Did God create man to love him and be his slaves?

[VociMike]

What does God need slaves for? To pick His cotton? Build His pyramids? No, God has absolutely no need of slaves. Nor does He need to create puny little creatures to love Him.

He created us because life in His image and likeness is good – no, it is very good. He created us to share the goodness of His existence.

 

[Alchemist]

The basic thing you’re getting wrong here is that God does not send us to hell - that would only be true if our basic position in relation to God was “alright.” But God is only offering us a way out of our present situation, which is separation from him via original sin.

Better than your gunpoint analogy would be this: Imagine mankind as a person in danger of drowning in a river. God would be reaching his hand out to the person, saying “trust me.” (props to C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity)

Didn’t Buddha also say that it’s an illusion that pleasure will lead to happiness? If we think that we can only enjoy our life OR love God, than it’s because our idea of happiness is too small.

God creates us (even without our choosing) in a way where we couldn’t possibly be free from origional sin. I’d like to expand on C.S. Lewis’ river analogy by adding in more to cover more of what else is going on: man is in a country, God takes him to another country where there are rivers all over the place, lets go of the man about 40ft above the river. So through no fault of his own the man is now in the river, and must have God to save him. But if the man doesn’t grab onto him, or lets go, eventually God decides that it’s better to let the man drown rather than picking him up and putting him back where he got him.

And since God is all powerful and all knowing, it wouldn’t be too far fetched to add in the analogy that God could fish the man out of the river with a net, but chooses not to because He wants the man to grab His hand that holds out.

 

[Damascus]

And since God is all powerful and all knowing, it wouldn’t be too far fetched to add in the analogy that God could fish the man out of the river with a net, but chooses not to because He wants the man to grab His hand that holds out.

God does fish the man out of the river with a net.

The apostles were fishers of men. It is no accident that Peter was a fisherman (literally) and figuratively.

The catholics all over the world are called to proclaim the word of God to all men.

 

[water]

Here is a story:

There was a young boy playing with the beachsand, he digged a big hole on the shore. He ran into the water and used a spoon to get the sea water. He came back to fill the hole with the water, he tried to fill the hole up. He kept on doing it forever and it never got full…He did not know the reason why.

I hope you get my point.

 

[Alchemist]

God does fish the man out of the river with a net.

The apostles were fishers of men. It is no accident that Peter was a fisherman (literally) and figuratively.

The catholics all over the world are called to proclaim the word of God to all men.

The reason that analogy doesn’t hold up is because it doesn’t match the nature of fishing with a net. In my analogy the net is set up in the river so that the man will get caught in the net naturally, regardless of whether he grabs God’s hand or not. In the apostles’ analogy, the net doesn’t catch all men.

 

[Damascus]

The reason that analogy doesn’t hold up is because it doesn’t match the nature of fishing with a net. In my analogy the net is set up in the river so that the man will get caught in the net naturally, regardless of whether he grabs God’s hand or not. In the apostles’ analogy, the net doesn’t catch all men.

Okay. But, do you mean men who never heard the word of God here?
As we are aware they are not accountable for their ignorance of it if it was unknown to them.

Or are you talking about someone who was in the net and is trying to wiggle out (struggling inside of)of the net?

Or neither of the above?

 

[Alchemist]

Okay. But, do you mean men who never heard the word of God here?
As we are aware they are not accountable for their ignorance of it if it was unknown to them.

Or are you talking about someone who was in the net and is trying to wiggle out (struggling inside of)of the net?

Or neither of the above?

I’m talking about the C.S. Lewis analogy. A net that would be able to catch any man that doesn’t grab the hand of God for whatever reason, whether it’s out of ignorance of God’s hand being there, fatigue of hanging on, or just not reaching for it in the first place.

 

[Damascus]

I’m talking about the C.S. Lewis analogy. A net that would be able to catch any man that doesn’t grab the hand of God for whatever reason, whether it’s out of ignorance of God’s hand being there, fatigue of hanging on, or just not reaching for it in the first place.

Well, I dont use CS Lewis as my guide in spiritual matters so I cant help here.



I do want to help though. And I am not forcing you to take it. Nor go through hoops.