You are missing my points entirely. God does not seek "payment." That's like saying car insurance companies REALLY want to keep you safe and happy. If you were alone and all powerful, I'm pretty sure you'd like some friends. And no, he does not give us the last slice of cake. He MADE the damn cake. You would too, if your friends had a birthday party but couldn't get their hands on cake.

Yes, he knows what decisions we're going to make! But that doesn't make them any less important or valid. Imagine that you read script to the Avengers before it came out. Does that mean you won't enjoy the film? Does that mean the characters in the film are childish or stupid for exactly following what you expect them to do, now that you've read the script?

And yes, he knows the total effect. The total effect is eternity with those who can love and appreciate him instead of eternity alone.

If God exists, he is an intelligent, thinking, being (to say the very least). I think it's safe to assume that any intelligent, thinking being wants to be loved and appreciated for the things he does.
And yes, he had to punish mankind for eating the fruit because he specifically told us NOT to eat the fruit. We disobeyed him. And why is that such a bad thing? Because he embodies everything that is good and we disobeyed it.
So why, you ask, does he make a fruit to begin with? Why are there evil men doing evil things because he doesn't smite them or make it impossible to do evil?
Because we need the choice. We need the choice to either follow or reject him, or else our love for him is meaningless. We need free will for ANY of what we accomplish to be meaningful. Put it this way: God is willing evil to happen and many people to reject him because the love of the ones who choose to be with him is infinitely more valuable than the love of automated zombies who mindlessly follow his will like puppets.

You are missing my points entirely. God does not seek "payment." That's like saying car insurance companies REALLY want to keep you safe and happy. If you were alone and all powerful, I'm pretty sure you'd like some friends. And no, he does not give us the last slice of cake. He MADE the damn cake. You would too, if your friends had a birthday party but couldn't get their hands on cake.

Yes, he knows what decisions we're going to make! But that doesn't make them any less important or valid. Imagine that you read script to the Avengers before it came out. Does that mean you won't enjoy the film? Does that mean the characters in the film are childish or stupid for exactly following what you expect them to do, now that you've read the script?

And yes, he knows the total effect. The total effect is eternity with those who can love and appreciate him instead of eternity alone.

God does not want to exploit us. He wants to love us, and he wants us to love him back. Before you start saying "WTF I am in control of who i should love who is this bastard who wants to emotionally rape me" let me explain.

Please suspend your disbelief for ONE minute. If there was a god who crafted the universe by hand, who knows and loves each person on Earth, who inhabits a plane and a scale of reality that is completely different from ours, and who fundementally embodies love and all that is good, is he not worthy of our desire? Is he not worthy of our praise? We celebrate people like Steve Jobs and Ghandi and Mother Teressa because they contribute so much goodness and hapiness to our lives and the lives of others during their own life. But if there is a being who is ultimately responsible for hapiness itself, wouldn't he be even more deserving of celebration? Plus, this being knows us all intimately and loves us beyond our imagination. Is that being not also worthy of our love?

God gave us free will so our love to him would not be meaningless. Love without free will is like creating a robot girlfriend. Because we have the choice to love him or not, our love for him has meaning. And before you ask why he would want so much love, wouldn't you want it to if you were the only thinking being in an unmade universe? Personally, if I were all powerful and foreveralone, I'd like a companion or two.

If God exists, he is an intelligent, thinking, being (to say the very least). I think it's safe to assume that any intelligent, thinking being wants to be loved and appreciated for the things he does.
And yes, he had to punish mankind for eating the fruit because he specifically told us NOT to eat the fruit. We disobeyed him. And why is that such a bad thing? Because he embodies everything that is good and we disobeyed it.
So why, you ask, does he make a fruit to begin with? Why are there evil men doing evil things because he doesn't smite them or make it impossible to do evil?
Because we need the choice. We need the choice to either follow or reject him, or else our love for him is meaningless. We need free will for ANY of what we accomplish to be meaningful. Put it this way: God is willing evil to happen and many people to reject him because the love of the ones who choose to be with him is infinitely more valuable than the love of automated zombies who mindlessly follow his will like puppets.

You are missing my points entirely. God does not seek "payment." That's like saying car insurance companies REALLY want to keep you safe and happy. If you were alone and all powerful, I'm pretty sure you'd like some friends. And no, he does not give us the last slice of cake. He MADE the damn cake. You would too, if your friends had a birthday party but couldn't get their hands on cake.

Yes, he knows what decisions we're going to make! But that doesn't make them any less important or valid. Imagine that you read script to the Avengers before it came out. Does that mean you won't enjoy the film? Does that mean the characters in the film are childish or stupid for exactly following what you expect them to do, now that you've read the script?

And yes, he knows the total effect. The total effect is eternity with those who can love and appreciate him instead of eternity alone.

Again, another misinterpretation of the Bible. The Devil does not "punish" evil doers. He exploits them. Have you seen the show, "Supernatural?" If you have, I can make a little analogy on how in the show human souls are used for powering supernatural beings and weapons. Flawed as this may be, I hope I can point out how the devil does not "punish" evil doers. He wants to torment us and see us suffer because basically he is a psychotic asshole who likes pain and suffering.

God does not want to exploit us. He wants to love us, and he wants us to love him back. Before you start saying "WTF I am in control of who i should love who is this bastard who wants to emotionally rape me" let me explain.

Please suspend your disbelief for ONE minute. If there was a god who crafted the universe by hand, who knows and loves each person on Earth, who inhabits a plane and a scale of reality that is completely different from ours, and who fundementally embodies love and all that is good, is he not worthy of our desire? Is he not worthy of our praise? We celebrate people like Steve Jobs and Ghandi and Mother Teressa because they contribute so much goodness and hapiness to our lives and the lives of others during their own life. But if there is a being who is ultimately responsible for hapiness itself, wouldn't he be even more deserving of celebration? Plus, this being knows us all intimately and loves us beyond our imagination. Is that being not also worthy of our love?

God gave us free will so our love to him would not be meaningless. Love without free will is like creating a robot girlfriend. Because we have the choice to love him or not, our love for him has meaning. And before you ask why he would want so much love, wouldn't you want it to if you were the only thinking being in an unmade universe? Personally, if I were all powerful and foreveralone, I'd like a companion or two.

If God exists, he is an intelligent, thinking, being (to say the very least). I think it's safe to assume that any intelligent, thinking being wants to be loved and appreciated for the things he does.
And yes, he had to punish mankind for eating the fruit because he specifically told us NOT to eat the fruit. We disobeyed him. And why is that such a bad thing? Because he embodies everything that is good and we disobeyed it.
So why, you ask, does he make a fruit to begin with? Why are there evil men doing evil things because he doesn't smite them or make it impossible to do evil?
Because we need the choice. We need the choice to either follow or reject him, or else our love for him is meaningless. We need free will for ANY of what we accomplish to be meaningful. Put it this way: God is willing evil to happen and many people to reject him because the love of the ones who choose to be with him is infinitely more valuable than the love of automated zombies who mindlessly follow his will like puppets.

You are missing my points entirely. God does not seek "payment." That's like saying car insurance companies REALLY want to keep you safe and happy. If you were alone and all powerful, I'm pretty sure you'd like some friends. And no, he does not give us the last slice of cake. He MADE the damn cake. You would too, if your friends had a birthday party but couldn't get their hands on cake.

Yes, he knows what decisions we're going to make! But that doesn't make them any less important or valid. Imagine that you read script to the Avengers before it came out. Does that mean you won't enjoy the film? Does that mean the characters in the film are childish or stupid for exactly following what you expect them to do, now that you've read the script?

And yes, he knows the total effect. The total effect is eternity with those who can love and appreciate him instead of eternity alone.