Oh my God, I'm an Atheist !!

I don't think that 'being created to worship' means that we feel God wants us to crawl on all fours singing hymans all day. It is not about our action, it is about God's action. We can glorify God by our very existence.I know you won't like that comment, but fair is fair.Does riverrat know that people sometimes stop believing on their death-beds?

Shame it wasn't well spelled. I will leave my mistake so you can laugh at me. I really don't beieve that there is any misplaced parental urge which makes us see our purpose as 'glorifying God'. It is in the Bible, and 'course, so are angels who DO worship non-stop in a much different way. If God wanted more of those, well, He could have made some. I am sorry for your suffering. The only thing I can say I am sure about is that human nature is extremely inconsistant. If people can reject God during life, why not at the end, when they feel like it hasn't been worth it?

You and iceage seem to have about as many objections to religion based on a false understanding of theology, as people do with that other word...teleology?I would not at any time obligate or desire that you be tricked by any of the 'BS', but you should at least know WHAT Christians are saying before you get mired into a pit where all you see is nonsense. It's simply because you don't get it. In the same manner that evolution takes a life-time for complete understanding, or at least many years of familiarity, theological principles did not happen over night, and obviously, they sound just as retarded when you hear them, as macro evolution does to an outsider. You need to know why they are believed, and how they DO make sense to many rational people.So, no Christian except someone who has not bothered to understand, will tell you that God, aka the Specific Christian God, aka Jesus, is appearing/revealing to Hindus and head-hunters, and being rejected. We ARE saying that we believe everyone has a conscience and a soul which yearns to do right, and that by consciously choosing evil, we are figuratively rejecting God. Even the one we never heard of, and the even one we don't believe in.

I understand, but I know that arguments from incredulity abound nonetheless. It is the Catholic interpretation of the same Biblical passages other denoms cite. See, we Catholics like to think that if something does not measure up to reality, it can not be possible. Since there is no case of a person receiving an unsolicited visit from Jesus in the middle of the jungle and with no prior knowledge, we do not take the passages about believing in Jesus' name etc. as literal readings. I'm not turning this into Apologetics 101, But 'salvation thru Jesus' can be taken a few ways. None of this is relevent to what I said about 'being created to worship God'.I take that to mean that men, just by existing, bring glory to God. I may also believe that the soul has natural urges to worship, or join, with its Maker, but that would only be the catalyst for its searching and varying styles of worship. The soul may yearn all it will, but it is destined for subjugation to what the mind believes.I just saw all of the OT warnings in this thread. If I tie my comments back to the OP, I will say that if a soul is made to know, love and serve God, then it may be at any moment that the mind chooses to listen to the spirit. Death beds are one moment, but you can't get water from a rock, nor Jesus from Allah. You can only acknowledge that there may be more out there. And no, I am not comparing Muslims to rocks!Edited by anastasia, : No reason given.Edited by anastasia, : No reason given.Edited by anastasia, : No reason given.Edited by anastasia, : No reason given.

I am sorry. My faith tells me that God will allow for everyone to reach eternal life if they choose. He would not be a just God if He did not, but an unfair petty God. I am not gangin' up with RR, but I thought he was not articulating this idea well, and sort of subconsciously regurgitating it. Yes, I know some Christians think that way, or even most. The Catholic church does not teach this. Not preposterous and arrogant, but it savours of the idea that all are saved, which is not Biblical IMO, and in reality, some will turn to God, and some will turn away, at the moment of death. I don't see why bother with all the free will nonsense if we believe it will be snatched away in the end to make good. I am not concerned with 'his position'. I am salvaging the doctrine and presenting it as it was intended. I have done the research. I find my view consistant with Catholic doctrine and the writings of the popes. It is still a subject that gets debated, and I know that my personal take doesn't negate the debate.