It's a common misconception among non-believers, atheists, and agnostics that "either God is all loving or He doesn't exist." The Bible presents a balanced view of God: all-loving, all-merciful, all-gracious, and all-just. The problem isn't God; rather, the problem is finite minds trying to define the Infinite...which is, impossible. It is possible to know God -- and in a personal way. It is not possible to know God exhaustively and completely. If you could, He would cease to be God. You see contradictions in a God that can be both all-loving (i.e., He loves everyone, saints and sinners) and yet be all-just (i.e., He must punish sin). But both "love" and "justice" must be seen as He defines them, not how you or I do. He so loved the world that He sacrificed His Son, something I couldn't do in a million years (especially for a population of ungrateful degenrates). But that's what the Bible teaches, just as it teaches He exhausted all of His wrath on sin on His Son (His justice); therefore, those who have faith in the Son and His sacrifice, are seen by God as holy as Jesus. What's so difficult to believe about that? Although I don't comprehend exactly how He could sacrifice His own Son, I nevertheless see a perfect balance there of both love (for us) and justice (on sin). Conversely, those who don't pay homage to the Son through faith, are by that very action declaring, "I don't need that. I'll pay for my own sins." God then has no choice but to exercise justice on the unrepentant individual. But let me stress that it's not God who has condemned that individual to eternal torment: the individual consciously made that choice himself by rejecting the only suitable sacrifice (again, as He defines it) for sin. You see, when the smoke clears, it really doesn't matter what you believe, what I believe, what Muslims believe, what Christians believe, etc. What matters is God's terms, who He is, and how He views things.

Having injected my daily (and rare) sermon , let me also add that I have always had a HUGE problem with Christians (not even nut-cases) saying, "God told me thus-and-so." Because I've seen it used to justify everything from finding a spouse to having an affair. If someone says, "God told me..." I always interrupt and ask, "Oh? What's the Scripture reference?" He does speak through Scripture to the spiritually discerning (i.e., believers). But I seriously doubt He cares who specifically I marry (as long as she is a believer, as there are biblical guidelines to that extent). I doubt He's concerned about where I work (as long as it's not some illegal or immoral joint, again, scriptural guidelines). And I doubt He cares who I'm pulling for in the Superbowl. Heck, I know some silly believers who ask God to "tell" them which shoes to wear that day! Like I said, I've got a big problem with it. I do believe God has already spoken, via Scripture and most importantly, through His Son. And yeah, He can "speak" in other subtle ways to alert you of His presence: a gentle breeze, a gorgeous sunset, a miraculous rescue, etc. But does He audibly speak? Only if you're droppin' acid!

Yeah, Snake's a big sinner, and I'd be the first to admit I'm way down the totem pole on holiness and morality. But then again, I'm not trying to tell anyone how to live. However, if you ask about my theology, see above. God doesn't need me (of all people) to defend Him. I just think it's unfair to write Him off by making flippant statements when it's obvious that you've chosen to pick and choose which aspects regarding Christianity you don't like and lumping all believers into the "right-wing, fundamentalist, Spongebob Squarepants" (another despicable action by some believers) categorey. For "heaven's sake," if you're going to attack Christians, at least give a fair and balanced view of what they believe...and who God truly is. What you said would be like my saying, "All atheists are criminals and generally bad people." Not accurate, and not fair.