I hate to exclude anyone, but I'm NOT looking for bible quotes.
I'm looking for a good answer from people searching for answers. Even Athiests, what would a good answer be...I know the whole thing is fictional...but try the what if.......
2007-03-14 10:42:05 · 15 answers · asked by ste.phunny 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Nothing in religion makes any sense. It's all fairytale fantasy.
2007-03-14 10:45:44 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 2⤋
The way I look at the story, God really gave A&E a choice between a life of paradise in which they had no worries or having free will. They chose free will and thus were banished from the Garden.
I don’t know how badly punished they were. I mean, they were basically made mortal – they had to suffer pain and had to work the Earth to get food and they grew old and died. Well, that’s life, isn’t it? Even with the pain of childbirth – most women remember the birth of their children as the most wonderful time of their lives!
And according to the Bible, God did not abandon his creation after their banishment from Eden– he still watched over them and their decendents and interceded on their behalf. I think it is a later, manipulative twist that labeled what they did as a SIN. That original sin thing just enslaves people and makes them feel guilty for being who they naturally are.
We live through this all the time with our children. They start out doing exactly what we tell them to do but our goal is to raise them to make their own decisions and to learn to deal with the consequences of their decisions. We still love them even when they fail and help them up to their feet if they need it. It is just part of life. Not a sin at all.
I’m an atheist, by the way.
2007-03-14 17:54:35 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
I'm not a believer but I like to try out other positions, so here goes.
So long as Adam and Eve always obeyed God there would be no evidence that they really possessed free will. It was necessary for humanity to turn against God to truly know their nature and Gods nature.
Short answer for a complicated question...
2007-03-14 17:50:36 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't believe you anyone should have follow do as I say because I say so. My sister is a psychologist, she has helped many children who are disruptive and depressed, by using the exact opposite method, teach people the why behind something and they will be less likely to do it.
2007-03-14 17:54:11 · answer #4 · answered by Magus 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
On the point of free will, I think that God gave us a free will so that our relationship with Him would be a free and voluntary one- of our choice. That applies as much to Adam and Eve as to us.
S for punishing them for disobedience; eating from the tree they were told not to
Well, we punish our children for disobeying
2007-03-14 19:50:15 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Just because we have free will doesn't mean everything we could do would be good. God never said we could expect to not be punished for doing the wrong thing. He just isn't going to stop us if that is what we want.
I guess you could call it learning the hard way.
2007-03-14 17:52:23 · answer #6 · answered by Phoenix, Wise Guru 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Free will doesnt mean freedom to act without consequences. You have the freedom pretty much to do whatever is feasible, but what will happen to you after that is not just up to you.
You can murder anyone you like, but you will go to jail or die. You can have the freedom to say whatever you want, but you might have other people exercizing their freedom of speech to tell you what they think of what you just said. Freedom doesn't mean that you can do anything you want and noone should ever judge or criticize you for it. There are good and bad consequences to every choice we make, religious or not.
2007-03-14 17:48:12 · answer #7 · answered by cadisneygirl 7 · 5⤊ 1⤋
Every decision we make carries with it consequences. God gave Adam and Eve free will but not freedom from the consequences of their choices. He gave them free will so that they could freely choose to believe him and follow him. He has told us that he desires our faith and that without it we cannot please him.
When Adam and Eve chose their own way instead of God's, there were consequences to that choice. Throughout the Bible God tells us that if we choose to believe him and obey him, there are many positive consequences, and that if we choose to disobey and go our own way, there are many negative consequences. That should make it easier and more compelling to follow God, yet people still choose to go their own way every day.
2007-03-14 17:51:27 · answer #8 · answered by happygirl 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
you are not making any sense. why would you ask a question and specify that the source of the answer not be used if not for the reason that you have already decided what kind of answer you want and any kind from GOD'S own lips just isn't good enough for you. That sure does make you awfully special..( of coarse "special" does have different connotations)
2007-03-14 17:48:17 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
There is nothing called Free Will. Our will has limitations and is temprorary. The will of God is powerful than the will of any human being, that's why Jesus Christ taught us to pray 'Father in Heaven, .....Your WILL be Done' and He himself said I have come to do the will of the Father who sent me.
2007-03-14 17:55:31 · answer #10 · answered by SAM M 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋