- "But if we do not pay Him homage, then what have we done to earn
the reward of Heaven?"
In human terms, what could we ever possibly do to "earn" an
eternity of bliss, in the finite time that would pass before one
reached Heaven?
But if we are to speak of the God of Christianity, then human terms
must be left behind, in whole, not merely in part. Those who ask
this question would seem to forget that they have declared their
God to be omnipotent. This means that He can do all things
effortlessly, unless, as a matter of His own free choice, he
decides that effort should be required on His part. Thus, for Him,
it can never be a hardship to provide anything that He so pleases.
But it is exactly that sort of hardship that provides the logic
behind our entire concept of "earning something". In giving you
something, I, as a very finite human being, have to give up
something - the effort involved in doing so, the thing itself, or
whatever. This works some degree of hardship on me, and the things
you do by way of compensation, to earn the consideration that you
request, are things that offset my hardship, or at least the
hardship of someone else, who is found within a circle of people
through which such considerations flow.
That is to say, that the demand by me, or others, that people work
to earn the things that they ask for, is a reflection of our own
vulnerability, and the desire to see to it that the serving of our
own needs should not be lost in the shuffle. A desire for fair
play, then. But if all can be given without loss or effort, what
would be the justification for not giving everything away freely?
If all gain, and none lose, then to choose to do otherwise, would
be to elect, without reason, to choose a course of action that
involves needless loss of joy, certainly not a benevolent act.
For an all merciful and just diety to make such a choice, would be
for Him to deny His own nature.
One might say, that we withhold some things that we may easily
grant, in order to discipline someone who has misbehaved, and
in modifying his character through this deterrence, help him.
But if someone is going to be locked in torment forevermore,
no matter what else he does, what good does the lesson do him,
and how can one imagine that one is doing this for his benefit?
Or that to torment the "sinner" (whose only sin was to be mistaken)
in a place where none living can see his torment will serve to
deter the living, to whom the Christian God would still be willing
to grant the opportunity for salavation?
What has become of the goodness of the Christian God, if this
should be the case?
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