Posted on 01/10/2018 5:45:42 AM PST by RoosterRedux
True, but give it about 10-15 years and we’ll start seeing the lawsuits from these kids against their parents for pressuring them into mutilating their bodies and ruining their lives.
A theological question I’ve had recently is this:
Since God knows all, and Jesus was not a “let me revise the plan” thing because of the fall of mankind, and he knows all as an infinite and omnipotent God, why on His green earth did he put that tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden? If that tree wasn’t there, would the serpent be able to convince Eve to eat of it, and share with Adam? Would there still be sin in the world?
The fruit acted as a guard against worst sins. As long as it remained inconceivable to touching it, all other sins would also have been inconceivable. It wasnt the fruit itself that did anything. It was a gateway sin.
Time, linear time, is a construct of the human mind, a measuring rod for referencing things.
God, as Alpha and Omega, sees the future, past, present, as one. Time as an extended dimension of space is irrelevant to God, as all things are written. If only space, God sees behind all objects, sees all angles. Nothing escapes God as he inhabits every point of time, space, existence. That is my belief.
In the beginning, as also in the end, Jesus was there with God. Jesus did not come after. He was there at the beginning. He is there at the end.
“John 1: 1-3 In the beginning was the Word (Jesus), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”
An often fruitful way to approach the great mysteries in my experience is to ask what are known as contrapositive questions.
Why was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil “Tree” placed in the presence of Man?
Ask a contrapositive. The question ‘why?’ translates to a conditional with a premise and conclusion.
Because of X, God placed the Tree in the presence of Man. The awareness in the Man = Adam included the Tree.
A contrapositive is: If God had not planted the Tree in Man’s awareness, then X would not be.
What things or matters could then describe ‘X’?
I tend to think X has something to do with Free Will. Free Will is necessary to a state of Consciousness. Without Free Will, Man would have no soul, in my thinking. Without the Tree, Free Will could never exist. Adam followed Satan leading to death.
Of course, I believe God saw this ‘before’. God saw Adam would sin, but he loved Adam so much that he promised Adam a savior, that which was with Him from the very beginning, forever with Him. Adam is alive and with God because of Jesus who was God in the Flesh.
Without the Tree, Man would not have a soul. Because of Satan’s deceit, Man knows the love of God. Once a Man is saved and with God, his Free Will is wiser knowing the consequences of sin, which is death.
Perhaps then, the Tree was a lesson.
Why was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil “Tree” placed in the presence of Man?
Gen_2:9 The LORD God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden He placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
It is interesting to note that both trees are side by side in the middle of the garden. You would have though God would give us a fighting chance by putting the bad tree at the edge of the garden, but no..............
I don’t think it is a lesson but a choice. The tree still exists. Everything decision we make is a choice, which tree will we choose? And the choices are that close.
Gen_3:24 After sending them out, the LORD God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And He placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
It is interesting to note the tree is guarded not to keep everyone away, but to guard the way to it. Just like a guard at a military base, it is raised to let some pass.
A third point is the tree of life is only mention three times. In Genesis and Revelation, I will let the readers discover on their own where the third mention is.
Very nice points, very nice. Yes, choose Life or choose Death.
Conscious Choice, as apart from instinct, lies in the lap of Free Will. If Man was a mere animal without a soul, without consciousness, he would eat the forbidden fruit not knowing any better. But he was told not to. So his choice came from Free Will.
Because I believe God saw all that would happen, ‘before’ it happened, Man’s sin was by design as was his salvation. In that sense, it may be seen as a lesson covering the consequences of choosing to disobey a benevolent loving God.
If we allow in our minds the image of Adam (Hebrew for Man) reconciled with God and if we were to question Adam, “Would you choose the forbidden fruit again?”, I believe Adam would respond that it would never ever again be a consideration, a lesson learned.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.