RE: Why did god create evil?
October 25, 2011 at 3:21 am
(This post was last modified: October 25, 2011 at 3:32 am by lucent.)
(October 25, 2011 at 2:33 am)chatpilot Wrote: lucent, you don't need a bible or so called divine knowledge to define human behavior. A look back through history dating back before the existence of Judaism or Christianity will be sufficient to demonstrate that it has not changed much. You have good people and you have bad people and that is just a fact of life, but not all of us are bad.
It hasn't changed at all. See, bad is a very relative standard. The standard that God holds for good is perfection. No one has lived up to that standard except His Son. So, we all fall short of perfection. Which means we are all less than perfect. So some people are worse than others, but all have sinned. Most people could be called good in comparison to Hitler, for example. But we have all fallen short of the glory of God.
(October 25, 2011 at 2:33 am)chatpilot Wrote: This statement proves my point just fine, in that one paragraph you have debased yourself and included the rest of mankind with you. I disagree with your belief that sin is real, sin is a word that is meaningless outside of a religious context. According to the scriptures the definition of sin is basically living in disobedience to God and following after your own carnal nature. Since I don't believe in your god nor any other for that matter, the word sin does not even exist in my vocabulary.
You can feel free to correct me but I haven't ever known a human being who wasn't a hypocrite, and that includes people who are very lawful and generous and kind. I know what Gods standard is and people just do not live up to it, not even close. Sin is trangressing Gods law, and whether it means anything to you, you still will have a guilty conscience when you break His laws. We all have a God given conscience which tells us right from wrong.
(October 25, 2011 at 2:33 am)chatpilot Wrote: You stated that God does not want you to grovel but I disagree. If you read your bible carefully your holy dictator demands obedience and worship there are many texts both in the O.T. and the N.T. where God threatens us with some sort of bodily or spiritual harm for disobedience here are two for you. One from each Testament.
See now that I, I am he, and beside me there is no other god. It is I who deal death and life; when I have struck, it is I who heal (no one can rescue anyone from me). Deuteronomy 32:39 (NJB). Now if that is not a threat I don't know what is you should read the rest of the chapter its chock full of more juicy God threats.
I am not denying that God expects us to obey Him, and yes sinners should fear Gods judgement. There are consquences for what we do in life, whether we like that idea or not. Yet, we should not be seeking God in a spirit of abject fear, nor does He want that. God isn't looking to bring the hammer down on you. He doesn't want to grind you into dust. He wants reconciliation and relationship. God is merciful towards us. That's why He sent His Son here, out of love. That is the message of the gospel.
John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
He is patient with us, and does not delight in the death of the wicked:
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
(October 25, 2011 at 2:33 am)chatpilot Wrote: Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell. Matthew 10:28 (NJB). And guess what? There is plenty more of where this came from all over the New Testament.
Yes, it has warnings. This is a kindness because we need to be warned about Gods judgement so we get right with God beforehand:
Hebrews 9:27
And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,
No matter how good you think you've been, you can't face God on your own merits, because you cannot earn salvation. The penalty for sin is death and we're all guilty. God is a just judge and won't fail to punish sin. That's why Jesus paid the price for us, because we couldn't pay it ourselves. He gives it to us as a gift but if we refuse it then there is no recourse.
