Arising from a comment I made yesterday elsewhere and expand-on here.  The topic was bums on seats (as the “church attendance debate” might be called).  Or “falling church attendance” as the debate always seems to be.

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I think for me it is an obvious preference for conditional love that is the difference.  Conditional love controls (otherwise it would be unconditional).  Unconditional love cannot control (otherwise it would be conditional).

And preaching unconditional love and loving conditionally makes no sense – just as preaching conditional love and loving unconditionally would make no sense either.

It seems to me that religion avoids that (obvious) silliness by focusing on sin.  Because sin makes loving conditionally easy.  And sin makes preaching unconditional love easy.

It’s not my fault you see.  I am a sinner saved – and because of (original) sin I cannot love unconditionally (but I can preach it).

But what…