Then we are pawns in some cosmic game and not free men. Lets say you are right, and I have been deigned to be a vessel of wrath and you a vessel of praise. Neither one of us is either moral nor immoral. We are amoral robots. If we are not free to choose our behavior then morality nor more applies to us than it would a puppet on a string.
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Hold it... right there. Okay? You missed entirely what I was saying.
Key term - listen closely: "What if".
I am moral. I am not judging you, either. But, I know I am moral. My conscience commends me, it does not condemn me. I have a track record of changing people's lives for the better. I care... even though the creation sometimes can seem like some sort of cosmic joke. It isn't a joke, however. It is a process. It is so more Children of God can be made.
As for "freedom", no, the only true freedom is through Jesus. We are either "slaves to sin" or "slaves to righteousness". Now, I am a slave to righteousness, but what is righteousness? Righteousness is being right, good, getting away from error. I don't want to have error.
I do not want to be a hypocrite. And make no mistake about it: all sin is hypocrisy. We know good from bad.
When one does bad they invariably condemn themselves and they know the truth: the same bad they do, they condemn in others.
So true freedom is being a slave of righteousness.
In sin a person 'does what they do not want to do', and 'they do not do the good they know they should do'. In righteousness, through faith, we have the power to not do what we do not want to do. And we have the power to do the good we know we should do. So, we are free.
Am I a robot? My steps are ordered by God, but I am not a robot. I can barely perceive God controlling me, and to me it seems as if He does not. But, if I do good - which I know I do do - then I know that good comes not from me, but from God.
Those who sin: adultery, fornication, stealing, cheating, lying, and so on... that is not them doing it, but sin in them. When people envy famous people, rich people, people who live in material luxury... they are living in sin, chasing after the wind. It is useless vanity. When they strive night and day to earn some good words from their peers instead of trying to earn praise from God -- that is sin. It is all useless. Utterly useless.
All of creation has been subjected to futility... become an artist, a great cop, a super spy, President, whatever... super scientist... all useless. And why shouldn't it be? Books close, they end, what does anything achieve?
But, love is not useless. What is in the heart is not useless if what is in the heart is pure and true.
Then, there is no question about futility or "being a pawn". One then sees God. And who is God, but Love.
A remaining question you seem to harp on is "eternal Hell". Hell is mentioned, yes. But, not eternal. Hell is destroyed with death "thrown into the Lake of Fire". And it merely says, "Whosever name is not written in the Book of Life is thrown in as well". But, what does that mean?
For me it means a spiritual death. It is called "the second death".
And I believe with any death there is a rebirth.
But, you have to understand God plainly says in His Word that He will always relent if people repent. Jonah is a great example of this. God intended to send Jonah to a sinful city with a message of condemnation. But, God had shown He would use that message to cause Nineveh to repent.
And so Jonah ran. He did not think it fair. He spent his whole life striving, and now God would save these sinful people who never did what he did all along?
If that sounds familiar at all, it should be: the parable of the Prodigal Son speaks of this, as does the parable of the workers in the field.
Anyway, so Jonah eventually is sent to Nineveh with God's message. And that message is one of destruction -- certain destruction. No chance for repentance is given. But, they repented saying, "Who knows, maybe God will save us". And the city was saved.
That is how God works. Parents do the same thing.
Judgment Day is coming, believe me, and everyone will be at that point where they will either repent or face some very serious spiritual fire.
I will admit, I have been through a lot of fire. And I see what it does. It is good, not bad.
As for trying to persuade people and such, all I can do is try and reason with people. It is coming, and I am so sure of it I am not all bothered about saying, "Repent"... because by now people either believe us or not.
I haven't been able to escape God. And, I really doubt anyone else will be able to, either.
All I can do is throw a rope before the flames start coming.