If God is omnipotent, wouldn't he be able to create an environment in which everyone retains free will, but still goes to heaven?

[Gorgias]

By choosing not to answer the question, I will assume you know there is no sufficient answer.

That was the answer. By choosing not to engage the answer, I will assume you know that you have no reasonable rebuttal.

Is the one month-old baptized child who dies as result of a birth defect afforded that same opportunity?

He goes directly – not passing ‘GO’, not collecting $200 – to God. His ‘opportunity’ is to experience God at the end of his earthly life… just the same as our opportunity is. Are you going to complain that some lives are shorter and others longer? Really?

Can you be in absence of love with absence of love?

Yep. A person can absolutely hate the fact that they’re not in love. (Look up ‘mass murderer’ for many examples thereof.)

 

[Richca]

What if the question was phrased as, “Why didn’t God make us all like The Virgin Mary?”

Well, for one thing, the Virgin Mary is the only creature God created who can claim to be the mother of Jesus according to his human nature and thus also claim the title, Mother of God, since Jesus is God. Men and women are naturally conceived and born into this world of only one mother. The exalted vocation and predestination of the Blessed Virgin Mary to be the mother of the eternal Son of God in human flesh as well as Mary’s exalted vocation as the New Eve and Mother of all the living, i.e., those reborn to the life of grace, called for special gifts from God to be bestowed on Mary in keeping with Mary’s singular vocation and God’s plan for the redemption of the human race. Mary was created in sanctifying grace as Adam and Eve were but Adam and Eve misused their free will by disobedience to God while Mary did not but freely remained steadfast in the grace of God and obedience to God’s will. The Virgin Mary was not a robot but freely cooperated with God’s grace and his will every moment of her life which redounds to her exalted glory as the Queen of heaven and earth.

Whether the Virgin Mary on earth was capable of sinning or incapable of sinning due to a special privilege and grace of God, I believe can be debated in the Church. Some theologians are of the opinion that the Virgin Mary was incapable of sinning due to a special grace from God while other theologians believe that she could have sinned but did not and this latter opinion I personally tend to agree with. I don’t believe the Church has officially taught or stated definitively anywhere in Tradition that Mary was incapable of sinning in her life on earth. What the Church does teach is that Mary was full of grace as the angel Gabriel addressed her at the annunciation but also that she freely cooperated with God’s grace as having a free will is of the very nature of a human being or angel.

 

[stephenSTOSS1]

So it seems that you would be OK with …

I was very clear with what I believe … and you are not paraphrasing it very well.

 

[tweedlealice]

It all comes down to choices. Madeline O’Haire took us to Court, to stop prayer in school. She succeeded! Her son grew up & became a Christian. That’s mind boggling! Hallelujah!
Conversely, there are Pastirs kids who rebel! It’s ugly & heart breaking.
The Holy Spirit calls us to join the family. Many reject the invitation.
God doesn’t give up on us. We’ll get repeated nudges. Hopefully, se’ll Understand & follow.

 

[otjm]

Because God is not an oxymoron, and does not deal in oxymoron questions.

The question you ask is about the same level as “Can God make a rock so big he cannot move it?” The question is illogical, and so has no logical answer.

And this is not a snippy response: but you may wish to take a course in logic, as you are by no means the first or only person to have questions to which logic applies. It is an interesting and fascinating course.

Your comment about God determining our fate is suspect also. We determine our fate; we have before us Good and Evil, and are charged to seek the Good. We make the choice; God accepts our choice.

You are not offensive. Many people have problems with logic and cannot understand the what and why. again - take a course in logic (it also helps to be thoroughly grounded in our faith).

 

[Vico]

…
That is the problem. All I can do is repeat what I said before. True love is unconditional, it does not give out “commandments”.

No, love is not unconditional because there is an inherent law of love. If a person does not express love then there is no affinity for love, no perception of love. To have the Beatific Vision requires one to love, otherwise there is no attraction to what the Beatific Vision is, that of God, who is love.