If god knew what we were going to do when he created us how can he send us to hell? Wasn't it his mistake?

Question

If god is all knowing, he already knows everything in the future, and when he created us he set everything in motion to happen exactly as it did and will, so how can he hold anyone accountable but himself?

Answer 1

You raise one of the most complex and thorny issues of theology. The way you pose the question mixes two separate but equally complex issues actually. The first, purely theological, is predestination. Strict predestination, typically attributed to Calvinists, holds not only that God knows what people will choose, but that God "causes" (not exactly but close) them to choose certain things. Many hundreds of dense page have been written by very smart people explaining and defending this position. But basically it boils down to "God is God. God is Just. So whatever God does is just even if it doesn't seem like it to us."

Clearly, this is not going to be satisfactory to most people. So theologians have developed other ways of dealing with it. All of them say in one way or another that God didn't really know. Most rely in some way on the idea that people exist within time and that God exists outside of time. So the same way that someone who exists in two-dimensions would say, "all I see is a line," a three-dimension person could see, "Oh, it's not a line it's a cube." Basically, we are too limited to understand the reality of what God sees.

There are other answers too. One comes from "Open theology." This is recent and makes a biblical case for the idea that God doesn't know what is going to happen at all. When stuff happens, he's as surprised as we are (well, not just as surprised because even though he can't see the future, he's still pretty smart, so can do a good job at predicting. But even still, people's free will ca still throw him.)

Other answers have abandoned traditional theology altogether. Process theology says that God is just figuring out stuff as he goes. In the Hebrew Bible God was sort of mean and vengeful and then he got his act together and by the time of Jesus, he was on more of a happy go lucky kick. And sometimes God just sits back and says wow, I really messed that one up, but he's good learning from his mistakes.

You also hint at another issue: the problem of evil. There is a name for the field that deals with it; Theodicy. The classic question is "If God is all powerful and all loving, how can suffering exist." This is so complex and deep that all I can say is look into it. Any university library will have many books on the topic.

Answer 2

Ever read Celsus' work, "On the true doctrine"? I think that was the title anyway. The point is read that and you will probably have a few more questions about the nature of God, the son, and the Holy Spirit. It's a lot of fun and entertaining. Well, not really, but it is interesting and much easier to get through than say Tertullian or Augustine.

Answer 3

One day a few winters ago the roads were icy. I watched a guy drive by in a pickup--he had gotten up to 30 miles per hour or so. Down the street was a car stopped at a red light. I said to myself, "He's going to run into that car, because he's going too fast to stop." Sure enough, the guy in the pickup slid into the car.

I knew what was going to happen. Does that mean that the wreck was my fault?

Answer 4

when God first created man there was no sin, until Adam and Eve ate from the forbiden tree, and because of that all humans sin.God does know everything, God doesnt send u to hell, you not accepting him as your lord and savior and having a personal relationship with him does. Sin is all around us but its up to us not to give in and if we do we are to repent and ask for forgiveness, repenting means to ask to be forgiven for what u did and not doin it again.God makes no mistakes because God is perfect. No human is perfect and God knows that , he created us in his own image and knows the plans he has for our lives and whether or not we choose to accept him and let him control and lead our lives is up to us.

Answer 5

Free will, thats why. God gave us free will to decide to accept his love or turn away from it. Some speculate that hell isnt a firey pit but just the absence of God's light and love.

Answer 6

Apparently, everything that we're supposed to know about God is fallacious, since what God is supposed to be and everything that happens concerning God are 2 completely different things.

Answer 7

God first created us perfect but then gave us freewill, the choice to choose to be loving or evil, he's hoping the promise of heaven will inspire us to chose to be loving and make good choices! He doesn't expect perfection but he does hope we learn from our mistakes and strive to treat others as we want to be treated! Good Luck!

Answer 8

As long as you dont believe in Karma and re-incarnation these type of questions will continue, because christianity does not have answer to this.

God does not make us sinner... our karma good or bad decide what we will do in our next birth.

God only waits with love for us to reach him after our lessons, pains, sufferings, joys and plays

Answer 9

God doesnt send us to hell. Hell wasnt created for us.
Hell was created for Satan and his demons.

God gives us the opportunity to accept or reject him. The only way people go to hell is if they reject Jesus Christ.

Answer 10

People are going to say "free will". But I agree with you.
An analogy would be, would you put your children in a room full of toys and candy and tell them they can never play or eat? And if they do, the punishment will be eternal damnation?