so if god is omniscient?

Question

did he NOT know that eve was going to eat the fruit?

actually I've never seen it before.

josh: he did know? then why would he even forbid her? was he thinking she might change her decision?

RW: so you are saying that he let them disobey him, so that they could understand what evil is, and then later he punished them because they learnt what he was trying to teach them.

raptor: yes. I am just trying to figure out how christians believe in god. I am an atheist.

serenesilence: that's the point! you said "God knows its going to happen, but God still tries to give us a choice. " if he tries to give us a choice, then isn't he interfering with free will? isn't he trying to change our decisions?

plowmscat: you are saying yes god did know. then what was the point? he knew she was going to eat it. then wasn't it a lose-lose situation for eve? you are not seeing the flaw in what you are saying.

jloth: your answer makes a little sense. the thing is why did he forbid eve to eat the fruit? he knew she would. what was he trying to prove?

Answer 1

IF (your hypothetical) God is omniscient, he did know that Eve was going to eat the fruit. So, he must have had the whole thing (sin, Christ, redemption) planned out way ahead of time. How can we reconcile this with free will?

Answer 2

God knew you were going to ask this question but He didn't stop you. Asking questions is how we learn.

As far as Eve is concerned God's foreknowledge didn't prevent her from sinning because God wanted her to have the choice even before she existed. She was given free will just like the rest of us and God knew the bad choices we would make before the world was ever formed as well.

The idea is that God wanted us to love Him because we choose to do so, not because we are like a robot with no personality or ability to think for ourselves. Some will choose to love God and accept the sacrifice He made for sin, and others will not. Even though God knows who will and won't He still extends the choice to everyone so then all will be without an excuse.

Human beings create a lot of things like cars, and we know before they roll off the assembly line that some of them will malfunction, but we don't stop making cars. When the cars malfunction we take them to the body shop or whatever is necessary to get them running right again.

When a human malfunctions (sins) we take them to Christ and He cleans them up so they can live right. Sadly many will not come in for repairs.

While God made it possible for sin to exist, He also provided the cure for it in the blood of animals in the Old Testament and the shed blood of Christ in the New Testament. He had all the bases covered.

Some would accuse God of playing games with His creation.
This is a serious error. How can any mortal being justify this accusation against an infinite God when God is perfect and has wisdom far beyond our puny intellects and doesn't need to explain His decisions to anyone if He chooses not to. His perfection, the fact that He created and sustains this universe and the sacrifice of His Son should serve to prove Him to anyone who is sincerely wanting to know Him.

Answer 3

It goes more than that. God is in the past, present and future all at once. He took John to the future and then back to Johns present which would have been the past.

So if John, who lived a little less than 2000 yrs ago went to our future to see the end of things as we know them and to see Christ start his earthly kingdom (as did David, Ezekiel, Zechariah and others) then God is already in the future after the great white throne judgment in eternity with all those who accepted Jesus as their Saviour.

And of course he knew that Eve would bite the fruit, just like he knew where they were hiding in the garden. When he asked where they were, that was for their benefit, not Gods.

When God has contact with humans, he has to do it on our level, could you imagine trying to have an adult conversation with a 2 month old baby, well we are much more ignorant compared to God.
And he knows what you will do tomorrow for he is already there and has seen it.

Answer 4

Fruit was tasty and showed her knowledge is as tricky as results, if you want something hard enough to speak of it with big words better put some results on table or be called a bluff. God sets the table and neither him nor the towers are guilty over winning the current game in 11 moves, not too bad for first game, am I right? People will do unbelievable things for love or submission, either we see it or not, it is about faith, which is how many moves we have before we lose a piece, you will too smarten up. Kausachum.

Answer 5

God knew. Why did he set the temptation there in the first place? God sets the stage for things that must happen to achieve something in the end. Its like chess, you set the bait with a pawn, in the end you capture your enemy's queen. God knows its going to happen, but God still tries to give us a choice.

Answer 6

Obviously, an omniscient creator would know the course and fate of every aspect of His Creation; He would also know the intricate chain of cause and effect that underlay it all. But His policy is not to interfere with our free will, so when we make a wrong choice he can fry us under his giant magnifying glass.

Answer 7

lol contradictions.

I wonder how many times this question has been asked.

Edit: Okay, questions similar to this one.

Also, a being that doesn't exist can't know or not know anything.

Edit 2: The issue never made sense to me when I was a Christian, either. I have been told, however, that God knew that Eve was going to eat from the tree, but forbid it anyway, because he apparently has one TEDIOUS freaking plan for mankind laid out. It's a sin to question what that plan is, though. And a majority of Christians believe in God because the thought of no life after death terrifies them so much that they will actively reject logic. I know from experience.

Answer 8

He did know. This is very close to hitting on a major philosophical problem in religions (to which a number of answers have been proposed) whichi is god's omniscience vs. free will.

Answer 9

I think one explanation is that GOd can chose to not know.

personally its my view that God simply intended them to, that it was not some form of evil, but rather giving Adam and Eve(metaphorically) awareness of their free will, by providing an opportunity to defy what they were told. and that the act itself, initiated their free will, and made them aware of it, which then made them aware of the difference between good and evil.

edit: God is beneficent despite being omnipotent and omniscient, because it gives the opportunity and situation of existance.

edit for answer: no. remember also that in the old testament... theres no eternal hell. its more that, this act proves for your own awareness, that you are capable of chosing for yourself. and while your at it, here is what good as opposed to bad is. now you can learn.

I entirely agree that with the concept of hell that most of christianity belives in, the whole thing is pretty horrible.

Answer 10

Jesus planned on being our sacrifice before the foundation of the world Matthew 25:34