You completely misunderstood

Lol. I disagree. Or perhaps you didn't articulate what you meant very well?

and then reiterated what I said differently.

Lol, I disagree. I'm drawing a specific distinction, possibly one that you've not considered (?). There is a difference between the path (aka the choices a person makes) and the person themselves.

"No one's path is better than anyone else's" says something. Literally, that "no one's path is better than anyone else's", and as I stated (I thought rather clearly) I disagree with that fundamental concept.

In addition, I think it's important to "think less (or more) of someone's path in life" on their journey, because in my view, some paths are most certainly better than others, and some paths are less desirable or more desirable for a particular person. Don't you think that God has certain paths for a person that he preferred that person walked?

Or do you think that God simply doesn't care, that God is like, "hey, whatever! you can walk the path of destruction hurting and maiming others, and yourself, but what the heck, it's OK, because you're going to come back to me anyway, even if it means millenia of suffering."

In my view, God most certainly has desires for individuals, families, communities, nations etc, to walk certain paths, and God does NOT want them to walk certain paths. Which means, when someone chooses a path that God doesn't want them to go, that path is not "equal" to any other path they may go.

We don't need to like or withhold a sense of evaluation for a path in order to be able to love the person who walks it. In fact, that was my first point: withholding any evaluation, by saying "no one's path is better than another", one slips into a moral relativism and ambiguity where the upshot is that there is no good or evil, and everything is OK.

I don't think that's what you meant, but I am saying that this is the implication of saying "one one's path is better....."

In my view, good and evil DO exist, and God desires each person to choose a better path than a worse path.

However, God does not alter his love for a person because they choose one path or another. God's love is constant. However, in my view, that does NOT mean that God thinks "all paths are equal, and no one's path is better than anyone else's".

Thus, I am drawing a distinction between the path a person walks - aka what choices they make and to what extent they live up to their God-given potentiality and responsibility - and the value or love that God gives to that person.

I appreciate you coming back and taking another stab at articulating what you intend to mean, but I guess I also think you may not have thought through all the implications of what saying "no one's path is better than anyone else" actually means.

It's that gray area between thinking a) that to love a person means b) to not make any judgment or appreciation for better or worse choices they make.

Such moral relativism is a real problem in the world, imo, which is why I draw the distinction so adamantly.

Think about it. Recognizing that some paths ARE better than others, and some people are walking BETTER paths than others, does no preclude actually having compassion or love for any of those people.

no one should think less of someone's path in life on their way home to God.

See? So here we disagree. You seem to be equating a person's value not with the person themselves, but with the path they are walking. I think they are two very different things.

Did God desire that Adam fail in his responsibility, turn his back on God, and lead all of his descendents into thousands and tens of thousands of years of conflict and suffering? I don't think so.

I think those choices - the path Adam took - grieved God deeply. Likewise, the actions and choices (aka "the path") taken by the abusive addict who destroys himself with drugs and alcohol while torturing and abusing others around him, they are not good choices, and those choices do NOT deserve respect, imo. But, that doesn't mean that God doesn't love that person, and it doesn't mean that I shouldn't, too.

If your point is that it is right to have love and compassion for others, regardless of what choices they make, well, I can agree with that. But to me, that does not mean "no one's path is better than anyone else's". There are good choices and bad choices, and some choices, leading to certain paths, are better than others.

One person's path will bring great joy to God, while another person's path may bring great grief to God. They are not equal, even though God's love for both of them is absolute and unwavering, and we should all aspire to practicing that same level of love.

I wonder if you agree with this, or if you are adamant in your conviction that "no one's path is better than anyone else's"?

Either way, be well.

You completely misunderstood

Lol. I disagree. Or perhaps you didn't articulate what you meant very well?

and then reiterated what I said differently.

Lol, I disagree. I'm drawing a specific distinction, possibly one that you've not considered (?). There is a difference between the path (aka the choices a person makes) and the person themselves.

"No one's path is better than anyone else's" says something. Literally, that "no one's path is better than anyone else's", and as I stated (I thought rather clearly) I disagree with that fundamental concept.

In addition, I think it's important to "think less (or more) of someone's path in life" on their journey, because in my view, some paths are most certainly better than others, and some paths are less desirable or more desirable for a particular person. Don't you think that God has certain paths for a person that he preferred that person walked?

Or do you think that God simply doesn't care, that God is like, "hey, whatever! you can walk the path of destruction hurting and maiming others, and yourself, but what the heck, it's OK, because you're going to come back to me anyway, even if it means millenia of suffering."

In my view, God most certainly has desires for individuals, families, communities, nations etc, to walk certain paths, and God does NOT want them to walk certain paths. Which means, when someone chooses a path that God doesn't want them to go, that path is not "equal" to any other path they may go.

We don't need to like or withhold a sense of evaluation for a path in order to be able to love the person who walks it. In fact, that was my first point: withholding any evaluation, by saying "no one's path is better than another", one slips into a moral ambiguity where the upshot is that there is no good or evil, and everything is OK.

I don't think that's what you meant, but I'm point out that that is what you're saying.

But good and evil DO exist, and God desire each person to choose a better path than a worse path.

However, God does not alter his love for a person because they choose one path or another. God's love is constant. However, in my view, that does NOT mean that God thinks "all paths are equal, and no one's path is better than anyone else's".

Thus, I am drawing a distinction between the path a person walks - aka what choices they make and to what extent they live up to their God-given potentiality and responsibility - and the value or love that God gives to that person.

I appreciate you coming back and taking another stab at articulating what you intend to mean, but I guess I also think you may not have thought through all the implications of what saying "no one's path is better than anyone else" actually means.

It's that gray area between thinking a) that to love a person means b) to not make any judgment or appreciation for better or worse choices they make.

REcognizing that some paths ARE better than others, and some people are walking BETTER paths than others, does no preclude actually having compassion or love for any of those people.

no one should think less of someone's path in life on their way home to God.

See? So here we disagree. You seem to be equating a person's value not with the person themselves, but with the path they are walking. I think they are two very different things.

Did God desire that Adam fail in his responsibility, turn his back on God, and lead all of his descendents into thousands and tens of thousands of years of conflict and suffering? I don't think so.

I think those choices - the path Adam took - grieved God deeply. Likewise, the actions and choices (aka "the path") taken by the abusive addict who destroys himself with drugs and alcohol while torturing and abusing others around him, they are not good choices, and those choices do NOT deserve respect, imo. But, that doesn't mean that God doesn't love that person, and it doesn't mean that I shouldn't, too.

If your point is that it is right to have love and compassion for others, regardless of what choices they make, well, I can agree with that. But to me, that does not mean "no one's path is better than anyone else's". There are good choices and bad choices, and some choices, leading to certain paths, are better than others.

One person's path will bring great joy to God, while another person's path may bring great grief to God. They are not equal, even though God's love for both of them is absolute and unwavering.

I wonder if you agree with this, or if you are adamant in your conviction that "no one's path is better than anyone else's"?

Either way, be well.