-
Perfection isn't the absence of potential to fail.
Perfection is subjective, and free-will has to be looked in a whole new angle.
Haven't you heard:
-We know black is black because of the existence of white. We know good is good because evil exists. Everything is relative so the opposites confirm opposites. We know life because of the existence of death. We define darkness by the absence of light. We define something by the existence of its opposite. Because we define by relativity. There is good, and there is evil, and you know it.
You say you're a believer. So I assume you already understand and have read the bible, and know that there are many aspects to this.
1) Mysteries belong to God, anyway.
2) God is sovereign.
3) God's ways are higher than our ways.
4) Yes, it's free-will.
5) God /did/ do something about it (cross)
6) There's only one God and if He does something and you're not happy with it, there's nothing you can do about it so you might as well get on with the program and stop whining.
Liberty and freewill is definitely subjective in terms of the biblical aspect and the social-moral aspect. However, if you are destroyed before being created because you are going to turn evil, it isn't really freedom isn't it? God - knowing that we would turn evil - refuses to do anything about it because it's really ultimately our choice. So He lets us be created and make the choice. If He stops creation because of knowledge that we would blunder, it isn't freedom of choice for us, ultimately speaking.
Also, if you study theology, it is understood that before Humans, there were others before us, that God probably destroyed or they destroyed themselves, that the earth was dark and void. Satan was already in the garden of Eden, before the creation. There was a world even before this world began.
In the bible it says that Jesus was there when the worlds were created, and that we were in His mind from the very foundation of time. This means that from the second He knew we were going to sin after creation, He planned that He would send Christ has a redemption plan to restore everything back to its original purpose. He couldn't stop creation because He knew, He had to have /another/ plan to superimpose on this, instead of nulling the thing altogether. So Jesus can be said to be the second Adam; so now you see what being "born again" is. Jesus was the prototype, and when we are "born again", the curse of lineage from the First Adam is broken and we're under the 2nd Adam - Christ.
If you believe God is omniscient then trust that whatever He did and is going to do, is really for the best of everything. He's the only God there is, so we'd have no choice but to follow, anyway. Might as well hop on.
In a way, God's just like many of us in a relationship. We know it's gonna fail anyway, but we still carry on, just to see if it's gonna work out, some way, some how. Do you understand? This is love. God is waiting to see if we would actually make the choice to love God instead of fall away. Because since ironically, the 'law' of free-will is in place, Satan cannot force someone to fall away unless he makes the choice. So God is always looking upon that deciding moment. But of course, you know the story.
P.S I therefore re-conclude that what God created in the garden of Eden was perfect, and flawless, but the perfect creation ultimately made the decision to make a mistake, whether or not he was duped into it. God created Lucifer - the archangel of worship, beautiful, glorified, having direct access to His glory and presence - but Lucifer made the decision to become Satan. God didn't create Satan, He created Lucifer. Lucifer made Satan.
----
Having free-will to make decisions to do whatever does not mean we are free from the laws of nature. Laws are put in place to protect us. Without law, it is impossible for Man to discipline Himself. Look what happened to people without the Law? God had to place the 10 commandments to constantly remind the people what is the standard of righteousness. Without this, people would look for all kinds of technical loophole to define righteousness and sin and fall away.
The laws of gravity, laws of physics, friction, everything is put in place and intelligently designed single-handedly by God alone and His intellect to allow us to best live in this world. By staying within the laws we protect ourselves. They are put there for a reason anyway.
Since the laws are already in place, we might as well hop on and be good people and follow. You can't say you want to be free and not comply with the laws of nature, just because you don't believe in laws does not mean you can jump of a building and live.
And if you're saying free-will is confined to our intelligence, it isn't really God's fault, is it? Theologians believe Adam had 100% of the use of his brains, if Man can do so much with 1%, can you imagine Adam? But the Bible says that when He fell, his mind was darkened, and it could be then that the 100% fell to a percentage much lesser. And hello, what free-will choice are you making that requires you to have the knowledge of the universe and beyond? Say you are deciding which shirt to wear out today, you don't need to know the ultimate mysteries of heaven and earth to do that right? Argh. Completely insane. Think. Be a philosopher. Think before asking. Not ask. Think. Think. Use that 1%.
It's a whole complex and abstract issue. There's no point in debating about this. If you're a believer and you're unsure, I don't think you're a believer at all. Christianity isn't really about a religion. It's more of a relationship, more of abstract understanding.
You say you're a believer, doesn't that mean you have found the Truth? Being a philosopher is NOT being a cynic. Think harder.
Are you asking questions to challenge the bible, or clear your doubts? Get your motives right.
22%
Voted for by n ick, Soifwe Passedwest, opera ghostess, pnktrky.
-
So who did create evil?
According to the Bible God created everything right? So who created "evil?"
Now you may say something like "well God gave us free will to choose for ourselves if we want to do "good" or "evil" during our lives and if you choose to live the path of "evil" then your dammed to hell." Well tell me then why God, while perfect and "good" in every way and all knowing, create us imperfect human beings capable of "evil" expecialy with him being all knowing and him already knowing before he created us that "evil" would come out of his creation?
How can God being completely perfect and "good" even have the capasity of creating something imperfect and capable of doing "evil?" So tell me then if God created everything who created who we so often paint a picture of in our minds when we hear the word "evil", The Devil?
In my opinion if God really did create everything then maybe everything is "good." Maybe this stuff we call "evil" is just something we were told by other humans to control us and tell us the morally "correct" way to live our lives. Now i'm a believer that there needs to be some kind of order and common moral and ethical values in a society for it to function properly but why cant we achieve this without forcing people to believe in "God" or "gods" and imposing upon people this notion of "good" and "evil."
In the end it still up to you, the individual, to decide for yourself what is "good" or "evil / bad." All i'm saying is if your going to believe in something, you better know very well what your believing in. Educate yourself by reading books, dont believe everything your told. Just remember being a philosopher is an endless search for the truth behind what we call true.
11%
Voted for by dollar, IvoryRose.
-
Evil is merely the absence of good.
Evil, while it does exist, does not exist unto itself. It is not its own single entity. Evil, in truth, is the total absence of good.
Just as cold is not actually a real entity, rather the sensation of having no heat, exists. We can measure how hot an object is, but there is a limit to how cold it can get. Absolute zero, the total absence of heat, is the lowest it can go. Objects give off heat, not cold. Using thermal imaging we can see objects based on the heat they generate. If they had no heat, we could not see them on the thermal imaging cameras.
The same goes for light. We can measure how much light is in a room. There can be some light, very little light, red light, green light, bright light, and dim light, but darkness cannot be darker than dark. Darkness does not exist unto itself, rather, it is the name we give where there is no light. Objects are perceived when light reflects off them. Darkness is simply the absense of light.
Evil is just as cold and darkness, not something that exists unto itself. Yes it is there but not as its own seperate existance from good. Evil is the term we use to describe someone or soemthing that is completely devoid of good. Just like the cold when there is no heat or the darkness when there is no light, we have the evil when there is no good.
Therefore, God did not create evil, but rather humans perform deeds that are totally devoid of Good. We call these deeds "evil". 
Hope that helps.
11%
Voted for by Xelgaroth, blablablooey12.
-
We are Robots
Robots? we already are robots arent we? sure we have free will and can make choices about anything we want to but what we can do is still confined to the laws of nature which in a way is making us like "Robots." Robots in which can only complete certain tasks.
We may be able to make choices but it still seems to me we are very limited in the choices we can make. In our minds we may be able to do just about anything we want to but keep in mind our intelligence is still extremely limited.
We as human beings often tend to forget that we probably dont even know 1% of what can be known in this universe. How can there even be free will when our intelligence is so limited?
Without us knowing at least 1% or more of the universe we inhabit then we are kind of like robots programed only with basic functions. We cant really make free will choices if we cant learn or possess the knowledge required to make thoes choices.
Our choices are confined to our own intelligence. I'm not seeing the free will in life
Voted for by dollar.
-
Yes Robots or free will
If God is a Father of us the children. He loves us like no other father you have ever known.
A special love with no conditions called, agape in Greek.
Yes, those children -in order to be happy- need their own will power. Without choices, we would be in hell already. A loving Father would know this, right?
People tend to forget, God is a Father FIRST and foremost. He loves us and is proud of us, when we make the right choices. How interesting of children would we be, if we were like robots? What would our Father have to be proud of, if we succeed without effort?
It is our will that makes us apply an effort to anything we do or gain.
Remember this; All things are governed by a loving family. My God is my Father, My boss is also a type of father and so is my ordained minister a type of father.
Based on 5 kinds of loves, we have many fathers.
George Washington was called, the 1st father of my country and so on with each president.
Voted for by frndofyaweh.
-
That's not really fair
If you created children, is it your fault if thewy grow to be murderers? Having choice means having CHOICE. I don't know what you think is "perfect" and "good" about bewing stripped of this option. Do you think there are OTHER things out there besides good and evil, like glevil, but God just never gave us THAT option. It's not magical worlds of white and black. It's us having freedom and the world being shades of gray (and sometimes black and white). If we were blinded by one, we'd be controlled or sedated.
Voted for by Weydon.
-
think
if there was no evil could you call that a life. i would call that being robots. and that does not make us happy. so God then says alright they are my creation and im gong to let them have the opportunaty to truely be happy and im gong to allow things that are against perfection to exist to allow happines to exist. choose to do harm to eachother or not to actnowledge God or not. the ultimate form of love is setting them free. ever heard that. by the way you should always always always always always always always always always always question, for how else our you suposed to find the truth and grow.
Voted for by pnktrky.
-
Humans
Humans brought about sin, though God allowed it to happen--giving man a choice to love him or not.
Voted for by Artemis Gem.
-
Who you think?
You see an opposite to everthing, what does that mean It's Evil and who was the first to create GOD,But, there's an answer for everything you like it or not. Im sayin though not to be againist the will but If it wheren't for him there would no evil.So who made evil and is! You got your choices you want to enter the Kindom threw this hell or work past it and have it here! Choose! Now!
Voted for by cutking.
-
Eye of the beholder
Good and evil, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder... the "good" guys are the evil ones if you look at the situation from the other angle
Voted for by Alpha Omega.
-
God created evil, knowingly and on purpose.
God must have created evil on purpose. the nature of omniscience is that everything is known- the past present and future of everything. God knew the entire future of every person, plant, animal, rock, atom, photon, quark, etc. before he created the universe. To say he didn't would be to deny his omniscience. He knew that angels would rebel, and which ones. He knew the snake would tempt Eve and she in turn would tempt Adam, and He knew this before he created the universe. He must have, he is omniscient.
He knew which women would be raped, which children would be murdered, who would be tortured and by whom, which diseases would decimate whole populations, and he knew I would write this today. That is the nature of omniscience. You can say that it is one if His mysteries, or that it is not for us to understand, but I understand what all-knowing means. That means that if I never choose to take Jesus into my life, die, and go to hell, then he chose that. He created a universe knowing at that time that I would go to hell, and why. He chose hell for me before I was born. I can't accept the argument that it is one of His Mysteries, but then HE knew I would have that problem. He specifically created a universe where I would have that problem. that is the nature of omniscience. He knows all.
Why create evil? Well, you could say that he did it so that we could have something to compare good with. How can you be good if you have nothing to compare to it and make a choice? But it is a choice already decided before you were born, I'm afraid.
Voted for by slyrat.
-
Problem Solved
I could not be bothered reading all of these. When discussing God, consult your Bible (or Qu'ran or whatever):
I form the light, and create darkness;
I make peace, and create evil
I am the Lord,
Who has made all these things.
-Isaiah 45:5
There you go, no need for all that fussin' and a fightin': problem solved.
K. F.
Voted for by Alexander Hine.
-
It's all for Gods glory
What if you were God. ANd you wanted to create people to serve you? Would you create robots? or would you create something special? Something that would serve you, and you would love it with your all. But if they were to just serve you, what would be the use? The serve and serve and serve, yet they have no other choice. Their praise is worth nothing because there is nothing to do but praise. That is why God made the tree with the knowledge of Good and evil. So that there would value of their praise. So Adam and Eve could CHOOSE between God and the world. it would make them choosing God to be worth it. God would be happier if they chose them instead of the world. God was happier for a while. But Satan deceived Eve. Eve was power hungry. She wanted to be "like God", and have "authority over Adam". (Note, that all men work harder if their wifes help them instead of trying to have power over them) So she ate. And she used her manipulating powers to get Adam to eat it (Eve could just take sex away from Adam if he didn't eat the fruit, so Adam was more than willing to disobey God for the "World")
After this Sin, God took them out of Eden. And then "pain" and "suffering" started. Because Adam and Eve started the decay of the earth (Witch took an infinite being 6 days to create) with just 2 bites. And Adam and Eve got the "knowledge of Good and evil" giving them and all their descendants the ability to choose between God and the world even thought there isn't a tree anymore. But God sent his son (also part of himself, but just in human form)
Now the world is trying it's best to remove God from everything. And then what happens? There is pain and suffering. Because people are choosing the world instead of God. And every person that comes to know Christ will bring a smile to God's face. Because they chose God instead of the World. Their praise has value because it could go to the world instead, but it went to God instead. THAT is why we have pain and suffering. because people choose the world. we curse ourselves and those around us with our sin. Not only that though, peoplecontinue to puish God out of our culture. Feeding teenagers the scientifically inaccurate, disproven, and meaningless theory of evolution. (You can read some of the messages I wrote about the scientific inacuracies of evolution on mypage I believe) And guess what? When people believe they are evolved pond scum, viola! People start killing those who hurt them (as why would you let another animal hurt you without going punished?), there is racism (as people believe other people and races are "less evolved"), we get corruption (as people believe it's all for their own gain), there are STDs (As people must get all the pleasure they can get before they can die, so sex is free, so why not do it?) We have people dieing from malnutrition in less civilized countries. (as they lost the meaning of life)...
The list will continue for ever, and forever grow unless we stop it.
Voted for by Doom Pickels.
None of the choices fit your opinion? Add one →
|
|
Adding your reply:
Registration is required because of issues with spam. It is fast and free! This author would LOVE to get a comment from you, please join!
Soifwe Passedwest
February 14, 2007
Edit | Reply
Dark and Light
Evil is the opposite of Good, Like light and darkness and knowledge and deception. I don't know why does god allow Satan to tempt us so strongly without giving an eqaul insight to goodness everytime?April 12, 2007
Edit | Reply
Evil
I believe God created evil and Satan with the intentions of what has happened in this world. He created evil and Satan as forms of test toward us for us to prove our love for him through temptation and testing. If there was truly no evil whatsoever, I believe there would be no good whatsoever as well... With good comes evil... With evil comes good...pnktrky
May 6, 2007
petethemeat
May 8, 2007
Edit | Reply
December 20, 2007
Edit | Reply
December 21, 2007
Edit | Reply
Please register or login to comment! It's totally free