[net.religion] a question

judy@ut-ngp.UUCP (04/26/84)

[Please don't think that I'm picking on you Steven - I know many people have 
had similar questions, including me. Instead of concluding that there wasn't
a God I decided to investigate on my own ...]

>	I have a little theological question about Christianity,
>    that I would like some Christians to take a stab at.   You
>    see, I know that there are at least four tenents held by
>    Christians which seem to be contradictory, and perhaps if
>    you have some insight, you can tell me why they are not.

 Will a non-Christian do? First of all, these "tenents" are not necessarily 
true as presented, though they do seem to present a paradox. Nor are they 
held only by Christians.


1.	    *   God is Good ("He" loves us, and doesn't want to hurt us).

 What do we define as "good"? Our notions of "good" may be different.
I will agree that Christians believe that He loves us, but what about
"doesn't want to hurt us"? Does that mean he would prefer not to? Most of us 
would prefer not to hurt our children by punishing them either, but we do. 
Weren't many people hurt in the great flood? What about the distruction of 
Sodom and Gomorrah? 
So, even though God does love us he sometimes has to punish us.( Christians, is
this any closer?)

2.	    *   God created Satan

 God created all the angels as well as mankind. The bible says He created all
things - at least all things known to them (us?).

3.	    *   Satan is Evil ("He" wants to hurt us)

 Again "evil" is relative. Satan certainly wants to hurt man - this stems 
from his jealousy of God's love for us. I remember reading about him 
saying something to God like : "What is man that you are so concerned with 
him?". After all, the angels were there first, and then God goes and creates
us ABOVE them! Satan may be evil, and maybe he has been given the power to 
cause us grief and misery (see JOB), but WE do the hurting and the killing 
when we listen to him. We don't HAVE to, that is one of the main points of 
Christianity (as I see it, of course). 



4.	    *   God is omniscient (God knows all -- including the future)

 We know that the ability to predict the future is evident in mankind as well,
the study of which is part of the science of parapsycology. I don't belive the
future is a fixed absolute, after all - it hasn't happened yet. Suppose that 
God, in his infinite awareness, understanding, and insight (omniscience) can 
predict with great accuracy the outcome of trends and events over a long 
period of time - AND knows just where and when to influence things in order to
bring about the fulfillment of a promise. If the future WAS a fixed absolute 
then no changes could be made and the knowledge would be worthless. I don't 
believe in predestination. I see it as an idea that only leads to paradoxes
and I don't believe in them either. It also robs us of power; power over our
own lives which is our birthright. 
 

>	Now the question that I have then, given the above tenents are
>    true in the Christian world-view, is this:
>
>	Why did God, knowing what terrible suffering Satan would bring
>	    on humanity, create him in the first place?
>

 One might also ask : 
        Why did God, knowing all the terrible suffering that mankind would
bring to itself because of our disobedience, create US in the first place?

After all, if it wasn't for mankind, Satan would have had no reason to be 
jealous, and God could have enjoyed eternity with His faithful servents and
all the beautiful and innocent creatures He created on earth. I don't know,
maybe He would have been bored -  no challenges.

But back to the question: suppose that God knew that there was a chance,
according to natural laws, that every one of His creations could turn out 
flawed, one way or another. We certainly are not perfect, why should the angels
be exempt? As it turned out, after God created man, certain angels - most 
notably Satan (because he was one of the most powerful), took offense. In fact, if I recall what I've read in Revelations correctly, one THIRD of the angels
felt the same way as Satan. So maybe God didn't sit down and say "I think I'll
creat Satan evil so that later, after I've created man, he can really give 
him (man) a hard time. What fun!". I find THAT explanation to be inconsistant.

So, if you REALLY want some answers to these seemingly paradoxical questions
why not throw away all preconceived notions (which were probably acquired as a 
child) and read what is really there WHILE trying to understand what it means?
Understanding is the most important part. You don't have to subscribe to all
(or any) of the principles, but a knowledge of what is there can be a powerful
tool.




Judy