The Choice

So as I was perusing through the Sunday morning preachers on TV this morning I tuned into Charles Stanley preaching about the loving choice God gave us in the garden.

God gave Adam and Eve a choice which was an act of love on his part. You love me because you choose to, not because you have to, that's not really love. So he gave them a choice. They made the wrong choice and notice what he said: the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die.  

The topic of choice had me thinking of the Wheel of Fish scene on UHF (yes that UHF) where the contestant had a "choice" between their weight in fish or what was in the mystery box.



To Phyllis, the game show contestant, it truly did appear as if she had a choice, and who would pass up a mystery box anyway? From the perspective of the game show producer there was only one right answer, the other making for some humorous TV. The point where Christianity falls apart for me is the choice between eternal love/bliss or eternal damnation. No one in their right mind would choose damnation, but with damnation as one of the two choices is it really a choice? Even though I'm not a Christian I love the symbolism of love and redemption found within the faith but I believe Christianity can evolve (yes religion does evolve) if it moved away from the choice between Heaven or hell/ obedience vs. disobedience and focused more on love for our fellow man. So now when pastor Stanley, or any Christian for that matter, tell me the choice given at the garden was a loving choice I can't help but think back to that empty box.