Christians judge god as good. Gnostic Christians judge god as evil. Which religion is correct?

Christians judge god as good. Gnostic Christians judge god as evil. Which religion is correct?

“The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.” Richard Dawkins.

I say shame on all Christians for not judging justly and being morally corrupt.

I offer as evidence of Yahweh’s corruption one simple fact. 1Peter 1:20 0 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.

This is god setting a bribe price to reverse his usual justice of punishing the innocent to punishing the guilty. This shows his moral and ethical corruption. It also show Jesus as just as corrupt as he went along with it.

Gen3;22 Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil;
1 Thessalonians 5:21 Test all things; hold fast what is good.

What is your judgement?

Regards
DL



Logically, God cannot be all evil.

1. To be God, he must be all powerful
2. If he is all powerful and evil, then there would be no good.
3. Therefore, your only choices are, God is good or God is a mixture of good and evil.

So which is it?

First you would have to define what is good and evil, I would think.

Evil is the absence of good. Ergo everything God made is good.

Someone had to make evil the absence of good. Who did that?

Humans did. Animals have no concept of good and evil.


I would disagree with that.

Animals treat each other much better than humans treat each other.

Although most of us don't go around eating each other. :biggrin:
 
Christians judge god as good. Gnostic Christians judge god as evil. Which religion is correct?

“The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.” Richard Dawkins.

I say shame on all Christians for not judging justly and being morally corrupt.

I offer as evidence of Yahweh’s corruption one simple fact. 1Peter 1:20 0 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.

This is god setting a bribe price to reverse his usual justice of punishing the innocent to punishing the guilty. This shows his moral and ethical corruption. It also show Jesus as just as corrupt as he went along with it.

Gen3;22 Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil;
1 Thessalonians 5:21 Test all things; hold fast what is good.

What is your judgement?

Regards
DL



Logically, God cannot be all evil.

1. To be God, he must be all powerful
2. If he is all powerful and evil, then there would be no good.
3. Therefore, your only choices are, God is good or God is a mixture of good and evil.

So which is it?

First you would have to define what is good and evil, I would think.

Evil is the absence of good. Ergo everything God made is good.

Someone had to make evil the absence of good. Who did that?

Humans did. Animals have no concept of good and evil.

So man invented evil, god didn't make everything in the universe?

So was evil predestined by god to exist in this universe, like you argue that intelligence was? Or did god not know what was coming?

Again your logic is flawed. Intentionally so no doubt. But I appreciate the opportunity to plant another seed at your expense.

Genesis is allegorical. It starts with the allegorical account of Creation. After every step God would say "and it was good." So basically everything God created was good. Which makes sense because things like evil, darkness and cold or not extant. They don't exist on their own. They exist as the absence of something else. Cold is the absence of heat. Darkness is the absence of light. And evil is the absence of good.

Man knows right from wrong, but when he violates it, rather than abandoning the concept of right and wrong, he rationalizes that he didn't violate it. After Adam and Eve had sinned and realized they were naked, they hid when they heard God coming. They hid because they knew that they had done wrong. Then when God asked point blank if they had done it, they rationalized that it wasn't their fault. Adam, did you eat the apple? The woman you made gave it to me. Eve did you eat the apple? The serpent deceived me.

Man is the only animal capable of knowledge of good and evil. No other creature has this concept. Sure animals can have empathy, but not like man. Animals function on impulse and instinct. Man functions on these too, but in man's case he has the unique ability to override his impulses and instinct for the sake of good. That is free will. It's a choice. Everything is choice.

I don't believe that Genesis is implying that had Adam and Eve never committed the original sin, we would live in paradise forever. I believe Genesis is saying that man has the capacity to do good and evil. So then the question begs why did God create such a world. I believe that that is an artifact of life. In other words, I don't believe God had a choice. It is part and parcel of the extant nature of good. I know people will howl that I said God had no choice but the reality is there are things God can't do. For instance, God can't oppose Himself; He can't go against His own nature.

So there are two very interesting things which come out of free will. One is that evil has the effect of making good better. It's like salt and sugar. Salt makes sugar taste sweeter. We are told elsewhere that He uses all things for the good of those who love Him. Among other things the Jews discovered is that there is meaning in suffering. 07 Judaism

The other interesting thing is that good has no meaning unless there is evil. In other words, it is not virtuous if you are forced to be virtuous.

In closing, man prefers good over evil. We don't do evil for evil's sake. We do evil for the sake of our own good and when we do, we rationalize that we didn't do evil. But from these acts, goodness will arise and we will be stronger for it. It is a self compensating feature whose sole purpose is to propel consciousness to the next rung in the anthropological ladder.

And Taz is a putz because he rejects this.
 
So simple minds like Taz can't understand how an all knowing and all loving God could allow Taz to suffer even the slightest hangnail.

The simple answer is that Taz is stupid.

Taz lacks complete knowledge. God doesn't.

Taz can't understand how anything good can possibly come from something bad.

Again, that's because Taz is stupid.

Most honest people understand that bad things can happen to good people and from that bad, good will arise.
 
Christians judge god as good. Gnostic Christians judge god as evil. Which religion is correct?

“The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.” Richard Dawkins.

I say shame on all Christians for not judging justly and being morally corrupt.

I offer as evidence of Yahweh’s corruption one simple fact. 1Peter 1:20 0 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.

This is god setting a bribe price to reverse his usual justice of punishing the innocent to punishing the guilty. This shows his moral and ethical corruption. It also show Jesus as just as corrupt as he went along with it.

Gen3;22 Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil;
1 Thessalonians 5:21 Test all things; hold fast what is good.

What is your judgement?

Regards
DL



Logically, God cannot be all evil.

1. To be God, he must be all powerful
2. If he is all powerful and evil, then there would be no good.
3. Therefore, your only choices are, God is good or God is a mixture of good and evil.

So which is it?

First you would have to define what is good and evil, I would think.

Evil is the absence of good. Ergo everything God made is good.

Someone had to make evil the absence of good. Who did that?

Humans did. Animals have no concept of good and evil.


I would disagree with that...

Good for you.
 
Logically, God cannot be all evil.

1. To be God, he must be all powerful
2. If he is all powerful and evil, then there would be no good.
3. Therefore, your only choices are, God is good or God is a mixture of good and evil.

So which is it?

First you would have to define what is good and evil, I would think.
Evil is the absence of good. Ergo everything God made is good.
Someone had to make evil the absence of good. Who did that?
Humans did. Animals have no concept of good and evil.
So man invented evil, god didn't make everything in the universe?

So was evil predestined by god to exist in this universe, like you argue that intelligence was? Or did god not know what was coming?
Again your logic is flawed. Intentionally so no doubt. But I appreciate the opportunity to plant another seed at your expense.

Genesis is allegorical. It starts with the allegorical account of Creation. After every step God would say "and it was good." So basically everything God created was good. Which makes sense because things like evil, darkness and cold or not extant. They don't exist on their own. They exist as the absence of something else. Cold is the absence of heat. Darkness is the absence of light. And evil is the absence of good.

Man knows right from wrong, but when he violates it, rather than abandoning the concept of right and wrong, he rationalizes that he didn't violate it. After Adam and Eve had sinned and realized they were naked, they hid when they heard God coming. They hid because they knew that they had done wrong. Then when God asked point blank if they had done it, they rationalized that it wasn't their fault. Adam, did you eat the apple? The woman you made gave it to me. Eve did you eat the apple? The serpent deceived me.

Man is the only animal capable of knowledge of good and evil. No other creature has this concept. Sure animals can have empathy, but not like man. Animals function on impulse and instinct. Man functions on these too, but in man's case he has the unique ability to override his impulses and instinct for the sake of good. That is free will. It's a choice. Everything is choice.

I don't believe that Genesis is implying that had Adam and Eve never committed the original sin, we would live in paradise forever. I believe Genesis is saying that man has the capacity to do good and evil. So then the question begs why did God create such a world. I believe that that is an artifact of life. In other words, I don't believe God had a choice. It is part and parcel of the extant nature of good. I know people will howl that I said God had no choice but the reality is there are things God can't do. For instance, God can't oppose Himself; He can't go against His own nature.

So there are two very interesting things which come out of free will. One is that evil has the effect of making good better. It's like salt and sugar. Salt makes sugar taste sweeter. We are told elsewhere that He uses all things for the good of those who love Him. Among other things the Jews discovered is that there is meaning in suffering. 07 Judaism

The other interesting thing is that good has no meaning unless there is evil. In other words, it is not virtuous if you are forced to be virtuous.

In closing, man prefers good over evil. We don't do evil for evil's sake. We do evil for the sake of our own good and when we do, we rationalize that we didn't do evil. But from these acts, goodness will arise and we will be stronger for it. It is a self compensating feature whose sole purpose is to propel consciousness to the next rung in the anthropological ladder.

And Taz is a putz because he rejects this.
"After Adam and Eve had sinned and realized they were naked, they hid when they heard God coming. They hid because they knew that they had done wrong. Then when God asked point blank if they had done it, they rationalized that it wasn't their fault. " So if this is a true account then it's not allegorical. Or are you cherry-picking again?

"I don't believe God had a choice." So god to you ins't an omni potent being. Nor is it an allegorical story.

"So there are two very interesting things which come out of free will." So not allegorical.

"Man is the only animal capable of knowledge of good and evil. No other creature has this concept. Sure animals can have empathy, but not like man. Animals function on impulse and instinct. Man functions on these too, but in man's case he has the unique ability to override his impulses and instinct for the sake of good. That is free will. It's a choice. Everything is choice." Animals sometimes make the choice not to kill but to nurture another animal's babies.
 
Evil is the absence of good. Ergo everything God made is good.
Someone had to make evil the absence of good. Who did that?
Humans did. Animals have no concept of good and evil.
So man invented evil, god didn't make everything in the universe?

So was evil predestined by god to exist in this universe, like you argue that intelligence was? Or did god not know what was coming?
Again your logic is flawed. Intentionally so no doubt. But I appreciate the opportunity to plant another seed at your expense.

Genesis is allegorical. It starts with the allegorical account of Creation. After every step God would say "and it was good." So basically everything God created was good. Which makes sense because things like evil, darkness and cold or not extant. They don't exist on their own. They exist as the absence of something else. Cold is the absence of heat. Darkness is the absence of light. And evil is the absence of good.

Man knows right from wrong, but when he violates it, rather than abandoning the concept of right and wrong, he rationalizes that he didn't violate it. After Adam and Eve had sinned and realized they were naked, they hid when they heard God coming. They hid because they knew that they had done wrong. Then when God asked point blank if they had done it, they rationalized that it wasn't their fault. Adam, did you eat the apple? The woman you made gave it to me. Eve did you eat the apple? The serpent deceived me.

Man is the only animal capable of knowledge of good and evil. No other creature has this concept. Sure animals can have empathy, but not like man. Animals function on impulse and instinct. Man functions on these too, but in man's case he has the unique ability to override his impulses and instinct for the sake of good. That is free will. It's a choice. Everything is choice.

I don't believe that Genesis is implying that had Adam and Eve never committed the original sin, we would live in paradise forever. I believe Genesis is saying that man has the capacity to do good and evil. So then the question begs why did God create such a world. I believe that that is an artifact of life. In other words, I don't believe God had a choice. It is part and parcel of the extant nature of good. I know people will howl that I said God had no choice but the reality is there are things God can't do. For instance, God can't oppose Himself; He can't go against His own nature.

So there are two very interesting things which come out of free will. One is that evil has the effect of making good better. It's like salt and sugar. Salt makes sugar taste sweeter. We are told elsewhere that He uses all things for the good of those who love Him. Among other things the Jews discovered is that there is meaning in suffering. 07 Judaism

The other interesting thing is that good has no meaning unless there is evil. In other words, it is not virtuous if you are forced to be virtuous.

In closing, man prefers good over evil. We don't do evil for evil's sake. We do evil for the sake of our own good and when we do, we rationalize that we didn't do evil. But from these acts, goodness will arise and we will be stronger for it. It is a self compensating feature whose sole purpose is to propel consciousness to the next rung in the anthropological ladder.

And Taz is a putz because he rejects this.
"After Adam and Eve had sinned and realized they were naked, they hid when they heard God coming. They hid because they knew that they had done wrong. Then when God asked point blank if they had done it, they rationalized that it wasn't their fault. " So if this is a true account then it's not allegorical. Or are you cherry-picking again?

"I don't believe God had a choice." So god to you ins't an omni potent being. Nor is it an allegorical story.

"So there are two very interesting things which come out of free will." So not allegorical.

"Man is the only animal capable of knowledge of good and evil. No other creature has this concept. Sure animals can have empathy, but not like man. Animals function on impulse and instinct. Man functions on these too, but in man's case he has the unique ability to override his impulses and instinct for the sake of good. That is free will. It's a choice. Everything is choice." Animals sometimes make the choice not to kill but to nurture another animal's babies.
So if this is a true account then it's not allegorical. Or are you cherry-picking again?
Incorrect. It is an allegorical account of early man's understanding of God. Which BTW is far far superior to yours.

It is precisely because these allegorical accounts contain truth and wisdom that they are passed down for thousands of years orally from one generation to the next.

So god to you ins't an omni potent being. Nor is it allegorical.
Don't be silly. That which defeats his purpose isn't a strength it is a weakness. To argue that God can't go against his nature is not a valid argument. It's an idiotic argument that I would expect a little child to make. One who isn't really interested in a serious discussion. One who is only interested in amusing himself and try to show how clever he is.

So not allegorical.
Incorrect. It is an allegorical account of early man's understanding of God. Which BTW is far far superior to yours.

Animals sometimes make the choice not to kill but to nurture another animal's babies.
Sure, so what?
 
Someone had to make evil the absence of good. Who did that?
Humans did. Animals have no concept of good and evil.
So man invented evil, god didn't make everything in the universe?

So was evil predestined by god to exist in this universe, like you argue that intelligence was? Or did god not know what was coming?
Again your logic is flawed. Intentionally so no doubt. But I appreciate the opportunity to plant another seed at your expense.

Genesis is allegorical. It starts with the allegorical account of Creation. After every step God would say "and it was good." So basically everything God created was good. Which makes sense because things like evil, darkness and cold or not extant. They don't exist on their own. They exist as the absence of something else. Cold is the absence of heat. Darkness is the absence of light. And evil is the absence of good.

Man knows right from wrong, but when he violates it, rather than abandoning the concept of right and wrong, he rationalizes that he didn't violate it. After Adam and Eve had sinned and realized they were naked, they hid when they heard God coming. They hid because they knew that they had done wrong. Then when God asked point blank if they had done it, they rationalized that it wasn't their fault. Adam, did you eat the apple? The woman you made gave it to me. Eve did you eat the apple? The serpent deceived me.

Man is the only animal capable of knowledge of good and evil. No other creature has this concept. Sure animals can have empathy, but not like man. Animals function on impulse and instinct. Man functions on these too, but in man's case he has the unique ability to override his impulses and instinct for the sake of good. That is free will. It's a choice. Everything is choice.

I don't believe that Genesis is implying that had Adam and Eve never committed the original sin, we would live in paradise forever. I believe Genesis is saying that man has the capacity to do good and evil. So then the question begs why did God create such a world. I believe that that is an artifact of life. In other words, I don't believe God had a choice. It is part and parcel of the extant nature of good. I know people will howl that I said God had no choice but the reality is there are things God can't do. For instance, God can't oppose Himself; He can't go against His own nature.

So there are two very interesting things which come out of free will. One is that evil has the effect of making good better. It's like salt and sugar. Salt makes sugar taste sweeter. We are told elsewhere that He uses all things for the good of those who love Him. Among other things the Jews discovered is that there is meaning in suffering. 07 Judaism

The other interesting thing is that good has no meaning unless there is evil. In other words, it is not virtuous if you are forced to be virtuous.

In closing, man prefers good over evil. We don't do evil for evil's sake. We do evil for the sake of our own good and when we do, we rationalize that we didn't do evil. But from these acts, goodness will arise and we will be stronger for it. It is a self compensating feature whose sole purpose is to propel consciousness to the next rung in the anthropological ladder.

And Taz is a putz because he rejects this.
"After Adam and Eve had sinned and realized they were naked, they hid when they heard God coming. They hid because they knew that they had done wrong. Then when God asked point blank if they had done it, they rationalized that it wasn't their fault. " So if this is a true account then it's not allegorical. Or are you cherry-picking again?

"I don't believe God had a choice." So god to you ins't an omni potent being. Nor is it an allegorical story.

"So there are two very interesting things which come out of free will." So not allegorical.

"Man is the only animal capable of knowledge of good and evil. No other creature has this concept. Sure animals can have empathy, but not like man. Animals function on impulse and instinct. Man functions on these too, but in man's case he has the unique ability to override his impulses and instinct for the sake of good. That is free will. It's a choice. Everything is choice." Animals sometimes make the choice not to kill but to nurture another animal's babies.
So if this is a true account then it's not allegorical. Or are you cherry-picking again?
Incorrect. It is an allegorical account of early man's understanding of God. Which BTW is far far superior to yours.

It is precisely because these allegorical accounts contain truth and wisdom that they are passed down for thousands of years orally from one generation to the next.

So god to you ins't an omni potent being. Nor is it allegorical.
Don't be silly. That which defeats his purpose isn't a strength it is a weakness. To argue that God can't go against his nature is not a valid argument. It's an idiotic argument that I would expect a little child to make. One who isn't really interested in a serious discussion. One who is only interested in amusing himself and try to show how clever he is.

So not allegorical.
Incorrect. It is an allegorical account of early man's understanding of God. Which BTW is far far superior to yours.

Animals sometimes make the choice not to kill but to nurture another animal's babies.
Sure, so what?
Your gibberish barely makes any sense. You have all these arbitrary rules that god can't do this or that, and that evil isn't god fault, or he can't stop it, because of more totally arbitrary stuff... Or that god can't go against his nature because of something totally arbitrary again. And it's all seriously laughable that you pretend to have found god in such a book of (admittedly) fiction. I question your sanity.
 
Humans did. Animals have no concept of good and evil.
So man invented evil, god didn't make everything in the universe?

So was evil predestined by god to exist in this universe, like you argue that intelligence was? Or did god not know what was coming?
Again your logic is flawed. Intentionally so no doubt. But I appreciate the opportunity to plant another seed at your expense.

Genesis is allegorical. It starts with the allegorical account of Creation. After every step God would say "and it was good." So basically everything God created was good. Which makes sense because things like evil, darkness and cold or not extant. They don't exist on their own. They exist as the absence of something else. Cold is the absence of heat. Darkness is the absence of light. And evil is the absence of good.

Man knows right from wrong, but when he violates it, rather than abandoning the concept of right and wrong, he rationalizes that he didn't violate it. After Adam and Eve had sinned and realized they were naked, they hid when they heard God coming. They hid because they knew that they had done wrong. Then when God asked point blank if they had done it, they rationalized that it wasn't their fault. Adam, did you eat the apple? The woman you made gave it to me. Eve did you eat the apple? The serpent deceived me.

Man is the only animal capable of knowledge of good and evil. No other creature has this concept. Sure animals can have empathy, but not like man. Animals function on impulse and instinct. Man functions on these too, but in man's case he has the unique ability to override his impulses and instinct for the sake of good. That is free will. It's a choice. Everything is choice.

I don't believe that Genesis is implying that had Adam and Eve never committed the original sin, we would live in paradise forever. I believe Genesis is saying that man has the capacity to do good and evil. So then the question begs why did God create such a world. I believe that that is an artifact of life. In other words, I don't believe God had a choice. It is part and parcel of the extant nature of good. I know people will howl that I said God had no choice but the reality is there are things God can't do. For instance, God can't oppose Himself; He can't go against His own nature.

So there are two very interesting things which come out of free will. One is that evil has the effect of making good better. It's like salt and sugar. Salt makes sugar taste sweeter. We are told elsewhere that He uses all things for the good of those who love Him. Among other things the Jews discovered is that there is meaning in suffering. 07 Judaism

The other interesting thing is that good has no meaning unless there is evil. In other words, it is not virtuous if you are forced to be virtuous.

In closing, man prefers good over evil. We don't do evil for evil's sake. We do evil for the sake of our own good and when we do, we rationalize that we didn't do evil. But from these acts, goodness will arise and we will be stronger for it. It is a self compensating feature whose sole purpose is to propel consciousness to the next rung in the anthropological ladder.

And Taz is a putz because he rejects this.
"After Adam and Eve had sinned and realized they were naked, they hid when they heard God coming. They hid because they knew that they had done wrong. Then when God asked point blank if they had done it, they rationalized that it wasn't their fault. " So if this is a true account then it's not allegorical. Or are you cherry-picking again?

"I don't believe God had a choice." So god to you ins't an omni potent being. Nor is it an allegorical story.

"So there are two very interesting things which come out of free will." So not allegorical.

"Man is the only animal capable of knowledge of good and evil. No other creature has this concept. Sure animals can have empathy, but not like man. Animals function on impulse and instinct. Man functions on these too, but in man's case he has the unique ability to override his impulses and instinct for the sake of good. That is free will. It's a choice. Everything is choice." Animals sometimes make the choice not to kill but to nurture another animal's babies.
So if this is a true account then it's not allegorical. Or are you cherry-picking again?
Incorrect. It is an allegorical account of early man's understanding of God. Which BTW is far far superior to yours.

It is precisely because these allegorical accounts contain truth and wisdom that they are passed down for thousands of years orally from one generation to the next.

So god to you ins't an omni potent being. Nor is it allegorical.
Don't be silly. That which defeats his purpose isn't a strength it is a weakness. To argue that God can't go against his nature is not a valid argument. It's an idiotic argument that I would expect a little child to make. One who isn't really interested in a serious discussion. One who is only interested in amusing himself and try to show how clever he is.

So not allegorical.
Incorrect. It is an allegorical account of early man's understanding of God. Which BTW is far far superior to yours.

Animals sometimes make the choice not to kill but to nurture another animal's babies.
Sure, so what?
Your gibberish barely makes any sense. You have all these arbitrary rules that god can't do this or that, and that evil isn't god fault, or he can't stop it, because of more totally arbitrary stuff... Or that god can't go against his nature because of something totally arbitrary again. And it's all seriously laughable that you pretend to have found god in such a book of (admittedly) fiction. I question your sanity.
Gibberish? Hardly. You can't refute any of it.

Genesis is allegorical. It starts with the allegorical account of Creation. After every step God would say "and it was good." So basically everything God created was good. Which makes sense because things like evil, darkness and cold or not extant. They don't exist on their own. They exist as the absence of something else. Cold is the absence of heat. Darkness is the absence of light. And evil is the absence of good.

Man knows right from wrong, but when he violates it, rather than abandoning the concept of right and wrong, he rationalizes that he didn't violate it. After Adam and Eve had sinned and realized they were naked, they hid when they heard God coming. They hid because they knew that they had done wrong. Then when God asked point blank if they had done it, they rationalized that it wasn't their fault. Adam, did you eat the apple? The woman you made gave it to me. Eve did you eat the apple? The serpent deceived me.

Man is the only animal capable of knowledge of good and evil. No other creature has this concept. Sure animals can have empathy, but not like man. Animals function on impulse and instinct. Man functions on these too, but in man's case he has the unique ability to override his impulses and instinct for the sake of good. That is free will. It's a choice. Everything is choice.

I don't believe that Genesis is implying that had Adam and Eve never committed the original sin, we would live in paradise forever. I believe Genesis is saying that man has the capacity to do good and evil. So then the question begs why did God create such a world. I believe that that is an artifact of life. In other words, I don't believe God had a choice. It is part and parcel of the extant nature of good. I know people will howl that I said God had no choice but the reality is there are things God can't do. For instance, God can't oppose Himself; He can't go against His own nature.

So there are two very interesting things which come out of free will. One is that evil has the effect of making good better. It's like salt and sugar. Salt makes sugar taste sweeter. We are told elsewhere that He uses all things for the good of those who love Him. Among other things the Jews discovered is that there is meaning in suffering. 07 Judaism

The other interesting thing is that good has no meaning unless there is evil. In other words, it is not virtuous if you are forced to be virtuous.

In closing, man prefers good over evil. We don't do evil for evil's sake. We do evil for the sake of our own good and when we do, we rationalize that we didn't do evil. But from these acts, goodness will arise and we will be stronger for it. It is a self compensating feature whose sole purpose is to propel consciousness to the next rung in the anthropological ladder.
 
So man invented evil, god didn't make everything in the universe?

So was evil predestined by god to exist in this universe, like you argue that intelligence was? Or did god not know what was coming?
Again your logic is flawed. Intentionally so no doubt. But I appreciate the opportunity to plant another seed at your expense.

Genesis is allegorical. It starts with the allegorical account of Creation. After every step God would say "and it was good." So basically everything God created was good. Which makes sense because things like evil, darkness and cold or not extant. They don't exist on their own. They exist as the absence of something else. Cold is the absence of heat. Darkness is the absence of light. And evil is the absence of good.

Man knows right from wrong, but when he violates it, rather than abandoning the concept of right and wrong, he rationalizes that he didn't violate it. After Adam and Eve had sinned and realized they were naked, they hid when they heard God coming. They hid because they knew that they had done wrong. Then when God asked point blank if they had done it, they rationalized that it wasn't their fault. Adam, did you eat the apple? The woman you made gave it to me. Eve did you eat the apple? The serpent deceived me.

Man is the only animal capable of knowledge of good and evil. No other creature has this concept. Sure animals can have empathy, but not like man. Animals function on impulse and instinct. Man functions on these too, but in man's case he has the unique ability to override his impulses and instinct for the sake of good. That is free will. It's a choice. Everything is choice.

I don't believe that Genesis is implying that had Adam and Eve never committed the original sin, we would live in paradise forever. I believe Genesis is saying that man has the capacity to do good and evil. So then the question begs why did God create such a world. I believe that that is an artifact of life. In other words, I don't believe God had a choice. It is part and parcel of the extant nature of good. I know people will howl that I said God had no choice but the reality is there are things God can't do. For instance, God can't oppose Himself; He can't go against His own nature.

So there are two very interesting things which come out of free will. One is that evil has the effect of making good better. It's like salt and sugar. Salt makes sugar taste sweeter. We are told elsewhere that He uses all things for the good of those who love Him. Among other things the Jews discovered is that there is meaning in suffering. 07 Judaism

The other interesting thing is that good has no meaning unless there is evil. In other words, it is not virtuous if you are forced to be virtuous.

In closing, man prefers good over evil. We don't do evil for evil's sake. We do evil for the sake of our own good and when we do, we rationalize that we didn't do evil. But from these acts, goodness will arise and we will be stronger for it. It is a self compensating feature whose sole purpose is to propel consciousness to the next rung in the anthropological ladder.

And Taz is a putz because he rejects this.
"After Adam and Eve had sinned and realized they were naked, they hid when they heard God coming. They hid because they knew that they had done wrong. Then when God asked point blank if they had done it, they rationalized that it wasn't their fault. " So if this is a true account then it's not allegorical. Or are you cherry-picking again?

"I don't believe God had a choice." So god to you ins't an omni potent being. Nor is it an allegorical story.

"So there are two very interesting things which come out of free will." So not allegorical.

"Man is the only animal capable of knowledge of good and evil. No other creature has this concept. Sure animals can have empathy, but not like man. Animals function on impulse and instinct. Man functions on these too, but in man's case he has the unique ability to override his impulses and instinct for the sake of good. That is free will. It's a choice. Everything is choice." Animals sometimes make the choice not to kill but to nurture another animal's babies.
So if this is a true account then it's not allegorical. Or are you cherry-picking again?
Incorrect. It is an allegorical account of early man's understanding of God. Which BTW is far far superior to yours.

It is precisely because these allegorical accounts contain truth and wisdom that they are passed down for thousands of years orally from one generation to the next.

So god to you ins't an omni potent being. Nor is it allegorical.
Don't be silly. That which defeats his purpose isn't a strength it is a weakness. To argue that God can't go against his nature is not a valid argument. It's an idiotic argument that I would expect a little child to make. One who isn't really interested in a serious discussion. One who is only interested in amusing himself and try to show how clever he is.

So not allegorical.
Incorrect. It is an allegorical account of early man's understanding of God. Which BTW is far far superior to yours.

Animals sometimes make the choice not to kill but to nurture another animal's babies.
Sure, so what?
Your gibberish barely makes any sense. You have all these arbitrary rules that god can't do this or that, and that evil isn't god fault, or he can't stop it, because of more totally arbitrary stuff... Or that god can't go against his nature because of something totally arbitrary again. And it's all seriously laughable that you pretend to have found god in such a book of (admittedly) fiction. I question your sanity.
Gibberish? Hardly. You can't refute any of it.

Genesis is allegorical. It starts with the allegorical account of Creation. After every step God would say "and it was good." So basically everything God created was good. Which makes sense because things like evil, darkness and cold or not extant. They don't exist on their own. They exist as the absence of something else. Cold is the absence of heat. Darkness is the absence of light. And evil is the absence of good.

Man knows right from wrong, but when he violates it, rather than abandoning the concept of right and wrong, he rationalizes that he didn't violate it. After Adam and Eve had sinned and realized they were naked, they hid when they heard God coming. They hid because they knew that they had done wrong. Then when God asked point blank if they had done it, they rationalized that it wasn't their fault. Adam, did you eat the apple? The woman you made gave it to me. Eve did you eat the apple? The serpent deceived me.

Man is the only animal capable of knowledge of good and evil. No other creature has this concept. Sure animals can have empathy, but not like man. Animals function on impulse and instinct. Man functions on these too, but in man's case he has the unique ability to override his impulses and instinct for the sake of good. That is free will. It's a choice. Everything is choice.

I don't believe that Genesis is implying that had Adam and Eve never committed the original sin, we would live in paradise forever. I believe Genesis is saying that man has the capacity to do good and evil. So then the question begs why did God create such a world. I believe that that is an artifact of life. In other words, I don't believe God had a choice. It is part and parcel of the extant nature of good. I know people will howl that I said God had no choice but the reality is there are things God can't do. For instance, God can't oppose Himself; He can't go against His own nature.

So there are two very interesting things which come out of free will. One is that evil has the effect of making good better. It's like salt and sugar. Salt makes sugar taste sweeter. We are told elsewhere that He uses all things for the good of those who love Him. Among other things the Jews discovered is that there is meaning in suffering. 07 Judaism

The other interesting thing is that good has no meaning unless there is evil. In other words, it is not virtuous if you are forced to be virtuous.

In closing, man prefers good over evil. We don't do evil for evil's sake. We do evil for the sake of our own good and when we do, we rationalize that we didn't do evil. But from these acts, goodness will arise and we will be stronger for it. It is a self compensating feature whose sole purpose is to propel consciousness to the next rung in the anthropological ladder.
Posting the same thing twice only shows that you lack the depth to discuss real subjects.

"God had a choice. It is part and parcel of the extant nature of good. " Total personal opinion not based on fact. And it's ok to have a personal opinion, but you get mad when nobody else accepts it as fact like you do, for totally arbitrary reasons.
 
Again your logic is flawed. Intentionally so no doubt. But I appreciate the opportunity to plant another seed at your expense.

Genesis is allegorical. It starts with the allegorical account of Creation. After every step God would say "and it was good." So basically everything God created was good. Which makes sense because things like evil, darkness and cold or not extant. They don't exist on their own. They exist as the absence of something else. Cold is the absence of heat. Darkness is the absence of light. And evil is the absence of good.

Man knows right from wrong, but when he violates it, rather than abandoning the concept of right and wrong, he rationalizes that he didn't violate it. After Adam and Eve had sinned and realized they were naked, they hid when they heard God coming. They hid because they knew that they had done wrong. Then when God asked point blank if they had done it, they rationalized that it wasn't their fault. Adam, did you eat the apple? The woman you made gave it to me. Eve did you eat the apple? The serpent deceived me.

Man is the only animal capable of knowledge of good and evil. No other creature has this concept. Sure animals can have empathy, but not like man. Animals function on impulse and instinct. Man functions on these too, but in man's case he has the unique ability to override his impulses and instinct for the sake of good. That is free will. It's a choice. Everything is choice.

I don't believe that Genesis is implying that had Adam and Eve never committed the original sin, we would live in paradise forever. I believe Genesis is saying that man has the capacity to do good and evil. So then the question begs why did God create such a world. I believe that that is an artifact of life. In other words, I don't believe God had a choice. It is part and parcel of the extant nature of good. I know people will howl that I said God had no choice but the reality is there are things God can't do. For instance, God can't oppose Himself; He can't go against His own nature.

So there are two very interesting things which come out of free will. One is that evil has the effect of making good better. It's like salt and sugar. Salt makes sugar taste sweeter. We are told elsewhere that He uses all things for the good of those who love Him. Among other things the Jews discovered is that there is meaning in suffering. 07 Judaism

The other interesting thing is that good has no meaning unless there is evil. In other words, it is not virtuous if you are forced to be virtuous.

In closing, man prefers good over evil. We don't do evil for evil's sake. We do evil for the sake of our own good and when we do, we rationalize that we didn't do evil. But from these acts, goodness will arise and we will be stronger for it. It is a self compensating feature whose sole purpose is to propel consciousness to the next rung in the anthropological ladder.

And Taz is a putz because he rejects this.
"After Adam and Eve had sinned and realized they were naked, they hid when they heard God coming. They hid because they knew that they had done wrong. Then when God asked point blank if they had done it, they rationalized that it wasn't their fault. " So if this is a true account then it's not allegorical. Or are you cherry-picking again?

"I don't believe God had a choice." So god to you ins't an omni potent being. Nor is it an allegorical story.

"So there are two very interesting things which come out of free will." So not allegorical.

"Man is the only animal capable of knowledge of good and evil. No other creature has this concept. Sure animals can have empathy, but not like man. Animals function on impulse and instinct. Man functions on these too, but in man's case he has the unique ability to override his impulses and instinct for the sake of good. That is free will. It's a choice. Everything is choice." Animals sometimes make the choice not to kill but to nurture another animal's babies.
So if this is a true account then it's not allegorical. Or are you cherry-picking again?
Incorrect. It is an allegorical account of early man's understanding of God. Which BTW is far far superior to yours.

It is precisely because these allegorical accounts contain truth and wisdom that they are passed down for thousands of years orally from one generation to the next.

So god to you ins't an omni potent being. Nor is it allegorical.
Don't be silly. That which defeats his purpose isn't a strength it is a weakness. To argue that God can't go against his nature is not a valid argument. It's an idiotic argument that I would expect a little child to make. One who isn't really interested in a serious discussion. One who is only interested in amusing himself and try to show how clever he is.

So not allegorical.
Incorrect. It is an allegorical account of early man's understanding of God. Which BTW is far far superior to yours.

Animals sometimes make the choice not to kill but to nurture another animal's babies.
Sure, so what?
Your gibberish barely makes any sense. You have all these arbitrary rules that god can't do this or that, and that evil isn't god fault, or he can't stop it, because of more totally arbitrary stuff... Or that god can't go against his nature because of something totally arbitrary again. And it's all seriously laughable that you pretend to have found god in such a book of (admittedly) fiction. I question your sanity.
Gibberish? Hardly. You can't refute any of it.

Genesis is allegorical. It starts with the allegorical account of Creation. After every step God would say "and it was good." So basically everything God created was good. Which makes sense because things like evil, darkness and cold or not extant. They don't exist on their own. They exist as the absence of something else. Cold is the absence of heat. Darkness is the absence of light. And evil is the absence of good.

Man knows right from wrong, but when he violates it, rather than abandoning the concept of right and wrong, he rationalizes that he didn't violate it. After Adam and Eve had sinned and realized they were naked, they hid when they heard God coming. They hid because they knew that they had done wrong. Then when God asked point blank if they had done it, they rationalized that it wasn't their fault. Adam, did you eat the apple? The woman you made gave it to me. Eve did you eat the apple? The serpent deceived me.

Man is the only animal capable of knowledge of good and evil. No other creature has this concept. Sure animals can have empathy, but not like man. Animals function on impulse and instinct. Man functions on these too, but in man's case he has the unique ability to override his impulses and instinct for the sake of good. That is free will. It's a choice. Everything is choice.

I don't believe that Genesis is implying that had Adam and Eve never committed the original sin, we would live in paradise forever. I believe Genesis is saying that man has the capacity to do good and evil. So then the question begs why did God create such a world. I believe that that is an artifact of life. In other words, I don't believe God had a choice. It is part and parcel of the extant nature of good. I know people will howl that I said God had no choice but the reality is there are things God can't do. For instance, God can't oppose Himself; He can't go against His own nature.

So there are two very interesting things which come out of free will. One is that evil has the effect of making good better. It's like salt and sugar. Salt makes sugar taste sweeter. We are told elsewhere that He uses all things for the good of those who love Him. Among other things the Jews discovered is that there is meaning in suffering. 07 Judaism

The other interesting thing is that good has no meaning unless there is evil. In other words, it is not virtuous if you are forced to be virtuous.

In closing, man prefers good over evil. We don't do evil for evil's sake. We do evil for the sake of our own good and when we do, we rationalize that we didn't do evil. But from these acts, goodness will arise and we will be stronger for it. It is a self compensating feature whose sole purpose is to propel consciousness to the next rung in the anthropological ladder.
Posting the same thing twice only shows that you lack the depth to discuss real subjects.

"God had a choice. It is part and parcel of the extant nature of good. " Total personal opinion not based on fact. And it's ok to have a personal opinion, but you get mad when nobody else accepts it as fact like you do, for totally arbitrary reasons.
I'm not mad. You are. :smile:

I'm winning.
 
"After Adam and Eve had sinned and realized they were naked, they hid when they heard God coming. They hid because they knew that they had done wrong. Then when God asked point blank if they had done it, they rationalized that it wasn't their fault. " So if this is a true account then it's not allegorical. Or are you cherry-picking again?

"I don't believe God had a choice." So god to you ins't an omni potent being. Nor is it an allegorical story.

"So there are two very interesting things which come out of free will." So not allegorical.

"Man is the only animal capable of knowledge of good and evil. No other creature has this concept. Sure animals can have empathy, but not like man. Animals function on impulse and instinct. Man functions on these too, but in man's case he has the unique ability to override his impulses and instinct for the sake of good. That is free will. It's a choice. Everything is choice." Animals sometimes make the choice not to kill but to nurture another animal's babies.
So if this is a true account then it's not allegorical. Or are you cherry-picking again?
Incorrect. It is an allegorical account of early man's understanding of God. Which BTW is far far superior to yours.

It is precisely because these allegorical accounts contain truth and wisdom that they are passed down for thousands of years orally from one generation to the next.

So god to you ins't an omni potent being. Nor is it allegorical.
Don't be silly. That which defeats his purpose isn't a strength it is a weakness. To argue that God can't go against his nature is not a valid argument. It's an idiotic argument that I would expect a little child to make. One who isn't really interested in a serious discussion. One who is only interested in amusing himself and try to show how clever he is.

So not allegorical.
Incorrect. It is an allegorical account of early man's understanding of God. Which BTW is far far superior to yours.

Animals sometimes make the choice not to kill but to nurture another animal's babies.
Sure, so what?
Your gibberish barely makes any sense. You have all these arbitrary rules that god can't do this or that, and that evil isn't god fault, or he can't stop it, because of more totally arbitrary stuff... Or that god can't go against his nature because of something totally arbitrary again. And it's all seriously laughable that you pretend to have found god in such a book of (admittedly) fiction. I question your sanity.
Gibberish? Hardly. You can't refute any of it.

Genesis is allegorical. It starts with the allegorical account of Creation. After every step God would say "and it was good." So basically everything God created was good. Which makes sense because things like evil, darkness and cold or not extant. They don't exist on their own. They exist as the absence of something else. Cold is the absence of heat. Darkness is the absence of light. And evil is the absence of good.

Man knows right from wrong, but when he violates it, rather than abandoning the concept of right and wrong, he rationalizes that he didn't violate it. After Adam and Eve had sinned and realized they were naked, they hid when they heard God coming. They hid because they knew that they had done wrong. Then when God asked point blank if they had done it, they rationalized that it wasn't their fault. Adam, did you eat the apple? The woman you made gave it to me. Eve did you eat the apple? The serpent deceived me.

Man is the only animal capable of knowledge of good and evil. No other creature has this concept. Sure animals can have empathy, but not like man. Animals function on impulse and instinct. Man functions on these too, but in man's case he has the unique ability to override his impulses and instinct for the sake of good. That is free will. It's a choice. Everything is choice.

I don't believe that Genesis is implying that had Adam and Eve never committed the original sin, we would live in paradise forever. I believe Genesis is saying that man has the capacity to do good and evil. So then the question begs why did God create such a world. I believe that that is an artifact of life. In other words, I don't believe God had a choice. It is part and parcel of the extant nature of good. I know people will howl that I said God had no choice but the reality is there are things God can't do. For instance, God can't oppose Himself; He can't go against His own nature.

So there are two very interesting things which come out of free will. One is that evil has the effect of making good better. It's like salt and sugar. Salt makes sugar taste sweeter. We are told elsewhere that He uses all things for the good of those who love Him. Among other things the Jews discovered is that there is meaning in suffering. 07 Judaism

The other interesting thing is that good has no meaning unless there is evil. In other words, it is not virtuous if you are forced to be virtuous.

In closing, man prefers good over evil. We don't do evil for evil's sake. We do evil for the sake of our own good and when we do, we rationalize that we didn't do evil. But from these acts, goodness will arise and we will be stronger for it. It is a self compensating feature whose sole purpose is to propel consciousness to the next rung in the anthropological ladder.
Posting the same thing twice only shows that you lack the depth to discuss real subjects.

"God had a choice. It is part and parcel of the extant nature of good. " Total personal opinion not based on fact. And it's ok to have a personal opinion, but you get mad when nobody else accepts it as fact like you do, for totally arbitrary reasons.
I'm not mad. You are. :smile:

I'm winning.
At what?
 
Incorrect. It is an allegorical account of early man's understanding of God. Which BTW is far far superior to yours.

It is precisely because these allegorical accounts contain truth and wisdom that they are passed down for thousands of years orally from one generation to the next.

Don't be silly. That which defeats his purpose isn't a strength it is a weakness. To argue that God can't go against his nature is not a valid argument. It's an idiotic argument that I would expect a little child to make. One who isn't really interested in a serious discussion. One who is only interested in amusing himself and try to show how clever he is.

Incorrect. It is an allegorical account of early man's understanding of God. Which BTW is far far superior to yours.

Sure, so what?
Your gibberish barely makes any sense. You have all these arbitrary rules that god can't do this or that, and that evil isn't god fault, or he can't stop it, because of more totally arbitrary stuff... Or that god can't go against his nature because of something totally arbitrary again. And it's all seriously laughable that you pretend to have found god in such a book of (admittedly) fiction. I question your sanity.
Gibberish? Hardly. You can't refute any of it.

Genesis is allegorical. It starts with the allegorical account of Creation. After every step God would say "and it was good." So basically everything God created was good. Which makes sense because things like evil, darkness and cold or not extant. They don't exist on their own. They exist as the absence of something else. Cold is the absence of heat. Darkness is the absence of light. And evil is the absence of good.

Man knows right from wrong, but when he violates it, rather than abandoning the concept of right and wrong, he rationalizes that he didn't violate it. After Adam and Eve had sinned and realized they were naked, they hid when they heard God coming. They hid because they knew that they had done wrong. Then when God asked point blank if they had done it, they rationalized that it wasn't their fault. Adam, did you eat the apple? The woman you made gave it to me. Eve did you eat the apple? The serpent deceived me.

Man is the only animal capable of knowledge of good and evil. No other creature has this concept. Sure animals can have empathy, but not like man. Animals function on impulse and instinct. Man functions on these too, but in man's case he has the unique ability to override his impulses and instinct for the sake of good. That is free will. It's a choice. Everything is choice.

I don't believe that Genesis is implying that had Adam and Eve never committed the original sin, we would live in paradise forever. I believe Genesis is saying that man has the capacity to do good and evil. So then the question begs why did God create such a world. I believe that that is an artifact of life. In other words, I don't believe God had a choice. It is part and parcel of the extant nature of good. I know people will howl that I said God had no choice but the reality is there are things God can't do. For instance, God can't oppose Himself; He can't go against His own nature.

So there are two very interesting things which come out of free will. One is that evil has the effect of making good better. It's like salt and sugar. Salt makes sugar taste sweeter. We are told elsewhere that He uses all things for the good of those who love Him. Among other things the Jews discovered is that there is meaning in suffering. 07 Judaism

The other interesting thing is that good has no meaning unless there is evil. In other words, it is not virtuous if you are forced to be virtuous.

In closing, man prefers good over evil. We don't do evil for evil's sake. We do evil for the sake of our own good and when we do, we rationalize that we didn't do evil. But from these acts, goodness will arise and we will be stronger for it. It is a self compensating feature whose sole purpose is to propel consciousness to the next rung in the anthropological ladder.
Posting the same thing twice only shows that you lack the depth to discuss real subjects.

"God had a choice. It is part and parcel of the extant nature of good. " Total personal opinion not based on fact. And it's ok to have a personal opinion, but you get mad when nobody else accepts it as fact like you do, for totally arbitrary reasons.
I'm not mad. You are. :smile:

I'm winning.
At what?
Losing and being made to look like a fool.
 
Your gibberish barely makes any sense. You have all these arbitrary rules that god can't do this or that, and that evil isn't god fault, or he can't stop it, because of more totally arbitrary stuff... Or that god can't go against his nature because of something totally arbitrary again. And it's all seriously laughable that you pretend to have found god in such a book of (admittedly) fiction. I question your sanity.
Gibberish? Hardly. You can't refute any of it.

Genesis is allegorical. It starts with the allegorical account of Creation. After every step God would say "and it was good." So basically everything God created was good. Which makes sense because things like evil, darkness and cold or not extant. They don't exist on their own. They exist as the absence of something else. Cold is the absence of heat. Darkness is the absence of light. And evil is the absence of good.

Man knows right from wrong, but when he violates it, rather than abandoning the concept of right and wrong, he rationalizes that he didn't violate it. After Adam and Eve had sinned and realized they were naked, they hid when they heard God coming. They hid because they knew that they had done wrong. Then when God asked point blank if they had done it, they rationalized that it wasn't their fault. Adam, did you eat the apple? The woman you made gave it to me. Eve did you eat the apple? The serpent deceived me.

Man is the only animal capable of knowledge of good and evil. No other creature has this concept. Sure animals can have empathy, but not like man. Animals function on impulse and instinct. Man functions on these too, but in man's case he has the unique ability to override his impulses and instinct for the sake of good. That is free will. It's a choice. Everything is choice.

I don't believe that Genesis is implying that had Adam and Eve never committed the original sin, we would live in paradise forever. I believe Genesis is saying that man has the capacity to do good and evil. So then the question begs why did God create such a world. I believe that that is an artifact of life. In other words, I don't believe God had a choice. It is part and parcel of the extant nature of good. I know people will howl that I said God had no choice but the reality is there are things God can't do. For instance, God can't oppose Himself; He can't go against His own nature.

So there are two very interesting things which come out of free will. One is that evil has the effect of making good better. It's like salt and sugar. Salt makes sugar taste sweeter. We are told elsewhere that He uses all things for the good of those who love Him. Among other things the Jews discovered is that there is meaning in suffering. 07 Judaism

The other interesting thing is that good has no meaning unless there is evil. In other words, it is not virtuous if you are forced to be virtuous.

In closing, man prefers good over evil. We don't do evil for evil's sake. We do evil for the sake of our own good and when we do, we rationalize that we didn't do evil. But from these acts, goodness will arise and we will be stronger for it. It is a self compensating feature whose sole purpose is to propel consciousness to the next rung in the anthropological ladder.
Posting the same thing twice only shows that you lack the depth to discuss real subjects.

"God had a choice. It is part and parcel of the extant nature of good. " Total personal opinion not based on fact. And it's ok to have a personal opinion, but you get mad when nobody else accepts it as fact like you do, for totally arbitrary reasons.
I'm not mad. You are. :smile:

I'm winning.
At what?
Losing and being made to look like a fool.
You’re winning at losing and being made to look like a fool. Ok, I agree. And you have real proof too.
 
Gibberish? Hardly. You can't refute any of it.

Genesis is allegorical. It starts with the allegorical account of Creation. After every step God would say "and it was good." So basically everything God created was good. Which makes sense because things like evil, darkness and cold or not extant. They don't exist on their own. They exist as the absence of something else. Cold is the absence of heat. Darkness is the absence of light. And evil is the absence of good.

Man knows right from wrong, but when he violates it, rather than abandoning the concept of right and wrong, he rationalizes that he didn't violate it. After Adam and Eve had sinned and realized they were naked, they hid when they heard God coming. They hid because they knew that they had done wrong. Then when God asked point blank if they had done it, they rationalized that it wasn't their fault. Adam, did you eat the apple? The woman you made gave it to me. Eve did you eat the apple? The serpent deceived me.

Man is the only animal capable of knowledge of good and evil. No other creature has this concept. Sure animals can have empathy, but not like man. Animals function on impulse and instinct. Man functions on these too, but in man's case he has the unique ability to override his impulses and instinct for the sake of good. That is free will. It's a choice. Everything is choice.

I don't believe that Genesis is implying that had Adam and Eve never committed the original sin, we would live in paradise forever. I believe Genesis is saying that man has the capacity to do good and evil. So then the question begs why did God create such a world. I believe that that is an artifact of life. In other words, I don't believe God had a choice. It is part and parcel of the extant nature of good. I know people will howl that I said God had no choice but the reality is there are things God can't do. For instance, God can't oppose Himself; He can't go against His own nature.

So there are two very interesting things which come out of free will. One is that evil has the effect of making good better. It's like salt and sugar. Salt makes sugar taste sweeter. We are told elsewhere that He uses all things for the good of those who love Him. Among other things the Jews discovered is that there is meaning in suffering. 07 Judaism

The other interesting thing is that good has no meaning unless there is evil. In other words, it is not virtuous if you are forced to be virtuous.

In closing, man prefers good over evil. We don't do evil for evil's sake. We do evil for the sake of our own good and when we do, we rationalize that we didn't do evil. But from these acts, goodness will arise and we will be stronger for it. It is a self compensating feature whose sole purpose is to propel consciousness to the next rung in the anthropological ladder.
Posting the same thing twice only shows that you lack the depth to discuss real subjects.

"God had a choice. It is part and parcel of the extant nature of good. " Total personal opinion not based on fact. And it's ok to have a personal opinion, but you get mad when nobody else accepts it as fact like you do, for totally arbitrary reasons.
I'm not mad. You are. :smile:

I'm winning.
At what?
Losing and being made to look like a fool.
You’re winning at losing and being made to look like a fool. Ok, I agree. And you have real proof too.
Not quite but I can see how you and Stink-Eye could get confused. But at least he is intelligent enough to run away.

I am winning at exposing you for a fool.

You are angry at being exposed a fool.
 

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