> How about the people (our
>descendants) that had catholisism forcefully
>imposed on them? Africans, Native
>Americans, Aztecs, Maya, Inca, and
>slaves of the African diaspra
>all faced violent conversions, against
>thier will. How is this
>free will, and even more
>important, would these people have
>gone to hell if it
>wasn't for thier conversion?


Responce: The violent conversion of those people that you mentioned was not a good example of free will. The God of the bible will never force anyone against his will, so I think it is safe to say that the people who forced Christianity on the slaves were acting in direct opposition of God's will. God does not force people into free will. Now, would they have been saved without there conversion thats a good question lets see what scripture says,1)Romans chpts 1 and 2 in the New Testament Paul says that salvation is available to any person who responds to the light of nature and conscience, if he has not heard the Good News about Jesus Christ, if this person will respond to the witness of God in nature-- he can see there is a Creator God, and if he senses the moral law of God written in his heart, and he responds, Paul says in Rom chpt 2 in verse 7, God will give that person eternal life. Now that does not mean he's saved apart from Christ, but it would mean that he may not hae a conscious knowledge of Christ, which is the basis of his salvation. He would be like a person in the Old Testament who was saved through Christ, even though he hadn't yet heard of Christ; he responded to the light that he had.