The following premises are often brought up by Christians.
1) Heaven is better than earth
2) There is no evil in Heaven
3) Evil needs to be allowed in order for free will to exist
4) Free will is such a high good that god allows evil to exist on earth in order to obtain it
The conclusion is that since there is no evil in Heaven, there is no free will in Heaven.
So, the best possible world is one with NO FREE WILL but no evil(Heaven). If this is the best possible world, then the lack of evil most be more important than free will. If that is the case, why does he allow evil on earth to obtain free will when the best world has no free will? If it's merely to educate people, then why not simply infuse their brain with the knowledge and avoid the pain?
2007-01-30 02:26:46 · 21 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
If you say there is free will in Heaven AND no evil, then apparently you can have free will without evil. So why don't we have it on earth?
2007-01-30 02:43:12 · update #1
1] Heaven can be fantasized about
2] Heaven can be used as a tool to attract people to a religion
3] Heaven can be explained in a thousand ways by different schollars
4] All that is not possible on Earth can be imagined as possible in heaven
5] No one has seen heaven, so it always new and thrilling
2007-01-30 04:14:37 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
1.) Heaven is not better than earth but God's will is right now being done in heaven and it is not being done on earth yet.
2.) There is no evil in Heaven but angels still have free will. Free will means you can choose to wear a green shirt or a blue shirt today as much as it means you can choose evil over good. The evil influences (From Satan and his demons) are no longer allowed in heaven. They have been cast out and are confined to the earth so this makes it much more pleasant for the angels who want to do God's will.
3.) Evil is not a prerequisite for free will. Free will does not mean that our choices don't have consequences either. Satan knows he will be permanantly destroyed. That is the conseqence for his disobedience. Once God cleans up the earth, he will not allow wickedness to exist here on earth either. We will still have free will, but if we choose to go with wickedness after the earth has been cleaned up, we will be choosing our own immediate destruction.
4.) God currently is allowing evil to exist so that everyone has an opportunity to live forever by choosing to do his will. Because you have to exist to choose God, he has allowed time for all these people to be born, because you have to have knowledge, he has sent his people to teach others and he has provided the Bible as his letter to man.
2007-01-30 03:36:56 · answer #2 · answered by Sparkle1 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
1) Heaven is better than earth
Heaven is the abode of God. Earth is the abode of humans. When Jesus returns it is to setup shop here on earth, not in heaven.
2) There is no evil in Heaven
That is correct because folks choose not to be evil. Apparently.
3) Evil needs to be allowed in order for free will to exist
Evil is not allowed. Though with free will it exists. You have it backwards.
4) Free will is such a high good that god allows evil to exist on earth in order to obtain it.
No, evil is allowed to exist as long as we continue to disobey God. Evil is byproduct of free will. Not the other way around. Good and evil come from free will. Free will is neither good or bad, it is a state of being. It is what we do with that free will that creates good and evil.
2007-01-30 02:35:25 · answer #3 · answered by Emperor Insania Says Bye! 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Those who are truely seeking the God who created all things are learning how good the will of God is on all things. We truely desire to be led by Him and not by our own fleshly will(that will which seeks only to gratifiy itself).
When we reach heaven, we will be perfected in that our" will " will be the SAME as the will of God in what is good and what is evil.
Our "will" will be free, but without any inclination to go against God. As long as we are on earth, we have a battle with our will versus God's will.
2007-01-30 03:53:02 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cause in Heaven you can sing praises continually, and you don't have to run errands or take care of any practical matters.
You just sing praises nonstop. It's all very glorious.
Don't be concerned about free will. Free will is not all that important.
Heaven is where you want to be, spending eternity singing praises. You will be so happy you won't even think about free will.
2007-01-30 04:05:13 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Heaven is better than Earth because it was made up that way. Think they tell you if your a really good well behaved little sheep and not make trouble this world you'll get to paradise or heaven.
It's the formula to keep the masses submissive and docile so they won't threaten those in power..
No heaven, no hell
its all in your head.
Kill your GOD
Amen
2007-01-30 02:37:51 · answer #6 · answered by plferia 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
You have free will to have true love on earth.
When we get to Heaven we will be as Saints, we still have free will, but as Saints, we will be so in tune with our creator that Sin and Evil will have no place to start, the pulling of the Devil will have no power in Heaven, it does on earth.
Hope this helps.
Peace!
2007-01-30 04:10:37 · answer #7 · answered by C 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Good, thoughtful questions, so let's see if we can sort them out.
Let's start with the assumptions:
1) Heaven is better than earth: this subjective statement requires some qualification. What exactly is "better", and against what standard do we measure it's worth? If the highest good in the universe is the worship of God, then heaven provides an atmosphere conditioned for supreme worship. This should be the goal of true believers everywhere. We live to love and serve the Lord, heaven is simply a "better" (actually best) place to do that.
2) There is no evil in Heaven: demonstrably false by scriptural methods. When Lucifer rebelled he was committing evil sin, yet he still is permitted to speak with God (Job 1) at least for the duration of human history. What you mean to say is there is no SIN in Heaven, thereby eliminating all its associated suffering and pain. This is true, Jesus defeated sin in His substitutionary death and it will have no effect in heaven.
3) Evil needs to be allowed in order for free will to exist: this is not necessarily true. There are choices between goods that have no evil in them. Evil is simply an inherent opposite to good. Whenever you make a positive assertion (xyz is right) you also decry its opposite (all non-xyz is wrong). This is the nature of Truth and it is fundamental to God's character. Evil wasn't constructed to permit free will, it simply IS because God is good. Put another way, evil would still exist even if there were no free will.
4) Free will is such a high good that god allows evil to exist on earth in order to obtain it: faulty reasoning, God doesn't "allow" evil to exist. Evil must be included as everything God is not. God could no more deny the possibility of evil than He could deny Himself. God is infinite, but His nature is still knowable. His infinitely good nature excludes the realm of all that is infinitely evil. But evil must exist as a concept because God exists.
The final error in your conclusion is the application of a temporal understanding to an infinite realm. You believe that free will in concept is restricted to the time-span of its use. I argue that free-will exists in the temporal realm as both an act and a series of consequences. Therefore, as long as I am enduring the consequences of my choices, free will continues to exist (even if I were to entirley cease making choices in the future, that future was determined by choices I already made). If I, then, have made even one choice with eternal consequences, free will continues to exist for eternity. So it is with Heaven. This single earthly lifetime is the determining period for eternity. God will honor my choice (for or against Him) by sustaining the consequences of that choice forever. This is the promise He has made. A choice to reject God is the path to Hell. A choice to worship Him will lead us to His salvation, by His grace. This choice will be further honored in eternity when God's daily presence strengthens us to resist evil. It will no longer be a battle, because God will fight it for me.
In summary, there is conceptual evil in heaven, but no sin and suffering. Free will continues because God honors my earthly choices and sustains their consequences. Ultimately, the best possible world is one in which God finally receives all the glory and honor He deserves, and I simply want to be part of that (forever!! Can you even imagine how great it will be?). I love Him because He first loved me. That's my testimony.
2007-01-30 03:09:21 · answer #8 · answered by littleman77y 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Every soul shall taste of death, and you shall only be paid fully your reward on the resurrection day; then whoever is removed far away from the fire and is made to enter the garden he indeed has attained the object; and the life of this world is nothing but a provision of vanities.
2007-01-30 03:19:01 · answer #9 · answered by sherifa 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Heaven will be better than earth because satan and his minions will not be present. We will meet there with others that are followers of GOD throughout the earths existence. I can't wait! have a great week.
Eds
2007-01-30 02:34:55 · answer #10 · answered by Eds 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋