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The Bible has several literary types; allegorical, historical, law, poetic, prophetic, epistle and proverbialI don't have that problem.If you are going to blame God for the bad, don't you think you should credit God for the good.No. I am saying God gave man a precious and rare gift.so you are saying god did create man through creation, with human body faults?
Let’s thank the gods for that blueprint for the cancer cell. Not so rare or precious.
Assigning attributes to the gods such as "good" and "bad" puts the theist is quite a predicament.
The classic argument against the proposed attributes of gods (the omni's) show that the triune characteristics define a god that cannot possibly exist. One cannot be all good, all powerful and all knowing in any logical sense, at least not within the strictures of our present existence. The fact that there is suffering, death, and evil (if one is compelled to believe in things such as good and evil as concepts that exist as realities and not simply as human conventions), establishes that the gods, if they are to have created all, has allowed such things to exist in the first place. This is not consistent with omnibenvolence. If a thing is all good, then by definition there can be nothing evil about it; certainly it is incapable of creating anything that in and of itself can be considered evil.
The Bible has several literary types; allegorical, historical, law, poetic, prophetic, epistle and proverbial. I'm sure others may add or subtract to this list, but this is a pretty good start. When trying to understand the meaning of passages it is helpful to understand which literary type one is reading and also to place or read the passage in the proper historical light.
Let's start with the tree of knowledge of good and evil and the fall from grace. 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.
You are presuming God is subservient to the rules of the universe.Simple, there has to be many more than just one God. Nature does not like singularities.Why would you think there were more than one?There is only one Creator, Hollie. He doesn't care what you call Him. He has left us largely to our own devices. Choose wisely, but above all when you don't, don't rationalize you did.No doubt that the universe is a pretty inhospitable environment for life. If the Sahara desert represents all the matter in the universe, all the life in the universe would be represented by a single grain of sand. That's how rare life is.
So if these conditions are what are required for beings that know and create to arise, why blame God at all for how inhospitable the universe is for the living.
Either the gods are the creators of all or not. There is really no such a things as a "natural consequence" because the root of all is the supernatural law-defining abilities of the gods that cobbled it together. The gods don't cause an earthquake? Yes, they established the laws of plate tectonics which describe the physical characteristics of portions of the earth’s crust which shifts and adjusts, and those elements together create shifting of landmasses we call earthquakes.
The gods don't cause a tornado? Yes, they established the laws of convection and rotation of planets, and those two elements together create swirling whirlwinds we call twisters. As the Author of All, they could have created a completely different existence-- but didn't.
How do you know there is only one creator?
Which verse leads you to state that the creation story is allegorical?So you are taking an allegorical account of creation and extrapolating a claim of perfection. I already explained this to you.You know this how?Nature routinely finds suboptimal solutions that various gods would never choose.
The “evolutionary baggage” that all living organisms carry with them is among the most powerful evidence for evolution’s truth. And none of it is explicable if evolution had not occurred, and an “intelligent designer” had been involved. For why would an intelligent designer include anything that was “unnecessary” at all? It is only special creation that claims perfection. So you are actually arguing against your own beliefs here.
Evolution might “improve life” though it often does not. But only creation by god would be able to “perfect life.” And since living things are not perfect, if they are not the product of evolution then either one or more of the gods chose to create imperfect things, or they cannot create perfect things.
As to what is necessary and what is not is debatable. I don't believe any of it was unnecessary because everything is connected and serves a purpose.
Prove it starting from Genesis 1:1.The Bible has several literary types; allegorical, historical, law, poetic, prophetic, epistle and proverbialI don't have that problem.If you are going to blame God for the bad, don't you think you should credit God for the good.No. I am saying God gave man a precious and rare gift.
Let’s thank the gods for that blueprint for the cancer cell. Not so rare or precious.
Assigning attributes to the gods such as "good" and "bad" puts the theist is quite a predicament.
The classic argument against the proposed attributes of gods (the omni's) show that the triune characteristics define a god that cannot possibly exist. One cannot be all good, all powerful and all knowing in any logical sense, at least not within the strictures of our present existence. The fact that there is suffering, death, and evil (if one is compelled to believe in things such as good and evil as concepts that exist as realities and not simply as human conventions), establishes that the gods, if they are to have created all, has allowed such things to exist in the first place. This is not consistent with omnibenvolence. If a thing is all good, then by definition there can be nothing evil about it; certainly it is incapable of creating anything that in and of itself can be considered evil.
The Bible has several literary types; allegorical, historical, law, poetic, prophetic, epistle and proverbial. I'm sure others may add or subtract to this list, but this is a pretty good start. When trying to understand the meaning of passages it is helpful to understand which literary type one is reading and also to place or read the passage in the proper historical light.
Let's start with the tree of knowledge of good and evil and the fall from grace. 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.
This sentence translated into modern English ~ The Bible is bullshit, or in nicer words, The Bible is a bunch of fairy tales.
The only "scientists" who believe in evolution are those who major in Evolution.
There are way too many long lasting anomalies in nature to account for evolution.
I don't need to prove it, he admitted in with his words.Prove it starting from Genesis 1:1.The Bible has several literary types; allegorical, historical, law, poetic, prophetic, epistle and proverbialI don't have that problem.If you are going to blame God for the bad, don't you think you should credit God for the good.Let’s thank the gods for that blueprint for the cancer cell. Not so rare or precious.
Assigning attributes to the gods such as "good" and "bad" puts the theist is quite a predicament.
The classic argument against the proposed attributes of gods (the omni's) show that the triune characteristics define a god that cannot possibly exist. One cannot be all good, all powerful and all knowing in any logical sense, at least not within the strictures of our present existence. The fact that there is suffering, death, and evil (if one is compelled to believe in things such as good and evil as concepts that exist as realities and not simply as human conventions), establishes that the gods, if they are to have created all, has allowed such things to exist in the first place. This is not consistent with omnibenvolence. If a thing is all good, then by definition there can be nothing evil about it; certainly it is incapable of creating anything that in and of itself can be considered evil.
The Bible has several literary types; allegorical, historical, law, poetic, prophetic, epistle and proverbial. I'm sure others may add or subtract to this list, but this is a pretty good start. When trying to understand the meaning of passages it is helpful to understand which literary type one is reading and also to place or read the passage in the proper historical light.
Let's start with the tree of knowledge of good and evil and the fall from grace. 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.
This sentence translated into modern English ~ The Bible is bullshit, or in nicer words, The Bible is a bunch of fairy tales.
I know...you're too smart to waste your time.
Actually, they support God because God laughs at those who believe only in nature.The only "scientists" who believe in evolution are those who major in Evolution.
There are way too many long lasting anomalies in nature to account for evolution.
The anomalies in nature prove evolution and disprove Gods
As though Ding is my spokesperson.I don't need to prove it, he admitted in with his words.Prove it starting from Genesis 1:1.The Bible has several literary types; allegorical, historical, law, poetic, prophetic, epistle and proverbialI don't have that problem.If you are going to blame God for the bad, don't you think you should credit God for the good.
Assigning attributes to the gods such as "good" and "bad" puts the theist is quite a predicament.
The classic argument against the proposed attributes of gods (the omni's) show that the triune characteristics define a god that cannot possibly exist. One cannot be all good, all powerful and all knowing in any logical sense, at least not within the strictures of our present existence. The fact that there is suffering, death, and evil (if one is compelled to believe in things such as good and evil as concepts that exist as realities and not simply as human conventions), establishes that the gods, if they are to have created all, has allowed such things to exist in the first place. This is not consistent with omnibenvolence. If a thing is all good, then by definition there can be nothing evil about it; certainly it is incapable of creating anything that in and of itself can be considered evil.
The Bible has several literary types; allegorical, historical, law, poetic, prophetic, epistle and proverbial. I'm sure others may add or subtract to this list, but this is a pretty good start. When trying to understand the meaning of passages it is helpful to understand which literary type one is reading and also to place or read the passage in the proper historical light.
Let's start with the tree of knowledge of good and evil and the fall from grace. 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.
This sentence translated into modern English ~ The Bible is bullshit, or in nicer words, The Bible is a bunch of fairy tales.
I know...you're too smart to waste your time.
Allegorical = fairy tale that teaches a lesson
As soon as you admit the stories in the bible are not true, you lose the argument
Not sure what you mean by this.You are presuming God is subservient to the rules of the universe.Simple, there has to be many more than just one God. Nature does not like singularities.Why would you think there were more than one?There is only one Creator, Hollie. He doesn't care what you call Him. He has left us largely to our own devices. Choose wisely, but above all when you don't, don't rationalize you did.Either the gods are the creators of all or not. There is really no such a things as a "natural consequence" because the root of all is the supernatural law-defining abilities of the gods that cobbled it together. The gods don't cause an earthquake? Yes, they established the laws of plate tectonics which describe the physical characteristics of portions of the earth’s crust which shifts and adjusts, and those elements together create shifting of landmasses we call earthquakes.
The gods don't cause a tornado? Yes, they established the laws of convection and rotation of planets, and those two elements together create swirling whirlwinds we call twisters. As the Author of All, they could have created a completely different existence-- but didn't.
How do you know there is only one creator?
When someone discusses evolution, you then have to discuss the specific topic with someone who has actual expertise in the field.I think I have ding figured out. He began this thread sounding like a physicist w/o a lot of biological experience. He had everything tied up with a nice neat bow. Reality is a bit different. I noted his dependence on the laws of thermodynamics. Guess who uses those arguments? Yep Intelligent Designers.
Then he exposed himself with consciousnesses of the universe and the reason for & endpoint of evolution. Why? Cuz you need that to defend your God.
His belief system appears to be the same as Boss with his Spirit God.
His cosmology needs to fit with his theism
There are many realities that could not have evolved because the species, including humans, would not have survived.Not sure what you mean by this.You are presuming God is subservient to the rules of the universe.Simple, there has to be many more than just one God. Nature does not like singularities.Why would you think there were more than one?There is only one Creator, Hollie. He doesn't care what you call Him. He has left us largely to our own devices. Choose wisely, but above all when you don't, don't rationalize you did.
How do you know there is only one creator?
If God does not need to obey what you are calling the rules of the universe, then there are no rules of the universe.
That is my issue with magic. If I allow magic, then there is no science and its purpose becomes worthless.
God laughs? God has a sense of humor?Actually, they support God because God laughs at those who believe only in nature.The only "scientists" who believe in evolution are those who major in Evolution.
There are way too many long lasting anomalies in nature to account for evolution.
The anomalies in nature prove evolution and disprove Gods
We only know God by how He manifests Himself.God laughs? God has a sense of humor?Actually, they support God because God laughs at those who believe only in nature.The only "scientists" who believe in evolution are those who major in Evolution.
There are way too many long lasting anomalies in nature to account for evolution.
The anomalies in nature prove evolution and disprove Gods
Sounds like you are referring to a God that is man made
This is exactly my point. You all are all over the place. There is no theory of God. There are literally thousands of versions of just the Christian God.As though Ding is my spokesperson.I don't need to prove it, he admitted in with his words.Prove it starting from Genesis 1:1.The Bible has several literary types; allegorical, historical, law, poetic, prophetic, epistle and proverbialI don't have that problem.Assigning attributes to the gods such as "good" and "bad" puts the theist is quite a predicament.
The classic argument against the proposed attributes of gods (the omni's) show that the triune characteristics define a god that cannot possibly exist. One cannot be all good, all powerful and all knowing in any logical sense, at least not within the strictures of our present existence. The fact that there is suffering, death, and evil (if one is compelled to believe in things such as good and evil as concepts that exist as realities and not simply as human conventions), establishes that the gods, if they are to have created all, has allowed such things to exist in the first place. This is not consistent with omnibenvolence. If a thing is all good, then by definition there can be nothing evil about it; certainly it is incapable of creating anything that in and of itself can be considered evil.
The Bible has several literary types; allegorical, historical, law, poetic, prophetic, epistle and proverbial. I'm sure others may add or subtract to this list, but this is a pretty good start. When trying to understand the meaning of passages it is helpful to understand which literary type one is reading and also to place or read the passage in the proper historical light.
Let's start with the tree of knowledge of good and evil and the fall from grace. 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.
This sentence translated into modern English ~ The Bible is bullshit, or in nicer words, The Bible is a bunch of fairy tales.
I know...you're too smart to waste your time.
Allegorical = fairy tale that teaches a lesson
As soon as you admit the stories in the bible are not true, you lose the argument
The creation story is not allegorical unless one is an atheist and doesn't start reading from verse 1:1.
No single verse or even a single event but all events in genesis.Which verse leads you to state that the creation story is allegorical?So you are taking an allegorical account of creation and extrapolating a claim of perfection. I already explained this to you.You know this how?Nature routinely finds suboptimal solutions that various gods would never choose.
The “evolutionary baggage” that all living organisms carry with them is among the most powerful evidence for evolution’s truth. And none of it is explicable if evolution had not occurred, and an “intelligent designer” had been involved. For why would an intelligent designer include anything that was “unnecessary” at all? It is only special creation that claims perfection. So you are actually arguing against your own beliefs here.
Evolution might “improve life” though it often does not. But only creation by god would be able to “perfect life.” And since living things are not perfect, if they are not the product of evolution then either one or more of the gods chose to create imperfect things, or they cannot create perfect things.
As to what is necessary and what is not is debatable. I don't believe any of it was unnecessary because everything is connected and serves a purpose.
I agree that the New Testament is a mess.This is exactly my point. You all are all over the place. There is no theory of God. There are literally thousands of versions of just the Christian God.As though Ding is my spokesperson.I don't need to prove it, he admitted in with his words.Prove it starting from Genesis 1:1.The Bible has several literary types; allegorical, historical, law, poetic, prophetic, epistle and proverbialI don't have that problem.
The Bible has several literary types; allegorical, historical, law, poetic, prophetic, epistle and proverbial. I'm sure others may add or subtract to this list, but this is a pretty good start. When trying to understand the meaning of passages it is helpful to understand which literary type one is reading and also to place or read the passage in the proper historical light.
Let's start with the tree of knowledge of good and evil and the fall from grace. 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.
This sentence translated into modern English ~ The Bible is bullshit, or in nicer words, The Bible is a bunch of fairy tales.
I know...you're too smart to waste your time.
Allegorical = fairy tale that teaches a lesson
As soon as you admit the stories in the bible are not true, you lose the argument
The creation story is not allegorical unless one is an atheist and doesn't start reading from verse 1:1.
Please elaborate starting with a verse.No single verse or even a single event but all events in genesis.Which verse leads you to state that the creation story is allegorical?So you are taking an allegorical account of creation and extrapolating a claim of perfection. I already explained this to you.You know this how?Nature routinely finds suboptimal solutions that various gods would never choose.
The “evolutionary baggage” that all living organisms carry with them is among the most powerful evidence for evolution’s truth. And none of it is explicable if evolution had not occurred, and an “intelligent designer” had been involved. For why would an intelligent designer include anything that was “unnecessary” at all? It is only special creation that claims perfection. So you are actually arguing against your own beliefs here.
Evolution might “improve life” though it often does not. But only creation by god would be able to “perfect life.” And since living things are not perfect, if they are not the product of evolution then either one or more of the gods chose to create imperfect things, or they cannot create perfect things.
As to what is necessary and what is not is debatable. I don't believe any of it was unnecessary because everything is connected and serves a purpose.
Jews have no problem making the connection.What ding is saying is that he is trying hard to connect science and his theism.
To use and IDers language, there are many missing links in Genesis.
