• When God created mankind, He created us in His own image and with His own likeness. We were the showpieces of His creation, the culmination of all created beings. No other creatures were given such similarity to deity – only mankind. Just flesh and bones but made in the image and likeness of God. Unfortunately, because of Adam’s fall, all humanity became sinners by nature and by choice. The result is spiritual separation from God.
• Sin violates God’s perfect law (which reflects His character) and produces untold suffering. God hates sin. So much so in fact that He has deemed the rightful punishment for sin to be everlasting death. But even though you’ve sinned, long ago God devised a plan to save and redeem you.
• God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son (Jesus Christ) into the world in the flesh to die, as a perfect willing sacrifice and a just payment for our sins. Through His sacrifice Jesus has freely redeemed all those who put their faith in Him in the eyes of His Father (God is Father and Son, they are one). After 3 days and 3 nights Jesus was resurrected and has now returned to His Fathers right hand, being exalted as our Lord and King of Kings. He is now our direct line connection to the Father, giving us exclusive access.
• God knows that your bad behaviour (sin) makes you feel bad, so He offers you forgiveness, but first you must confess your bad behaviour to Him and change (repent).
• God offers you a new life, in this life (salvation). He offers this freely by His grace, to all those who put their faith in Jesus Christ and believe in Him as the only begotten son of God that came in the flesh, sinned not, died for our sins, and was later resurrected. This is then followed by the receiving of the gift of the Holy Ghost sometime after, which the Father sends in the name of His Son Jesus Christ.
• The Holy Ghost is the very Spirit of God living within you. The Holy Ghost will convict and regenerate you; sanctify, teach, comfort, guide, and preserve you; and empower you for service. It will also compel you to keep the commandments of God and write them on your very heart. Your body will become the temple of God and He will lovingly adopt you as His son/daughter. Oftentimes the Holy Ghost is not received until after a believer is baptized in water and underwent the laying of hands.
• In an act of faith, Jesus Christ calls for all believers to be baptized by full submersion in water, in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, which is sometimes followed by the laying of hands. This is an outward profession of faith to signify rebirth and cleansing of your sins. Prior to being baptized one must believe in Jesus Christ with all their heart and have repented of their sins. After baptism, a believer is called to regularly celebrate the Lord’s supper; a memorial of Christ’s death in which believers eat the bread and drink from the cup — symbols of His body and blood.
• Satan is described as our adversary and the father of lies who has come to steal, kill, and destroy. Satan managed to convince a third of the angels of heaven to forsake God and follow him. Soon after Satan and his angels (now known as demons) were defeated and kicked out of heaven. Satan is the temporary ruler of this present fallen world and seeks to be worshipped and exalted to the status of God. Jesus Christ has already defeated Satan by willingly laying down His life in our place, and thus those of us who are saved can be comforted that we already have the victory. God is greater than all and no man can pluck you out of His hand.
• God is with us always, even to the end. It is His good pleasure to give us, as His “little flock”, the kingdom. On that faithful day God shall wipe away all tears from our eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things will have passed away. We that overcame shall inherit all things; and God shall dwell with us as Father, and we shall be His sons.
So he knew that people would sin.
Have you ever read the bible? Yahweh constantly bitches and moans about how he's not being worshipped enough or not in the right way and literally murders people for missing some insignificant part of some stupid ritual.
Yahweh is a fucking petty bureaucrat.
Yes, God created man with free will. He knew that man would choose to disobey, and He planned for makind's salvation before creation.
1 Peter 1:18-21 "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; (19) But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: (20) Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, (21) Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God."
The instances of severe judgement that we see in the Bible are a warning to us that God's judgement is not to be trifled with. We are warned not to take sin lightly.
1 Corinthians 10:5-11 "But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. (6) Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. (7) Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. (8) Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. (9) Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. (10) Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. (11) Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples [examples]: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come."
Yes, thanks for proving my point. Yahweh acts like a petty tyrant.
Far from being a petty tyrant, God is rich in mercy. He could destroy us the first time we willfully sin against Him; that He doesn't do that is evidence of His mercy to us.
God is patiently waiting for each of us to turn to Him, but His patience will not last forever.
2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
That makes no fucking sense. Your god allegedly is all-knowing and eternal.
How can such a being not know beforehand what choices I make and even have emotions like patience?
Who put the snake in the garden?