The Bible

First of all, I am not well versed in the Christian teachings and I do not mean to offend anyone. However, I am confused by some of the tone and reasoning behind some of the Biblical excerpts I read.

In the passage that began “You shall love the Unnamable with all your heart and with all your mind and with all your strength …” my initial feeling was that the statement seemed a little, well, bossy. I’m not quite sure how else to put it, but it really seems dominating. Maybe it is meant in a casual way as if we will all coincidentally come to love God on our own terms for valid reasons, or maybe it is a demand by a jealous god. The rest of the passage goes on to say when and where you must think about and love the Unnamable, and I feel like I may be missing a loving, underlying point. I fail to see how demanding love is actually loving.

Another quote I had a hard time wrapping my brain around was “I form light and create darkness; I make peace and create evil.” I would love for someone to post an explanation of this here on my blog so I can get another perspective on it in all seriousness. I don’t understand why God would create darkness and evil if he is everything that is good? And for that matter, is it wrong for me to think it is manipulative to create people for pleasure, demand they love you and do good, tempt them with evil, see which way they go, and when they do good there is supposedly a great reward for them? What exactly is it that happens if one were to do something bad? I have a hard time understanding that and maybe I just completely made a fool of myself talking out of my a**, but I would truly love for someone to give me their take on the subject or correct me on my misconceptions! J