If god controls everything that will happen in our lives by being omnipotent and knows everything that will ever happen by being omniscient, then heaven and hell and good and evil are meaningless. Because since god decided it was fated that I would never become a Christian I go to hell. Is that in any way fair at all?
Of course that isn't fair.
I don't believe that is how things are either. He gives us our agency, which means we have the freedom to make choices. This is true of everyone. I can choose to kill someone. He won't stop me. He might give the person I plan to kill inspiration to not be in the area where I will be, thus avoiding the situation, but in general, I am "free" to make my choices. The catch is, there are consequences for those choices.
Knowing that I have freedom of choice makes life a lot more easier to look at. I do not think that God would have it any other way. I agree with funbiker chick! With every choice there is a consequence...so it would make sense to look at the consequence you want first then make the choice.
On top of that, God doesn't want to force us to be obedient to him. Where's the joy in that? It's just like if you were madly in love with this other person, and you could force them to love you, it wouldn't be the same as knowing they chose to love you and they chose to want to be with you. It's like that with God, only on a higher and deeper scale.
God wants us to want to have that relationship and live for Him. He knows He has our heart, rather than just using His ability to control everything. There is a verse in the Bible, I can't remember exactly where, but it talks about not letting the fact that you can make your own decisions be an excuse for doing evil. We have the right to make the right decisions, and when we do, it's more joyful for Him, and for us, that we can make those with our own mind.
Well, the original poster assumes that we are pre-destined or pre-fated in our lives which I do not believe.
If we were fated to not accept a specific religion then free choice would be a pointless exercise in a ridiculous life that we truly could not effect even our own lives to any end. But that is not the case, we make free choices and thus determine our own fate. We are given free choice (if by God) so that we can ultimately answer for what we have done with our lives without anyone else to blame or rely on to explain our actions. By having free choice, we take on the responsibility of controlling our own path through life for the good or the bad. If you believe in christianity, then the entire purpose of having free choice is so that you will not be able to say that it was not your choice or your desire to do something. Your choices are your own, and thus are the consequences, good or bad, mild or extreme.
Giving us freedom of choice shows just how mauch he loves us. We have the intelligence to make up our own minds in what we choose to believe or not. IF we chose to follow his teachings he is happy. IF we fail to chose to follow his teachings he understands that he gave us this choice. Someone who gives people the freedom to chose if they believe or not is someone who really loves their people.
Because without choice we would be mere automatons merely doing the will of the Creator. There is no joy in that. It's like a parent, you teach your children as best you can and then let go, trusting in them and in what you taught them.