Why would an all powerful, all loving god punish EVERYONE for the mistake of two people?

Question

Isn't that sort of punishment along the lines of communism? Sure doesn't sound like an all loving god to me.

Glad I'm an atheist and don't have to wrestle with constant biblical questions like this every day!

Answer 1

It makes life simpler silly! Why would God want to waste his eternity having to sift through the morality of 6.5 billion of his earth-bound pets? At least Santa's naughty/nice list was shorter. He only had to worry about the Christian kids - (approximately 700 million)

Religious people like to look at life in simplistic terms. Good vs. Evil. Right vs. Wrong. They think in absolutes. They would rather believe than "think". It's just easier to say e.g. the Jews killed Jesus, I hate all Jews. Remember, "Stereotypes are a real time saver."* The first two humans sinned so all of mankind must therefore be sinful.

"Stereotypes are the mind’s shorthand for dealing with complexities. They have two aspects: they are much blunter than reality; they are shaped to fit a man’s preferences or prejudgments. Thus two principles are involved: differentiation or its lack, and biased preferential perception."
— Robert E. Lane

The notion of hereditary sin also plays a part. It is rather ironic that the cult of Jesus instructs its followers they can enter the Kingdom of heaven just by relinquishing their sins and opening their heart to Jesus. Yet in the same breadth, they condemn mankind for a sin committed at the beginning of time. Go figure.

The biblical concepts of sin and salvation are an integral part of Christian doctrine. Christianity first creates a problem (sin) and then offers a "solution" (salvation). This is not unlike the protection racket; you either buy "protection"--or else.
— Don Morgan

Christianity simply does not make sense. It tells people to repent and promises them forgiveness. It therefore has nothing (as far as I know) to say to people who do not know they have done anything to repent of and who do not feel that they need forgiveness.
— C.S. Lewis

Assure a man that he has a soul and then frighten him with old wives' tales as to what is to become of him afterward, and you have hooked a fish, a mental slave.
— Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945)

If God created flawed beings, how then can He go on to blame them for their flaws?
— James Halloran

Answer 2

"How come God needs no creator while the universe does?" It's in the definition of "God". Grab a dictionary and look it up. "How come you [are] saying there is only ONE god, why not two, three, four?" It's in the definition of "God". Look around in the definition until you find the word 'unique', then look up the definition to that word. There is by definition only one God; any other(s) would be redundant. "How come no one has a choice between living and non existing is that not against free will?" How do you know we didn't have a choice? Do you recall being asked and being forced to come here even after declining the invitation? If someone declined to come here, and God acquiesced to their request, how could they tell you their request had been granted, since they wouldn't be here to tell you? "Since we are God's favorite species why hasn't God made our eyes better then cats/owls/eagles/flies, our legs faster then lion/cheetah/horse/coyote, our ears as good as cats/bats/owl?" Why should He? He made us as He wants us. Can't you just be happy He has given you eyes and legs and ears? "God created everything in 6 days and then rested on the seventh. Is he really omnipotent if he needs to rest?" He didn't 'need' to rest; He was setting the example for US because WE need to rest. "Why did God use Adam's ribs to create Eve, is it not all powerful to create Eve also from nothing?" The notion that God used Adam's rib is based on a faulty translation; the text doesn't actually say He did. So the question is moot. Re-word the question and try again. "How come God didn't know Adam and Eve were going to eat the apple, is he not omniscient/omnipresent?" The text doesn't say the fruit was an apple. And He DID know. What makes you think He didn't? "Why did God created Adam and Eve no understanding of right and wrong?" He did. The giving of a commandment not to do something only makes sense if the man knew whether he should or not. So the question is moot. "Why did God let Adam and Eve eat the apple if he is all-knowing?" The text doesn't say it was an apple, so the question is moot. The given premise does not support asking the question. Re-word it and try again. "Why did God punish Adam and Eve for being ignorant, even though he made them that way?" That isn't what He punished them for. That should have been obvious. "Why does God punish every single person who came after Adam and Eve for their mistakes?" He doesn't. So the question is moot. In fact, God expressly says quite the opposite. The son does not suffer for the sins of the father. Read Ezekiel 18. "How come he forced Noah to create an ark is he not all powerful? can he not just use his miracle to create." He didn't force Noah; he offered Noah the opportunity to take an active party in rescuing some, and Noah accepted. "How come God told Abraham to kill his son, is he not all loving?" Did you ever read the story? The answer is given right there in the text: it was a test. "How come God stopped Abraham at the LAST second, did he not know if he was going to do it or not? Is he not omniscient?" The given premise does not support asking the question. How does stopping Abraham - regardless of when that was - mean God didn't know if Abraham would carry it through or not? It was a test of Abraham; obviously Abraham didn't know if he was going to carry through or not, and God gave him the opportunity to find out if he would or not. "How come God is all forgiving and loving, but will burn everyone for eternity just for not having the same belief as you? is that not as bad as, or worse then Hitler?" This is a problem with Christian dogma; it has nothing to do with what God really does or does not do. So the question is moot. "Let me ask you this, would YOU burn people for not believing in you if you were God and you provided zero evidence of being there." This is a problem with Christian dogma; it has nothing to do with what God really does or does not do. So the question is moot. There is also a premise flaw. Prove there is zero evidence of God being there. On the contrary there are seven categories of evidence there is a God. There is another premise flaw as well. Who says God would/should do what you or anyone else would do? "If you said the bible is the evidence, then so are all the other holy books of different religion." They don't have the level of credibility the Torah has; none of them were given to an entire nation at once.

Answer 3

He would do this not punishment to the other generations. but as punishment to Adam and Eve. could you imagine the guilt they have? Imagine you are in perfection and you'll never die and you lost that and condememned all of humanity to death and pain and suffering.

Answer 4

Who said it was punishment?

The Garden of Eden offers a life that is comfortable and risk free. Yet Eve rejects the stultifying monotony of her perfect, paradisiacal life. As she gazes at the forbidden tree of knowledge, she seems to ask, "What good is life without wisdom that arises from experience?" Passing by the tree of life, she might muse, "of what use is immortality without knowledge or growth?" Eve wrestles with humanity's first moral dilemma and takes the first moral action recorded in the Bible when she crosses the limit set by the all-knowing God.

Eve and Adam leave their father's protective abode, as children must. God knows it is time for them to face life as adults in an imperfect world. The heartbroken parent appoints a guard at the garden's gate to prevent Eve and Adam from regressing to a childhood devoid of adult responsibilities but also to prevent himself from softening and allowing them to return.

The reader sees Eve and Adam leaving the Garden of Eden full of optimism. They are not at all the tearful, dejected couple portrayed in Renaissance art, expelled by a furious father. The first thing they do is make love and create new life. What a better is there to teach us about pleasure and responsibility, behavior and consequences, than through the knowledge that the fleeting gratification of lovemaking produces a child with whom parents share a lifelong bond?

Answer 5

who said they were punished? they had a beautiful unspoiled planet upon which to live and procreate. who says we are being punished for anything done by the original homo sapiens? that is much like one culture blaming another for deeds done by ancestors hundreds of years ago, totally lacking in sense and full of assumptions. And yes, being an atheist is MUCH EASIER than actually dealing with and finding your own brand of spirituality.

Answer 6

Yes, why would he blame trillions of people for two people's mistakes?

And why would such a loving God give eternal punishment?

Answer 7

God is not going to punish everyone for the mistake of two people.He already forgave the two people.But he's going to punish the bad people and reward the good people.

Answer 8

A loving God would do no such thing.

Some people just have a funny idea of what love means.

Answer 9

why did god have to show adam and eve into an imperfect world. what would be so wrong with being unchallenged if you were totally happy. if you knew no other way.

Answer 10

He didn't. Satan entered into the world after that and he decevied people which encoureged them to do bad things. They choose to do bad, and God had to take his hand off of them. Adam and Eve only knew good untill they ate the fruit. Then evil was known, and people began to do bad.