Dee Jay,
You know that I was once a member of an ultra-fundamentalist group. I even quit a job in hopes of being sent out as a missionary. Read the Bible many times, and tons of sermons, ante-Nicene writers, books and various material. And one thing I cannot grasp about free will. And that is, the consequences God has for those who choose not to do as he asks.
Concepts such as grace notwithstanding, the bottom line comes down to : do this and you're ok - do that, and I'll let you suffer horribly forever and ever. But hey, it IS your choice.
Now if a *human* being did that, we'd call him some kind of psychopath, a nut case. I mean, do you REALLY have a choice?
I mean, how would you feel if I told you, agree with me, and everything is cool. *Disagree* with me, and I'll (long list of horrible tortures that I won't delineate). But hey, it's your choice.
Now if we think people are crazy for doing this, why is it normal for God, who is love, to do this?
My only thought is that somehow, there MUST be merit in doing good, and goodness, for its OWN sake, but I've actually found that most of the time, it's just damned hard, and there's no reward. (None of that, reward will be great in heaven - that goes back to my first point).
What do y'all think?