AN INTERESTING QUESTION

[DRMIZER]

God, knowing all and seeing all. . . . . . . . In the beginning he created the universe, animals, plants, an inahbitable earth, man and woman.

"Seeing that it was good", why did he sabotage this marvelous creation by permitting lucifer to destroy mankind and have death as a natural consequence?

Isn't this the same a a man planting a garden and allowing all the fruits and vegtables to grow and then ALLOW groundhogs to com in an destroy the harvest?

[JD3]

Age old question. Maybe it's just that perfection isn't all it's cracked up to be. The gardeners I know love the work. If it is easy and you don'tfail once and while, you soon move on to other pursuits.

Maybe. Maybe the rules, whatever they are, call for us to choose.

I haven't a clue. But if there is a God as I believe, I hope to ask one day.

[NetxMan]

Actually God gave us something wonderfull, and didn't want us walking around like robots.

He wanted us to make our own choices in life, and gave us FREEDOM OF CHOICE.

[DRMIZER]

It's just a shame we ALL must suffer the consequences of such a decision. Wouldn't it have been nice if we could have chosen LOVE VS. HATE, etc.? We would still have had freedom.

Just a perplexing question.

[KWJams]

Originally posted by DRMIZER
It's just a shame we ALL must suffer the consequences of such a decision. Wouldn't it have been nice if we could have chosen LOVE VS. HATE, etc.? We would still have had freedom.

Just a perplexing question.

You just answered your own question :D

"Opposites"
---- all creation is based on a law of equal opposites


LOVE VS. HATE

GOOD vs EVIL

FREEDOM vs SLAVERY

US vs THEM :D

[Blueangel]

Originally posted by KWJams
US vs THEM :D But you said equal opposites?
Do you never get the feeling there's a lot more of them than there is of us? :D

[up2date]

Originally posted by Blueangel
But you said equal opposites?
Do you never get the feeling there's a lot more of them than there is of us? :D Of the Us and Them, which one is this ---> :devil:

:D

[KWJams]

But "them" don't have a secret handshake like US do :rolleyes:

[Blueangel]

Originally posted by up2date
Of the Us and Them, which one is this ---> :devil:

:D It's got to be us!
We know we're right.
They just think they are ;)

(There's nothing like basking in your own arrogance)

KW...The only secret handshake I do is a five knuckle shuffle.
It confuses the hell out of the Freemasons :p

[NetxMan]

Aren't "US" Actually "THEM" Since "US" and "THEM" both frequent these forums, thus making this an......

USTHEM?:angel:

[MrZero]

All this begs the question of who are the "they" of the saying , "they always say"? Is it "them"? Some of "them" and some of "us"? Only some of "us" but none of "them"?

It all makes one think.

[DRMIZER]

AMEN

[shikaki]

I think the questions DRMizer brought up are great questions and obviously are a little a little perplexing to our psyches. Notice how the conversation becomes light hearted and removed from the question at hand. I don’t think we have evolved enough to understand the questions correctly in order to try to come up with the answers. I think that simply to make us have a choice, is an extreme simplification of something that we can’t even relate too.

[Blueangel]

Originally posted by shikaki
I think the questions DRMizer brought up are great questions and obviously are a little a little perplexing to our psyches. Notice how the conversation becomes light hearted and removed from the question at hand. I don’t think we have evolved enough to understand the questions correctly in order to try to come up with the answers. I think that simply to make us have a choice, is an extreme simplification of something that we can’t even relate too. I'm not at all perplexed by these questions.
It's just that I've had a good few years to think them through and have come to a conclusion a long time ago.
My conclusion is, any answer you come up with will be different to how others feel. People argue...get angry...go to war...etc. And all because of a philosophical/theological question.

Your most telling comment is...
"I don't think we have evolved enough to understand the questions correctly..."

Yes! We have evolved, but there is something in our collective psyche that can't just accept this. We're intent on finding a reason for our existance instead of just accepting what we can touch and know is real.
Our search for a reason has instigated more untimely deaths and divisions than anything else. In the worst case scenario, this search could lead to our self destruction.
For what?
A dream?
An ideal?
A comforting thought that there may be an omnipotent force that is ultimately responsible for our very being?

To say we don't understand the question correctly, implies that there is only one possible way of viewing it.
Looking at the world around me, I see thousands of interpretations.

[shikaki]

Notice "questions" is plural because I don't think that there is just one way of looking at something. Also, I like the pompousness to assume you or anyone could possibly understand the most profound questions or answers within the universe.
I agree that we should just accept everyone’s viewpoint and not get carried away with the semantics. The point of this thread is to intellectualize about theology, so that's what we are doing.

[Blueangel]

Ok. Point taken. :)

[gopman]

God didn't allow Satan to destroy humanity, per se. He created humans in his image, meaning he gave each and every one of us freewill. It was mankind's choice to stray from the path. We are not doomed by the sins of our fathers. Read the bible if you're looking for these answers- they're all there.

[Cedars]

Yes! We have evolved, but there is something in our collective psyche that can't just accept this. We're intent on finding a reason for our existance instead of just accepting what we can touch and know is real.
What does this tell you? There is more than just our five senses (see, touch, taste, hear, and feel). We also have minds, minds that are curious, willful, and quite capable of logic. In this world we know that every effect has a cause. THAT IS WHY WE QUESTION OUR EXISTENCE! Our minds know there is more than just what our senses tell us. For instance, our minds can conceive of molecules and other scientific developments we have learned of that we could not conceive of without our minds and our curiosity. To merely accept what we can touch and "know" is real is a cop out. There is more to life than that. Our minds know it, and some of us push to the outer edges to find it--that's where God is.