1) If God exists in and out of our linear concept of time, he theoretically knew that Adam and Eve would eat of the tree and fall to original sin etc; if that was so bad why would he knowingly create the serpent or any entity that would tempt them to do so?
****I think this is a great point. It seems that God knew exactly what would happen, and indeed created beings with a desire to be free...yet asked them to submit to His command. It almost seems like a set up to be given the entire Garden of Eden, yet be told "don't eat from that ONE tree." So the key question is this: is our world God's Plan B or is it God's Plan A? Did He intend for people to fall, for the struggles of sin and death to be a reality, and for the cross to be a demonstration of His ultimate love and justice...or is He merely responding to the Fall and trying to "fix" it? If salvation meant a return to the Garden of Eden then perhaps this could be considered God's Plan B...but the Bible teaches otherwise. For example, the Bible teaches that we receive more in Christ than we lost in Adam. Rather than a return to a perpetual state of probation (sin once and get removed from the Garden), the Bible teaches that we gain an eternal righteousness in Christ that cannot be corrupted (see: 1 Corinthians 15:42 and etc.). What is more, consider what we have that Adam and Eve did not: knowledge of Good and Evil, Redemption, overcoming struggle, and Demonstration of God's Love (see Romans 5:8), hope for eternity, and an incorruptible future! While Adam and Eve could relate to God, they had no concept of the lengths to which God was willing to go to demonstrate His love for them! In summary, this is God's Plan A, and he considered all of the pain, struggle, and evil to be worth it for what is gained in eternity. Hebrews 12:2 says, "fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
2a) If God created everything, then did he create sin?
***In answer to the first part, Augustine I think is correct that sin is the lack of a thing (or perhaps the perversion of a good thing). Thus, God doesn't need to create it (like rocks and trees and water), but instead creates Freedom (a good thing) and therefore allows for the presence of evil.
b) if sin is simply the absence of God isn't that contradictory to the idea that God is everywhere?
This is to confuse two categories of existence: for example if I were to ask you "what does blue smell like?" or "what color is music?" In other words, the reality of evil doesn't make evil a PLACE. This question would be a problem perhaps if Christians were Pantheists, believing that God literally is everything, but this is not Christian belief. God is both omnipresent (able to be at all locations) and actually distinct from the world (ie: the mountain, tree, and rocks are not God...they are creations of God). Thus, God does not "inhabit" evil.
3) Moses. Exodus. The whole thing, like how is a loving God the same God that orders Moses to slaughter thousands of people that theoretically were acting out of more ignorance than maliciousness- it doesn't make sense to be angry with ignorance.
4) Sexism in the bible as a whole; especially in the new testament where women are still the "weaker sex" and subordinate to men. How is this in line with the values and teachings of the bible and how on earth are we supposed to coherently accept it in todays society? Sorry for the overload here but these are just a few questions that have come up so far.. I'm sure today's class will bring even more. Thanks so much for everything!!
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