Rebel8:Just those two options?
How black and white...
I don't think God is fair./what do u think?
by wednesday 80 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
-
LittleToe
-
LittleToe
Jez:
More preconceptions.Prove to me that man (like any other animal) wasn't going to grow old and physically die like every other observable creature!
-
wednesday
I was just reading the Genesis account and I don't believe it says they would live forever, but after they ate of the fruit, they were told they would die. and then gen 3:22"...Here the man has become like one of us in knoiwng good and bad, and now in order that he may not put his hand out and actually take (fruit) also from the tree of life and live to time indefinite,-" He was then ousted form the garden so he could not eat from the tree of life. JWS teach that man was to live forever, but really I guess that is just an assumpation.However, if he was going to die anyway, why would the punishment for eating of the fruit be death? And what was wrong with A&E knowing good and bad?
-
M.J.
I just watched "The Truman Show" for the first time recently. It gave an interesting perspective on this Garden of Eden thing. The lead character, Truman, lived in an idealized, isolated world. But he was smart enough to figure out there was more to the world than he was allowed to see. He ultimately was faced with the decision on whether to gain true freedom or to remain in his idealized, manufactured "paradise". By gaining freedom he would discover the real world, i.e., gain "knowledge of good and evil", yet also inherit all the real-life problems associated with being truly free and independent. It was a no-brainer. He chose freedom. Perhaps in a similar manner, Adam and Eve conciously did the same.
-
LittleToe
Wednesday:
I would have two questions for you:
Since they already knew good, what was meant by adding "bad"/"evil" into the pot?
Are there more kinds of death than simply the physical?They may or may not be the right questions, but they do give an alternative view that is liberating from the way we used to think. At least we're allowed to do that now!!
-
Deputy Dog
jez
How does he show mercy?
Try breathing your own air, when it comes time to die, try to keep your heart beating. Let alone anything else in life, that you have. I know I sure don't want what I deserve! I'll take mercy any time I can get it!
D Dog
-
bebu
Why not produce an image for them, like a mini-mind-movie, about how 'death' progresses as a warning with the ultimatium not to eat the fruit?
I think they did--that is, they must have understood clearly enough that the consequences (according to God) would be dire. For them to truly understand the problem to the extent you require, wouldn't that meant that God would have to force them to experience great agony? And would that be fair--punish them "in full" before they could choose? What if they had both made a determined choice to NOT give in to the temptation--but now had experienced agony already--would it be said that they decided out of fear and anxiety, and not desire to preserve an enjoyed relationship? It would be unclear what was actual the foundation of their relationship--fear or love.
This story seems to craft a precise situation, for them to have a chance to demonstrate their love to God by their choice (because there really were not many ways to demonstrate their devotion with any depth, if you think about it!). They failed, but God doesn't simply annihilate them right then--He gives them some covering (provision for the shame) for the meanwhile, sturdier than the leaves they'd picked. He also tells the woman that her seed will crush the head of the tempter, though her offspring would get struck on the heel.
Anyway, God is angry in the story, but it looks like He was not unprepared for this. He was gambling, but there was a contingency plan. It apparently included a long road for humanity--of our experiencing deeply (drinking to the dregs) both good and evil, and allowing all humans to discover in some way this particular drama in our own lives... such is how the 'beginning' ends. (More like a preface.)
2 cents and .
bebu
PS Wednesday, I'll bet you would really enjoy a sci-fi novel named Perelandra, which deals with these issues of Eden, but with Venus as the 'new' planet... thought-provoking.
-
Doubtfully Yours
If God would've been fair, he would've made King David pay for his sins, just like any other israelite.
He inspired men to write down in his Word that he's not partial and doesn't show favoritism, but many his deeds show quite the opposite.
DY
-
Deputy Dog
DY
He inspired men to write down in his Word that he's not partial and doesn't show favoritism, but many his deeds show quite the opposite
Where did he do that?
D Dog
-
frenchbabyface
More I think about it and more ! find the god of the bible scary ... just imagine if he was true ... LOL but NOT anyway hewouldn't get a inch of respect from me ! I wouldn't want to be his buddy forever