If I can find an answer to these questions, I will turn back to religion

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Liz.9182 said:
It is a scientific fact that everyone’s personalities and actions are formed by two things 1. Their biology, and 2. Their experiences (nature and nurture), however nobody is personally responsible for these things - meaning that nobody is actually responsible for their actions. Since God is responsible for both the biology of people and for the situations/experiences they have, he is therefore also responsible for their actions and every decision they make. This means that nobody is personally responsible for their ‘sins’, so how can God send people to hell when it is actually HIM who is the one who caused them to sin?
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It is not a scientific fact that our personalities are formed by nature and nurture. These are theories that explain some of human behavior, however, results vary widely. While we may have genetic predispositions to certain things, that does not mean we are tied to them in the kind of fatalistic way you appear to be implying. My dad may have been an alcoholic, but that doesn’t mean I have to be. It is a bit odd that you would use the idea that chemical processes help to make up our personalities as some sort of evidence against God. Considering God made us of both matter and spirit (check Genesis 2 for the creation account), making humans by definition flesh and spirit, it only makes sense that chemical processes would be part of what makes us unique individuals. We are not docetic or gnostic in our anthropology.

Conversely, nurture doesn’t necessarily account for all of human behavior either. We can observe this as well. So for example, someone might be horrifically abused as a child. In many cases, people who suffer from such abuse may respond by becoming abusive themselves; however, others don’t. Neither of these theories are proven fact. At best they can be considered general rules of thumb. Ultimately, God created us all according to his design, BUT we are still responsible for our choices, and our sin.

What is cool though, is that though we are all sinful and accountable for our sin, Jesus died for your sin. Through faith, we are made righteous in Christ, and given the Holy Spirit who teaches, guides, sanctifies us, and maintains us in our faith. And at the end of all things we will be risen from the dead in our flesh, and restored to our original intended order, and live out our purpose with Him in Christ.
 
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I loe the idea of you returning to religion 😍
  1. The fabric of everything is love and this is what is God is giving to us and we natrually respond with the same love.
  2. Adam, Eve and the devil. I am suprised by how many people look past this crafty serpent.
 
I see three possible solutions to 2.
  1. You’re wrong to be so sure this is a purely factual claim. As others point out psychology is in hot water right now. Just look up the replicability issues in psychology to see what I mean. Further plenty of human processes that we KNOW are purely physical aren’t understood, like cancer. We don’t even know what consciousness is. We certainly can’t claim every act of the conscious mind is physical then.
  2. We have a soul that isn’t bound by the rules of chemistry and can do what it wants regardless.
  3. Even if you’re right I don’t think that makes God unjust. Really what you’re doing is blending two meanings of “free will” together. Those meanings being “being able to do what we want” and “being able to do anything we could physically do”. Even in your view we are able to do what we want. If someone sins they themselves choose it. Just because the person would never choose differently doesn’t mean they didn’t choose.
I would never ever choose coffee over tea because I hate coffee. Does that make me not responsible for choosing tea?
 
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Liz.9182 said:
Why would God create the entire universe for the sole purpose of having people worship him?
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Our Lord died for you and for me. That must mean that Jesus loves us as much as he loves himself. I am left with the feeling that I have to give something back; I have to do something.
 
  1. God created the universe to have people help themselves and others. It is by helping others that you find yourself. I believe I have said on this site that in time that we will see that to do what is in your own best interest is to do what is in the best interest of the majority, and vice versa. If people didnt do what was in their best interest, you would not have been educated, farming wouldnt have happened, and you may have lived in a cave.
  2. This may sound a little funny. I believe it says in the bible that people were created in Gods image. IF god had to be born, THEN God would start as a sinner, AND God would not have to pay for those sins as they would have already reached through time to fix them to the best of their ability. Some people do say its a timeless state.
Hebrews 4:12 12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

The word of God is in my belief a double edge sword because it has to cut them as much as you. Since God is not a hypocrite, he would have to have been through something like what you were going through, to say it is justifiable to have it happen to you, and have been through something like the rewards and punishments as well. Life is a journey, and you do not start at the end. They say we are living in the End Times, and it may just be a matter of the right person getting the right experiences.
 
Liz.9182 said:
  1. Why would God create the entire universe for the sole purpose of having people worship him? This seems very egotistical to me, and I just can’t get my head around the fact that our only purpose in life is to worship God. This is not to say that I am not thankful for what I have (I don’t have any issues with worshiping god), it’s just that I don’t understand why God would be so needing of worship that he created our entire reality just so that he can get it. I feel like it would make a lot more sense if he created us for a purpose other than this.
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I am non-Catholica, my answer to your questions, “Why God created the entire universe” Because God was so lonely. for the sole purpose of having people worship him? Because God wanted His creatures, including humans, to know that He existed, that is why man was commanded to worship Him alone.
Liz.9182 said:
  1. It is a scientific fact that everyone’s personalities and actions are formed by two things 1. Their biology, and 2. Their experiences (nature and nurture), however nobody is personally responsible for these things - meaning that nobody is actually responsible for their actions. Since God is responsible for both the biology of people and for the situations/experiences they have, he is therefore also responsible for their actions and every decision they make. This means that nobody is personally responsible for their ‘sins’, so how can God send people to hell when it is actually HIM who is the one who caused them to sin?
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God gives us the choice to clear ourselves of the sins He forbids, but the careless, negligent and ignorant man who violates His will, so who is to blame when they are punished by God.
 
These arguments make no sense. If God is perfect and complete he cannot be lonely or want for anything. You can’t have it both ways. If he creates imperfect creatures, merely giving them the option of obeying but knowing they will not, and then punishes them for a trait he gave them, then yes, he is to blame. If something is the cause of everything, they are ultimately responsible for everything. Excuses that free will is a gift, and he wanted us to CHOOSE to love him make him sound like someone with a personality disorder, not a divine complete being.

It’s like a 13 year old girl quizzing her boyfriend…if I wont kiss you, will you still love me? If I cry all the time, will you still love me? If I make you call me every hour on the hour and tell me you love me, will you still love me?
 
Calliope said:
These arguments make no sense. If God is perfect and complete he cannot be lonely or want for anything. You can’t have it both ways. If he creates imperfect creatures, merely giving them the option of obeying but knowing they will not, and then punishes them for a trait he gave them, then yes, he is to blame. If something is the cause of everything, they are ultimately responsible for everything. Excuses that free will is a gift, and he wanted us to CHOOSE to love him make him sound like someone with a personality disorder, not a divine complete being.

It’s like a 13 year old girl quizzing her boyfriend…if I wont kiss you, will you still love me? If I cry all the time, will you still love me? If I make you call me every hour on the hour and tell me you love me, will you still love me?
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So far this is the only comment I agree with…
 
Any actual perfect god would not need humans to come up with defenses and excuses for it. I think it truly is that simple.
 
Liz.9182 said:
Why would God create the entire universe for the sole purpose of having people worship him?
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It is a good question. God does not need anything. One theory is that God created the universe as a gift to the Son. The universe was created for the sole purpose to create man. The angles were created to help us. His plan with the creation of the angels and humans was that He could not force them to worship Him. Which we can’t help but do if we see Him face to face. It is a gift to us that He created us. Because we have the potential to enjoy the beatific vision, look at the face of God and live. So he created free will He loves us so much that He will not force Himself on us. We have to choose Him.
Liz.9182 said:
meaning that nobody is actually responsible for their actions. Since God is responsible for both the biology of people and for the situations/experiences they have, he is therefore also responsible for their actions and every decision they make. This means that nobody is personally responsible for their ‘sins’, so how can God send people to hell when it is actually HIM who is the one who caused them to sin?
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We are all responsible to use our free will in a way that pleases God. In other words we are not allowed to rebel against God if we want to see Him face to face. True we are all given different talents and circumstances but He will help any of us to line up with His will. He even sent His Son to die for us.
 
God doesn’t “need” us to do anything, so that’s a false premise.
 
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First of all, I believe that the purpose of life is to love one another. And God has not caused me to sin.
 
Liz.9182 said:
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Calliope:
These arguments make no sense. If God is perfect and complete he cannot be lonely or want for anything. You can’t have it both ways. If he creates imperfect creatures, merely giving them the option of obeying but knowing they will not, and then punishes them for a trait he gave them, then yes, he is to blame. If something is the cause of everything, they are ultimately responsible for everything. Excuses that free will is a gift, and he wanted us to CHOOSE to love him make him sound like someone with a personality disorder, not a divine complete being.

It’s like a 13 year old girl quizzing her boyfriend…if I wont kiss you, will you still love me? If I cry all the time, will you still love me? If I make you call me every hour on the hour and tell me you love me, will you still love me?
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So far this is the only comment I agree with…
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God is perfect and complete and cannot be lonely or want for anything. God exists beyond time so the becoming that we experience is only that of a creature, not knowing what God knows of our predestination.

God did create imperfect creatures, and gave gifts that all could be saved, but also giving free will so some would not, but through that, making love and hate possible. The Beatific Vision is logically only possible for those that choose love.
 
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  1. God did not create the cosmos, or even the part of it associated with human life, in order to “be worshipped” . He wanted beings to fellowship with. In fact, he already had that, in the angels, but for reasons all His own, He wanted some thinking bodies around, hence H. sapiens sapiens.
Worship is rather OUR proper response to Him.
  1. Although the Church’s armada of philosophers would have a cow to even think this – free will is, to an extent, a mirage. It is true that, as regards our bodies, heredity, and subconsciousness, we are more conditioned than free. Yet, there is a limited extent to which we do choose our actions, and it is there that freedom and responsibility, however limited, reside.
ICXC NIKA
 
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Calliope said:
These arguments make no sense. If God is perfect and complete he cannot be lonely or want for anything. You can’t have it both ways. If he creates imperfect creatures, merely giving them the option of obeying but knowing they will not, and then punishes them for a trait he gave them, then yes, he is to blame. If something is the cause of everything, they are ultimately responsible for everything. Excuses that free will is a gift, and he wanted us to CHOOSE to love him make him sound like someone with a personality disorder, not a divine complete being.
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How fortunate we are that you are here to explain what two thousand years of philosophical pondering by the likes of Aquinas, Augustine and others failed to codify.
 
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