I am told God gave us free will so he would know that when he received our love is was genuine, and not something he forced us to do.
However ...
We need only look around us and at history to see the fruits of free will:
- millions murdered
- millions raped
- millions enslaved
All of this permitted through the 'gift' of free will which god gave us so he'd know any love he got was genuine.
Why is god so needy and self-absorbed he's willing to cause such misery with a gift he granted for his own benefit (and obviously not for the benefit of humans considering the misery it causes)?
2007-07-07 01:36:41 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
The full statement is God granted us free will with limits. The breaking of those limits is sin. The consequence of sin is death or spiritual death. This gets abbreviated to just free will so often that sometimes people forget the full statement.
Your question seems to be. Why didn't God make us so that it is impossible for us to sin? Note that he did that before he made us. And he already had a war on his hands. The debate about whether he should have just quit before he made us seems to me to run out of interesting points quickly.
2007-07-07 02:24:38 · answer #1 · answered by Richard F 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
That's a loaded question. You're a glass half empty sort of person, aren't you? There are 2 schools of thought in YA about God's behavior. One group says he's too strict, too many regulations, interferes too much. The other group says he's too detached. "Why would a loving God permit.......(insert tragedy here)". Is it better to have no knowledge of evil, having God solve every issue for us? Or is it better to have a world where heros and heroines can exist....a world where it's possible for men and women to be so inspiring to others by being self-sacrificing and generous and kind? You can always tell the children whose parents have sheltered them too much and not allowed them to experience difficulty. I once let my high-school age son be late for a job one Saturday morning, because he was so lax about setting his alarm clock. He was always depending on me to wake him. he arrived late for work and was sent home and lost a days wages. Did I cause that? Or did I allow that to help him to grow into a mature human being? Bottom line is....he sets his alarm clock now. I realize this is an imperfect answer to a difficult problem. I don't want to gloss over the real suffering of people with a trite answer, but....I believe it's unfair to not also give God credit for the GOOD that the gift of free will also brings into the world!
2007-07-07 02:05:48 · answer #2 · answered by Graham 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
If God was not "needy" in wanting to have a relation with us, He would not have made us (we would not be here - or any where).
But God did make us, and He has given us His words in the Bible that we may know what He expects from us.
If we disobey Him we are doomed.
But if we Obey Him (to love and follow) then we will have a heavenly eternity with Him.
The few years we have on earth (maybe 70, but no guarantees) is all the time we have to choose. Than we will spend ETERNITY in Heaven or Hell. We choose the destination.
2007-07-07 01:52:36 · answer #3 · answered by tim 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You're right on the mark with the gift of free-will (even though you don't like the idea, it seems).
God created a place for those who want to be with Him, and for those who want to be against Him.
God is merciful when He allows someone who is suffering to die. He brings that spirit out of the person and all that is left is a carcass. We are not put here to live forever. Think of all the things in nature - insects and animals - do they live forever - no. Some creatures in the animal kingdom live for 24 hours before expiring.
Violence is a horrible thing. The mind and body of a person who has been victimized becomes a mind and body either a) healed by God's grace or b) destroyed because they did not truly seek healing or a relationship with their Creator.
Misery is not caused by God. The fundamental needs in a person's life are supplied by God, and not entirely hard to come by. Food, water, family... (we all come from a mother, and we can all travel to the ocean, eventually). The desire for anything else is what turns people wicked. Failing to acknowlege that we are born with what we need, and everything else is a bonus is what turns *people* self-centered and self-absorbed. Nothing good comes from the desire for all other things in life.
The fruits of the Spirit are love; joy; peace; patience; kindness; goodness; faithfulness; gentleness; self-control. Those are the fruits of someone who has no motives in existing, except to devote their life to their Creator. We are all victims of people who deviate from this plan, unfortunately.
2007-07-07 01:40:01 · answer #4 · answered by jane 3 · 1⤊ 3⤋
Sophistry
2007-07-07 01:45:15 · answer #5 · answered by didi 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
How selfish and self-centered is the christian god?
Well, He is the creator of all things without whom nothing including you and me would exist. What you need to do is to stop railing against God for the tragic death of your son and to turn to Jesus and get saved so that your son won't be missing you in Heaven when it's your turn to die.
2 Samuel 12:19 But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David understood that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, "Is the child dead?" They said, "He is dead." 20 Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. He then went to his own house. And when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate. 21 Then his servants said to him, "What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when the child died, you arose and ate food." 22 He said, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, 'Who knows whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?' 23 But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me."
Click on the Get Saved button @ http://www.angelfire.com/rock3/cornerstone0/
2007-07-07 01:44:14 · answer #6 · answered by Martin S 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Why Do We Suffer?
Lets see what the bible has to say about suffering starting in the beginning. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1) God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. (Genesis 1:31) So, God created everything and saw everything was good. This means in the beginning there was no suffering at all.
If there was no suffering in the beginning how did suffering come to the world? When Adam sinned he brought death and suffering into the world. Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned. (Romans 5:12) Here is Gods curse to us because of Adam: To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." (Genesis 3: 17-19)
As you can see man brought suffering on himself. Sin is the cause of suffering. Without sin there is no suffering. Without the law there is no sin. So anything God says not to do is sin. Sin is lawlessness. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) Sin is simply rebelling against God. The effect of our rebelling against God is death and suffering. Sin was the biggest cancer that was brought on to the earth. Sin separates us from God. When we are separated from God we are cursed. Through the curse of our separation there is suffering.
When people say why do bad things happen to good people? The answer is no one is good. Jesus said, “No one is good—except God alone.” (Luke 18:19) The question should be why does God allow good things to happen to bad people. No one goes to God first. God has to come to us first. No one seeks God. So the answer to the question about suffering is simply we suffer because of our rebellion against God. Sin is the reason of suffering and death.
2007-07-07 01:48:59 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
You could use the model to prove the existence of Discordia.
2007-07-07 01:53:44 · answer #8 · answered by Bokito 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Selfish and self-center people believe the world revolves around around them.
And I guess in God's case...
2007-07-07 01:42:28 · answer #9 · answered by Mr. Bad Day 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
I don't know about you but I do believe in the power of influence of a certain evil one.
2007-07-07 01:42:10 · answer #10 · answered by Sick Puppy 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋