Welcome to Gaia! ::

But exposure does not necesitate brainwashing.

Exposure.



again, so very sorry for accidentally editing your post.

And society comes from God.



I do now, because I want to understand my faith better and I enjoy fellowshipping with brothers and sisters in Christ. But until the age of thirteen or so, no. When I was still living with my mom and her boyfriend (the one we don't like) I wasn't allowed to go to church. I didn't start going to church until I moved to live with my dad, but I had already made up my mind on what I believed by then, so it didn't matter; going to church was just a plus.



Let me clarify: I don't disagree with it, because I didn't make the rules and God did and He has the final say. On the surface, it doesn't appear fair, but that's how the universe works. Is it fair to get an F on a test you didn't study for? To the person receiving the failing grade, probably not. The consequences of your actions (or inactions) are just that; whether or not they are fair may appear to be subjective, but only if you don't know where it's all coming from. Since the grading system was set up by one major authority (whatever authority sets the grading system for various schools, etc.), the grades and the students are subject to that system and who are they to argue? Since God has said what the consequences of not following Him are, we are subject to that, whether or not we think it's fair.

Sin is an apparent imperfection that came about thru the perfect mechanism of free will. For God to create imperfection directly would go against His very nature. An all-powerful, all-good God could and would create an all-good world. If God were not all powerful, then He wouldn't be God at all. If He were evil at all, He would be infinitely self-destructive, and nothing would ever be created at all.

Here's another way to look at it though. If all that God has created is good, then even sin is good somehow. Let me explain this point of view. Creation is meant to be the full expression of God's being. God is infinitely Just and infinitely Merciful. In a world where nothing needs to be judged, neither of these two divine traits would be able to be expressed. Creation would be incomplete. In a world where everyone was perfect, God's justice could never be revealed. In a world where nobody was able to be perfect, God's mercy could never be revealed. So by allowing us to sin (become imperfect) and suffer consequences (justice) and then to be saved (become perfect thru Christ) and enter heaven (mercy), these two Traits of God can be fully expressed.

I hope that was helpful and wasn't too confusing. If you've got a specific question about that, PM me. I'd be happy to respond.

I totally agree! That was very well put. You get a gold star from me. biggrin 3nodding sorry....random silliness.