Why do some choose God while some chose hell?

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Charlemagne_III said:
What Jesus was crying out for was the forgiveness of Deicide on the Cross.

The people who killed Jesus did not know they were committing Deicide.

Pilate, not knowing Jesus was the Son of God, could not be held accountable for that.

Yet they freely killed an innocent human being (even Pilate said so).
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Does hate or fear create a free choice?
 
ynotzap said:
An interesting truth that points to personal guilt. Jesus said " A man who looks at a woman with lust in his heart has already committed adultery" So it’s not necessarily the execution of the act, but the intent (the will), and knowledge of the act being morally wrong (the intellect)
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The human will, the power of choice is always led by what one knows and it depends of what the mind knows as to what the will desires. In general the person will desire what he considers is for his well-being or happiness. Even when a person commits suicide, he desires to be free from the circumstances that is causing his suffering. But in his decisions he has made a wrong choice. How do we know that? He lacks real understanding of why the trials of life exist, and what is the remedy to make those trials endurable, and even lead to a fuller life and happiness. So his ignorance to the truth, a lack of understanding conditioned his choice. So he chose what he thought best for him. Jesus is called :the Light of the World" for good reason, knowledge and acceptance of Him, brings Hope, and Love,and fills the mind with truth and guidance in his moral acts, acts that will really give him happiness.
 
Ronald_E said:
Your opinion of the woman’s ego is what I was drawn to.
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The story of Eve is what it is. So is the story of Adam, whose ego was as big if not bigger than Eve’s.

Are you a fuming feminist? :confused:

Eve committed the first sin. I don’t say that as a male chauvinist pig, if that’s what you’re thinking.

It’s just a matter of Biblical fact.
 
Charlemagne_III said:
The story of Eve is what it is. So is the story of Adam, whose ego was as big if not bigger than Eve’s.

Are you a fuming feminist? :confused:

Eve committed the first sin. I don’t say that as a male chauvinist pig, if that’s what you’re thinking.

It’s just a matter of Biblical fact.
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A “fuming feminist”? “Ego” is not mentioned in the story. Are you influenced by free will in your response to my post or something else?
 
Ronald_E said:
Isn’t it self evident?
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No.

Which definition of “opinion” are you using?

[quote=dictionary.com]1. a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty.
2. a personal view, attitude, or appraisal.
3. the formal expression of a professional judgment: to ask for a second medical opinion.
4. Law. the formal statement by a judge or court of the reasoning and the principles of law used in reaching a decision of a case.
5. a judgment or estimate of a person or thing with respect to character, merit, etc.: to forfeit someone’s good opinion.
[/quote]
 
Ronald_E said:
“Ego” is not mentioned in the story.
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Genesis, Chapter 3

Expulsion from Eden. 1Now the snake was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the LORD God had made. He asked the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You shall not eat from any of the trees in the garden’?” 2The woman answered the snake: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3a it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, or else you will die.’” 4But the snake said to the woman: “You certainly will not die!b 5God knows well that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, who know* good and evil.” *

She, of course, succumbed to the temptation.

Eve wanting to be as God was not on an ego trip?
 
Charlemagne_III said:
Genesis, Chapter 3

Expulsion from Eden. 1Now the snake was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the LORD God had made. He asked the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You shall not eat from any of the trees in the garden’?” 2The woman answered the snake: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3a it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, or else you will die.’” 4But the snake said to the woman: “You certainly will not die!b 5God knows well that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, who know* good and evil.” *

She, of course, succumbed to the temptation.

Eve wanting to be as God was not on an ego trip?
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That would not be my assumption or question
 
catholic1seeks said:
Or, why do some choose hell while others choose God?

What really accounts for this fundamental difference?

Each person has his or her own heredity, environmental factors, and social upbringing. Church teaching and theology grants that God takes all of this into account when he judges our actions and our sins. So when all of that is taken away, what is there that allows someone to choose hell over God (or God over hell)? What makes the difference? We say it is ultimately us - we have free will. But we make our decisions never in a vacuum. We sort through experiences - indeed, everything I mentioned above (heredity, environment, social factors). Our experiences affect our judgments and decisions. So, would it be correct to say that if one person who chooses hypothetical option B (we will call it) would really choose option A if he had another experience? And say that this experience that would cause him to choose A is an experienced endured by another person, which caused him to choose A. What I am getting at is this: it seems as though our experiences affect how we make choices, but not everyone has the same experiences.

What is it that makes the difference between a person who chooses he’ll rather than God? No one is born more evil than another, unless we mean that a person has certain genetic factors that make that person lean towards destructive tendencies. But these would surely already be taken into account in God’s just judgment. But no one is naturally spiritually more evil. Can we really say that God makes every soul unique that because every soul is different, there is something about each soul that makes some choose God more readily than others? Or do we have to say that natural factors, dependent on circumstance, greatly affect one’s eternal destination? Both of these options seem unfair.

I would like to have a good discussion on this.
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C.S. Lewis phrased it best -- "There are two kinds of people: those who say to God 'Thy will be done' and those to whom God says 'Thy will be done'." It can't be truly said that someone chooses Hell, but rather, that they choose their own will when it conflicts with God's will; that they prefer their own will. Accepting God's will means entering communion and union with God; not wanting God's will means remaining outside and in opposition to God -- and this means torment, cacophony, chaos, terror, because these are the realities of the will & the soul that excludes God.
 
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