I grew up as a Southern Baptist. I was "saved" at the age of 12 and baptised. Fast forward 25+ years and my beliefs have changed because of tough questions that I could never answer with traditional Christianity. Maybe someone else can take a shot at them...
1. Why was Jesus crucified on the cross? Before you answer with "because He died for our sins," understand that I grew up with that answer. However, I believe in an omnipotent and omniscient God, and if He wanted to erase sin He could do so without a sacrifice. One snap of His divine fingers and presto!
2. How can the devil, this Satan, be tempting people all over the world at the same time if He is not a god, or does not have the godlike power of omnipresence? Once again, I grew up with the answer of "his demons work for him" but meh, I don't buy it. God is omnipotent, so if the devil were truly His arch enemy, He could snap those divine fingers again, and uncreate the devil and demons.
3. Why do Christians believe in going to Heaven upon death when the Bible never actually says that is what happens? It does say that we go to the grave and wait for the resurrection and judgment (Revelation 20). Is the concept of Heaven just to help ease the grief and suffering of those left behind?
4. If free will does not exist, and God controls everything, then He is to blame for every crime, war, disease, natural disaster, death, Adam and Eve's temptation, every sin, and Satan's actions. How is that a loving God? The usual answer I grew up with (sigh) was something along the lines of "God works in mysterious ways" or "we don't know what is God's bigger picture." Bah!
5. Why do Catholics (and others) believe in some type of Purgatory? If Jesus died for our sins, why would there need to be an extra step of cleansing and forgiveness? Was Jesus not good enough of a sacrifice?
I have many other questions that I have pondered over the years, but I will stop there. Setting aside what I was taught while growing up, I have started to examine my beliefs and have come to the conclusion that I agree more with deism than anything else. God is the creator, put everything in motion, and stepped back to observe our actions in the world around us. This seems much simpler than all of this other religious dogma.
There are many scriptures to support these answers, but I may not have time to list them all right now -perhaps later (especially about #1).
1: Among other things... to go through what we go through -for many reasons. When men ask men to do that which they would not (especially very unpleasant things) -those who are asked do not hold the one who asks in high regard. So, there is little that we suffer that Christ has not suffered. We must choose to follow God -therefore we must hold him in high regard, and can have no valid argument against following him (also, if God made it impossible for us to sin, it would have limited our potential. We would not be able to truly be creative, and he could not have truly reproduced himself. Christ is "the firstborn of many brethren" by his death and resurrection. He was tempted, resisted sin, overcame sin, was tried and it is certain that sin is not an option for him eternally. So it must be with us.)
It was also to intercede with God for our sake from a position of firsthand experience. Furthermore, it technically satisfied the law (the soul that sinneth, it shall die) that one without sin could pay the penalty for those who had sinned (sin, by its nature, eventually leads to death and destruction because it destroys the creation, so the 'death penalty' for sin is not arbitrary). There are quite a few other reasons. I'd advise reading the scriptures on the subject.
2:Satan is called "the prince of the power of the air" (ever hear the term "the devil's radio"?). He does have power of "fiat", if you will, similar to that of God (that which allows influence of the physical by will -and also the minds of men) -though his power to affect mankind has been limited by God (Yes. God knowingly allows him to affect mankind -beginning in Eden -for a purpose). He also has mental abilities which far exceed those of man -not to mention much more experience than man. He did deceive a third of the angels (now called demons) who have similar abilities and also similarly affect mankind.
It is not as if Satan himself is constantly tempting everyone all at the same time. There is an order to his disorder, if you will -and tends toward that which has the greatest destructive effect. If he can tempt or destroy many through one, for example -why be inefficient? Therefore, men with the most power, influence or willingness to do wrong might be prime targets.
The being which came to be called Satan was not always disobedient. It is difficult for many to imagine -some might even say it is blasphemous to say such, but he was a beloved son of God.
From God's perspective, he would have Satan become as the prodigal son -but it is Satan's choice.
Be careful with "sympathy for the devil", however -leave that situation very much with God and focus on god yourself -not Satan. Satan has not repented, and has no good intent for you or your future.
Man has the potential to one day judge the affairs of angels -to become sons of God with more power and authority than the angels. Satan -in arrogance and ignorance -attempted to remove God from his throne and take his place -so jealousy is to be expected.
Consider this, however.
Jud 1:9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
3:Because some other person told them something which was not true and they believed him/her, rather than studying the scriptures and asking God to lead them to understand the truth.
4:God takes full responsibility for allowing all that has been -and also for making it right. He allowed it to be wrong temporarily for a great purpose.
Free will does exist (In fact, that's how things went wrong. God gave instructions and then the angels who sinned -then man -chose otherwise).
However, God's will (and power to cause his will to come to pass) supersedes ours -and fortunately so. Even the free wills of men often supersede each other -in good ways and bad ways.
If I will to eat my sammich -but someone took my sammich -whatcha gonna do?
If I will to eat paste, but my teacher wills to take my paste away -it's a good thing.
If I continually will to do stupid things, and someone else wills to just let me -hopefully I'll learn by experience.
God is loving because "Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof".
The intended end state required what has been. Our perfection requires great pressures and forces.
However, not only is the end state more than worth all that has been, all that has been will eventually not be remembered.
Isa 45:6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things
Eze 33:11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
Rev 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Isa 65:17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
Isa 65:18 But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create:................
5:As I understand it, the idea of purgatory came from the following verses....
1Pe 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
1Pe 3:19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
1Pe 3:20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water
However, these verses actually refer to the demons who are now -since the attempt on God's throne (Isa 14:14I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. ) was put down even before the events in Eden -in a state of restraint -or "prison" -doing only as God allows.
Jud 1:6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
Some find it distasteful to think that God would have sent Christ (then called the Word) to "demons" to preach, but why would God not at least attempt to turn them -who were initially righteous -to repentance and again to righteousness?
