Re:Defining God.

You should not open your mind to blasphemy, such as books that "knowingly" add to, take from, or alter the Word of God. We are not responsible for unknown sin, but we are responsible for knowlegable sin. God does not punish us; He guides us and hopes that we will do what is safe for us to do. God states that as children, prior to the age of accountability (which I personally believes varies from person-to-person) we are not responsible for our sins and will not be punished for them. The New Testament tells us that when we are saved, we are forgiven for past, present, and future sin. That does not sound much like we are going to be punished if we falter to me. However, because God does not control our freewill, and it is a gift from him, if we choose as adults not to accept and trust in Him, He will allows us to not spend eternity in Heaven. We make that choice, not Him. He gave the choice to us, like the perfect authoritarian parent would. Notice that I say "like." God has only one "begotten" child, the remainder of us are merely his creations, not his spawn, though he graciously accepts us as his own through the shed blood of his blessed Son. His Son's blood was shed by us. Altough God knew that we would do this, He did not make it so. He allowed it to happen both because he loved us and wanted us to be with him, and because His Son did not ask Him to prevent it. God loved us enough to figure out a way to get around His own rules. This way was His Son. He did this for us because He did not want us to suffer. If we choose not to accept the Son, we are turning our backs on God's every attempt to save us; He is not turning His back on us.