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Let me ask you something. If a god-hating, baby-killing atheist can get into heaven for ten seconds of self-interested, passive participation, earning the same reward that a believer does for a lifetime of faith and good works, doesn't that kind of sour the product the Church is peddling?

I ask this not to be a smartass but because from a young age this is the source of my skepticism. If all one has to do to earn favor with God is repent, in a self-interested and desperate manner, facing mortal terror and dismemberment, what motivation is there to do good? And how do we reconcile this obvious loophole with an all-knowing, all-powerful God?

NT