Susan:
 
here is the thought that came to me about this argument the attorney gave you regarding the Engineer that created a car to go a certain MPH and no faster, then getting angry if the car did not perform better.
 
Well, here's what happened with God. HE IS THE ENGINEER, but instead of creating the car to go a certain MPH, he created a huge flat land so that the car would be free to drive in any direction at ANY RATE OF speed it wanted and be free to choose exactly how recklessly (or safely) it would drive. As a matter-of-fact, he created millions and millions of such vehicles. He designed them in such a way that they could do whatever  they pleased, go fast as the engine would enable them to go ---because the ENGINEER made it that way! However, he did put in a "fail-safe" switch. They could take advantage of the "fail-safe" switch by simply switching it on or off. On, if they wanted to play it safe and avoid damaging their sleek, metallic new frames; off - if they wanted to be risky and do their "own thing" and fly like the wind!  Many of the cars, filled with pride and independence at what they could do ----  totally ignore the fail-safe switch and decide to floor the accelerator, go 130 mph for an hour, then crash into distant trees and totally disintegrate!  What does the Engineer do? Get angry with the cars for doing exactly what they wanted? NO. He lets the cars self-destruct, otherwise, they  would never have been "free" at all! The cars themselves are responsible for what happened. The CARS made the choice... the ENGINEER has no choice but to take the ruined piles of metal junk and pitch them in a garbage dump! They are totally useless.
 
Now, on the other hand. This ENGINEER is watching many of these cars he designed as they self-destruct. He wants to instruct them how to drive in a SAFE way to keep them from their tendency to self-destruct, and because he knows that being self-centered and reckless, many of them totally ignore the "fail-safe" switch.  He becomes a CAR himself - gets out in front of all the cars and shows them EXACTLY how to drive so that they never self-destruct, never wreck and LIVE out their lives in harmony and safety just as he intended  for them.  All the cars that FOLLOW his advice, do NOT self-destruct. The ones that go their own way and follow their own foolish pride and independence, and disregard their "fail-safe" switch, all self-destruct. The ENGINEER has TWO groups at the end of his year of designing and making cars. One big pile of useless junk metal in one group and millions of sleek-beautiful automobiles that are still dent-free and useful just as he initially intended them to be in the 2nd group! TWO groups, yet every single car in each group had a CHOICE - to go their own prideful, independent way and end up in a junk heap or follow their ENGINEER's explicit instructions to be forever SAFE and SECURE!
In WHICH GROUP ARE YOU???
 
Rene
 
P.S. the "fail-safe" switch is also known as a "conscience"!