1.UNDESERVED kindness (grace)
Ask yourself why you don't DESERVE kindness.
If God says you don't DESERVE something and He gives it to you anyway...who is the conflicted party here??
Who is breaking His own moral code?
2. ARMAGEDDON
God didn't kill Adam and Eve even though he promised he would. He let them breed contagion of sin!
But, this is okay because these defective children though morally blind get to make a moral choice to save themselves. If they fail: Armageddon!
3.RANSOM SACRIFICE
Let's see if I have this straight....
You are the God of Justice, Love, Power, Wisdom, etc and you have a choice of making
a ruling for one side and against the other. Slam dunk, right? On the one side you have the perfect human, Jesus, who is loving, peaceful, unselfish and totally loyal to your Will.
On the other side you have feckless human filth, wretchedly enmired with sin and corruption.
Who gets to be tortured to death and who gets the prize of a Free Gift? Morally speaking, of course....
4.The WORD of GOD
You are the greatest Chef in the Universe. You want to serve up the most delicious meal
ever tasted, right? So, you hand your recipe to dimwits who don't wash their hands and serve up the meal on filthy plates. That would be like giving righteous instructions to
backward, bronze-age primitives so that they can pass it along by word-of-mouth
just long enough to be totally contaminated and-- then-- somebody else writes it down.
But then--the written part isn't preserverd at all. No! Copies of copies are passed along. Sooner or later, after thousands of years some men's clothing store owner will sort it all out and pass it along
to hard-drinking substitute Judge who'll publish it in magazines along with other "wisdom" such as "germs don't cause disease" and "aluminum cookware is poisonous." Yeah--works for me!
5.The SON of GOD
You are the bosom companion to Almighty God and you find yourself on Earth walking and talking among fairly backward, ignorant local yokels during the Bronze Age.
You try to pass the greatest wisdom ever conceived along to them-but, they hardly understand it at all. Now, you have a choice: Do you just trust that they'll eventually pass this Absolute Truth along
well enough by word of mouth? Or, do you write it down yourself in your OWN WRITING IN YOUR OWN THOUGHTS and make sure it is on indestructible materials?
Just asking'!
6.The SIN against the HOLY SPIRIT
Jesus' can save you from your sins! Oh--wait! Unless you sin against the Holy Spirit!
What is this sin?
Sin that is totally UNforgivable--don't you think it should be stated VERY CLEARLY?
7.PRAYING for OTHERS
If you lose your job and you can't buy food for your family you can do what Jean Valjean does in Les Miserables--steal bread. OR...you can have everybody in the local Kingdom Hall praying for you because a righteous person's prayers count for much!
But, wouldn't $20 bucks actually address the problem quicker in some small way? Or, being hired to do something?
A cynical person might say to themselves "I should do something for poor old brother Valjean before he ends up in debtor's prison! Lemme see now...hmmmm.....I know! I"ll PRAY FOR HIM!"
8. GOD TESTS HIS PEOPLE
When an engineer designs an airplane and passes the design along to be manufactured it is common practice to have a pilot TEST the performance of that aircraft for flaws BEFORE allowing
more of the same kind to be put in to production for millions of dollars---right?
Is this because the Engineer doesn't trust the manufacturer? Is it because the Engineer doesn't trust himself? Is it because the Engineer doesn't trust the pilot?
Or, is it because humans have imperfect knowledge and ability and have to be extra careful??
Okay---then, what is GOD'S EXCUSE? Wouldn't you think FOREknowledge would count for all that? What good is it, then?
9. Forgiving others
A child molester is caught tampering with a young child. He pleads guilty and asks for mercy. He is forgiven. Then, goes on to molest hundreds of other children over the years.
Is ONLY the child molester guilty? How about well-intentioned douche-bag who "forgave" him?
10. APOLOGISTS for God
What would it be better to prop up? Something about to fall and hurt somebody or something solid and unwavering?
Which description best fits God, then?
Anybody who is critical of God is about to fall and hurt somebody while God is untouchable and the same forever. Shouldn't we devote our concern to helping the critic rather than to inviolable God?
How do you help a critic? Immediately contradict them with your own interpretation of things? Or, do you listen and try to see where they are coming from? (Without assuming it is malicious in intent.)
Could that possibly be why Jesus said the "Good Shepherd" would leave the 99 behind to search for the 1 who strayed?
Think about it...