"My response is based on the supposition that IF there is a God the following reasons should be logical conclusions.
a.God is omnipotent. b.God cannot make mistakes c.God knows the past, present and future."
Agreed. (Nice to have someone explain their definitions right at the start. :) )
"Therefore:- 1. Why is there a doctrine of free will when God already knows the result? To allow free will knowing a person will fail in the future and be denied Heaven whilst being punished in Hell is unnecessarily cruel and a moot exercise. God knows the result but chooses to punish anyway."
When God looked through eternity at ALL the possible universes he could have created where the most number of people would freely chose to follow him and least number would perish then according to our starting assumptions this must be that universe.
"Allowing Humans to be born with the knowledge they are destined to go to Hell cannot be the act of a benevolent and loving God."
Maybe. But giving them a way to eternal life as a FREE gift is an act of a benevolent God, especially given what it cost that God.
"2. If God created Humans, but not all of them are perfect/acceptable (in his eyes) then it would appear that he created a flawed being and by extension this cannot be because God cannot make mistakes. Therefore all people have been created as per his will regardless of morals, behaviors or religious affiliation."
Biblical theology tells us that it's not a matter of some being perfect and acceptable but rather ALL are imperfect and unacceptable except for Jesus Christ. Also ALL things work towards Gods plan for the universe whether knowingly or not. If a person has to indulge in bad morals, suspect behaviour or dodgy beliefs to see the futility of all human effort and turn to Christ are those things ultimately bad? Don't overlook the importance of the moral hierarchy, stealing some food might be 'wrong' and a sin but letting your children starve to death is a greater wrong.
"3. There cannot be only one path to God eg. Christianity. As there are many different religions all worshiping God then they must all be valid in God's eyes because otherwise God has created imperfection and this cannot be. (Point 2)"
What God has created is the perfect universe in which all who freely choose to can search for and find him. All religions do NOT worship the same God and are not all on the same path (even though there are some superficial similarities). If you can show me that all religions worship the same God at the core of their teachings then I will stand corrected. In short, Yahweh, Allah, Buddha (not a God, but still worshipped), Krishna, Ganesh, NO God etc etc are NOT the same and therefore, logically will lead to different paths. Where each individual (if there is such a thing) ends up is unknowable to all but God and frankly, it's none of our business anyway. :)
"All people should be free to follow their beliefs provided those beliefs do no harm to others."
Agreed. But don;t you ever wonder where that moral standard came from? :)
Anyway, I'm sure simplicitus will give you a better answer.
