(November 2, 2017 at 11:33 pm)possibletarian Wrote:(November 2, 2017 at 10:10 pm)SteveII Wrote: It seems implicit in your question 1 that God was surprised by the fall.
Not at all, but that raises an even more serious question, why did he do it at all in that case, knowing his creation was going to be subject to untold suffering ?
Then your question is simply why did God create the world we have. Why do you prejudice the question with the phrase "untold suffering". Do you think that on average there is more suffering in the world than not?
Quote:Quote:He was not. His purpose did not change because he always knew it would happen.
Then what was his purpose ?
How do you know?
And where in the bible does god say he knew ?
A great summary for God's purpose can be found here: https://www.gotquestions.org/purpose-of-man.html
Regarding if God knew mankind would sin: https://www.gotquestions.org/if-God-knew...e-sin.html
Quote:Quote:Why in the world do you imagine that "starting over" would produce different results?
If sin and therefore untold suffering and evil is inevitable then what's the point of judging on the basis of free will or choice ?
What is with you and "untold suffering"? Have you had a difficult life or are you poisoning the well to make your argument stronger? It's depressing!
Quote:Quote:Without perfect knowledge, free will will always result in sin eventually.
How could you possibly know that ?
Is there such a thing as free will ?
Have you every watched children behave over time? No one needs to teach them to be selfish, disobedient, and willful. It is in our nature to do so. If there is no such thing as free will, then no one is ultimately responsible for their actions. Christianity unravels.
Quote:Quote:Regarding question 2, souls don't exist until conception.
Then as i ask, why not stop reproduction and let the ones who sinned die out? god seemed to do the opposite.
Apparently God's purpose was not achieved by making two human beings. See above link.
