Hello Notch, thanks for responding.

You said:
“Sure it is. God created flawed humans. God obviously set behavior standards that we can't meet. And if you don't turn to him (as the only answer) he punishes you.”

OK, that’s the opposite of what I keep saying.

But you keep ignoring me, because you have a specific idea that you want to attack, even if it’s not anything that I’m actually saying.

God doesn’t punish us.

When Isaiah was taken into the Throne Room of God, he suffered. But God wasn’t touching him. Angels weren’t doing anything to him. God was not causing his suffering. Isaiah suffered his own sin. He directly states that it’s the agony his own sin caused him.

Hell is the suffering our sins cause us. God is not a torturer. We torture ourselves with the sin we committed.

You said:
“God not only punished Adam and Eve with suffering and death for a single sin, he punished *all* of humanity with suffering and death because of the single mistake by a single human. You can attempt to spin this as much as you want (all the rest of your reply), but it won't change this reality.”

Why do I need to spin it?

All I have to do is point out that your description isn’t accurate.

God doesn’t torture Adam. He doesn’t lay a finger on them.

Adam and Eve suffer guilt, shame, division, despair, regret, and spiritual death, all without God doing any of it. They suffer it all as soon as they sin.

They suffer all of that before God even begins the conversation with them.

Why?

Because their own sin brought about their suffering. Not God.

God set about to cover them and rescue them. God provided skins to cover their shame, so they wouldn’t feel like they had to hide anymore. God promised them a defeat of the serpent, undoing the work that put them in this place.

God set out immediately to rescue them.

Humanity sinned and condemned itself through its own actions.

God saves us.

All of your accusations flip those two facts around.