Why would Jesus/God play favorties?
925663
There are some interesting verses in the bible.  God says these things:  "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will harden the hearts of those also whom I choose".  God also likens Himself to a potter, and we are the clay.  He speaks of how He, as God...has the right to choose what to do with that clay.  I don't know why certain people are found of God and certain others are not.  But there is one thing I believe with all my heart:  that God is perfectly just, righteous and holy.  So I do not give up my faith in Him for those things I do not understand.
90961
As I am Jewish, I find a lot of contradictions in Christians. And narrow minded ideals, which is also a contradiction, as Jesus taught the exact OPPOSITE of that sort of behaviour. So forgive me, but you goyim just confuse the hell out of me.
1172797
Another pick and chose from your part eh? Why don't you believe the bible as whole instead of picking and choosing verses that you think justifies the violent works of your faith? That's too hypocritical to get some bible verse yet deny the rest. This isn't a prophecy, this is a form of praise. Did you analyze this verse yourself, it talks about Israel, are you an israelite? Jesus is the KIng of Zion no other else.
743205
And why would we worship a god who favors pedophiles over heroes?\n\nDoesn't seem like a nice god.  What motivation do we have to worship him?\n\nOh yeah, right, eternal damnation.  So, we are supposed to believe the word of a god who has no qualms about tossing heroes into Hell.  Yeah, do people really think that God would be good on his word?  If he doesn't care about human life, then what makes you think he cares about honesty?
515010
Because your spirit is equal to everyone elses. God is not handing out favors. It is your awareness that sets you apart. You are aware of the God inside of you. Pray inwards, that you will know what to do, you will do the right thing. Take responsiblity for your actions. God is not playing the game, you are. (Well, I think God is playing, but as you)
297280
If preacher's right, God plays favorites.  But Jesus said his father is not like that, that he makes the sun shine and the rain fall on good and bad alike (Matt 5:45, roughly).  Richard Bach (who wrote Illusions, Bridge Across Forever, and others) said prayers are always answered, but when the door of opportunity opens most people won't go through.  C.S. Lewis put an interesting phrase into the Narnia stories fairly often: Aslan is not a TAME lion.  \n\nPerhaps the life you love and the beauty of the world around you is your answer.  In the Gospel of Thomas Jesus says "the kingdom of heaven is already spread out on the earth, but men do not see it."\n\nIn my early 20's I sought an answer to the question, "Is there an important difference between the Buddhist Dharma and the Christian Gospel?"  God "said" no.  But don't think of it as spoken words.  "Still small voice" is closer.  Not words but knowing.  Knowing in the heat of an argument that "right now" I'm supposed to forgive her.  \n\nIf you really want to deal with God's silence, let me recommend The Silence of God by James Carse.  I consider his Finite and Infinite Games more my bible than the Bible.\n\n"Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven, and all else will be added to you."  Seems to me you've been doing a great job of it.  \n\nPeace
1105409
God is jealous in the sense of what His name means. That He is a God that requires our undivided love, devotion, attention and worship in spirit and in truth. He so requires this because this is the way He feels about us and adores us so by sending us His one and only beloved beautiful son Jesus Christ to take our place of death on the cross. Because God gave us His all, He demands the same from us which I believe is a fair request, don't you?
492567
When you love somebody, do you not enjoy talking about how wonderful they are and praising them to other people?  And isn't that a pleasure?  Now imagine if the object of your love were perfect, how much greater your pleasure in praising that object would be.  God invites you to praise and worship Him in order to make you happy- to enjoy Him and enjoy your relationship with Him.  It's not like He's a vain idiot who needs to fish for admiration and flattery all the time.  He doesn't need any of that.  He doesn't ask you to do it for His sake, but for your own.
850444
The main factor I am not seeing in your analysis is that God gave us all free will. God wants us to choose to love him. If we were forced to love God, would that be love at all? Free will factors in all aspects of life. Your positive and negative experiences that you attribute to god favoring you with blessing, or punishing you, could be the results of someone else imposing their free will upon you. This is why in the Bible we are told to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. As not to impose our free will upon them and effect them in a negative manner. It sounds like you are struggling with some very important spiritual dilemmas, I will pray for you and I wish you the best.
472132
It's one of those many paradoxes in the Bible.  I do believe in God knowing all things, but the act of love requires a wanting to choose rather than a forced allegiance.  How can one explain the mind of God in this?  Only that in his perfect plan, he chose to give us the opportunity to choose Him out of love.  I know that it seemingly appears to be double faced, but why do we as Christians demand that God make sense to our particular intellectual understanding?\n\nAlso, the English language is a detriment to scriptures.  You almost have to understand the original texts to understand what is being said in the different passages.\n\nAs I have stated on these blogs, I like the Hebrews passages that quote the Isaiah passages that say that the law will be written on our hearts and minds.  So in your prayer life start asking God to reveal His truth in your heart.  Ask, Seek and Knock...
345143
Sometimes I wonder why He would want to mess up his creation too!  But seriously, I think God created man and then woman to worship Him--he couldn't worship himself but his creation could by loving him with all of their heart, soul and mind.  He created us out of love and to love Him.  He chose to create us and He knows us before we are even born.
310443
That's why I choose to worship Him.   Because He is the only one who gave His life for me.  No other religion gives salvation so freely.  All other gods are fake and work for Satan.  The only one who defeated Satan was Jesus Christ.
666331
Hitler stood againtist Jesus at every point of life. the taste for power is not what the bible teaches. it is a thrist for Jesus Christ and following Him. let see Jesus taught the most powerful were those that served. today many people ignore the bible to follow their own earthly lust.
209664
According to the Word of God, we love Him because he first loved us. I would hope that is your motive.
385853
God is a loving God -- He loved us so much that He sent His beloved son Jesus to die for OUR sins so he gives us as many chances as we need -- we just have to accept Jesus as our savior.  Then God holds us in His mighty hand and no one can take us from Him.
1048119
God is soveriegn, and everything that happens is according to His will. Sometimes God even has to allow bad things to happen to make people turn to him or to help people trust in Him.
628556
No offense taken.  I believe in God because of what He has already done.  He gave His son for us, would he not freely give us all things?  (Romans 8:32)  That does not mean that we will be rich if we ask Him for it, because that may not be good for our spiritual growth.  However it does mean that He has everything we need and He wants to provide for us.  Just like I would do for my sons.