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Not so much what he wanted them to do, but that He KNEW what they would do.
If God knew there would have been No need for the warning given at Gen. 2:17
Rather, each person is drawn out by one's own desires - James 1:13-15
Adam and Eve proved un-faithful under favorable conditions.
Job and Jesus proved faithful under adverse conditions.
Thus, proving under favorable conditions Adam and Eve could have easily remained faithful to God their Father (Life Giver)
If God knew there would have been No need for the warning given at Gen. 2:17
Sure there would. GOD knew. Adam and Eve didn't know.
Quote:
Rather, each person is drawn out by one's own desires - James 1:13-15
Adam and Eve proved un-faithful under favorable conditions.
Job and Jesus proved faithful under adverse conditions.
Thus, proving under favorable conditions Adam and Eve could have easily remained faithful to God their Father (Life Giver)
Not true. All it proves is that SOME people will be led by their own desires, and prove to be unfaithful, even under favorable conditions.
And SOME people will to be faithful even when conditions are UNfavorable.
Lucifer and his angels 'had it all' while in heaven. But God had something that Lucifer didn't have; Lucifer wasn't God. He wanted the worship that God has, even though Lucifer *created* nothing. Lucifer doesn't have God's knowledge, nor does he have God's power.
Haven't you ever seen or heard of some people who seem to 'have it all', and yet they're angry and miserable because there's ONE thing they don't have?
Some people, including Adam and Eve, simply aren't happy with 'enough'.
Sure there would. GOD knew. Adam and Eve didn't know.
Not true. All it proves is that SOME people will be led by their own desires, and prove to be unfaithful, even under favorable conditions.
And SOME people will to be faithful even when conditions are UNfavorable.
Lucifer and his angels 'had it all' while in heaven. But God had something that Lucifer didn't have; Lucifer wasn't God. He wanted the worship that God has, even though Lucifer *created* nothing. Lucifer doesn't have God's knowledge, nor does he have God's power.
Haven't you ever seen or heard of some people who seem to 'have it all', and yet they're angry and miserable because there's ONE thing they don't have?
Some people, including Adam and Eve, simply aren't happy with 'enough'.
My point exactly that under favorable conditions some people will still be led by their own desires - James 1:13-15
Adam and Eve had favorable paradisical conditions in Eden.
Perhaps Eve was deceived to the point that she wanted to be her own goddess in choosing right and wrong.
Even Satan had favorable conditions - Ezekiel 28:13-17
Job and Jesus proved faithful when conditions were UN-favorable
None in Heaven or on Earth were created to be robots/ automatons / puppets.
God gifted all in Heaven and on Earth with the ability to choose without God's interference.
Since the great crowd is still UN-numbered that shows it is Not a set number - Rev. 7:9,14
My point exactly that under favorable conditions some people will still be led by their own desires - James 1:13-15
Adam and Eve had favorable paradisical conditions in Eden.
Perhaps Eve was deceived to the point that she wanted to be her own goddess in choosing right and wrong.
Even Satan had favorable conditions - Ezekiel 28:13-17
Job and Jesus proved faithful when conditions were UN-favorable
None in Heaven or on Earth were created to be robots/ automatons / puppets.
God gifted all in Heaven and on Earth with the ability to choose without God's interference. Since the great crowd is still UN-numbered that shows it is Not a set number - Rev. 7:9,14
No, it doesn't show anything of the sort. The "great crowd" may not be numbered in the Bible, but that doesn't mean that GOD doesn't have a set number in mind.
Okay, God created the earth and he called it "good" and yet Satan was allowed to take over and God now "regrets" creating humanity (in later Genesis it literally says this). And in fact the Bible also says Satan is the "god of this world" implying that God himself no longer has any control or influence over his own creation. He still tolerates Satan egging on us today, God would even still tolerate Satan's agents on earth started a nuclear holocaust destroying all natural living organisms and life as we know it permanently, and yet there are starving children who haven't been fed yet or billions of other people living in some kind of unresolved unfortunate or tragic life situation. And God just says "be patient", but life does not wait, people get old, civilizations rise and fall, etc.
In the Bible it says that the world will end and either God or man will cause a physical global calamity like nuclear war is a possible example, and otherwise that the world itself will become a sort of Hell anyway and there is nothing any good person can do about it. I feel like if God will allow that magnitude of things to happen, then he doesn't so much care about the people he created or is apathetic, he is more like "This is the way I made it, do not question how I made it or be frustrated about it or you will go to Hell for eternity, so suck it up".
It also makes me feel bad because I am young, and there are other younger people who will be upset that they will not see their 40th or 50th because of living their prime years during the end times. Why doesn't God choose to just spare us of the events that are provoking the end of days and have this world live for longer? He doesn't have to burn it all down to make conditions better.
The whole thing just sounds like a kid developing a miniature world where he brings mice to play in and only to bring a cat in to destroy the mice and mice things, and the kid shrugs and says "Guess I'll make another different plan then".
OK, that is an honest and earnest bunch of thoughts, there.
First, don't read your bible so very literally. Big mistake. Remember that you're reading literature. It is artful, deep, rich literature, but it's literature. Not a play-by-play report. Keep in mind the words themselves are INTERPRETATIONS of the way things are, and why.
Coming up this Sunday, the gospel is from John ch. 4, the healing of the blind man. 41 verses. It's a long excerpt this time. The account expresses very explicitly one particular theological (mis-)understanding: that the man is blind as a punishment for sin--- either his own or his parents'.
The same thinking is communicated with a darkly facetious tinge in "Apocalypse Now" when the young captain informs the audience in a voice-over spot: "I wanted a mission. And for my sins, they gave me one."
People are born blind, or get that way, and it's sad. But it's not a punishment for their sins. At least not all the time. It could be bad nutrition: I know someone. As a young child, she did not get proper nutrition. She went blind! So her mother had to make sure to give her the proper food according to the nurse's instruction, and she got her sight back. What a horrible experience, eh? How terrifying, for a small child.
If you'll forgive me, you need to un-drink a bunch of Kool-Aid. What is God? We see God reflected all over the place. The most obvious might be Nature. God is not IN nature, but the beauty of Nature reflects God. And we believe there is something of the Divine within us, too. "Made in the image and likeness of God." Our lives carry a dignity beyond all the other creatures. Surely, our self-awareness is a big piece of the picture. A dog can know some things. But a dog cannot KNOW that he knows. Humans can do that. Humans are capable of asking deep questions like yours, and entertain other possibilities.
Who is God? It's not "human, writ LARGE." But that's our natural inclination, to think of God, that way. Even Jesus, eh? He thought of God as "Abba," Father. But God transcends all our categories and limitations. To say that God respects our free will is a different, more pious way of asserting that God CANNOT control our choices and decisions. Evolution has made us too smart. Too often, we are "too smart for our own good!"
"Satan?" The customary name given to Evil. Who does evil stuff? Humans. Animals can't do evil. They don't know right from wrong. They just follow their instincts.
The Bible is not an account of the way GOD thinks and acts. The bible is people in the past writing about what they THINK God was thinking and doing. That's why there are so many theological variations. And the apocalyptic literature (Daniel, parts of Ezekiel, Revelation) are composed deliberately with bizarre, often surreal and shocking images. Apocalyptic literature address crises and newbeginnings .
Look at Gen. 1-11. It's all pre-historical myth, meant to communicate some vital lessons. Often, people take away the wrong lessons. And there is a thing I might mention quickly, here: the start of Genesis, with the story of "The Fall" represents the start of history: because ever since there have been humans around, there has been evil and sin: violence, injustice, poverty and all the other bad stuff. And of course, why do you think our institutions are so screwed up? It's because they are established and administered by imperfect, sinful people who cannot get out of their own way.
A nuclear feces-storm is possible. There's nothing inevitable about it, nor a final, violent destruction caused by or permitted by God. Look outside of the bible and Scientists tell us that our planet has about 3 or 4 or 5 billion years left, before the sun becomes a supernova--- a great, huge, immense ball of fire--- and swallows the earth. Everything will be vaporized by THEN. But will the human race move and survive somewhere else? That remains to be seen.Check back in about 3 billion years, and we might have an answer.
Last edited by sitonmywhat; 03-15-2023 at 02:47 AM..
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