BadBadBad

I've heard a lot about all this Free Will stuff in the last few years. Everybody is supposed to have it, and it's supposed to be the same choice for every person. If you're brought up in a Muslim family and culture, you have the same innate relationship with God and Free Will choice to worship God as the kid who is brought up in a born again Baptist family.

So why are christians so worried about their kids? Why the indoctrination program at church? Why all the pressure to get these little guys to fall in line? Why all the controversy when they find out the kids have become atheists? Oh my gosh, you should see my christian wife when she learns that I've said something to the kids! You would think that with Free Will, I could teach them Satan worshipping with the most intense brainwashing ever conceived.

They still have Free Will. They still know the right answer to God's little test. God gave them the right answer through their soul, and nothing will change that. God won't give them any credit for all Daddy's brainwashing. They will be held accountable to make the right decision regardless of their ignorance, or whether they've been mislead, or that perhaps as some christians see us atheists, they're just too stupid to get it. Worship the big guy, or off to Hell you go!

Is Free Will the same for every one, or does God give some a big boost up to heaven right out of the starting gate by creating children in good old fashioned Southern Baptist born again families? Or is it the Catholics that get the boost? My dad was an atheist, and my mom was weak on pushing religion. Did I just miss out on God's little boost? Why is it so important that I not tell the kids that God is like Santa Claus?

Taffer

I suppose the Christian answer would be that Satan is influencing your kiddies, and you have to counterbalance his evil powers with pure divine teachings.

So what you get is a deity and a demon screaming at each other for the soul and wrangling over the kid's free will, while the kid probably couldn't care less.

BadBadBad

The kid though is held uniquely and individually responsible regardless of how effective Satan's influence is. If I'm brought up in a born again family, am I kind of sheltered from Satan?

So if my mom and dad don't shelter me from Satan, I'm kind of got my butt hanging out into the winds of Hell? If dad's an atheist, is that kind of like growing up with the hand of Satan himself on your shoulder? Seems like God ought to give that poor kid a break on judgement day. No, on judgement day that kid's going to be standing all alone in front of God while Satan just laughs away in Hell. I think I want God to pick a new set of parents for me. Either that, or I want them both dragged before God with me on judgement day to share some of the blame! Maybe I ought to drag that guy Clinton and a few of these other liberals up there that have let our Bible culture go to shit!

Godot

The free will aspect has always given me the shits. I'm not so sure about how it works in other denominations, but when I was ostensibly catholic, baptism was performed on an infant (obviously) without their consent. How does that jive with free will? Same with as brettc was saying about indoctrination; children will believe as they are told while young because they don't know any better. When they get to an age when they can think for themselves, some things like religious affiliation are taken for granted as given. Opening up to new worldviews should not be likened to satanism. :boohoo:

sourdough

if it did and was allmighty as xians say,why couldnt it/he/she get rid of satan?:banghead: