom]

Two things I can think of is if you change the word God in the bible and replace it with the word justice, view the bible as symbolic and not literal, view the nations as phonetic symbols and algorithms rather than races of people, and view God as forgiving and not as wrathful, than you can forgive yourself and realize worship is meant to elevate and exalt you and not humiliate and degrade you. And worship isn’t guilt tripping, it’s acknowledging God since all who perceive him will worship Him.

[AndrésC64]

But how is the situation I described above any different from the situation with God? In both situations someone is telling someone else "You better do what I say, or you're going to regret it." That is not free will. It would be akin to me holding a gun to your head, telling you to give me your wallet, and then claiming that you had free will.

[jennifer_bloom]

I believe free will isn’t the ability to choose what is bad but the ability to choose what is good. Do you want to donate blood one time or 2 times? Do you want to hug your family one time or ten times? Do you want to spend one hour helping a student or two? That’s free will. The choice do do drugs or sleep around is not freedom, it’s slavery. Which is also what the bible says.

[AndrésC64]

But the fact remains that if I don't choose what God wants me to, then I'm going to be punished (tortured). That is not free will. Just like me holding a gun against your head and you "choosing" to give me your wallet, is not true free will.

[jennifer_bloom]

I believe people are punished for opposing God’s purpose because the bible says if you forgive others your sins will be forgiven. So it’s not character that saves but a willingness to entrust your enemies to God’s justice rather than fighting them yourself.

[AndrésC64]

Again, we are back to "Do what I say or, I'm going to torture you." That is not free will. And for all the talk about forgiveness done in the Bible and by Jesus, I'm still going to be tortured for eternity for nothing more than a thought crime. That's not very forgiving.

[jennifer_bloom]

I do not believe you have to believe in Jesus, I believe you have to trust God since Jesus is the finger of God while the body of God is the entire universe that is good.

[AndrésC64]

Same difference.

[jennifer_bloom]

Trusting in God gives you peace just like water does, God created you for love and not for hate

[menina]

I don't know what the Bible says but I agree with this statement.

[jshm2]

You're being small minded and facetious as usual.

Nowhere does God says anyone may do as they wish. He states, in translation, that anyone may do wrong or right, but it's their intent and willingness to seek, correction, knowledge or forgiveness that merits their quality of life and deeds.

[AndrésC64]

And I never said that God says that we can do whatever we want. What I'm saying and have said multiple times, is that God absolutely demands that we do it his way. He's holding a proverbial gun to our head, and then giving us the "option" of giving him our wallet or getting our head blown off. Except that it's actually much much worse than that. Getting our head blown off would simply be dying. He's going to torture us for eternity. What a nice guy.

[Tyrael]

I mean either way you still have a choice. Knowing there's consequences for your actions does not prevent you from taking actions does it? Same principle. And I think it's a lot of rubbish anyway.