Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: mib@geech.gnu.ai.mit.edu (Michael I Bushnell) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: man mere play things? Message-ID: Date: 28 Apr 91 23:28:58 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Free Software Foundation, Cambridge, MA Lines: 18 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article tblake@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu (Thomas Blake) writes: Freedom to make mistakes does not mean freedom from consequences. We as children of God are responsible for the consequences of our actions, just as when we were children we were responsible to our parents for the consequences of our actions. You imply that a "loving" God would not punish his children. I assume your parents punished you as a child. Would you say that they didn't love you? Would a loving parent torment and torture their child? I think not. That is called child abuse, unless you are a particular sort of Christian, in which case it is called "divine judgment". The loving punishment of a parent stops somewhat short of the demonic actions many Christians like to attribute to God. -mib