Originally Posted by
MacG
Except the money the robber took from me was the money I was going to pay my loan shark off with and now he's after me....
LOL!
For now I will stipulate.
For now?
To me they are very different, The robber will take my life as I know it. God offers me a choice in something which I cannot see after I live out my natural life.
Is the robber’s gun loaded? The OP doesn’t say one way or the other. They both gave you a choice that promises something which you cannot see (i.e. a bullet from one; a terrible afterlife from the other). They both used coercion as a way to attain their goals.
I know it’s uncomfortable for believers to admit, but there is no moral difference between the two scenarios as they‘re presented. I think your God gl***es are obstructing your view.
The following is a joke but it’s accurate and it's what this thread is about:
Knock knock
Q. Who’s there?
A. It’s Jesus. Let me in.
Q. Why?
A. So I can save you.
Q. From what?
A. From what I’m going to do to you if you don’t let me in.
The bridge is out for all beyond the bend which we cannot see and not by God's doing. It is a chasm that not not even the Dukes of Hazard can jump in their souped up charger. God warns the bridge is out but there is another way.
Humorous though it is, this is preaching and doesn’t address the point that God uses coercion in the same way the robber does.
We can do that in another thread if you like but it is germane to the discussion of whether God warned or caused the the bridge to be out.
“The Garden scene” has no relevance to this thread’s topic.
I appreciate your openness about that.