>Do as you will
I'll take perhaps the most literal role ever as the devil's advocate: Should a person take a "fake it until you make it" approach to being good, so they learn to act the part without actually believing it? Or perhaps is it better that a person should present themselves earnestly, and if they should desire to pursue God, they do so honestly from their heart?
>There is no "fake it until you make it" approach to being good.
What I'm getting at is people who say "I'm really tempted to do this shitty thing, but I resist because I know that it is wrong." If it were true that you fully understood it to be wrong, would you even be tempted by it?
I'll liken it to the man who builds his house upon the ground, and the man who first sets a deep and solid foundation upon which to build.
When people are earnest in their desires, and follow the commandment to "do as you will," those who are good will be saved while those who are not shall be disciplined upon their errors. Is that not more ideal than commanding people to act a certain way regardless whether or not they understand?
The thing that I love most about the almighty god is that he permits you to question absolutely everything. You aren't guaranteed a certain answer, but you can still ask every last question that you have.