HEAVEN’S GREAT DEBATE – a short story by Dennis Christian
What if God called representatives from heaven’s intelligent beings together to discuss His proposal to create the universe, earth, and mankind. This is the way it might have gone:

Chapter I – The Summons

I had been enjoying another wonderful evening in heaven and was just sitting down to dinner when I heard a knock at the door and got up to see who it was. One of God’s angels was there and handed me an envelope and said “This is from the Father, please read immediately,” then abruptly left. So, I went back to my chair, opened the envelope and began to read. It was in memo form and addressed to me by name. The subject read “Summons.” I continued to read, “Dear Aliender, you have been summoned to represent your people at a conference at my palace beginning the 1st of next month. The purpose is to discuss the merits of a new project I have in mind. Please be there promptly at 9 AM Heaven Standard Time (HST) and be prepared to spend two to three days. Signed, God the Father.”

Wow, I thought – to represent all of my people in a meeting with the Father – that’s a big thing. You see, my people are many, and we have been in heaven ever since our world ended ¾ of eternity past. So far as the Father has revealed to us, we were the first intelligent beings for which the Father created a world to live in for a time before coming to heaven. The only intelligent beings God created that we know of prior to us are the angels, seraphim, and cherubim. Our world was known as Oonos. Since then, there have been two other worlds – Baita (created in ½ eternity past) and Gamma (created in ¼ eternity past) – and those also came to an end and their inhabitants are now here as well.

For some time now, there have been rumors going around heaven that the Father was up to some major new undertaking. I guess that is what this conference is going to be about.

Chapter II –The Debate – Day 1

The Gathering

It’s about 8 AM the first day of the big conference, and I’m standing in the palace foyer just outside the conference room. I got here early just to be sure I was not late and to see who all the Father had invited. Another person was already here, and I introduced myself to her. Turns out she is from Baita, and her name is Teresa. She had received the same summons as I had. Neither of us knew whether there would be others from our worlds at the conference.

At about 8:30 another person entered the foyer. He came over to Teresa and me and introduced himself. He was Leard from Gamma. As we conversed as to what the conference might be about, in walked the angel Gabriel. We had seen him many times about heaven. He went straight to the conference room door and propped it open, and turning toward us, invited us to come on in. The conference table was four-sided: two chairs at one end, three chairs on one side, two on the other side, and two chairs at the other end. As I looked closer, there were name tags at each chair. The two at the head of the table were for the Father and the Son. To their right were angels Gabriel and Michael. At the opposite end from the head the name tags read Head Cherubim and Head Seraphim. Along the other side were Teresa’s, Leard’s, and my names.

At Gabriel’s suggestion, we three took our seats. At about 8:45 HST, two beautiful but different beings came into the room. Looking over the table, they proceeded to sit down in the Cherubim’s and Seraphim’s chairs. We three introduced ourselves to them and they answered back in amazing voices. The one in the Cherubim chair sounded like beautiful music. He introduced himself as Praiser the Third, head of the order of the Cherubim. The Seraphim’s voice was that of a low and powerful rumble, like the sound of a huge waterfall in the distance. He was Guardian the 14th, current head of the order of the Seraphim.

About that time Michael the angel came in – also well known to us as the other arch angel. Gabriel hurried Michael to his chair exclaiming that the Father and Son were arriving. Then Gabriel took his seat. When the Father and Son came through the door, Gabriel said, “All rise.” Like every time I had seen them, they appeared as one in a glowing cloud – one being, yet strangely two persons within the cloud. As all in heaven know, the Son was on the Father’s right hand.

The Purpose

The Father begins to speak. His voice is pure, full, and authoritative, yet kind. “Please be seated. First, please know that I will be leading this meeting. As One God, the Son, the Spirit, and I are in full agreement regarding the meeting’s purpose and desired outcome. Though I will lead, the Son may speak at any time. The Spirit is here in spirit and may also speak, though you won’t see Him.”

“You all must be wondering why We have called you here. As you are all aware, in eternity past We created three worlds – all of which have come and gone, and their inhabitants – the intelligent beings – have been in heaven now since the last quarter of eternity past. We believe it is time to create a new world – the 4th one. We have already chosen a name – the Universe. We plan to make major changes in the kind of world this will be. That is why you are here. We want your input – pro’s and con’s – for creating the kind of world we have in mind. We will want to know what each of you thinks about it. That is, whether we should do it or not, or, if We go ahead, what would you want us to change.”

The Proposition
“As you are aware, one of Our most important traits is love. Teresa, Leard, and Aliender, when We created your worlds, We gave you the gift of life, and you experienced Our love for you, and you loved us in return – as you were created to do. Your peoples and We have enjoyed wonderful relationships all these years. It has been your nature to always do the things that are pleasing to Us – and we are indeed well-pleased.”

“As We did for your worlds, We will use Our unlimited power to create the Universe – a vast physical environment. On a specific planet that will be known as Earth, conditions will be ideal to support life. It will be teaming with all manner of life – both plant and animal. We will also create a new type of intelligent being. They will be called humans. Earth will offer great beauty to all human senses – eye, ear, nose, taste and touch. Like the inhabitants of Gamma, they will be charged with populating the earth and taking care of it. And, like in your worlds, We are giving life to each human so they can use their various physical and mental capabilities to enjoy the beauty and wonder of creation; to create and build interesting, beautiful, and useful things; to have loving relationships with their family and friends; to love and treat all other people kindly; and to have a loving relationship and have fellowship with Us. As with your worlds, the new one will eventually end.”

“However, it will be different from your worlds because We are going to give humans freedom.” All the created beings at the table gasped noticeably. “It is Our desire to have an unforced relationship with them. For that to happen, We will have to make them in Our image. That is, in addition to intelligence, emotions, a conscience, and an appreciation for beauty, We will give them a free will. Our standards for living will be the same that you had – always do what is right, and, in addition to their conscience, We will provide principles, rules, and commands for them to ensure they know what is right. As they live out and enjoy their lives following these standards, We will enjoy fellowship with them. However,” as the Father hesitated a moment, “Their freedom will have implications – for them and Us, but We will get to that later.”

“We mentioned rules and commands. These will be given through revelations to certain individuals and through a special event, which we will also cover later. These standards will be combined in a book of scriptures they will call the Bible. Through scripture, the special event, and their observation of the Universe, they will have all the evidence they need to know and understand that We created them, and through their conscience and scripture, they will know how We want them to live – always doing what they ought – the way you three lived out your lives in the previous worlds.” Then the Father leaned back and asked, “So, what do you all think of the proposed new world so far?”

Initial Reactions
First to respond were the Seraphim and Cherubim – both with the same concern. As they understood it, Lucifer would have access to the new world, and he would no doubt deceive the humans into rejecting what God wants and possibly influence them into outright rebellion and denial that God even exists. The Father confirmed that would be the case; Lucifer, AKA Satan, would be there and would be tempting them to sin.

Then Michael spoke up, “Lord, with their freedom to sin and with Satan tempting them, no doubt some or all will end up sinners. You know what happened because you gave us angels free will – some, like Satan, sinned against You, a third of them joined in rebellion, and You cast them out of heaven. And these were purely spiritual beings. These humans, who will be physical as well as spiritual beings, will be even more susceptible to sin. How will You keep the same fate from happening to humans?”

Gabriel responded, “Father, like Michael, I don’t understand why You want to do this, but, notwithstanding his concerns, I trust You have a good reason. So, I‘m ready to do whatever You ask to assist in the start and ongoing support of the new world.”

The Father then turns His gaze towards me. “What do you think so far, Aliender?” Well, so far, I didn’t know what to think, but, I finally managed a question. “Father, I don’t understand why an intelligent being, even one with free will, would disobey you. Except for Lucifer’s and his followers’ rebellion, none of us from Oonos, Baita, or Gamma have ever seen or heard of anyone doing that. Why would they do such a thing, and what in the world would the consequences be if they did?” Leard and Teresa immediately responded that that was their question as well.

“Okay”, said the Father, “I hear you. With the exception of Gabriel, all of you are concerned with the possibility that humans will sin because of their free will. And, Gabriel, We are very grateful for your confidence in Our reasons, but We know you are just as concerned about this as the others. Let Me take this moment to express Our deepest gratitude to you, Michael, and the two-thirds of the angels that have not sinned but have remained faithful through the millions of years you have been with Us.”

The Break
The Father called for a fifteen-minute break. When Teresa, Leard, and I returned to the table, a conversation pursued as we waited for the meeting to resume. “This is all amazing but a bit overwhelming,” Leard said. “Did you notice that in this plan, as best I can tell, God the Father will not be showing Himself and talking face to face with humans in their world like He did in our worlds. We saw and conversed with our Creator, but it doesn’t look like humans will experience that. Won’t the humans who end up in hell blame the Father because He didn’t show Himself and visit with them? And when the Son goes to earth, they can say ‘We didn’t know He was God the Son because He looked like a human, not God?’” “You make a good point,” I said. “Would we have believed if we had never seen God?”
Then Teresa spoke up, “Well, that’s not the thing that is bothering me about the plan. What I don’t understand is why God, with His power of foresight, wouldn’t just look ahead and only create those humans whom He can foresee will believe and be saved, thus avoiding anyone having to go to hell?” “Wow!” Leard responded. “That’s a mind-bender.” “That’s not all,” Teresa continued. “You know what happens when sin is allowed – like what happened to Satan and the demons – pain and suffering will result. Can you imagine that? Humans on earth will experience pain and suffering – something that none of us ever had to go through. Why would God create such a world?” About that time the others returned to the meeting and the Father resumed the debate discussion.

Arguments Against – Part 2
The Father, who is of course, aware of all things, spoke, “Three new issues came to light while we were at break – thanks to our friends from the three previously created worlds. Leard, would you like to share the issue you mentioned to Aliender and Teresa?” Leard started, “I probably just missed something, but, unlike in your previous worlds where we often saw You and conversed with You directly, it appears You will not be doing that in the new world, and the lost may blame You for their hell because You created them and then never showed Yourself to them; they had to infer your existence through what You created and what You revealed in word to other men; and when You came as Christ, You looked like a man – not God.”
The Father responded, “You didn’t miss anything, rather you made a keen observation. In the new world, We will be emphasizing the importance of faith. In fact, without faith, it will be impossible for humans to please Us – which is for them to do what We want and hope for each one of them. As We mentioned earlier, faith or belief in what the Son will do for them to pay for their sins will be the basis for being saved and entering heaven. Likewise, faith in Our existence without having seen and conversed with Me is going to be required of humans.”

“But, We will not expect blind faith. We will provide evidence of Our existence. Creation itself is evidence – the intricate laws of nature and the detailed complexities of life just don’t emerge from nothing – they must have a cause, a Creator. Another major proof of our existence will be the miracles that the Son and some others, whom We will enable, will do. Each miracle will prove that there is something with authority over the laws of nature – God the Creator. The miracles the Son will do will show that He has authority over nature – proving that He is of God. Will humans have all their questions answered? No. They can always think of questions for which they will not have answers. But, We are giving them sufficient evidence to believe in Us. Like We said earlier, they will have no excuse for not believing.”
When it was clear the Father had made His point, Leard said, “Thank You, Father, for explaining this. It certainly is going to be a different kind of world!”
The Father continued, “Now, I believe you had a concern, Teresa. Would you please share it with all here?” Teresa sat up on the edge of her seat and said, “What I don’t understand is why You, with Your power of foresight, wouldn’t just look ahead and only create those humans whom You can foresee will believe and be saved, thus avoiding anyone having to go to hell?” The angels, Seraphim and Cherubim all gasped at the audacity of the question. “You don’t need to gasp, the question is not offensive.” He replied, “I want your honest questions – even if they seem to doubt Us in some way.”
“The answer is straightforward logic. If We created only the humans We foresaw would do what We wanted, it would not be creating a humanity with free will – it would be just a different way to force Our will. Remember what We said earlier. Creating a being of free will is going to be of great value to Us in terms of the relationships We will have with the individual humans. You know how much We love each individual from the three previous worlds and the wonderful relationships we enjoy with you and all the people of your worlds. That is of great value to Us. But what will be of even greater value to Us is when an individual, with the freedom to ignore or reject Us, wants to and chooses to have a loving relationship with Us. Humans will be like that. We are going to do something wonderful for them, and if or when they respond in gratitude and love, the fellowship and relationship with each will be awesome for them and Us.”

“I believe you had another concern didn’t you, Teresa?” the Father continued. “Yes, Father. If I am understanding the new world correctly, since sin will be occurring there, the result, like what Satan caused when he sinned, will be a world where there is pain and suffering – something Aliender, Leard, and I never had to experience in our worlds. Am I right, and, if so, I don’t understand why You would create a world like that?”
“You are right Teresa, and this question will perplex many humans also. There are multiple answers to this question, which, taken together, explain why in this kind of physical world, where sin indeed will be present, pain and suffering will not only be a reality but a necessity. Unlike the new world, in the previous worlds we tightly controlled natural events, and there was no sin, so we didn’t have to build into you the capacity to feel pain and suffering so you could survive. In the new world, in addition to the destructive power of sin, We will also be using great and powerful forces to create and maintain the physical environment to support human life. Thus, both sin and natural forces will jeopardize human survival if they aren’t able to sense pain and suffering and are motivated to take steps and live life to avoid those things that threaten their survival. So, the ability to feel pain is for their own benefit – to survive and live their life.”

“Furthermore, when the Son goes to earth and becomes a human, He will demonstrate Our love, mercy, care, and compassion on those who are suffering from illnesses and afflictions by miraculously healing them, and then take part in the sufferings Himself when He suffers and dies to pay the price for mankind’s sins. This leads to the most significant reason for pain and suffering. Through the Son’s sufferings while on earth, He will understand the pain and suffering humans endure. In turn, because all humans will experience pain and suffering and can sense more severe forms of it they have yet experienced, they will understand the extent of the sacrificial suffering and death the Son will endure on their behalf. Therefore, they will greatly value and appreciate what He did for them. The Son’s suffering and death could not happen, would make no sense if there were no such thing as pain and suffering on the earth. Because it exists, We will demonstrate the greatest love possible – laying down Our life – through the Son – for mankind. Similarly, mankind, who We said will be made in Our image, will be able to demonstrate their greatest love possible – by laying down their life for another.”
“There will yet be another benefit from going through pain and suffering – it will test one’s faith in God. Repeated testing of one’s faith will produce endurance and spiritual maturity.”

“Pain and suffering is a difficult subject to swallow. But, it goes hand in hand in a world where there is free will and hence, sin. It helps to keep it in perspective. What is way more important than temporary pain and suffering is the eternal security of the soul. That’s what We want for every human and why We gave the most We could give – the Son’s suffering and dying for the sins of every human. In this new free-will world, We won’t force every person to repent and believe, but We will make it possible and hope they do.”
Then the Father asks, “Are there any more issues or concerns anyone of you have thought of?” Then Praiser the Cherubim said he had a concern. “Father, since eternity past You, the Son, and the Spirit have been in perfect harmony and fellowship and have never been separated. Yet, Father it is well known that your eyes are too pure to even look upon evil. When the Son suffers and dies for the huge number of the sins of mankind – even becoming their sin that they might become His righteousness, won’t that force You to turn Your back on Him. How could You do that?” Before any of us could form a thought about such a pungent question, both the Father and Son were overcome with emotion and began to weep deeply. At the sight and sound of it, all present began to weep as well.

After many moments of nothing but heartfelt tears, we all sat there in silence – we all realized the enormous implication of Praiser’s question. The Father and Son acknowledged by their tears that for the first time in eternity, fellowship between God the Father and Son would be broken. I thought to myself, well this is certainly a clear measure of how much this new world, these humans must mean to God. No further explanation was needed on this concern – it was crystal clear.
After recovering from His weeping, the Father asks if there are more concerns. “I can think of a couple,” Michael the archangel stated. “If You save humans as a gift – in other words by grace – and salvation will not be based on obedience or good works, won’t humans just receive your gift of forgiveness and use it as license to do as they please – that is, a license to sin all they want knowing they’ll be forgiven and accepted into heaven?”
At that moment we all hear a very ethereal voice, one not coming from anyone at the table. “This is God the Spirit, and I will address this issue. The answer is straightforward – true faith or belief in God the Son’s payment for their sins can only happen in an attitude of repentance. That is, the human admits their wrongdoing and is truly sorry for it – call it remorse or contriteness. They want to and choose to stop sinning and start living the way they believe We want them to live. So, they are not looking for a ‘license to sin,’ they want to stop sinning. With this attitude, when they trust in the Son, accepting God’s gift of forgiveness and salvation, a great change will occur for them. I will enter their being, indwell and stay with them, sealing their new desire to please God. I will be a helper to them in various ways – like helping them understand spiritual truths and praying to the Father on their behalf when they are at a loss for what to pray. I will give them strength to no longer be slaves to sin, but to yield their bodies as instruments of righteousness.”
The Father then asked, “Did you say you had another question, Michael?” “Yes, Father. It is clear that there will be no guaranteed length of time for humans to live. Even if you give them a normal number of years to live, some will die earlier due to sickness, accident, or a victim of sin such as war or murder. So, it’s very probable that all will not have the same opportunity in terms of time to hear the gospel and believe. Further, they will not all have the same opportunity to believe because of the place of birth, their parents’ beliefs, their educational opportunities, and so on. What I am getting at is that some may claim it will not be fair because some had more opportunities to believe than others?”
The Father responded, “You are correct. Some will have more opportunities than others. A world of free will and sin and one of guaranteed equal opportunity are mutually exclusive. What We will ensure is that We will be unjust with no one, as mentioned earlier. In regards to their eternal outcome, everyone will receive either justice or mercy. We want all of them to receive the mercy that comes through the Son’s payment for their sins – what We explained earlier. But for those who won’t accept it because of unbelief, they will receive justice – the just punishment for their sins.”
With that, the Father adjourned the meeting for the day. “We will continue back here at 9 HST sharp, and be thinking of any other objections or concerns you might have.”

Reflections on Day 1

As we left the meeting, Leard, Teresa, and I all had the same idea – stop in the palace’s lounge area for a refreshment and discuss how the meeting was going. The lounge area was large with many soft and comfortable couches and chairs. The refreshment counter was self-serving, and after each of us had picked one out, we sat down together in one corner of the area. At first, all were quiet – perhaps mentally exhausted from the deep theological conversation we had been ingesting all day. Finally, I broke the ice, “Are you as blown away by the potential new world as I am? An intelligent being made in God’s image – with free will and who will be allowed to disobey God. After the revolt by Satan and his demons, I would have never thought God would again give a created being free will. But, what amazed me most is that the Son would be willing to leave heaven and become a human, and equally amazing is that the Father would be willing to turn His back on the Son for the sake of the human race. What a testament to the value God is going to place on them!”.

After a bit of a pause, Aliender continued, “Well, what do you two think about the day? And, after the list of concerns covered today, do you think there could possibly be any more? It seems to me, God has thought of every potential problem and has an answer for each.”

Sighing as she was relaxing in a cushy recliner, Teresa answered, “Well, there is still one thing I can think of that seems contradictory. It’s the part where the Father said, ‘They will be called “God’s Elect’ because God will have chosen them from among all humans to enter heaven. Yet, He said that every human will have the freedom to make their own choice and respond in repentance and faith. That seems to be a contradiction. Is it God’s choice or their choice?” “Wow, I didn’t catch that apparent contradiction,” said Leard. “God choosing or electing those who will be saved and the free offer of salvation to all humans – yes, that seems like a contradiction to me too. If both things are true (and God wouldn’t lie), then I think there is a word for this – an antinomy. It means two truths that by themselves are obviously true, but placed side by side seem contradictory. We’ve got to hear this explained. If no one else brings this up tomorrow, you bring it up.” Teresa agreed she would.

Then Leard added, “You know, I also have a question. It’s about salvation or eternal life being a gift – even a free gift – because one cannot earn it and certainly doesn’t deserve it being a sinful creature. When one of these humans is saved, they will be a follower or disciple of the Son. They will want to do and will try to do those things that please Him. Now, remember how the Father said the Son would suffer and die – at the hands of unbelieving humans. Don’t you know those who believe in and follow the Son while still on earth will be mistreated by unbelievers just as the Son was. So, you could say then that salvation will not be free to humans – it will cost them mistreatment, maybe even death, at the hands of the unbelievers. So, that seems to me to be another contradiction.”

“Aaah! You guys are wearing me out,” remarked Aliender. “I’m starting to get brain freeze. Obviously, there is more for the Father to explain tomorrow. I think I’ll turn in for the night. See you at 9.”

Chapter III – The Debate – Day 2

“Let the meeting come to order,” said the Father. It was the beginning of day 2 of the meeting, and all were present and accounted for – except God the Spirit, though we all knew He was there in spirit. The Father continued, “Today, I have asked the Son to lead the meeting and take on whatever additional concerns or questions you may have. But, I will stay by His side and participate in the discussion.” Then the Father looks at the Son and says, “It’s all Yours.”

As the Son starts to speak, all the created beings at the table rise and bow the knee to Him. Gabriel then says, “Lord, we all honor and give You glory for Your love and willingness to obey the Father, leave heaven to become a human, and suffer and die to rescue them from their sin. We have never seen, yea, never heard of such selfless, sacrificial love. Praise and glory be yours for all eternity!” And all replied, “Amen!”

The Son begins to speak, “Thank all of you for your kind words. But doing the will of the Father is no burden. On the contrary, it gives me great joy. Now, We are aware that there are more concerns to cover before we start Arguments For the proposed plan.” The Seraphim and Cherubim volunteered that they had had a conversation about the seeming contradiction between God’s election of the saved and the free offer of salvation to all. “Yes,” the Son replied. “We saw and heard you back in your quarters when you were discussing it. As it turns out, Teresa also expressed the same concern to Aliender and Leard after yesterday’s meeting. I’ll do my best to explain it so you can understand. I said this because, due to Our infinite intellect, there are some things the Father and I can comprehend that no created being – even the most intelligent ones – can understand. The humans will also find this a difficult question and will not all agree on an explanation.”

“First, let Me remind you that it is Our desire that all humans be saved. However, because We will give them free will, We will not force that to happen. We considered just giving a blanket pardon to all humans, but Our just nature would not allow that – their sin has to be punished. So, We needed to come up with a way to rescue them while at the same time is just. Before we chose the way, We realized that the moment We chose the way, it determined who would be saved – given that We could look forward and foresee who would comply with it. So, by choosing the way We essentially choose who is going to be saved.”

“One way We could have chosen is to base salvation on their good deeds compared to their sins. If their good deeds outweighed their sins, We could forgive them. But, We quickly rejected that way because a person would never have the assurance that their good works were enough. We wanted a way where they could be sure of their salvation.”

“After thinking through all other possible plans and modeling them using Our minds’ infinite intellect and foreknowledge, there was one way that resulted in the most people being saved, and it was the plan that required Our sacrificial love – the plan We already described for you, that is, the Son becoming a human and sacrificing Himself to suffering and death as punishment for mankind’ sins. It will become a historical fact, and whoever, in an attitude of repentance, hears and believes in what the Son will have done for them will be saved. It will be their choice, but, as We showed above, it was also Our choice.” At hearing this, we all sat in amazement. It reminded us of just how inferior our intellect is compared to God’s.

Then the Son asked if there were any last concerns (knowing full well that Leard had one). After a moment’s hesitation, Leard said, “Yes, Lord, I have one. I expressed it to Aliender and Teresa yesterday after the meeting adjourned for the day. A short way to express what is another seeming contradiction is that salvation will be free, but discipleship will be costly. When a human is saved, which is a gift from God – they didn’t earn it, they just have to believe it – they become a disciple, and will experience sufferings at the hands of unbelievers just like You will. So, salvation is free but being a disciple is costly. Isn’t that a contradiction?”

The Son said, “Thanks, Leard for clearly laying out the seeming contradiction. A number of humans will puzzle over this as well. This is not a difficult one to answer. Ask yourself the question, ‘Are there or can there be difficult consequences when one receives a valuable gift?’ Let’s say a wealthy uncle gave you a valuable piece of land just because he liked you. The gift was free, yet you will experience some consequences. You will have to pay property taxes on it. You will be responsible for maintaining the property, and, if it had a dwelling on it, for insuring and maintaining it. Indeed, for almost all valuable gifts you would incur the responsibility of being a good steward of it.”

“The point is that just because you got a free gift, that does not imply there are no consequences. Therefore, assuming you have the option to accept or reject the free gift, before you accept it, it will be prudent to consider the consequences of doing so. Let’s see how this applies to the free gift of salvation or eternal life. What kinds of consequences could a believer incur for accepting the gift of eternal life?”

“For one, there will be those in their world who view the Father and the Son and believers as enemies. These include Satan and his demons, the ungodly, and those who follow false religions. They are or will be against God, and they will be against believers.” Another is that the Father has standards for living, which He will give through humans’ conscience and scripture.”

“Accepting the gift of eternal life will mean giving up a sinful lifestyle. Also, once humans receive the gift of eternal life, they will want to and choose to place God first in their lives – even above family. Trusting in Me may alienate them from family – like when their family is devout in a false religion and the family disowns them for trusting in Me. Receiving the gift of God – forgiveness of sin and eternal life – must not be a half-hearted decision.”

“Another result is that after humans trust Me, they will understand that all things are God’s – including the things they possess. They will no longer be owners but will become stewards of these things, accountable to God for how they use them.”

“You may be thinking, ‘That’s a lot of change or cost to them. They may feel they can’t do it; they are not strong enough.’ But, here is a wonderful truth about accepting the gift of eternal life – God will change them into a new person. They will literally be born again – spiritually. They will be a new creature with their old ways having passed away, and new ways, thoughts, and desires will come. God will enable the new self to deal with the consequences of discipleship when He changes them into the new person. And, as the Spirit mentioned earlier, the moment they believe, He – the Holy Spirit, will indwell them, protecting and helping them.”

“Finally, consider this – the most important thing in a human’s life on earth will be not losing their soul and ending up in an eternity in hell. Saving their soul will be more important than any earthly possessions and is worth whatever it costs to do it. That’s how valuable the gift of eternal life is. They must count the cost – like any valuable gift they receive, it will mean changes or consequences to them – but considering the enormous value of the gift, it will be, without question, worth it.”

“Well, that was quite thorough,” Aliender thought to himself. “Now, it doesn’t seem to be a contradiction at all. While getting saved is a gift from God, it is living out life on earth as a believer that can be costly. But no worry, God will change them so they can do it.”

Then the Father asked once more, “Are there any further concerns or arguments against the plan?” Leard raised his hand, “I’m sorry, Father, but there is one practical thing which has been bothering me.” “Go ahead,” the Father responded. “Well, I just don’t see how the Son can become a human. I know You can do all things, but how is that possible? How can a human body also be the Son’s body?” The Father responded, “You were the one who asked that question earlier about how We can practically preserve their identity – their memories, their personality and so on. I see that You were an engineer by trade back on Gamma, which explains your interest in the details of how We do things. That’s OK, I am a God of details, so I appreciate your like interest and questions.”

“It’s actually good that you asked this question, because one detail of how We do it will be shared with the humans. Here’s how: We will make humans both male and female – like the inhabitants of Gamma – and through their physical union the male’s and female’s seeds will combine to initiate the creation of a new human in the female’s womb. This is how they will populate the Earth. When the Son becomes a human, We will select a young woman who is a virgin, meaning she has never united with a male in the way that initiates new humans. However, she will be betrothed to a man who shortly will become her husband.”

“Then the Holy Spirit will overshadow her, create a human male seed and combine it with the seed of the Son and then unite it with the woman’s seed. The new human life that is initiated will be both God and human. He will be the Son of God and the Son of Man. We will make known to humans that Jesus was born of a virgin as one of the proofs that He is of God – God the Son come to earth.”

“Is that enough detail for you, Leard?” Leard nodded and expressed his thanks to the Father for indulging his question. “I do have a question about one detail,” he added. “Go ahead.” ”Why will You create a male seed? Why don’t You just unite God’s seed with the woman’s seed?” The Father answered, “That would make Jesus only half man. We want Jesus to be not only fully God but fully man as well, so His sinless life and His pain, suffering, and death as the Son of Man will have full meaning. To be fully human, the female seed must be joined with a male seed.“ “Thank You, Father – I understand,” replied Leard.

Once more the father asked if there were more questions or arguments against, but there were none. So, the Father thanked the Son for leading the discussion and gave us a 30–minute break before beginning the Arguments For the plan.

The Break – Day 2

Leard, Teresa, and I hurried down the hall to the lounge to get a quick refreshment. As we stood at one of the counters gulping down our snacks, we began comparing notes as to what we believed the Arguments For the plan would be. Leard volunteered, “I’m having trouble thinking of any. It’s going to be tough on the Father and Son with the suffering and separation, and they certainly don’t need to do this. The extent of their love has never been in doubt. In a way, it feels like our worlds were insufficient somehow.” “Well,” said Teresa, “You did catch that They were going to make humans in the image of God – in their Own image! Wow, that’s different. They’re going to give them free will – that’s got to be the key to the new world’s importance and the Arguments For it. But, it seems to me just a recipe for trouble.” Listening to them, I find myself in agreement. Maybe we just need more time to think about it, but, time to get back to the meeting.

Arguments For

As we all sit back down at the table, I am anxious to hear what Arguments For the angels, cherubim, and seraphim come up with. “Let the meeting come to order,” says the Father. “Thus far, We have presented Our plan, you have voiced your concerns, and We have addressed them, I believe, to your satisfaction. Now it is time to say what you like about the plan. Who will start?”

At first, there was nothing but silence. We all just sat there and either looked at one another or looked down. Finally, Praiser the Cherubim, spoke up, “Father, after much thought, I believe the greatest argument for doing this is that it is something You want to do. We know that You would not want to do anything without a good reason. So, we trust You that it will be good.” “Yes, yes, yes,” echoed Aliender, Teresa, and Leard. ”We are for it because it will please You.”

“Thank you for your support and trust, but can any of you see reasons for doing it?” Gabriel answered, “I’ll try, Father. First, we know that creativity is part of Your nature – You are going to create things – even another new world as often as it pleases You. In this Universe You are proposing, We heard You say that intelligent beings made in Your image, with free will – these humans – will mean a great deal to You. They will be able to voluntarily love you in return and have a voluntary relationship with You – not things that were automatically programmed into their being. We can see this has great value to You. But we think all the pain and suffering it will cause for the Son and the break in fellowship between You and the Son when He becomes sin for the sake of the humans is not worth it. We don’t want to see our God suffer. Your love, mercy, kindness, justice, and all your perfections have been thoroughly demonstrated in what You have already created. And we are still struggling with the inevitable truth that some humans will suffer in hell rather than come to heaven.”

Then Michael said, “I have something to add.” “Go ahead”, said the Father. “Speaking for the angels, who are the only created beings here that have enjoyed free will, I want to make sure that Priaser, Guardian XIV, Aliender, Teresa, and Leard understand the magnitude of the benefit of free will. With free will, humans will be able to experience the joy and satisfaction of a virtuous act. For example, sacrificing buying something one would like so they can help another person in need will give them the joy of helping someone – an act of selfless love. Free will enables a joy beyond doing it because it was programmed into you – it was “your” choice, not God’s, although certainly a choice God likes. In like manner, all the many virtues – moral responsibility, creativity, obedience, loyalty, heroism, mercy, goodness, compassion, kindness, forgiveness, generosity, courage, and more – will bring that kind of joy when you choose to exercise them. This is a level of joy that those without free will are unable to understand and experience.”

Then Leard spoke up, “This has made me think about the value of life itself, the lives that Teresa , Aliender, and I have enjoyed because You gave us life, Father. As I reflect on my own life, I realize that the greatest aspect of it are the relationships I have had: the depth of love between my father and mother and me; the love I enjoyed with my spouse including the passion of young love, the growing intimacy through the years, and the lifelong companionship; the joy of bringing children into the world, seeing them grow up, and the strong bond of love that comes from caring for and nurturing them for years; and the relationships with close friends; but most of all the privilege and wonder of having a loving relationship with You Father. Without the gift of life, I would have never experienced these.” By now, Leard’s eyes were full of tears of gratitude. “I guess what I am trying to say, Father, is that life is a precious gift, and gifting it to a whole new world of beings is, in itself, a wondrous and desirable thing.”

Teresa then exclaims, “I think I am beginning to get it. Even one life is a precious thing, and You are going to create a whole new world of them. But You wouldn’t create them with free will unless You resolved their sin problem. What this is saying is that humans would not have a life – there would be no humans – if the Son were not willing, out of His and Your great love for them, to go to Earth and pay for their sins. So, the Son is going to the new world that they might have life, even the more abundant, joyful life of free will beings Michael mentioned above.”

“I believe you are getting the picture now,” the Father says. “Does anyone else have more Arguments For?” In a few moments, Praiser the Cherubim answers, “Father, what ultimately gives us comfort in this proposal is that we know that everything You do is right. So, if we miss some reasons or don’t fully comprehend them, we still support Your proposal.”

Chapter IV – The Decision

When it was apparent that there were no more Arguments For, the Holy Trinity conferenced. The cloud enveloping the Father and Son grew denser, and we could hear three voices confer as the Spirit joined them. After a little while, the cloud returned to normal, and the Father spoke, “First, let Me say that We are very grateful for your love and concern for Us. We also appreciate your devotion and commitment to whatever We want to do, and know that We can count on your support. Regarding the new world and humans, We thought sharing this plan with you in debate format would flesh out any concerns you might have, so that We could explain them.”

“I believe we accomplished that. We also hoped you would comprehend the great value the human race would have, and hearing your Arguments For, We believe you do understand. I can’t say we are surprised that you had to think about it. After all, you have never seen or heard of a being like this. Also, you have never heard it said that the greatest love a being could have is to lay down their life for another or others.” Then the Father leaned back, took a deep breath, and let it out with a sigh. “Is this new world going to be messy? Yes. But you are going to be amazed at the tremendous love that will emerge in it – not just from Us but from the humans who will believe in and follow Us. Hang on, it is going to be quite a ride!”